1994 Bordeaux

Many Bordelais are fond of saying that 1994 wasn’t a bad year. Well, it wasn’t a great year either. Their positivity about the year should be qualified: It wasn’t a bad year compared to 1991, 1992, or 1993.

 

The growing season started off rainy, providing enough heat to spark an early budburst. Yet with precocious buds come concerns of the f-word, fears realized when frost hit in mid-April in the southern portion of the Médoc right down to Sauternes, resulting in smaller crops from these areas.  

 

Otherwise, the summer was relatively uneventful. July and August of ’94 brought moderately hot temperatures (nothing like the heat spikes these days) and a sustained period of drought, causing some stress to vines on free-draining gravel and sandy soil profiles, but otherwise, the desired conditions for steady ripening.

 

Given the early budburst and veraison, the vintage was tracking early, saving the mid-September rains from resulting in utter disaster. As the month wore on, the rain became heavier and heavier. Many growers were forced to harvest earlier than they would have liked, before the tannins were completely ripe, even if the sugar levels were looking good. Merlots generally suffered less dilution than the Cabernets. This said, the most impressive/age-worthy wines I’ve had from this vintage are from the trio of neighboring Chateaux in southern Pauillac/northern Saint-Julien: Latour, Pichon Lalande, and Léoville Las Cases. 

 

Although the top 1994 red wines possessed a decent core of fruit/flavor concentration, the tannins were and have remained on the rugged/chewy side. Unresolved tannins and lower acidity levels (high pHs) are the likely reason that even the top wines haven’t aged particularly well.

 

Dry whites were harvested before the rains but lack the real verve and backbone of a great year. It was likewise a mediocre year for Sauternes, plagued by dilution and grey rot. Some decent wines were made, but nothing to write home about, and most were for earlier consumption.