1990 Wine

1990 Wine

Create an alert

The 1990 vintage will be remembered as one of the great solar years of the century: the hottest summer since 1947, a marked drought, then timely September rains. From this heat came ripe, opulent and accomplished wines, with a success of rare homogeneity. In Bordeaux, the reds combine generous richness and melted tannins, while the sweet wines of the Sauternes reached exceptional heights thanks to ideal botrytis (the "noble rot"). The northern Rhône produced syrahs of rare power and Champagne one of its finest vintages for ripeness. Thirty-six years on, the finest bottles are at their peak. Château Pichon Longueville Baron 1990 and Château Troplong Mondot 1990 rank among the most complete wines of the year. To place 1990 among the great vintages, consult our Vintage Guide.

  Read more
Read more
Create an alert
Our article on the 1990 vintage

Our article on the 1990 vintage
Vintage guide - SoDivin

Vintage guide
https://www.sodivin.fr/18128-grands-crus-classes-de-bordeaux#millesime-1990 - SoDivin

Grands Crus Classés de Bordeaux 1990
Preparation of your order

Preparation of your order

Filtrer

Regions
Château
Appellation

Products (51)

Filter
1 2

Receive our latest arrivals of 1990 Wine by email!

Sign up and be the first to know about new arrivals.

The 1990 vintage — the success of a great solar year

Few years have combined so much heat with so much consistency as 1990. The summer, the hottest since 1947, and a drought broken by September rains produced, almost everywhere, ripe and generous wines rather than wines of austerity. This is what sets 1990 apart: not an isolated success, but a great, all-round year in which Bordeaux, the Rhône, Champagne and Burgundy each produced very fine wines. For the buyer, the logic is simple: target the ripe reds of Bordeaux, the sweet wines of the Sauternes and the syrahs of the northern Rhône, most of which have reached their peak, while keeping the finest bottles for a few more years.

Bordeaux 1990 — solar heat, ripe reds and legendary sweet wines

In Bordeaux, the heat of the year fully ripened both cabernet sauvignon and merlot, and the September rains prevented any blockage. The result is rich and fleshy reds with velvety texture and melted tannins, far removed from the austerity of leaner years: an opulent, accessible style, yet with enough structure for long ageing. The success spans both banks, from the Médoc to Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. It reaches its peak above all in the Sauternes, where ideal botrytis produced sweet wines of rare concentration and purity, among the greatest of the late century.

On the Left Bank, Château Montrose and Château Margaux rank among the absolute benchmarks of the vintage, alongside a Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste that embodies the ripe, complete Pauillac of the year. On the Right Bank, Château Pavie in Saint-Émilion and Château L'Église-Clinet in Pomerol illustrate the depth of the 1990 merlots. In the Sauternes, Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, 1er Cru Classé, sets the benchmark for the sweet wines of the year: opulent richness, acidity that holds everything together, and near-unlimited ageing potential.

Rhône Valley 1990 — the north at its zenith, the solar power of the south

The northern Rhône counts 1990 among its very finest modern vintages. Syrah reached full ripeness there without losing its freshness, producing deep, dense Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie wines built for decades. In the south, the heat yielded broad and generous Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines, rich in ripe fruit and alcohol, with an even more sun-drenched character. It is a vintage where the north aims for excellence in ageing and the south for pleasure at the table, both on full-bodied wines.

In the north, the Hermitage La Chapelle from Paul Jaboulet Aîné stands among the great legends of the hill, joined by the exceptional cuvées of Jean-Louis Chave and Auguste Clape in Cornas. In the south, Château Rayas in Châteauneuf-du-Pape produces a wine of singular finesse, while Henri Bonneau's Réserve des Célestins embodies the fleshy power of the appellation in this vintage.

Champagne 1990 — the radiant maturity of a great year

Champagne has rarely seen such ripe grapes: 1990 is one of the finest vintages of the late century, with generous ripeness underpinned by high, predominantly tartaric acidity that preserved the balance. The vintage cuvées of the year combine the richness of ripe fruit with a tension that allows them to continue gaining in complexity. Three decades on, these are gastronomy champagnes, with mellowed aromas of dried fruits and brioche, at full maturity.

The blanc de blancs Salon Le Mesnil illustrates the vintage's ageing potential at the highest level, built on a mineral backbone enveloped by the ripeness of 1990; the Bollinger R.D. of that year confirms, in a more vinous register, this vintage's ability to stand the test of time.

Burgundy 1990 — deep and fleshy reds, destined for long ageing

In Burgundy, the warm year produced reds with a deep colour, full body and generous fruit, regarded as one of the great red successes of the decade. High yields did not dilute the substance: the finest climat of the Côte de Nuits offer powerful and structured wines that have aged gracefully without weakening. The whites, more opulent, are a notch below and should be drunk without waiting too long.

The Musigny from Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier illustrates the finesse that the greatest terroirs of the Côte de Nuits have managed to preserve despite the power of the vintage, while the grand crus of Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin confirm the depth of the 1990 reds.

Ageing potential: the great reds of the Côte de Nuits remain vigorous and will hold for many more years; the whites are best enjoyed now.

Loire 1990 — Saumur cabernet franc at its peak

The heat of 1990 particularly benefited the reds of the Loire, which often struggle to ripen. Cabernet franc gained an unusual richness and depth there, producing Saumur and Saumur-Champigny wines of rare density, without losing the fruit and floral fragrance characteristic of the grape variety. These are wines built for ageing, now sought after by lovers of long-aged cabernet franc.

The cuvée Le Bourg from Clos Rougeard embodies this pinnacle: a dense and thoroughbred wine from the estate's oldest vines, now a sought-after collector's piece among connoisseurs, showing everything the Loire could produce in a great solar year.

Buy a great 1990 wine from SoDivin

Choosing 1990 means targeting a great solar year now at its peak: the opulent reds of Bordeaux, the exceptional sweet wines of the Sauternes and the syrahs of the northern Rhône form its heart, complemented by gastronomy champagnes, deep Burgundy reds and a few rare bottles from the Loire or the Languedoc, such as Mas de Daumas Gassac. Most of these wines are now in their finest drinking window.

Read more