Vintage Update: Check on your 2008 reds

I have heard this quite many times from vignerons and winemakers in Burgundy … the 2008s will not keep for long term ageing. 

At first I did not take this info as a sign of warning – I have however recently tasted a few 2008s that seem to have aged quite rapidly over the last year – even bottles that have been well stored with known provenance.

I’m not saying they are falling apart – but some seem to have lost some of the energy and freshness they offered just a year ago. This is somewhat worrying in my view.

The 2008 vintage normally offered plenty of freshness as its a acidity driven vintage – and the wines are structured by the acidity rather than tannins. This could perhaps explaing the rather rapid ageing process of some wines.

So my advice is to check on your 2008 reds – especially those producers that makes lightly extracted and colored wines.