WINE 1990 | 1990 VINTAGE GUIDE FOR FRENCH WINES

Year, Vintage 1990

Is 1990 a vintage close to your heart? Is it a year of birth, a year of marriage or some other symbol that makes you want to offer or drink a wine from that year? Let us decipher this vintage for you, to help you buy the bottle that best suits your needs.

> Our 1990 wines in stock

 

Vintage 1990 in BORDEAUX

The 1990 vintage was surprising in many respects. On the one hand, it was one of the most productive vintages ever recorded, after 1986 and 1989. Secondly, because it was, for once, a winemaker's vintage, in which the decisions taken by château owners were decisive, and those who fared best benefited from certain climatic contingencies. And there were some in this vintage! First of all, the vintage was one of the warmest of this century, with only 1949 recording higher temperatures. The vine cycle went quite well, with the months of April to June relatively warm. The summer of 1990 was another record-breaker, with very high temperatures. August was even one of the hottest months since 1928. But it's not enough to have hot weather to produce great wines, you also need a good September without too much rain, so that the vines can find the right balance for ripening. Alas, September was not extraordinary. Rain fell repeatedly on the vineyard. Heavy thunderstorms hit the Bordeaux vineyards in mid-September, causing flooding on part of the left bank. This was followed by a few light showers at the end of the month and during the first two weeks of October. We've just told you that September wasn't a crazy month, that there were occasional heavy rains, but in the end, it wasn't a catastrophic month... Many winegrowers even claimed that these showers had been beneficial for the vines, which had until then suffered from a hydric drought that had prevented the grapes from ripening and swelling. And it was the date of the harvest that determined the quality of the wine. Winemakers who decided to harvest too early failed to take advantage of the hydration of the vines, and harvested small grapes with unbalanced juice.

This climatic observation will split the Bordeaux vineyards in two when it comes to deciding which appellations fared best. This is why, in a vintage where water was lacking across the board, vines planted on heavier, more concentrated soils were able to conserve the little water they had and produce fuller wines than vineyards with well-aerated terroirs and better drainage. This is why the wines of Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien, the wines of Pomerol and the plateaux of Saint-Emilion fared so much better than the wines of Graves or Margaux.

As far as tasting is concerned, the wines will still be drinkable today (2021), but you'll need to choose wines that have benefited from significant barrel ageing, in one of the fine appellations mentioned above.

(May 2021): We still have some superb bottles of this fine vintage in our cellars, such as Petrus 1990 on Pomerol, Château Figeac on Saint-Emilion or Château Calon-Ségur 1990 in the Saint-Estèphe appellation.

 

Vintage 1990 in BOURGOGNE

In Burgundy, the vintage is one of very high quality that should not be overlooked. This vintage is all the more beautiful for the fact that it was not a foregone conclusion. Coulure and millerandage gave the winegrowers a hard time. But after a green harvest and flower sorting, the weather completed the miracle. Visit 1990 vintage is one of rare vintages in Burgundy to offer wines with fruit and finesse in their youth, but which after a period of closure offer and will offer for a few more years powerful, deep, dark-colored wines. Of course, you'll need to choose your bottle carefully, giving priority to reds from the Côtes de Nuits. Vosne-Romanée are magnificent for their power, while the fine Chambolle-Musigny will wrap you in their silky finesse.

For white wines, the 1990 vintage is also a very good vintage, with one small negative point. Let's just say that winegrowers who were a little too greedy and didn't take the trouble to limit their production will have grapes that don't reach sufficient ripeness to produce concentrated wines. On the whole, the wines of Chablis, Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet fared very well, but the appellation that stands out is Corton-Charmelagne, which had an exceptional vintage.

For our part, we still have a few bottles of Jacques Thévenot-Machal's Meursault 1er Cru Charmes, a magnificent bottle that will sublimate a capon, Bresse poultry or a delicate, fine Ris-de-veau.

 

Vintage 1990 in VALLEE DU RHÔNE

In the Rhône Valley, too, the wines are interesting, and the 1990 vintage has not gone unnoticed. However, you'll have to make a careful selection and favor certain parts of the vineyard depending on the color of the wine. When it comes to red wines, it's hard to say which appellation fared better in this superb 1990 vintage. For Côte Rôtie and Hermitage wines, it was a dream year, with a healthy, abundant harvest and high sugar levels, a sign of deep, powerful wines. The same was true of Cornas and Saint-Joseph. Finally, all the appellations were fantastic in the northern Rhône Valley, and we should also mention the high quality of Crozes Hermitage wines, which usually offer softer wines than their big sister Hermitage, but which in this vintage will have nothing to be ashamed of. If we move down to the southern part of the region, we'll find that they're doing just as well. The Châteauneuf du Pape wines are fantastic, powerful and rich, with great ageing potential. Ditto for the Gigondas and Vacqueyras appellations, with their great intensity.

For white wines, the north fares better than the south. Condrieu wines are magnificent, with their minerality, complexity and good acidity for ageing.

 

Vintage 1990 in the rest of France

In the end, 1990 was a great vintage just about everywhere in France. In Champagne, for example, 1990 is considered one of the greatest years of the century. The same goes for the Jurançon appellation in the South-West of France, which recorded its third anthology vintage. Paradoxical as it may seem, the 1990 vintage was also very abundant in some parts of the vineyard, however healthy and qualitative it may have been. Such is the case for Loire wines, which on some estates reached 70 hectolitres per hectare, which is just enormous. When you choose volume over quality, it's hard to produce high-quality, concentrated juice. You'll need to choose your winegrowers carefully to be sure of tasting quality juice.