Bordeaux 1995: Tasting in 2012
Following on from my renewed examination of the Bordeaux 1998 vintage a few weeks ago, and my expressed commitment to report on some more mature Bordeaux wines following all the news on 2011 and other very recent vintages, it is now time for another vintage to come under the spotlight. This is not, however, a comprehensive tasting. The handful of wines tasted here, all from the 1995 vintage in Bordeaux, were opened over dinner, during the course of a few evenings in August, not long after returning from my recent trip to from Bordeaux. All the wines were decanted for at least two hours, and tasted using Riedel Bordeaux glasses.
Before my brief rundown of the wines, I think – as I did with my 1998 Bordeaux report – a few perfunctory words on the vintage are warranted.
Vintage Recap
My initial Bordeaux 1995 report contains more detail for those interested in researching the vintage in depth, but at this stage, with only a small line-up of wines for tasting, I think it appropriate to paint a more broad-brush picture. To cut a long story short, by the time 1995 arrived the world was hungry for a decent Bordeaux vintage. Both 1991 and 1992 had been fairly dismal, and 1993 was only marginally better. The 1994 vintage was undoubtedly an improvement; although some are still ready to dish out what is in my opinion unwarranted criticism it has long been clear to me that, for those not looking for wines of great fat or substance, 1994 Bordeaux has always been a happy hunting ground. Nevertheless, nobody was describing it as Vintage of the Century, that much is certain. So when 1995 seemed to represent yet another step up in quality hopes that this could be a long-awaited great vintage, akin to 1990 or 1982 perhaps, were naturally raised.
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