1981. Everyone hoped this to be a great vintage until the rain in September offset high hopes. Fortunately this did not fully decreased the potential for some fine wines and many good wines have been produced if only a touch lean and medium bodied. Both the Medoc and Graves performed well.

1982. A rich if a somewhat short lived vintage. Perfect ripeness and in some cases over-baked wines of a jammy style, nonetheless the top growths are still very well drinking today as they have sufficient backbone. Very large crop as well.

1983. A great vintage again with only sporadic rain in September, and a fine weather throughout the growing season. Outstanding year for Margaux, superior to 1982. Rather poor year for St Estephe. Generally speaking somewhat leaner and lighter bodied wines than the previous year.

1984. Weather conditions swung from one extreme to the other and this resulted in wines that lacked in elegance and power and certainly aging potential. Short lived and medicore year.

1985. An outstanding vintage that started out cold and wet also delaying flowering. The summer was by contrast hot and dry and this weather kept up till late September. The great weather helped to ripen an extra large crop, some 10% larger then the abundant 1982. Much better balanced and delicate wines than the 1982, many of them still drinking well today.

1986. A classic vintage for Bordeaux alltogether, one slow to mature. Most wines are very tannic thus they have enough impetus to live up to at least two decades and soften out.

1987. Average year with short aging potential. Lacking adequately ripe Cabernet Sauvignon fruit. Rather light wines with little density and also low acidity. This is because an initially scorching summer burned most acidity but then heavy rainfall followed to dilute the juice. Better year for the Graves.

1988. Generally speaking a very good year that required one and a half decade or so to start to show its potential. Good weather throughout with only sporadic rainfalls that did not damage the fruit though. Good ripeness for the Cabernet Sauvignon fruit as well hence the longevity.

1989. A fabulous vintage with hot weather during the growing season and only little patches of rain. All varieties reached full maturity, including the Petit Verdot. Rather full bodied and alcoholic wines for a Bordeaux and also somewhat soft, acidity in the background. Very ripe tannins but less obvious because of the extreme ripeness of the fruit. Rich, powerful wines that age superbly.

1990. A magnificent year similar to the previous one but if possible with even finer and riper tannins. The summer was so dry and hot that there was the risk of the vines shutting down. August and September fortunately saw some sporadic rainfall. Outstanding year almost a twin with the previous, large crop as well. Pessac Leognan and St Julien did especially well.

1991. A dark year in the history of Bordeaux vintages. At the end of August a very severe frost eleminated around 70% of the total crop. The Medoc was hit the hardest while the Graves had not been affected that bad. A couple of sunny weeks followed after which rain blanketed the area throughout the following months. Very small crop. That quite many good wines have been produced is nothing short of a miracle.