Twenty Years On: The 1992 Vintage
While my twenty-year on tastings – events which I readily confess are far more about my own pleasure than a useful assessment of any one region, appellation or domaine – have become a reasonably regular feature on Winedoctor, I think it is also fair to say that they are not essential annual updates. Indeed, there was a period of time – four years when I should have been looking at the 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987 vintages – when the reports were altogether absent from my annual schedule. And when they did return, with the 1988 vintage, it was only with a handful of wines.
Since then I have managed to cobble together interesting tastings, taking in wines from the likes of Huet, Coutet, Marqués de Murrieta, Bollinger, Château de Fesles, Léon Beyer, Pichon Comtesse, Argiano, Hugel and López de Heredia to name just a few. As you can see, Bordeaux and the Loire are generally well represented, but other regions get a look in as well. More often than not it is all about what bottles I have in the cellar. Indeed, tastings like these give me a good excuse to pull these older bottles.
Nevertheless, 1992 is not a vintage that is strongly represented in my cellar. There is no Bordeaux (not something I intend to lose any sleep over), and very little from the Loire. In fact, the number of bottles available were just four, hardly enough for a decent tasting. Nevertheless, despite this poor showing, I have decided to write up the four wines here, if for no other reason than sense of tradition! It is one I should keep going, especially as I know from the 1994 vintage onwards I will be spoilt for choice.
