Wine vintage rating 2000
1990 The third great Bordeaux vintage in a row. The first months of the year were exceptionally warm. Luckily, warm, sunny weather, punctuated by little beneficial rainfall, continued into the spring. The Merlot vines ripened under ideal conditions, and small, thick-skinned grapes were harvested from the Cabernet Sauvignon.
Top vintage in Burgundy.
The Italian wines are also exceptionally good in 1990. People often talk about the best vintage since 1945. Very good next to Barolo is Barbaresco.
Weather in the year 1990
Good filling levels, good wine quality
Of course, the good condition of a wine from an old vintage depends on excellent storage. Above all, the wine must not have frequently changed cellars. Ideally, the wine will have rested in one and the same wine cellar.
But also the cork that sits in each individual bottle is very important. A perfect cork has few pores and keeps the wine stable. If an inferior cork happens to have been used in a bottle, the porous surface will begin to soak up wine and allow micro-quantities of the liquid to evaporate over the decades. Poor fill levels are the result.
A poor fill level therefore also indicates a high risk that the wine bottle could soon begin to leak.
The fill levels explained:
In the bottle neck (high fill to base neck) about 2 cm is perfect for wines.
Top and upper shoulder, ([very] top shoulder), approx. 3 cm is very good for very old wines.
Medium shoulder (mid shoulder), about 4 cm is only acceptable for rare top wines and in individual cases.
Everything below the red line should not be offered any more.