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

Edouard Bourgeois 10/10/22 Edouard Bourgeois 10/10/22

News from the Vineyard - Domaine Comte George de Vogüé

News from the vineyard

by Edouard

10/6/22

New blood at Legendary Domaine Comte George de Vogüé

October 6, 2022
Edouard Bourgeois

With 7.2 ha holdings in Grand Cru Musigny, the de Vogüé plots in Musigny account for 70% of this legendary vineyard, producing one of the most elegant and profound wines of the Cote d’Or. With their seven lieux-dits within Musigny, De Vogüé makes the most complete picture of this prestigious appellation. However, the winemaking style, reviewed further, is the other essential piece to understand Musigny. The rest of Musigny is divided between 10 owners, some of them just lucky to farm a skinny sliver of land, such as Domaine Georges Roumier. Usually around one barrel, and almost two in 2022, Christophe Roumier’s Musigny is as outstanding and refined as it is rare.

The de Vogüé domaine dates back to the 15th century, even though the name de Vogüé first entered the Burgundy history in 1766. The domaine has been under the same ownership for 20 generations, which is very unique even by Burgundy standards. Indeed, most domaines have been established after the revolution in 1789.

Francois Millet has been making famous wines there starting with the 1988 vintage, 2020 being his last. It is now Jean Lupatelli, who formerly worked in the Rhône at Domaine Pierre-Jean Villa, who oversees winemaking at the legendary Chambolle-Musigny domaine, groundbreaking news in the world of wine. Often in Burgundy, change is slow and progressive. The next generation typically spends time learning from the older and succession is a smooth transition. From what Raj, Daniel and I understood when visiting de Vogüé and tasting with M. Lupatelli, he didn’t spend much time working alongside his predecessor and quickly gained the full authority of winemaking, with the crucial support of Eric Bourgogne, the vineyard manager who joined the domaine in 1996. With the challenging 2021 vintage as his first in Chambolle, Jean Lupatelli seems to be on a mission to modernize the domaine. For example, he introduced a new way to manage the harvest that involves small plastic baskets and quicker transportation of the grapes from the vineyards to the fermenters to avoid bruising the grapes and to limit unwanted maceration. Sorting is also very much on Jean’s radar but what appears to be the main update is the use of whole clusters, a practice we are now seeing more often in Burgundy. If in the past, the entire harvest was destemmed at de Vogüé, starting with 2021, up to 50% of the grapes were left whole in the vats. That was the case for the Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru, a wine made entirely from young vines of Musigny Grand Cru. By young vines, the domaine means under 25 years old, which is not so young! Between 2021 being a tiny crop and the fact that these vines are getting older, only two barrels of Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru were made that year, and it tasted lovely out of the barrel.

We were lucky to taste the whole range of 2021, from the Chambolle-Musigny village to the iconic Musigny, all from barrel.

2021 was a challenging year in Burgundy. Mother Nature really threw a curved ball, starting with too much rain and unforgiving snow. The most problematic was a devastating episode of frost that some recalled seeing last in the historic frosts of 1956 across Europe. 2021 was then marked by tiny yields of what seemed a pretty thin wine at first. However I found much charm in the wines I tasted from barrel at diverse domaines such as Vincent Dancer, Henri Boillot, Ghislaine Barthod and Georges Roumier. The overused term “classic” really finds its meaning to describe 2021. I guess we got used to warmer temperature, making wines with deep colours (2020 is a great example) and high alcohol levels. 2021 is more subtle but the fruit can be quite lovely with aromas reminiscent of small red berries rather than the ripe black cherry flavor profile of 2020 or 2019.

We tasted the more dense and robust Bonnes-Mares, a Grand Cru appellation mostly in Chambolle-Musigny but also in the neighboring commune of Morey-St-Denis. The appellation is also known for its two distinct soils with the “terres blanches” at the top of the slope where limestone prevails; the “terres rouges” has a generous amount of clay. The Bonnes Mares 2021 showed the expected power that appellation suggests, even if 2021 is considered a light vintage. In fact, we also tasted a 2020 made by Francois Millet which was massive in terms of color and strength. The Musigny 2020 clearly had a noble and perfumed signature - nevertheless, a big wine.

I have always thought the de Vogüé wines were a bit hard, austere with firm tannins that didn’t quite let the delicate Chambolle bouquet sing. I am excited to see what the future will bring for the domaine with a new winemaker and his new approach. This is no small responsibility when you own the vast majority of Musigny.