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
A tasting of the 2018 harvest from the Marquis d'Angerville in Volnay
by Daniel Johnnes, Max Goldberg Liu & Raj Vaidya
Tuesday, December 2, 2020
Tasting the D'Angerville 2018s was exciting and filled with anticipation as it was one of my first post bottling tasting of this vintage and I wasn't sure what to expect. Often a wine can shut down post bottling but these were true to my early impressions of the wines in barrel. It was a sunny vintage but these wines avoided the heavy, raisiny character that can show in a hot summer. They were rich and textured but had a lovely balanced freshness. Two wines stood out for me, punching above their weight class, starting with the Volnay 1er Cru. Although from several fine 1er Cru climats, this one had terrific breadth and class.
The other over-achiever was the Volnay 1er Cru Champans. This is always a charmer but in this vintage I found wonderful depth and complexity that I don't normally get. The Taillepieds, Caillerets and Clos des Ducs came in just where you would expect them to be - Superb! Bravo Guillaume…
~Daniel
A takeaway for me from this tasting is that these wines really characterize how many growers in Burgundy (and especially the crème de la crème like d’Angerville) have mastered these warmer vintages in making wines with superb balance between richness and freshness. All of the wines were delicious and open for business but a standout was definitely the Volnay 1er Cru, which is around 2/3 Mitans and 1/3 Pitures. A clear step up in density and depth from the Volnay Village, the Premier Cru blend is only around 15% more expensive, making it a no-brainer value.
~Max
I was also concerned about this vintage showing too much ripeness or a lack of precision but my fears were quickly put at ease. A few cuvées had some unusual weight to it but all in all the range was quite balanced. Guillaume told us that despite the slightly higher alcohol on some of the cuvées the wines of great pedigree found harmony easily, and I’d agree. As Daniel noted, the Champans stood out as superlative for its place in the line up, usually a wine which I think of as inferior (albeit slightly) to Caillerets, Taillepieds and Clos des Ducs. But the ‘18 seems on par with these in quality. I had a special affinity for the Caillerets, as I often do, being that it is the stoniest. Tremendous showing!
~Raj
Wines we tasted:
Volnay
Volnay 1er Cru
Volnay 1er Cru Fremiets
Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Angles
Volnay 1er Cru Champans
Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets
Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds
Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Ducs
