1995 Burgundy Vintage

The 1995 season in Burgundy was defined by adversity that ultimately yielded quality through concentration rather than abundance. Early frost damage was followed by a difficult June flowering in poor weather, leading to widespread millerandage. Many berries failed to swell properly, producing clusters of small, intensely flavoured fruit with a high proportion of skin to juice. July and August were excellent, but September arrived cool, overcast, and somewhat rainy. Crucially, the thickness of the skins and the absence of extreme heat prevented the September rain from inducing rot, and most growers were able to harvest in reasonable conditions, certainly without the deluges that had plagued 1994.

• Frost damage and poor June flowering produced a very small crop for most serious growers
• Millerandage gave berries a higher-than-usual ratio of flavouring skin to juice, concentrating colour and tannin
• July and August were warm and dry, providing excellent conditions for phenolic development
• September was cool and rainy but rot-free, as thick skins protected the concentrated fruit

The vintage showed notable variation across appellations. More elegant, finer-textured communes such as Chambolle-Musigny and Volnay performed best, with some wines drawing comparisons to the wonderful 1978 vintage. The more tannic appellations of Pommard and Gevrey-Chambertin produced sturdier wines that took longer to open, though a 1995 Chambertin from Armand Rousseau tasted in 2019 showed signs that the best wines were finally throwing off their tannic shackles and beginning to blossom. Overall, the vintage has been described as delivering a somewhat mixed bag of results across both colours and appellations.

• Chambolle-Musigny and Volnay: most elegant appellations; showed best early and continue to deliver
• Pommard and Gevrey-Chambertin: firm, tannic structure required patience; best wines now opening up
• Côte de Nuits: Decanter noted good structure and firm tannins as a hallmark of the vintage in this zone
• Côte de Beaune whites: affected by the premature oxidation problem that plagued white Burgundy from the mid-1990s onward

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti produced notable wines across its portfolio, with the 1995 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru now trading at an average of over $27,000 per bottle. Allen Meadows of Burghound, at a Bangkok retrospective tasting, selected the 1995 Rousseau Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, Maison Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche, Domaine Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux, and Domaine Leroy Clos Vougeot as standout wines of the vintage. For whites, some of the finest bottles were spared premox: producers including Coche-Dury, DRC, and Domaine Leflaive had lower reported incidences of oxidative failure than many peers.

• DRC Romanée-Conti Grand Cru 1995: now averages over $27,000 per bottle on the secondary market
• Armand Rousseau Chambertin-Clos de Bèze: selected by Allen Meadows as a standout of the vintage
• Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche and Domaine Leroy Clos Vougeot: also Burghound retrospective highlights
• White Burgundy: producers such as Coche-Dury and DRC reported lower premox incidence than most peers

The 1995 reds have evolved slowly and at times enigmatically, with the fruit seeming to go into a prolonged leave of absence across many appellations. However, at a Burghound symposium in Bangkok, Allen Meadows observed that the best 1995s are now drinking at their absolute peak, at least at the top end. Jasper Morris of Inside Burgundy noted in 2022 that village-level Ponsot wines are beginning to show quite well, and that a 1995 Chambertin from Rousseau drunk in 2019 showed genuine promise. The whites are a more complicated story: Jasper Morris noted that most whites are now past their best, though magical individual bottles can still be found, particularly from producers with lower premox risk.

• Top-end Grand Cru reds: Allen Meadows describes the best 1995s as drinking at their absolute peak now
• Village and Premier Cru reds: beginning to open up after decades of relative closure; drink soon
• White Burgundies: most are past their best per Jasper Morris MW, though exceptional bottles remain
• Premox risk: collectors should open whites with care and ideally have a back-up bottle on hand

The 1995 vintage was produced at a time when Burgundy winemaking was undergoing significant change. For reds, thick skins and small berries meant extraction of colour and tannin happened quickly in the cellar, with producers focused on achieving balance and elegance rather than further concentration. The red grapes came in with adequate sugar levels, slightly higher than in 1993, though some chapitalization was needed. For whites, the mid-1990s marked the beginning of the premature oxidation crisis, linked to changes in cork treatment and winemaking practices including excessive batonnage and lower sulfur use. The 1995s were among the first vintages affected, though the problem became more widely apparent with 1996 and later vintages.

• Red grapes: came in with slightly higher sugar levels than 1993; some chapitalization was needed
• Small berry size meant rapid extraction of colour and tannin during vinification
• White wines: affected by premature oxidation linked to changes in cork treatments and cellar practices
• The 1995 vintage coincided with the emergence of a premium market energised by the simultaneous frenzy for 1995 Bordeaux

The 1995 vintage was greeted with excitement on release, partly because of the parallel frenzy surrounding 1995 Bordeaux, and most Burgundy growers chose modest price increases rather than dramatic hikes. Critical assessments have evolved over time. The vintage has been described by World of Fine Wine as 'an enigma, the fruit having taken a prolonged leave of absence in most appellations apart perhaps from Volnay and Chambolle-Musigny.' Decanter rates it 4 out of 5. Jasper Morris of Inside Burgundy describes it as delivering a 'somewhat mixed bag of results,' with the best wines of the vintage now finally beginning to show their true colours after thirty years in bottle.

• Decanter rating: 4 out of 5; Good quality and quantity, good structure and firm tannins
• Jasper Morris (2022): 'both colours have delivered a somewhat mixed bag of results'
• Allen Meadows (Burghound): top-end 1995s now drinking at their absolute peak
• Most growers chose modest price increases on release despite strong demand driven by the 1995 Bordeaux market