30°C in Bordeaux on the 7th of October

All records are being broken, yesterday's by over 4°C.

I have never seen such a long spell of consistently fine weather in over three decades.

Of course, people will jump the gun and assume the wine is great regardless of its intrinsic qualities (which helps to make up for prejudice and oversimplification the other way around in unfashionable years...) - as though all it takes a glance at the weather report to understand fine wine.
But such is the way of things .

The factors I'm interested in knowing are:
- the role of the relative drought conditons in different terroirs
- the skin (thickness) to pulp ratio
- the role of the precise picking time, especially with regard to alcohol and acid levels (early indications
are of very high sugar levels)
- how difficult it is to ferment the wines in such as way as to maintain fresheness.

Meanwhile, the media are hungry for the 3rd "VINTAGE OF THE CENTURY" in a decade and, BY GOD, they will have it .
Good bye to the golden calves of 2000 and 2005, welcome to 2009 idolatry!
Let the fever begin!!!

Best regards,
Alex R.

(Sigh) This is all getting a little boring. As Broadbent says, vintage variation is what makes Bordeaux interesting. Is this what the 80s felt like?

(Sigh) This is all getting a little boring. As Broadbent says, vintage variation is what makes Bordeaux interesting. Is this what the 80s felt like?

Nah, the '80s were an amazing ride, with a string of good years (especially after the dreary '70s) and many Chateaux were experiencing resurgence of quality, too (and, in retrospect, such reasonable pricing). But '86 is nothing like '82 or '89 and '83, '85 and '88 are all very appealing, each in its own way. As Broadbent says...

Mark Lipton

Nah, the '80s were an amazing ride, with a string of good years (especially after the dreary '70s) and many Chateaux were experiencing resurgence of quality, too (and, in retrospect, such reasonable pricing). But '86 is nothing like '82 or '89 and '83, '85 and '88 are all very appealing, each in its own way. As Broadbent says...

In truth I figured the 80s were an amazing time to buy and drink . . . . I have precious little experience with the decade, despite being born in it . . . . wish very much I had more. I've somehow tasted more reds from the 70s, and that number will be going up in the next few months.

Anyway, having bought (for reds) 2000 and 2005, and planning to buy 2003, 2006, and 2008 (my kids birth years), I just don't know how interested I'll be in 2009, especially since prices are likely to be high.

The '80s were a great time to buy Bordeaux. Even the less heralded vintages like '83, '85 and '88 had some spectacular wines. I once bought a case of '85 Lynch Bages for something like $275. Boy, was that good stuff. I bought a case of '89 Haut Brion on futures for $600.

I still have lots of 80s Bordeaux in my cellar. I hope the 86s come around before I die.