Is it a good vintage or a restaurant vintage?

I posted a #throwbackthursday, on Instagram, about the 2017 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage that although it's drinking well now, it still needed a bit of a push (back then when restaurants were allowed to welcome customers in) because some customers think it's "a bit too young".

This Crozes-Hermitage was delivered to the restaurant towards the end of 2019, it finally got listed late 2020 for 2 main reasons... lockdown, primarily, but mainly because I thought the wine would taste more integrated with an extra 12 months in bottle. And I think it does, I'm glad I decided to sit on it.

2015, exceptional vintage but not ready yet

This isn't the first time I've decided not to list (aka to sit on) a particular wine, 2015 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie 'Améthyste' is a perfect example of a wine from a magnificent vintage that needs to be sat on for a while longer. I first tasted it in 2018, the intensity of this wine was overwhelming, it smelled and tasted like charred oak, smoke, fire, anger and rage - it felt like being shouted at by a person that had been rudely awaken from the most pleasant sleep. Not much had changed when we re-tasted it early 2020. Clearly 2015 is a great vintage for Vignobles Levet but this wine was still far too young at 5 years old, indisputably not a restaurant vintage.

And what do I mean by "restaurant vintage"?

By restaurant vintage I mean - a wine from a currently released vintage that is beautiful, balanced, exquisite and approachable, with emphasis on this last attribute. If it is expected of the wine to have tannins, these should be present but not stealing the show; the acidity must be subtle but not missing; the fruit to be ambrosial and at the forefront.... you get the gist.

Well, was this 2017 Crozes-Hermitage (going back to my IG post) too young when I first got it delivered? Not necessarily, because I think this wine is from a restaurant vintage and I could have listed it straight away and confidently recommend it to customers. In tandem the 2015 Côte-Rôtie is, without doubt, not making the list this year it pains me to say, as it remains a feral beast, a very young feral beast.

2014, tricky vintage in Tuscany

But it's not that simple, is it? For example, 2014 was a very difficult vintage in Tuscany and most of the wines I tasted from that vintage were rather rough when released. So, not a restaurant vintage but also not a vintage to sit on. Not all is lost... producer is key.

Querciabella started producing their Chianti Classico Riserva in 2011, a selection of the best lots from 3 different communes, which produces 10,000 bottles annually; except that, as a result of the vintage conditions, only 5,000 were made in 2014. And it turns out it is a proper treat of a wine, from a tricky vintage (which also found its way to my IG feed). Another wine that needs a bit of a push, not because it might seem "too young", or "not ready to be drunk", but because I am keen to try the "legendary" 2015 iteration.

And to add an extra layer to this piece, there's this excellent article -'How to Think About Wine Vintages'- by Eric Asimov where he says "Even if vintages have pronounced differences, I believe we should pay less attention to them than perhaps we do. Far more important than obsessively following vintages is to single out producers whose styles you like".

I totally agree with Mr. Asimov, when this is applied for personal consumption. All the wines I buy for myself are from producers I admire, or curious to try, and my decision has never been predisposed by how highly a certain vintage has been rated.

Furthermore, should the occasion call for a "special bottle" at home I can plan ahead, for example, if I consider the wine should be decanted for a bit, chilled (for reds), or warmed up a bit (for whites). I find this is something restaurant customers rarely do; they order their wine as soon as the main course hits the table and expect the bottle to produce an explosion of vigour and complexity in liquid form... but I digress.

Back at home, hardly ever I'll decide to try to forget I have a wine and let it rest for as long as I can resist... because it is from a very "good vintage".

Nonetheless, if I'm buying wine for a bar/restaurant where not every customer is wine savvy, more times than not vintage trumps producer.

How I miss plotting on what to buy next for the wine list, restaurant vintage or not. Fingers crossed we're all back to it soon, very soon.