Log In / Join Now News & Features Home What Am I Tasting Food & Travel Home Wine & Food Pairing Free Trial Online Membership More Italy vintage charts Argentina Australia Austria Chile France Germany Italy New Zealand Portugal South Africa Spain United States Vintage Grid Back to 1961 201191Drink or holdA warm year with a heat spike in August, producing forward wines with ample fruit. The best are lively and balanced; ripe and dense in the south201098HoldPerfect late summer weather resulted in ideal ripening for Sangiovese; wines are fresh, elegant, balanced and structured, with ample ripe fruit flavors. The best should age beautifully 200989Drink or holdWarm summer gave elegant, fruity and balanced wines in the north; denser and more muscular in the south. Bright fruit, for early enjoyment200891Drink or holdA cool growing season with rain at harvest; those who waited produced aromatic, balanced and elegant wines200793Drink or holdHotter and riper than 2006;

fruit-forward, rich and elegant, offering immediate charm and softer structures200695HoldComplex and powerful wines that impress with ripe yet fresh fruit, firm, dense structures and fine balance200589Drink or holdRains during the harvest damped what could have been an amazing year, but still a very good vintage. Many wines for early drinking200497Drink or holdWonderfully perfumed, majestically refined Brunellos with an excellent balance of fruit and refined tannins. Reducing yields was key to quality200388DrinkRich, powerful and thick; some wines lack focus200278Past peakA wet growing season and harvest made mediocre wines200198Drink or holdGreat wines with wonderful structure, focus and balance; better than from barrel200088DrinkAromatic, soft; for early drinking199997Drink or holdGenerous, tannic and fruity; velvety in texture199891DrinkPerfumed, harmonious and delicious199799Drink or holdExtremely aromatic; structured and racy199685DrinkFruity and aromatic, but slightly diluted199592DrinkStructured and firm, yet fruity;

A score range indicates preliminary analysis based on barrel samples and/or a limited sampling; many wines of the vintage not yet reviewed. Vintage ratings: 95-100, classic; Drinkability: "NYR" means the vintage has not yet been released; "drink" means most of the wines of the vintage are ready to drink; "hold" means most of the ageworthy wines have yet to fully mature; "past peak" means most of the wines are declining rather than improving. Vintage charts summarize the quality and character of the wines from a particular region in a specific year. They are by necessity general in nature, but can help consumers make good choices when faced with unfamiliar wines. They also help collectors determine when their wines will be drinking well. Each year, Wine Spectator editors rate new vintages for more than 50 regions and varieties around the world and provide updates on older vintages based on tastings and analyses of as many as hundreds of wines from each region. Each vintage rating consists of three components: The score indicates the general quality of the wines;

the description sums up the growing season and the wines' character; the drink recommendation suggests when the wines will be at their best. best way to get drunk on wineLearn more about our charts here.where to buy good wine in france The guidelines we follow for our blind tastings, our tasters and their beats, and our 100-point scale.best red wines that are not dry Video: Inside Our Tasting Departmentbest wine places in france Tim Fish • James Laube • Kim Marcus • Thomas Matthews • James Molesworth • Alison Napjus • Bruce Sanderson • Harvey Steiman • MaryAnn Worobiec • Gillian Sciarettabuy fish eye wine online

A cold and rainy winter preceded an irregular spring followed by exceptionally hot, dry summer weather, creating smallred wine brands of india bunches of Sangiovese, so yields were down across the region – exacerbated bythe best wine for cooking several violent August hailstorms –top 100 wine list 2014 although concentration levels are very good.wine to get drunkA rainy, mild winter was followed by a cool spring, with one exceptional patch of high temperatures causing early budbreak and quick and generous fruit set. But the growing cycle was protracted due to cool weather and frequent hailstorms in July and August, causing widespread downy

An exceptionally mild and dry September and early October turned a potentially disastrous vintage into a surprisingly good one, but with generally much lighter, earlier-ripening wines than 2013.Considered a ‘classic vintage’ due to harvest taking place at the(This used to be the norm but the previous two, much warmer, years brought harvests forward to the beginning of September.) A very cool wet spring delayed budbreak by an average of two weeks. A very wet May that encouraged widespread and continued spraying was followed by a cool June. A picture-perfect July, August and September saved the year, one that resulted in elegant, fresh wines. A promising vintage on the whole, with the wines of Montalcino expected to be exceptional. An unusually mild winter ended with a very cold February with lots of snow that replenished water tables. Spring was more or less regular with a warm and dry June, while temperatures climbed relentlessly during July and August.

Just when producers feared a repeat of the scorching 2011, and vines had but all shut down, the rain that fell at the very end of August reignited growth and ripening. In spite of the intense heat, 2012 resulted in medium-bodied, fresh and at times rather light wines, arguably a welcome change from the heavy and sometimesAn exceptionally hot vintage with a veryA very cold and snowy winter preceded an unusually warm beginning of spring, although budbreak was not much earlier than normal. April was very hot, followed by a cool May. This pattern of alternating cold and hot periods had a ‘stop-go’ effect on the growth of the vines. middle of August brought record-breaking heat and the grapes seemed prematurely ready, with some producers picking at the end of August to rescue the fruit from theSeptember remained extremely warm and 2011 was the year in which the sorting table arrived en masse in Chianti Classico. Many wines are rich, but fortunately still have enough

freshness, although it is doubtful that this will remain during prolongedMuch cooler than the hot 2009. A very wet winter continuing into a very wet spring was followed by a cool growing cycle. heat that came in July helped to reduce the delay in ripening that was by then an estimated 15 days behind schedule. Sangiovese was harvested as late as the third week of October and many producers had to do several pickings to obtain regularly ripe grapes in the fermentation tanks. drier than other parts of Tuscany and the long and slow ripening of the grapes resulted in what is considered an outstanding vintage with true ageing potential for years to come.Initially hailed as a great vintage but the wines, rich and at times jammy with high alcohol, have begun to betray the exceptionally hot summer as they develop in bottle. A very wet winter was followed by a regular spring with a very hot May, with temperatures up to 30 ºC, resulting in a swift flowering and fruit set.

The vintage looked to be 10 days earlier than normal, until mid May brought 30 solid days of rain. August was extremely hot with day temperatures reaching 40 ºC, although nights were much cooler than in 2003, which helped to preserve the freshness in the grapes. overall showed richness of fruit with good acidity, in many cases a certain jamminess looks likely to affect their ageing ability. A relatively cool year with high diurnal temperature differences resulting in wines generally high in acidity and with firm tannins. The heterogeneity of finished wines suggests that this is a vintage in which the best terroirs shine. be true of Chianti Classico too, where the 2007s were initially consideredHowever, the best 2008s, especially the truly serious Riservas, should prove to have complexity as well staying power. Tremendous: high alcohol and good acidity with consistent ripening, after a worryingly erratic budburst. Especially good for Chianti and Montalcino, and for Cabernet Sauvignon in Bolgheri.

Very promising vintage with a steady, prolonged growing season and well balanced wines. Grapes had to be picked before the rain really set in if decent wine was to be made. A notable exception to my five year rule. Exceptionally good vintage, central Italy’s equivalent of the perfect growing season that France experienced in 2005. Very difficult heatwave conditions were felt in all but the highest vineyards of Chianti Classico. Wines generally pretty unbalanced. Exceptionally wet summer resulted in rotten grapes, many of which failed to reach full ripeness. A real annus horribilis. Smallish crop thanks to April frosts. June and July were dry but August and especially September were quite wet with rain threatening vine health as harvest time approached. Easy, ripe wines from a very hot, dry vintage which, unless vineyards were extremely well-managed, resulted in wines with a certain hollowness, though no shortage of alcohol. Quite exceptionally good quality.

A vintage not unlike 1997 but with arguably more finesse and less sheer mass. Warm summer led to an early harvest of healthy grapes. Irregular vintage after another hot summer which stressed the vines. Hot summer and very ripe grapes that produced wines that seemed unusually luscious at the time even if some could do with a little more freshness. Very varied year producing soft, early maturing wines that should have been drunk by now. Nail-bitingly late harvest saved by an unusually warm, dry October, although acids are still generally high. At last a dry but cool harvest: rich and structured and certainly the best since 1990. Survived the rains better than Piemonte, concentration held up, but some picked unripe fruit. A big crop of rather light wines to drink young. Endless harvest rains so the best were no more than pleasant. A hot year and low yields, the ingredients for really good wines, especially in Montalcino. Distinctly inferior to Piemonte.