Description

Vintage quality: Legendary

Current condition: Ready to drink

The 1996 vintage for Bordeaux was extremely good.

A mild winter and moved to a warm spring with March bringing significant heat. May was cool heating up again in June before taking another dip in early July. Late July, early August saw temperatures pick up again before cooler temperatures set in towards the end of the month. A heavy rainstorm also struck, drenching most of the Right Bank and Margaux but leaving much of the Left Bank unscathed. Drought had been hard on much of the Cabernet Sauvignon so rain in some appellations was welcome, however Merlot suffered, particularly in Pomerol and St. Emilion. A warm, dry September helped ripen the grapes, particularly benefitting Medoc. It has also been said that the winds that blow through the vineyards were crucial for keeping the vines disease-free.

The harvest was a success across the board. Cabernet Sauvignon, particularly from the Médoc, produced tannic, structured, deeply concentrated wines with the ability to cellar. The left-bank was the star of the vintage having had one of its finest years in recent times, the wines of St-Emilion and Pomerol were still good but didn’t match the dizzying heights of their neighbors across the Gironde and its tributaries.