Does vintage matters in French Village Whites?

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jal
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Does vintage matters in French Village Whites?

Post by jal »

Or is it just my taste buds that can't differentiate anymore?
The last dozen or so vintages of Village Chablis from Billaud Simon, Willam Fevre and any number of producers all taste about the same to me. So do the last dozen or so vintages of Sancerre, Vouvray, Muscadet from various producers (ok, I have not had Huet or Dagueneau in like, forever). I have had too few White Rhones or White Bordeaux to be able to judge.
What do you guys think? Did the winemakers figure out the formula to commoditize their product or is it just me?
Best

Jacques
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AKR
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Re: Does vintage matters in French Village Whites?

Post by AKR »

I think in general there's just much more consistency in white wine production, so it can be made in a more formulaic and consistent fashion. Personally I find it safe to drink whites BTG in most non geek situations - in that you'll have a nice pleasant glass of wine -- but reds are dodgier.

For white Rhones I thought 2014 was a little better than 2015 because of the verve, but that's a small sample set, and since I don't usually let whites age anyways, it doesn't matter much. I'm always going to have to consume the 'on the run' white vintage rather than do what I do with reds which is load up in big years and ignore the stuff in between.
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JCNorthway
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Re: Does vintage matters in French Village Whites?

Post by JCNorthway »

I think you are probably right in that there don't seem to be really good or really bad years. In general I think that the winemaking has improved such that the winemakers know how to work with what they are given by Mother Nature. The one noticeable difference for me in the basic Burgs is the level of ripeness vs. crispness from vintage to vintage. I don't get a lot of difference in the flavor profile.
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stefan
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Re: Does vintage matters in French Village Whites?

Post by stefan »

The only producer whose white wines I drink every vintage is St Innocent. There is considerable variation in Mark's white wines, but not nearly as much as in his single vineyard reds.
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Nicklasss
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Re: Does vintage matters in French Village Whites?

Post by Nicklasss »

I can't comment in general, but for Chablis village, i think you're right. My hypothesis is like for the red wines of Bordeaux: ripeness.

Before, when Chablis village was 12% alcohol (let say between 11.5 and 12.5), there was more variation in ripeness, freshness, minerality, so more differences between different producers. You could smell and taste the difference and see which type you prefer.

It seems to me that now, everyone push the ripeness a little more, for more fat and richness in their wine, but lost the definition of what making these wines so different from a producer from another. The shell flavors and acidity is still there, but envelopped in the richer Chardonnay fruit character.

The Grands Crus on the other end, have always been made on vineyards that have always take that extra ripeness, because they have been identified Grands Crus fir that, and the fact that the terroir there still is special enough to still deliver the Chablis distinctive characteristics.

Nic

P.s. Hope you understand what I mean. Difficult for me to explain that in english!
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AKR
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Re: Does vintage matters in French Village Whites?

Post by AKR »

In this sense global warming has been beneficial to the smaller wines.
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Comte Flaneur
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Re: Does vintage matters in French Village Whites?

Post by Comte Flaneur »

When it comes to generic white burgundy I notice quite a difference between 2014 and 2015. And I drink more white burgundy than anything else. And I drink 'em young. The 14s are generally pretty good and classic but some of the 15s are carrying too much weight if picked late. There are a lot of good 15s but 14s are a better bet, as a general rule. Bit yes I think there is a bit more homogeneity these days between vintages.
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JimHow
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Re: Does vintage matters in French Village Whites?

Post by JimHow »

Ha, I read the title of this thread, and I was going to ask the question, Stefan:
"Does vintage matter among St. Innocent reds?"
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Claret
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Re: Does vintage matters in French Village Whites?

Post by Claret »

JimHow wrote:Ha, I read the title of this thread, and I was going to ask the question, Stefan:
"Does vintage matter among St. Innocent reds?"
Well Jim, yeah. Find yourself some 2005 SVD's and rock.
Glenn
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Claudius2
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Re: Does vintage matters in French Village Whites?

Post by Claudius2 »

Nicklass,
Interesting that your comments include Chablis, as I don't think that lesser Chablis (AC Chablis and sometimes lesser 1ers) actually taste like my concept of Chablis.
Whenever I try AC Chablis (tastings, restaurants, etc) I am generally surprised that the flinty, acidic, steely style of Chablis has been replaced with softer, more typical Chardonnay characters.
So for that reason, I could not be bothered buying it anymore. may as well buy an Australian chardonnay - and their quality and individuality has never been better.
I pass on Chablis unless I can try it first.
I am not sure if the sameness is the issue, but I do agree that the lesser vineyards are now making warmer, higher alcohol wines and thus the acidity, steely minerality and character seems to have bee lost.

A second point is that modern winemaking has transformed wines in my lifetime.
In many ways, it is a good thing. When I first started drinking wine, lower priced Bordeaux were typically thin and a bit weedy, and lesser Burgundy was, well, lesser.
So the average quality had definitely improved, but unfortunately, we now have a loss of character in some wines too.
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