Vintage is the year in which a wine was produced and it varies from year to year. Vintage wine is produced from the same grape crop, grown and harvested around the same time while non-vintage is made from a blend of different harvests.

Non- vintage, usually a blend of multiple years labeled N.V on the bottle are wines which are consistent, house style and with good value such as Champagne and most sparkling wines. Vintage wines are not quite consistent as the weather conditions for the growth can alter the taste and quality of wine due to how the grapes were affected by the weather during the season of growth.

Good or Bad Vintage is reflected in a region’s weather patterns in a particular year. For instance, sunny weather provides the best conditions for reaching full marturity and ripeness. Rainy weather prevents ripening and the grapes are prone to rot while too hot climate may result in flabby and bitter tannins in the wine. Great vintages vary ,a great red wine vintage may not necessarily be a great white wine vintage in the same region. Just like one man’s food is another’s poison. One great wine in a particular region might not necessarily be as great in another. In fact , it may be rather awful, just as cooler temperatures may raise the bar for the region’s whites by compensating for its crisp acidity and palate profiles they may spell disaster for a region’s red wine crop exposing it to rot. Different grapes prefer different climates. Some work well in cooler areas, such as; Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, others such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sangiovese work well in sunnier and dry climates.

Superior vintages have a perfect balance of tannins, acidity and texture creating a wine that would last for several years. Age appears best in four things, old wine to drink, old friends to trust and old authors to read. A well aged vintage wine will have variation in taste by developing subtle undertones and layers of complexity and richness. Texture in red wine can soften and reduce tannin bitterness with age as white wine can develop an oily mouthfeel, the color of a well aged red vintage will change from a ruby red to a dark purple color and that of a white vintage from pale yellow to a warm golden color.

Wine is not just an object of pleasure, but an object of knowledge and the pleasure depends on the knowledge. It is advisable to check the wine vintage when you intend to buy wine for your collection, buy different vintages to get a well rounded collection. Also check for the vintage when buying from unpredictable weather regions. This might give you a full narration of the weather and conditions during the growth, a closer experience of the regions climate from just a sip! Vintage bottles may require constant tracking of the drinking window, its peak maturity and maturation of every single bottle.

Some of the best French vintages include Bordeaux red blends and Champagne, Burgundy Cote de Beaune Red, and Pinot Noir. Bordeaux dry white, Loire Valley Sweet white wine, Northern Rhone red wine just to mention a few.

Vintage wines may be hard to purchase and might require the help of an experienced sommelier to get the best quality bottles that will last for years in your collection. We offer the best advice and pick of the best French vintages, sure of taste and quality. Le Decanter has a variety options for vintage wines, selected carefully to give a great narration of the experience of the grape during it’s year of growth and harvest through to the maturation of the wine. After all, wine is bottled poetry.