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Peter Liem talks with us about the progressive movement in Champagne. As we’ll discover in this conversation, there’s more to the terroir story than the chalk soils and the weather.

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The vintage chart and harvest reports provided by the Wine Scholar Guild gives you the ranking for every French wine region and vintage from 2000 to today.

Andrew Jefford, award-winning wine journalist for Decanter Magazine and author of twelve books on wine including The New France has compiled information and written the vintage charts starting with the 2013 vintage. He is also updating information for the vintages prior to 2013.

Last updated: October 2nd 2019

Champagne

Vintage	Quality	Drink	Comments
2018		Drink/Cellar	After the traumas of 2017, 2018 brought smiles back to Champagne, though the season was nonetheless a complicated one. After a wet winter and early spring, April turned very warm and budburst was early. Hail in May and early June followed by mildew was responsible for a minority of growers losing up to 40 per cent of their crop, but in general flowering passed off well, and summer was then the second warmest ever recorded (after 2003), setting up both an early and a generous harvest, one well able to replenish the shortfalls of 2017. Sugar levels were unusually high. The region as a whole recorded an average natural alcohol of over 10%, though some houses asked growers to pick at no more than 9.5%. Anxiety about correspondingly low acidity levels (7-7.5 g/l expressed as tartaric) dissipated when it emerged that it was chiefly malic acid, not tartaric acid, that was lower this year, leaving total acidities unaffected for those houses putting their base wines through malo. The crop has been acclaimed ‘vintage of the century’ (though less than a fifth of the century has elapsed) -- but even cautious insiders found it hard to contain their optimism about a vintage which (for example) suggested to Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon of Louis Roederer a theoretical combination of 1959 and 1947.
2017		Drink/Cellar	Champagne’s 2017 season was a chaotic series of extreme events: the perfect illustration of climate scientists’ global warming predictions. A cold winter was followed by a very warm early spring, leading to dangerously early budburst. Severe frosts in the third week of April then eliminated between 20% and 70% of the potential crop, depending on sub-region (the Côte des Bars was worst affected). After that, the weather was exceptionally hot and sunny up to the end of July, breaking many of the region’s heat records. Storms and hail then caused further losses at the beginning of August, and harvest eventually got underway in late August, though the official date was September 4th (which many, with hindsight, considered too late). It was interrupted by heavy rain, and botrytis outbreaks meant that the grapes had to be carefully sorted. The quality of some Chardonnays was fair to good, but 2017 produced poor quality Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and the paucity of grapes means that Champagne houses risk running down their reserves at a time of record sales.
2016		Drink/Cellar	A difficult year for Champagne got underway with a mild winter followed by a cool early spring.  Snow, then frost struck the region on April 27th-28th, followed by two very wet months which caused unprecendented mildew-related losses.  Late July and August, by contrast, were hot enough to cause some problems of sun-burn, with very uneven Chardonnay results in particular.  Overall quantities are down by around 33 per cent, and quality is variable, too, with some softness evident in the balance of Chardonnay-dominated wines.
2015		Drink/Cellar	After a cold, wet winter and very mixed weather in April, it became sunny, warm and dry in May and stayed that way through a largely hot July and mid-August.  The end of August was cooler and wetter, but skies cleared in September and most of the harvest was picked in perfect conditions in the first part of the month. A little rain fell during the picking of the last parcels.  Despite relatively low acid levels (2015 is the lowest acid year since 2003), most feel that the wines of this preponderantly warm, dry year are finely balanced, structured, fresh, concentrated and meant for long ageing.  A vintage year for all -- with some growers claiming that 2015 is the best vintage since 1947.
2014		Drink/Cellar	Spring was mild and warm, leading to a generous fruit set (after two short vintages in 2012 and 2013).  July, by contrast, was cool and wet and this indifferent weather lingered into August finally clearing by the end of the month for a fine, harvest-saving September.  There was an ample crop of irregular wines with very good results for Chardonnay and Montagne de Reims Pinot, but sometimes dilute results in the Marne Valley (which had twice its normal growing-season rainfall).
2013		Drink/Cellar	A long winter and cool spring meant that the Chardonnay didn’t flower until mid-June and the two Pinots in mid-July: a very late date, and potentially disastrous.  There was hail damage in the Marne at the end of July.  Overall, though, July and August were record-breakingly hot and sunny, saving the vintage and meaning that the early September rain was welcome.  Good conditions then resumed for an October harvest of tense and acidic but good quality fruit, ideal for ageing.  A vintage year for most.
2012		Drink/Cellar	Widespread frosts in April touched 131 villages (of 319). Very cold, sunless weather for flowering. Long rainless period from mid-July to September. Total yield: 9,208 kg/ha, lowest volume since 2003, ~40% below 10-year average. Highest average sugars across all varieties. Overall maturity equals 2009. A vintage year is anticipated.
2011		Drink	Hot, dry spring. Exceptionally large harvest, 13,261 kg/ha. Average sugar ripeness & acidities.
2010		Drink/Cellar	Rains mid-August provoked widespread rot reducing crop substantially. High sugars for Chardonnay/Pinot Noir, highest acidities for Pinots in decade of 2000s. Limited vintage declarations.
2009		Drink	Warmest conditions since 2003, optimal maturity, healthy fruit. Balanced wines with average sugars, lower acidities. High overall maturity. Vintage year for some, principally récoltants-manipulants (individual growers). In ’09, new EU rules reduced dosage for Brut to 12 g/l.
2008		Drink	Moderate yields; wines of moderate concentration & acidity. Overall sugar-acid ratio dropped to level of 1990s from higher maturities of 2000s. Declared vintage by many  récoltants-manipulants (individual growers).
2007		Drink	Chardonnay performed best. Summer hail. Lowest fruit maturity of the 2000s. Non-vintage year for many négociants-manipulants (houses), typically declared by récoltants-manipulants (individual growers).
2006		Drink	Cold winter, hot & dry summer. Abundant year, heterogeneous ripening. Above average pH & sugars, average acidity. High overall maturity, in line with ’09 & ’12. Numerous vintage declarations by many producers.
2005		Drink	More difficult season than many French regions in ’05. Successful Chardonnay, weak Pinot Meunier. Good sugar levels, below average acidities.  Vintage declaration by many négociants-manipulants (houses) & récoltants-manipulants (growers).
2004		Drink	Harvest delivered record volume & sound quality. Chardonnay, Meunier were best. Balanced, well-structured Champagnes some compare to ’98.
2003		Drink/Past peak	Atypically hot summer. Earliest harvest since 1822, abnormally low yields of 8,254 kg/ha. Richness & elevated alcohol levels. Numerous vintage declarations. Some examples are missing sufficient backbone.
2002		Drink/Cellar	Both Chardonnay & Pinot Noir ripened well. Balanced Champagnes, a declared vintage by producers of all types. Superb prestige Champagnes, many will benefit from further cellaring.
2001		Past peak	Cold, wet September. Lacked maturity: low sugars & elevated acidity. Not a vintage year except for some récoltants-manipulants (individual growers).
2000		Drink	Difficult summer marked by rain, widespread hail. Favorable September weather for harvest. Widely declared “millennium” vintage… some fine examples, 0thers are soft, lack intensity & should be drunk (now).

Quality	Poor	Poor to Fair	Fair	Fair to Good	Good	Good to Excellent	Excellent	Excellent to Exceptional	Exceptional
Chart Legend

These vintage notes have been prepared by Andrew Jefford, Academic Advisor to the Wine Scholar Guild. New vintage information, and any revisions of previous vintage drinking suggestions, are made each autumn.  Use the chart as a guide only; in every vintage there will be outperforming and underperforming wines.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CHAMPAGNE WINES:

• GROWER CHAMPAGNE WITH PETER LIEM
• WINE TOURISM IN CHAMPAGNE WITH MARY KIRK BONNET
   

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