Information & scores : 1980 Burgundy

• White 13/20
• Red 12/20

Vintage description 1980 Burgundy

The fairly bad spring and start of the summer hindered the vine's vegetative cycle. Picking had not started so late for a decade and the grapes were of a variable sanitary state. The red wines rose to the challenge and some were very good, especially in Côte de Nuits. On the whole, quality was not just fairly good but good. A good level of intensity and a lovely balance, the wines developed very well and are now at their peak. Most of them will not improve further. The white wines were made with insufficiently ripe grapes and were marked by a lack of richness and pronounced acidity which gave them a slender structure. Their aroma, although somewhat simplistic, is gloriously fruity. This is wine that needed to be drunk within 5 to 6 years of bottling and any that `survived' may be surprisingly fresh.