Special Studies
Vintage Chart
A digital reworking of the Académie du Vin chart from Steven Spurrier’s Académie du Vin Wine Course, brought forward to the current era. Vintages 2000 through 2023 are scored on the original 20-point scale and shaded with a colour gradient so the shape of a decade reads at a glance. Vintage charts are the broadest possible guide: a great grower makes fine wine in a poor year, and a careless one spoils a great year.
- 19–20
- Exceptional
- 16–18
- Very good
- 14–15
- Good
- 12–13
- Quite good
- 10–11
- Acceptable
- 0–9
- Bad, very poor, poor
- 19–20 Exceptional
- 17–18 Very good
- 16 Very good (lower)
- 14–15 Good
- 12–13 Quite good
- ≤11 / not declared
| Vintages | ’00 | ’01 | ’02 | ’03 | ’04 | ’05 | ’06 | ’07 | ’08 | ’09 | ’10 | ’11 | ’12 | ’13 | ’14 | ’15 | ’16 | ’17 | ’18 | ’19 | ’20 | ’21 | ’22 | ’23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red BordeauxMédoc / Graves | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red BordeauxSaint-Émilion / Pomerol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| White BordeauxSauternes / Barsac | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| White BordeauxDry Graves / Pessac | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red BurgundyCôte de Nuits | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Red BurgundyCôte de Beaune | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| White Burgundy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beaujolais | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RhôneNorthern (Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RhôneSouthern (Châteauneuf, Gigondas) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LoireMuscadet / Touraine / Anjou | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LoirePouilly-Fumé / Sancerre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alsace | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ChampagneVintage-dated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Germany & Austria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GermanyMosel / Saar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GermanyRheingau / Pfalz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AustriaWachau / Kamptal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Italy & Iberia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ItalyTuscany (Chianti, Brunello, Bolgheri) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ItalyPiedmont (Barolo, Barbaresco) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SpainRioja | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SpainRibera del Duero | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PortugalVintage Port (declared) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PortugalDouro / Alentejo (still) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North America | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CaliforniaNapa Valley Cabernet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CaliforniaSonoma Coast Pinot / Chardonnay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OregonWillamette Valley Pinot Noir | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WashingtonColumbia Valley Reds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Hemisphere | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AustraliaBarossa / McLaren Vale Shiraz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AustraliaMargaret River / Yarra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New ZealandMarlborough Sauvignon Blanc | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New ZealandCentral Otago Pinot Noir | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ArgentinaMendoza Malbec (Uco Valley) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ChileCentral Valley / Aconcagua | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South AfricaStellenbosch / Swartland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Select any cell to read the vintage’s regional context.
Method & Sources
Scores follow the Académie du Vin 20-point scale used in Steven Spurrier's original chart. Published 100-point and 50–100 point vintage scores from the sources below were normalised to 20 points, cross-referenced across at least three critics per region, and adjusted for in-bottle re-assessments and documented weather events. A vintage rating describes the average quality of a region in a year — never the ceiling of its best producers.
01
Wine Spectator — Vintage ChartsRegion-by-region 100-point vintage scores plus drink-window guidance; used as the primary cross-check for Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhône, Tuscany, Piedmont and California.
02
Vinous (Antonio Galloni, Neal Martin, William Kelley)Annual en-primeur and in-bottle reports; the basis for the Burgundy 2019/2021 and Bordeaux 2022 assessments.
03
Decanter — Vintage GuidesPanel-tasted regional vintage reports, especially useful for Rioja, Douro/Port, Germany and the Loire.
04
Robert Parker Wine Advocate — Vintage GuideLong-running 50–100 point vintage guide with maturity commentary; consulted for Rhône, Napa and Port.
05
JancisRobinson.com — Vintage ChartsRobinson's own 20-point scale — the closest published analogue to the Académie du Vin scale used here.
06
Bordeaux, Burgundy & Champagne trade bodies (CIVB, BIVB, Comité Champagne)Harvest and growing-season reports used to confirm weather events: 2013 rot, 2016/2021 frost, 2021 mildew, 2020 California smoke.
Ratings are an editorial synthesis of the published sources above and should be reviewed annually, as the original chart advised. Older vintages become of academic interest, particularly for white wines.