Two centuries of Bordeaux vintages — Tastet & Lawton

Vintage charts can be an interesting guide to the general features of each vintage, particularly for those vineyard regions where there is a long series of vintage assessments. In these cases, we can study the long-term patterns of vintage variation, without needing to concern ourselves with differences between individual producers.

I have already blogged about Fifty years of Bordeaux vintages, based on the Wine Cellar Insider Bordeaux Vintage Ratings from 1959 to 2014. In this post I expand the time-frame to 200 years for the same wine-producing region.

These long-term data on the Bordeaux red-wine vintages comes from Tastet & Lawton, the oldest surviving courtier firm in Bordeaux.

Tastet & Lawton (Courtiers Assermentés) was established in 1740 by Abraham Lawton, an Irish immigrant. In the Bordeaux wine trade, the courtiers (brokers) act as intermediaries between the chateaux (wine producers) and the négociants (wine merchants) (see En primeur, negociants, courtiers, the Bordeaux wine system explained). There are c. 100 significant chateaux and c. 300 négociants, along with c. 90 courtiers.

There are two versions of the Tastet & Lawton vintage chart available online, one in French and one in English. I have put my own English-language version online because there are a number of inconsistencies in the originals, which I have tried to correct.

The Tastet & Lawton Bordeaux Vintage Reports, 1795 to 2005

Although vintage assessments are available from the 1795 vintage up to and including 2005, the recording of harvest quality did not start until 1900. The quality is scored on an increasing scale:
Mauvaise (Poor), Médiocre (Mediocre), Moyenne (Average), Assez bonne (Rather good), Bonne (Good), Très bonne (Very good), Exceptionnelle (Exceptional)
The harvest volume is not recorded using any consistent wording through time, with at least 20 different expressions being used. General comments on the vintage are provided in all cases.

Year	Harvest start	Harvest volume	Harvest quality	Comments
1795	24-sept.	Not very abundant		Very good year.
1796	30-sept.	Not very abundant		Mediocre year, thin wines.
1797	02-oct.	Not very abundant		Mediocre year, thin wines.
1798	13-sept.	Passably abundant		Marvelous vintage, still spoken of 20 years later; full, robust silky wines.
1799	05-oct.	Not very abundant		Poor year.
1800	23-sept.	Not very abundant		Poor year.
1801	14-sept.	Not very abundant		Poor year.
1802	23-sept.	Average harvest		Marvelous year, almost rivals 1798.
1803	25-sept.	Average harvest		Less than 1802, nonetheless good.
1804	15-sept.	Average harvest		Mediocre year.
1805	23-sept.	Abundant harvest		Mediocre year.
1806	20-sept.	Ordinary harvest		Poor year.
1807	11-sept.	Small harvest		Good year.
1808	13-sept.	Ordinary harvest		Good year, ordinary wines.
1809	06-oct.	Small harvest		Very poor year.
1810	19-sept.	Ordinary harvest		Passable year.
1811	14-sept.	Rather abundant		The most remarkable wines; known as “The Year of the Comet”.
1812	21-sept.	Very ordinary harvest		Weak, insignificant year.
1813	04-oct.	Ordinary harvest		Mediocre year, lacking character.
1814	29-sept.	Ordinary harvest		Very good.
1815	25-sept.	Very little wine		Marvelous, on a par with the 1798 and 1811.
1816	27-oct.	1/4 volume of an abundant year		Detestable year.
1817	03-oct.	1/5 normal harvest		Very ordinary year.
1818	17-sept.	Half-harvest		Rather good year, although a tad hard and of little reputation.
1819	20-sept.	Ordinary harvest		Perfect, admirable year.
1820	30-sept.	Good half-harvest		Year lacking character, without color.
1821	04-oct.	Smaller harvest than 1819		Insignificant, mediocre year.
1822	27-aug.	Very ordinary harvest		Rather dry but good, robust wines.
1823	07-oct.	Very ordinary harvest		Without color, value or reputation the first year; later a very elegant wine with a well-deserved success.
1824	04-oct.	Very little wine		Disappointing year.
1825	11-sept.	Ordinary harvest		Very robust wines which became quite admirable, but which took a very long time to develop.
1826	20-sept.	Rather abundant		Very mediocre.
1827	20-sept.	Abundant harvest		Without reputation at first, but ending up admirably well.
1828	15-sept.	Ordinary harvest		Marvelous year for wines with elegance, grace, fragrance, delicious taste.
1829	26-sept.	Ordinary harvest		Detestable year.
1830	16-sept.	Very minimal harvest		Mediocre year.
1831	14-sept.	Very minimal harvest		Excellent year, very mellow<./td>
1832	22-sept.	Very minimal harvest		Ordinary year, without charm.
1833	21-sept.	Abundant harvest		Ordinary year.
1834	09-sept.	Very minimal harvest		Excellent year.
1835	23-sept.	Abundant harvest		Light, elegant wines (average quality).
1836	24-sept.	Minimal harvest		Very poor year.
1837	25-sept.	Abundant harvest		Ordinary year.
1838	29-sept.	Very minimal harvest		Very mediocre year.
1839	26-sept.	Average harvest		Ordinary year<./td>
1840	17-sept.	Abundant harvest		Good year.
1841	18-sept.	Very abundant		Excellent year.
1842	20-sept.	Minimal harvest		Ordinary year.
1843	06-oct.	Very minimal harvest		Very poor year.
1844	15-sept.	Abundant harvest		Ordinary year.
1845	10-oct.	Very minimal harvest		Very poor year.
1846	14-sept.	Rather abundant		Good, robust wines.
1847	27-sept.	Very abundant		Exquisite wines, not very robust.
1848	20-sept.	Very abundant		Exquisite, robust wines.
1849	22-sept.	Average harvest		Ordinary year.
1850	29-sept.	Abundant harvest		Very light, ordinary wines.
1851	27-sept.	Average harvest		Good, robust wines.
1852	24-sept.	Average harvest		Very light wines, rather good.
1853	09-oct.	Very minimal harvest		Very poor year.
1854	06-oct.	Not very abundant harvest due to powdery mildew		Very mediocre wines, considered good at first and sold at a high price.
1855	07-oct.	Not very abundant harvest due to powdery mildew		Very mediocre wines, considered good at first and sold at a high price.
1856	01-oct.	Not very abundant harvest due to powdery mildew		Very ordinary wines showing a taste of powdery mildew.
1860	26-sept.	Abundant harvest		Very light, very bad wines.
1861	22-sept.	Very small harvest due to major frost on May 6th		Good wines, elegant and very expensive.
1862	20-sept.	Rather abundant		Average quality.
1863	23-sept.	Not very abundant		Adequate quality but lacking maturity.
1864	17-sept.	Very abundant		Exquisite, extremely mellow, ripe, fragrant and rich (balanced wines).
1865	06-sept.	Very abundant		Wines good and ripe, but hard; took a long time to come together.
1866	21-sept.	Average harvest		Very poor.
1867	18-sept.	Rather abundant		Ordinary.
1868	07-sept.	Rather abundant		Coarse wines, hard, lacking charm, too expensive.
1869	15-sept.	Very abundant		Remarkable and complete wines.
1870	10-sept.	Rather abundant		Wines very good, very ripe, and very full-bodied.
1871	18-sept.	Rather abundant		Wines light but very elegant.
1872	22-sept.	Not very abundant		Ordinary year.
1873	20-sept.	Not very abundant		Ordinary year; terrible frost April 28th.
1874	14-sept.	Very abundant		Very good wines.
1875	24-sept.	Very abundant		Wines very good and elegant.
1876	26-sept.	Not very abundant		Very ordinary year.
1877	20-sept.	Rather abundant		Light year but charming wines.
1878	19-sept.	Rather abundant		Very good year.
1879	09-oct.	Not very abundant		Ordinary year<../td>
1880	21-sept.	Not very abundant		Ordinary year.
1881	12-sept.	Not very abundant		Wines solid, but without charm.
1882	28-sept.	Average harvest		Very light wines, rather elegant; touched by mildew.
1883	27-sept.	Average harvest		Light wines, very ordinary quality.
1884	25-sept.	2/3 normal harvest		Mediocre wines; mildew.
1885	29-sept.	1/2 normal harvest		Very ordinary quality, wines touched by mildew.
1886	25-sept.	2/3 normal harvest		Ordinary quality, wines deeply affected by mildew.
1887	19-sept.	1/2 normal harvest		Full-bodied, healthy wines thanks to treatment against mildew.
1888	02-oct.	Abundant harvest		Good year, elegant wines.
1889	29-sept.	Abundant harvest		Decent year, rather elegant wines.
1890	29-sept.	Average harvest		Full-bodied, deeply-colored wines; rather good.
1891	02-oct.	Average harvest		Mediocre and green wines.
1892	22-sept.	1/2 normal harvest		A blast of hot air August 15th—45°C, wines burnt and lacking color; elegant.
1893	15-aug.	Exceptionally abundant		Wines thought to be excellent became major disappointments.
1894	05-oct.	1/2 normal harvest		Wines of little quality, green and meager.
1895	22-sept.	Average harvest		A year of great heat. Many wines spoiled by acidity. The wines which were spared were remarkable.
1896	20-sept.	Very abundant		Fine and delicate wines.
1897	20-sept.	1/2 normal harvest		Very mediocre wines.
1898	23-sept.	1/2 normal harvest		Wines that were a little hard but came to be appreciated later.
1899	24-sept.	Abundant harvest		Year of very great quality.
1900	24-sept.	Very abundant	Exceptional	Great vintage of the century.
1901	19-sept.	Very abundant	Mediocre	Thin wines which sold for practically nothing. Certain wines turned out to be very pleasant.
1902	11-sept.	Abundant	Poor	Wines without character. Forget them.
1903	23-sept.	Abundant	Poor	Insignificant year.
1904	21-sept.	Abundant	Good	Wines which disappointed with age.
1905	14-sept.	Abundant	Average	Light but very elegant wines.
1906	18-sept.	1/2 normal harvest	Good	Wines with exceptionally full body.
1907	10-sept.	Abundant	Average	Light, elegant, resembling the 1905s.
1908	23-sept.	Average	Mediocre	Wines a little hard, lacking charm.
1909	17-sept.	Average	Mediocre	Disappointing wines. Believed to be good at first.
1910	23-sept.	1/4 normal harvest	Poor	Very mediocre vintage.
1911	04-oct.	Average	Rather good	A very hot year.
1912	18-sept.	Abundant	Poor	Wines lacking a lot of structure.
1913	23-sept.	Abundant	Poor	Flat wines.
1914	24-sept.	Average	Mediocre	Wines which were believed to be very good turned out to be great disappointments.
1915	17-sept.	1/2 normal harvest	Poor	A year to forget.
1916	20-sept.	Average	Good	Solid and full-bodied wines, lacking a bit of charm.
1917	22-sept.	Average	Mediocre	Light and fragrant wines.
1918	17-sept.	Average	Average	Wines healthy but harsh.
1919	20-sept.	Abundant	Average	Light wines without great quality.
1920	20-sept.	Average	Good	Still several fine bottles.
1921	17-sept.	Average	Very good	Extremely hot year, difficult to age wines. Still several great bottles.
1922	11-sept.	Very abundant	Mediocre	Wines light and flat.
1923	11-sept.	Average	Average	Wines with little color, somewhat burnt.
1924	27-sept.	Abundant	Very good	Certain wines are still exceptional.
1925	16-sept.	Abundant	Mediocre	Green wines lacking maturity.
1926	28-sept.	1/2 normal harvest	Very good	Certain wines are still exceptional. Much coulure.
1927	27-sept.	Average	Poor	Very little vintage.
1928	23-sept.	Average	Exceptional	Remarkable wines; some a little hard.
1929	18-sept.	Average	Exceptional	Great vintage of the century.
1930	19-sept.	1/2 normal harvest	Poor	A vintage to forget.
1931	30-sept.	Average	Mediocre	Year close to the preceding vintage.
1932	20-sept.	1/2 normal harvest	Poor	Comparable to 1930.
1933	10-oct.	Average	Average	Light and fragrant wines.
1934	21-sept.	Abondant	Very good	Several great bottles that are still pleasant to drink.
1935	10-sept.	Abundant	Mediocre	Green wines lacking maturity.
1936	25-sept.	Average	Mediocre	Green wines lacking maturity.
1937	26-sept.	Average	Very good	Still many great wines.
1938	13-sept.	Average	Average	In decline. “Useful” wines without great quality.
1939	21-sept.	Very abundant	Average	In decline. Light and fragrant wines.
1940	24-sept.	Average	Rather good	Rather light wines.
1941	20-sept.	Average	Poor	No successes.
1942	30-sept.	Average	Average	With the 1943s, the best year of this period.
1943	14-sept.	Average	Very good	Several great successes.
1944	09-sept.	Average	Average	Little year.
1945	21-sept.	1/2 normal harvest	Exceptional	Disastrous frost on May 2nd. Very concentrated wines, many still surprisingly young.
1946	07-sept.	Average	Average	In decline. Green wines, lacking maturity.
1947	25-sept.	Average	Very good	Several legendary bottles which approach perfection. Wines full of charm.
1948	15-sept.	Average	Good	Several exceptional wines.
1949	22-sept.	Average	Very good	Magnificent wines: can still continue to age. Similar to 1947.
1950	22-sept.	Abundant	Good	Light, pleasant wines. Several great wines.
1951	18-sept.	Average	Mediocre	Very average wines.
1952	02-oct.	Average	Very good	Firm, tannic, long-aging: some great bottles.
1953	11-sept.	Average	Very good	Great classic year: balance, richness, finesse, long-lasting.
1954	22-sept.	Average	Mediocre	In decline. Clean, healthy wines but lacking in maturity.
1955	14-sept.	Average	Very good	Firm, concentrated, long to open up. Several very great bottles.
1956	07-oct.	1/4 normal harvest	Mediocre	Catastrophic frost in February; little or no production.
1957	30-sept.	Not abundant	Average	Alarming degree of coulure. With few exceptions, wines in decline.
1958	06-oct.	1/2 normal harvest	Average	Little vintage.
1959	20-sept.	1/2 normal harvest	Exceptional	Hot and dry year. Difficult vinifications. Very great wines, still improving with age.
1960	15-sept.	Average	Average	Rather average vintage, on the decline.
1961	17-sept.	Very little	Exceptional	Great vintage of the century.
1962	01-oct.	Abundant	Very good	Pleasant, charming wines to taste; reminiscent of the 1924s.
1963	01-oct.	Abundant	Mediocre	Very average year.
1964	21-sept.	Abundant	Very good	Uneven quality; several great wines for long aging.
1965	30-sept.	Abundant	Mediocre	Disappointing year.
1966	20-sept.	Average	Very good	Classic vintage of great elegance. The decade’s best, after 1961.
1967	25-sept.	Average	Rather good	Average vintage in the Médoc.
1968	22-sept.	Average	Mediocre	On the decline compared to the previous vintage.
1969	23-sept.	Little	Average	Average year.
1970	24-sept.	Very abundant	Very good	Tannic and rather hard wines. The best will age into the next century.
1971	27-sept.	Little	Very good	Wines that are elegant and a little tender, the finest are at their best.
1972	09-oct.	Average	Average	Often average wines.
1973	20-sept.	Very abundant	Average	In decline; very few successes.
1974	24-sept.	Abundant	Average	Disappointing year.
1975	22-sept.	Average	Very good	Tannic wines of uneven quality. Some great successes.
1976	13-sept.	Abundant	Good	Quickly evolving.
1977	04-oct.	Little	Average	Frost on March 31st and April 9th. Hard wines without a future.
1978	05-oct.	Average	Very good	Classic wines, elegant, at their best.
1979	01-oct.	Very abundant	Good	The best wines are harmonious and balanced.
1980	10-oct.	Average	Rather good	Supple and fruity. Most are on the decline.
1981	28-sept.	Average	Good	Wines at their maturity.
1982	13-sept.	Very abundant	Exceptional	Magnificent wines, long-lasting, through to the middle of the next century.
1983	26-sept.	Abundant	Very good	Fully expressive wines.
1984	01-oct.	Average	Average	Year of often disappointing wines.
1985	25-sept.	Abundant	Very good	Already remarkable wines.
1986	26-sept.	Very abundant	Very good	Very great year for long-aging wines in the Médoc.
1987	01-oct.	Average	Rather good	Supple wines, fruity and elegant; satisfying to drink while young.
1988	28-sept.	Very abundant	Very good	Classic wines which need to age.
1989	03-sept.	Abundant	Exceptional	Very great year for long-aging wines.
1990	10-sept.	Very abundant	Exceptional	Great, hot year. Wines with great aging potential.
1991	27-sept.	Very little	Rather good	Frost on April 21st. Red wines at their plateau.
1992	24-sept.	Very abundant	Average	Red wines at their plateau.
1993	20-sept.	Very abundant	Rather good	Rather rapidly evolving red wines. Very good.
1994	13-sept.	Abundant	Good	Classic red wines.
1995	13-sept.	Abundant	Very good	Homogeneous year. Great red wines, supple and harmonious.
1996	18-sept.	Abundant	Very good	Great year for long-aging wines in the Médoc.
1997	07-sept.	Abundant	Good	Fruity, supple, charming wines.
1998	23-sept.	Abundant	Very good	Very successful wines, endowed with good potential.
1999	30-aug.	Abundant	Good	Very harmonious vintage which can age well.
2000	18-sept.	Abundant	Exceptional	Greatest vintage of the century, similar to the 1900!
2001	25-sept.	Abundant	Very good	Better structured than 1999. Elegant vintage.
2002	24-sept.	Average	Good	Cabernet very successful. Powerful and structured.
2003	02-sept.	Average	Very good	Heat wave in summer. Much potential to be a great vintage.
2004	16-sept.	Abundant	Very good	Close to 2002, more fruity, more dense.
2005	18-sept.	Average	Exceptional	Historically great vintage. Generally successful.

Analysis of the data

The harvest quality has also been given a rating score (scale: 0-20) by Tastet & Lawton, based on the following equivalence with the words above:

19-20	Exceptional
17-18	Very good
15-16	Good
13-14	Rather good
10-12	Average
3-9	Mediocre
0-2	Poor

These scores are shown as a time series in the first graph. The blue line connects the data points, whereas the pink line is a running average (it shows the average value across groups of 9 consecutive years, thus smoothing out the long-term trends).

Clearly, through time there has been a general increase in score, along with a decrease in between-year variation. That is, vintage quality has both improved and become more consistent. This matches the trend discussed in the post on Fifty years of Bordeaux vintages, and extends it back a further 50 years. Being a Bordeaux vigneron has been a more reliable profession than it was before then.

The worst years for Bordeaux red wines were during the periods 1910-1915 and 1930-1935, while the best years were 1920-1925, 1945-1950, and the time since 1980. Indeed, there has been no vintage score below 10 since 1970.

On a technical matter, we can compare the Tastet & Lawton vintage-scoring system with that of the Wine Cellar Insider (produced by Jeff Leve). This is done in the second graph, where each point represents a vintage scored by both systems.

If the two scoring systems are identical then the points should lie on or near the pink line. However, the Tastet & Lawton score is almost always greater than that of the Wine Cellar Insider (so that the points lie below and to the right of the line). This means that a curved relationship fits better than a linear one, as shown by the blue line (the coefficient of variation = 0.87 for this line, which indicates a good fit between the line and the points). This line indicates that Tastet & Lawton have given higher scores for the poorer vintages compared to the Wine Cellar Inside, but they have been in closer agreement for the better vintages. Perhaps this is related to the fact that the Wine Cellar Insider scores were give retrospectively whereas the Tastet & Lawton scores were produced at the time of the vintage

The Tastet & Lawton data also include the official start date for each vintage. Regarding harvest dates, V. Daux et al. (2012. An open-database of grape harvest dates for climate research: data description and quality assessment. Climate of the Past 8: 1403-1418) note:

Prior to the French revolution, in most areas, wine owners were not free to harvest at their convenience. They had to wait for a public order to harvest (“ban des vendanges”) ... After the revolution, vine-growers were theoretically free to begin the harvest when they wanted to. In practice, most parishes maintained a compulsory minimum date for grape harvest in order to preserve law and order. After 1791, the date was set by the mayor, on vine growers’ advice. When several varieties were grown in the same area, the official date corresponded to the earliest and/or to the most important variety. The law of 9 July 1889 entitled the municipalities to keep or give up the “ban des vendanges” practice, which led to its disappearance in almost all France ... In France, since 1979, the harvest date has been determined by the Prefect’s service on a proposal of the National Institute of Origin and Quality, after the notice of the agency defined for each vineyard, taking into account the planting and the status of vineyards.

The harvest-date information is plotted in the third graph, which shows a count of how many vintages started on each date. These data cover the full 210 years (1795-2005), unlike the vintage scores.

Mostly, vintage has started in the last 2 weeks of September. However, two outlying vintages are shown, one a month earlier (1893) and one a month later (1816) than usual.

There are also intriguing patterns within the general harvest period. For example, 20 September is greatly over-represented compared to either 19 September or 21 September, and no harvest is listed as starting on either 8 September or 8 October. Perhaps these patterns relate to not officially starting work on commemorative dates. For example, 21 September 1792 was during the French Revolution, and on that date the National Convention declared France a republic and abolished the absolute monarchy. Similarly, on 8 October 1453 an agreement was signed whereby the bastille of Bordeaux would be handed over to the French, along with all prisoners in English hands, thus marking the end of English rule of Gascony (where Bordeaux in located).

The starting-date data can also be plotted as a time series, as shown in the final graph. The harvest-start dates have been numbered 1-75, so that 1 = the earliest starting date. Once again, the blue line connects the data points, whereas the pink line is a running average (it shows the average value across 9 years).

There are two patterns worth noting here. First, the data show long-term cycles (ie. peaks and troughs), with peaks every 35 years during the 1800s and peaks every 45 years during the 1900s. This presumably relates to long-term patterns in the weather. Second, the recent harvests (since 1990) have been among the earliest ever. This coincides with the generally higher quality of the vintages during that time. This is a consequence of the generally warmer weather (see the post on Fifty years of Bordeaux vintages), as the grapes ripen faster and therefore need to be picked earlier.