Vintage 1997

In Piedmont, 1997 brought a hot growing season with record ripeness levels and worryingly low acidity. Montalcino experienced the most celebrated vintage of the nineties, yet April frost reduced the harvest by a quarter to a half, hot, dry autumn winds dehydrated the berries, and the Brunellos turned out opulent, ripe and high in alcohol. More than twenty years later, it has become clear that many highly rated wines failed to live up to their potential, while the best continue to stand up very well indeed, which is why the provenance of the bottle is decisive. Champagne remained in the shadow of 1995 and 1996 with a small harvest: soft, round and fruit-driven, made for drinking rather than long-term ageing. Our vintage overviews for Piedmont, Brunello and Champagne place the year in detailed context.

Available from 1997 are the Vinothek Riesling trocken “Fass Severin” from Nikolaihof in the Wachau and the Le Clos du Bourg Moelleux 1ère Trie from Huet on the Loire, both white and both to be found in the product grid below. Older vintages pass through our hands in small quantities; the neighbouring vintages can be reached via the vintage bar beneath this text.