1996 in champagne. what happened?
by Edouard Bourgeois
November 21, 2025
Ratings for 1996 often use words like "exceptional" and "grandiose," with some comparisons to 1928. What made 1996 objectively unique was the high average potential alcohol (10.3%) combined with high total acidity (10g/litre)—figures rarely seen together. As Charles Philipponnat noted, this is a significant jump from the 9.3% potential alcohol common forty years prior.
Acidity and potential alcohol work together for balance, but typically, when one is high, the other is low. In 1996, both figures were high. Bruno Paillard called it a 'naughty boy' vintage due to its unpredictable nature and the anxiety it caused producers while waiting for acidity levels to drop. However, the result for those with patience is "fantastic."
While acidity is key for aging, the true test is time. Over two decades later, the remaining 1996 bottles reveal which producers succeeded. The best examples are still complex and alluring, where the high acidity is balanced by a wide range of aromas, from brioche to stone fruit. Unfortunately, some other bottlings show only residual acidity, resulting in unbalanced and tart wines.
I recall opening a glorious bottle of 1996 Cristal for my son's birth seven years ago; the wine was still vibrant and charged.
Another fabulous example was made by Krug. As Olivier Krug said, "It’s a year where a good house or a good winemaker will make a good wine... It’s a tricky vintage." Other industry professionals have shared similar sentiments, noting that some vintners either opted out of making a vintage bottling or failed to achieve balance, resulting in wines that are already clumsy or tired.
The 1996 vintage often draws comparisons to its predecessor, 1995. These were the last two great Champagne vintages following the 1988, 1989, and 1990 trio. The 1996s are powerful wines; the best combine weight from ripeness with tension from acidity, providing the interest, complexity, and structure needed for long-term aging.
Interestingly, more houses released 1995 as a vintage Champagne than 1996, with a ratio of roughly 60% (1995) to 40% (1996).
Given its unpredictability, the safest bet for 1996 Champagne remains to go with producers you trust.
While looking for pictures of 1996 Champagne on my IPhone, I also found several other wines from various regions where the 1996 vintage truly shone, as seen in images below;jbgories
What's Pressoir Watching?
Victoire Chabert
August 18, 2022
To continue in the series What's Pressoir is watching, I wanted to present a documentary this time.
Three Days of Glory is a must-watch for you Club Members but also Burgundy wine lovers and La Paulée attendees. Indeed, this short documentary retraces the history of Burgundy, interviews some winemakers, shows scenes of what the Paulée de Meursault is and evokes the future of the region. You will also have a glimpse of my family domaine because my uncle is interviewed, as well as Dominique Lafon, Véronique Drouhin, Thierry Violot-Guillemard and Thiébault Huber.
But first, a teaser from the trailer : click here to see the trailer.
Three Days of Glory tells the story of the world's largest wine festival in the most legendary of wine regions - known locally as Les Trois Glorieuses - including the lunch titled La Paulée in Meursault. This documentary offers a glimpse into aspects of Burgundy never before filmed. Burgundy is home to some of the most legendary wines on the planet. But it took time and hard work to get there.
You'll see the journey of several Burgundian producers, including Thiébault Huber of Domaine Huber-Verdereau in Volnay, Patrick Essa of Domaine Buisson-Charles in Meursault and Thierry Violot-Guillemard in Pommard, as they deal with April's devastating frost and the many curveballs that the 2016 vintage sent to winemakers.
A series of difficult years in the 1920s and 1930s led to the creation of events called the Three Days of Glory. This is the story of the traditional and age-old La Paulée, its origins, the sharing of fantastic wines, good times, and the winemakers of today's small estates, who faced a series of brutal years that had a real impact on their harvests.
While grappling with the complications of the present, the winemakers - as well as Burghound's Burgundy expert Allen Meadows and Director Scott Wright - reflect on their place in Burgundy's traditions as well as the role they play in the future of their families' estates.
Three days of Glory is Available for Free on Amazon Prime .
What's Pressoir Drinking? La Paulée de New York Edition...
3/16/2022
By Raj Vaidya
We, the Pressoir community, find ourselves in the throes of back to back La Paulée celebrations, but I wanted to take a moment to reflect on a truly special, once in a lifetime dinner we were honored to host at my alma mater, Restaurant Daniel, last weekend.
Guillaume D’Angerville has become a dear friend over the years. While planning our ideas for the Paulée program for 2022, Daniel and I felt we had to ask a little bit of the impossible of Guillaume; could we do a dinner of exclusively large format bottles of Volnay Premier Cru Clos de Ducs? Guillaume grumbled a bit at first, but then realized this presented a once in a lifetime opportunity to open a bunch of jeroboams that he’s been producing since 2009. We gladly accepted!
The line up started with a flight of Champans, Jeros of 2017, ‘14 and ‘11. While 2011 was a challenging vintage all around the Côte, Guillaume’s wines were likely the most balanced and compelling of the vintage, and this jero confirmed this truth robustly, with an unusual sweetness of fruit for the vintage.
Next two flights of Clos des Ducs, also all from jeros, with the first flight featuring the truly delicious 2017. While the ‘15 vintage was much more heralded (and featured alongside), the ‘17 lived up to its reputation as imminently drinkable.
The stars of the show were definitely in the final flight of Clos des Ducs, with one home run and one surprise showing. The 2009, a stellar vintage since day one, showed incredible power and precision, and was arguably the ‘best’ wine of the line up (as it should be!) But in a surprise to me, it was the 2013 that I found the most charming. The vintage has long been confusing to me aromatically, though I’ve always liked the acid structure. This bottle was astounding, layers upon layers of complexity, nuance and such an elegant and long palate that I was taken aback. As a fun side by side, a guest at the dinner bought a bottle of the same vintage from the restaurant’s wine list, and so we got to see a slightly more advanced example also, a lucky treat.
Lesson learned: wine, especially great, regal wines like these, are best drunk out of giant bottles…
