Our view on the 1990 vintage
It was the year of success in all the vineyards: the wine of the 1990 vintage is extremely famous! Very great year for 1990 Bordeaux wines where, despite the heat wave, quantity rhymes with quality. The 1990 Grands Crus Classes of the Medoc have often produced very fine wines, to be kept in a cellar, and superior to the wines of 1989 (1990 Cos Estournel, 1990 Lafite Rothschild, 1990 Latour, 1990 Leoville Las Cases, 1990 Leoville Poyferre, 1990 Margaux, 1990 Montrose…). On the Right bank, 1990 Saint Emilion and 1990 Pomerol (1990 Angelus, 1990 Beausejour Duffau Lagarosse, 1990 Cheval Blanc, 1990 Lafleur, 1990 Petrus, 1990 Tertre Roteboeuf, 1990 Troplong Mondot…) are among the best wines of the vintage. In Graves (lighter terroir) , drought has sometimes blocked the ripeness of the grapes but the Pessac Leognan wines such as 1990 Haut Bailly, 1990 Haut Brion, or the 1990 Mission Haut Brion have perfectly managed to tame this vintage. Thanks to harvests later than in 1989, the 1990 Bordeaux white wines of Graves were successful. For the 1990 Sauternes, concentration and richness remain the characteristics of this vintage for which the successes are numerous (1990 Climens, 1990 De Fargues,, 1990 Yquem…). With the years 1988 and 1989, 1990 ended a magic trilogy in very great dessert wines. In 1990 Burgundy, the vintage is excellent. The harvest began for the Burgundy red wines of the Cote de Nuits on September 17th, but those who harvested later were rewarded with fuller, corpulent and characterful red wines, with a strong aging potential (the wines of the Domaine de la Romanee Conti). In 1990 Burgundy white wines, the wines are of very high quality, especially for the 1990 Chablis (fresher sector) , and in the Maconnais (1990 Pouilly Fuisse). The 1990 Champagne was able to get a great vintage, despite the April freeze that affected more than 40% of the vineyard. The top range cuvees are powerful and vinous (1990 Bollinger Grande Annee), and benefit from a great acidity (potential aging is therefore guaranteed). In the Rhone Valley, 1990 produced a remarkable vintage, notably for the 1990 Cote Rotie and Hermitage for the Northern Rhone valley (sumptuous 1990 Hermitage La Chapelle from Jaboulet) ; In 1990 Chateauneuf du Pape, the power of the wines is often compared to that of 1945, 1961 or 1978. There were also exceptional late harvests in Condrieu! For the 1990 Loire valley wines, everything is good (white, red, dry, sparkling and sweet wines). The 1990 Clos Rougeard has produced exceptional wines! Be careful however with the yields in certain sectors, the Loire Valley having exceeded 70 hl/Ha (special authorization) which is enormous! 1990 is also magnificent in Alsace, where the late season allowed the production of excellent sweet wines in Late Harvest and Selection of Grains Nobles. Very beautiful 1990 Bandol wines in Provence, very tannic and of long aging.
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