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Twenty Years On: The 1988 Vintage
Twenty Years On: 1988
Notes from a 1988 tasting at 20 years.
Other relevant tastings:
This mini-tasting of just five wines from my cellar concentrated solely on the 1988 vintage. It was an impromptu tasting, put together with wines hastily plucked, and hence there was a strong showing from the Loire (which along with Bordeaux fills most of my racks and bins), the wines of this region accounting for 40% of the wines on offer, or 50% if you consider that François Pinon's Vouvray was from magnum (percentages can be so misleading, can't they?). Other regions - Bordeaux, the Rhône Valley, Germany's Mosel - fell in behind with just one wine from each.
For the Loire, although 1988 was not a truly great vintage, weather conditions were sufficiently favourable for many great wines to be made. The flowering was a little earlier than usual, which would normally mean an earlier and less troublesome harvest, but cool and damp weather throughout July slowed the ripening to the extent that this early advantage was lost. Nevertheless there was subsequently some fine weather in August and September, and the harvest went well. In Muscadet, Anjou, Saumur, Touraine and even further upstream in the central vineyards of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, those viticulteurs that waited for full ripeness brought in good quality fruit with the potential to make excellent wines. This is perhaps reflected in this tasting where, as outlined above, two great Loire appellations are represented. The first is Vouvray, but whereas a première trie moelleux wine from a great producer might be an obvious choice, here instead we have an illustration of just how well other wines of the appellation can age, with a sparkling Vouvray Brut from François Pinon. Meanwhile, from the Coteaux du Layon cru of Quarts de Chaume comes a wine from Chateau Bellerive, an estate I have long patronised.
As far as Bordeaux is concerned, the 1988 vintage in Bordeaux is one I have already described in a little detail. In short the vintage started off with winter rains continuing through into June, delaying and upsetting the flowering. It was only because of dry weather in July, August and September that hopes of this being a good vintage were raised. And in October the temperatures finally took off bringing a true Indian summer to the region, encouraging the ripening of the fruit. As a result the best grapes were ripe with thick skins, giving the better wines plenty of colour and tannin. But it was not all straightforward; the effect of the uneven flowering was as expected, and there was significant variation between varieties, between vineyards, even between vines and bunches, of the maturity of the fruit. It was this feature of the harvest that was probably most responsible for the irregular quality reported by some critics. Paying particular attention to Sauternes - the source of the only example of Bordeaux in this tasting - there was more to celebrate than this vintage report perhaps suggests. The wines were rich in botrytis, encouraged by damp weather and morning mists, with the October sunshine protecting the grapes from unhealthy grey rot. In the end the fruit was both ripe and fully botrytised, and most estates brought in many tries of high quality fruit throughout October and November. The vintage as a result produced wines that were not only ripe and characterful but which had delicious acidity and structure.
Moving onto the Rhône Valley, the 1988 vintage for the Northern Rhône was largely very successful across all the appellations. This tasting referenced the Southern Rhône, however, a distinctly different wine region. closer to the Mediterranean, and where Grenache dominates over Syrah. A lone example of Châteauneuf du Pape, which enjoyed excellent conditions during this vintage, represented the region. The spring was mild here, and as a result the flowering spread across the vineyards in a smooth and even fashion. There followed a very hot summer, with just a little rain in July and August, sufficient to keep the vines actively photosynthesising, growing and ultimately ripening the fruit. And thus, rather like the red wines of Bordeaux, they have from the outset displayed firm structures and firm colours, the result of thick and ripe skins.
Finally the Mosel, and a wine from Joh. Jos. Prüm which was delightful, sufficiently so for me to make it my wine of the week. This Auslese from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard still seems as fresh as a daisy, despite the twenty years it has under its belt. Testament not only to the success of the vintage - one in a long string of successful years for Germany - but also to the Prüm estate, which has a long-established reputation for turning out fabulous wines which age beautifully. (16/9/08)
The 1988 Vintage - Tasting Notes
Tasted in September 2008. Click
to locate stockists.
François Pinon Vouvray Brut
1988: This was surely going to be a splendid opening to this mini-tasting -
Pinon's sparkling wine, from magnum. Nevertheless, even I am quite taken aback
by the confident fizz this still-lively wine shows. The cork is ejected with a
convincing pop, and there are a multitude of streams of bubbles in the
glass. The wine itself shows a quite fine and good depth of colour. The nose
starts out very fresh and even a little stern, with notes of mineral, stones and
just a little pear and peach stone
fruit, but it then evolves from this subdued beginning to a much rounder,
character towards the end. In keeping with this the palate, initially a little
austere, opens out to show a wealth of lovely stony and lemony but also creamy, full and fat
fruit, with quite a lot of the texture and presence coming from the vivacious
mousse. Underneath though it remains firm and structured
with strong acidity giving a stony, chalky, bright and incisive style. This is delicious,
and has wonderful life for twenty years. 18/20
Chateau Bellerive Quarts de Chaume 1988:
As usual this wine leaves a heavy deposit of tartrate crystals, both adherent to the cork
and in the dregs. It has a fabulous colour, a
burnished orange-gold, but is bright and vibrant rather than deep and stolid. The
nose has the suggestion of dry botrytis, with aromas of straw and hay, cheese
and funk, but it is very clean and straight rather than overtly funky.
Beautifully textured on the palate, rounded and a little creamy, very stylish,
with a lot of depth and character. Broad, complete, interesting, quite
harmonious in its composition. There are lots of flavours here as suggested by
the nose, presented in a rounded package with a little caramel and straw along
the way. It has a balanced and tender grip and a slowly fading finish, which lingers on
and on, with its gently organic nature. Brilliant wine. 19/20
Chateau Lamothe-Guignard (Sauternes) 1988:
This wine, poured from half bottles, has a
moderately rich and golden hue. There follows a sweet and open nose, with the
aromas of honey, bittersweet
oranges and marmalade, and perhaps a little note of bitter flower petals. On the
palate it has an appealing
texture, although with acidity on the low side, but it remains fresh and easy and full of pleasure, buoyed up by some
decent grip. It ends with a nice creamy finish, soft and complete, with a reasonable
length. Giving plenty of interest here, great typicité, botrytis and crystalline
fruit, presented in a very gentle fashion. This bottle matches my previous
bottles in terms of quality. It lacks the thrill of some of the other wines in
this tasting, but it is nevertheless of merit and it was certainly good value. 17/20
Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf
du Pape 1988: This wine impresses with its depth of colour, its dark
pigment, with a deep red-mahogany core and a more mature, almost tawny rim. The
nose evolves over several hours in the glass, showing macerated cherry fruit,
with fresh aromas of mushrooms, leather, spice and after an hour or two some
volatile acidity. On the palate the most noticeable feature at first is the
silky texture, a soft substance which coats the palate; this is in no way a
dried out wine. Underneath there is a good ripe tannic structure, and good
acidity too. It has such a lovely presence, I find it charming if a touch
forceful and grippy towards the finish. Peppered with the flavours of
tobacco, leather, and gritty fruit, this twenty-year old wine is performing very
well indeed tonight, and I would have no hesitation about leaving my remaining
bottles for many years. In fact, I think this still-youthful wine almost demands it. 18+/20
Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 1988: This wine has quite a rich
and yellow-gold hue in the glass, although it still has a very
bright character. The nose is wonderfully pure, very dense and full of limes and
minerals, especially the latter which have a fine, chalky, flinty, dusty
character. The palate has a lovely flesh which coats the mouth, before yielding
flavours of lime, honey, crushed rocks and more. It is remarkable to reflect on
the age of this wine; it has such overt freshness and vivacity, I suspect
someone tasting this blind would guess its age to be considerably less than two
decades. On the finish it shows a
delightfully complete composition, with fine acidity carrying along the substance
of the wine. There is lots of character here, plenty of depth and through to the finish
a real character. I find this wine to be very fine indeed, put still with great
potential for the cellar; I have one more bottle which will remain there for a
while yet. For label images and more see my Wine of the Week
write-up. 18.5/20
AP number: 2 576 511 15 89
