1990 Wine

1990 Wine

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The 1990 vintage will be remembered as one of the great solar years of the century: the hottest summer since 1947, a marked drought, then September rains at just the right moment. From this heat come ripe, opulent and accomplished wines, with a success of rare homogeneity. In Bordeaux, the reds combine generous body with silky tannins, while the sweet wines of Sauternes reach extraordinary heights thanks to ideal botrytis (the "noble rot"). The northern Rhône produces syrahs of rare power and Champagne one of its finest vintages for ripeness. Thirty-six years on, the finest bottles are at their peak. Château Pichon Longueville Baron 1990 and Château Troplong Mondot 1990 rank among the most complete wines of the year. To place 1990 among the great vintages, consult our Vintage Guide.

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Our article on the 1990 vintage

Our article on the 1990 vintage
Vintage guide - SoDivin

Vintage guide
https://www.sodivin.fr/18128-grands-crus-classes-de-bordeaux#millesime-1990 - SoDivin

Grands Crus Classés de Bordeaux 1990
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The 1990 vintage, the success of a great solar year

Few years will have combined as much heat and as much consistency as 1990. The summer, the hottest since 1947, and a drought lifted by September rains yielded, almost everywhere, ripe and generous wines rather than wines of austerity. That is what sets 1990 apart: not an isolated success, but a complete great year, in which Bordeaux, the Rhône, Champagne and Burgundy each produced very fine wines. For the buyer, the logic is simple: target the ripe reds of Bordeaux, the sweet wines of Sauternes and the syrahs of the northern Rhône, most of which have reached their peak, while keeping the greatest bottles for a few more years.

Bordeaux 1990 — solar heat, ripe reds and legendary sweet wines

In Bordeaux, the heat of the year fully ripened both cabernet sauvignon and merlot, and the September rains prevented any stalling. The result is rich, full-bodied reds with a velvety texture and silky tannins, far removed from the austerity of leaner years: an opulent, approachable style, yet endowed with enough structure for long ageing. The success spans both banks, from the Médoc to Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. It peaks above all in Sauternes, where ideal botrytis yielded sweet wines of rare concentration and purity, among the greatest of the end of the century.

On the Left Bank, Château Montrose and Château Margaux rank among the absolute benchmarks of the year, alongside a Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste that embodies the ripe and complete Pauillac of the vintage. On the Right Bank, Château Pavie in Saint-Émilion and Château L'Église-Clinet in Pomerol illustrate the depth of the 1990 merlots. In Sauternes, Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, 1er Cru Classé, gives the measure of the sweet wines of the year: opulent sweetness, acidity that holds the whole together, near-unlimited potential.

Rhône Valley 1990 — the north at its zenith, the solar power of the south

The northern Rhône counts 1990 among its very finest modern vintages. Syrah reached full maturity there without losing its freshness, yielding deep, dense Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie wines built for decades. In the south, the heat produced ample, generous Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines, rich in ripe fruit and alcohol, with an even more solar character. It is a year in which the north aimed for excellence in ageing and the south for the pleasure of the table, on full-bodied wines.

In the north, the Hermitage La Chapelle from Paul Jaboulet Aîné ranks among the great legends of the hill, joined by the exceptional cuvées of Jean-Louis Chave and Auguste Clape in Cornas. In the south, Château Rayas in Châteauneuf-du-Pape produces a wine of singular finesse, while Henri Bonneau's Réserve des Célestins embodies the full-bodied power of the appellation in this vintage.

Champagne 1990 — the radiant maturity of a great year

Champagne has rarely seen grapes as ripe as in 1990: it is one of the finest vintages of the end of the century, with generous ripeness underpinned by high acidity, predominantly tartaric, which preserved the balance. The vintage cuvées of the year combine the richness of ripe fruit with a tension that allows them to continue gaining in complexity. Three decades on, these are gastronomic champagnes, with mellow aromas of dried fruit and brioche, at full maturity.

The blanc de blancs Salon Le Mesnil illustrates the ageing potential of the vintage at the highest level, built on a mineral framework that the ripeness of 1990 envelops; the Bollinger R.D. of the year confirms, in a more vinous register, the ability of this vintage to stand the test of time.

Burgundy 1990 — deep, full-bodied reds destined for long ageing

In Burgundy, the warm year yielded reds with a deep colour, full body and generous fruit, regarded as one of the great red successes of the decade. High yields did not dilute the substance: the finest climats of the Côte de Nuits offer powerful, structured wines that have gained complexity without weakening. The whites, more opulent, are a notch below and should be drunk without waiting too long.

The Musigny from Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier illustrates the finesse that the greatest terroirs of the Côte de Nuits managed to preserve despite the power of the vintage, while the grands crus of Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin confirm the depth of the 1990 reds.

Ageing potential: the great reds of the Côte de Nuits remain vigorous and will hold for many more years; the whites are best enjoyed now.

Loire 1990 — Saumur cabernet franc at its peak

The heat of 1990 particularly benefited the red wines of the Loire, which often struggle to ripen. Cabernet franc gained an unusual body and depth there, producing Saumur and Saumur-Champigny wines of rare density, without losing the fruit and floral aromas characteristic of the grape variety. These are wines for ageing, now sought after by lovers of long-aged cabernet franc.

The cuvée Le Bourg from Clos Rougeard embodies this pinnacle: a dense and refined wine from the estate's oldest vines, now a collector's piece prized by connoisseurs, which shows everything the Loire could produce in a great solar year.

Buy a great 1990 wine from SoDivin

Choosing 1990 means targeting a great solar year that has reached full maturity: the opulent reds of Bordeaux, the exceptional sweet wines of Sauternes and the syrahs of the northern Rhône form its core, complemented by gastronomic champagnes, deep Burgundy reds and a few rare bottles from the Loire or the Languedoc, such as Mas de Daumas Gassac. Most of these wines are now in their finest drinking window.

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