Draggingtree Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Interactive graphic: French wine map shows the best vintage, from 1978 to 2011 Mayfair-based Berry Bros and Rudd, wine merchant to the Queen, has rated the wine from different regions of France out of ten for each year for decades. Browse by year to see the quality of each region's vintage, and click to see Berry Bros and Rudd's reviews. By Cal Flyn, graphic by Mark Oliver and Dan Palmer 11:58AM BST 24 Apr 2012-map-s hows-the-best-vintage-from-1978-to-2011.html 24 Comments Berry Bros and Rudd also suggest whether you should drink the wine now, or lay it down to mature in your cellar. The quality of the wine each year depends on a number of factors, but the most important is the weather. A sunny growing season, with occasional showers - particularly when the vines are in bud - is vital. Too much rain and the fruity "extract" in the wine will be diluted; too much sun and the grapes could be burnt. Joss Fowler, from Berry Bros and Rudd's fine wine department, said: "2010 was a brilliant vintage. The wine has lots of acidity and alcohol, lots of extract and lots of tannin - the key ingredients are in a high volume and the perfect balance. It will also improve over time - over the years those ingredients will interplay with each other and the wine will develop, soften and gain complexity. "Tannins are key - the same as you get in tea - which soften and 'eat themselves' over time, and the wine will get lighter. That's what produces the deposit that you find in the bottom of the bottle - a good sign." Read More http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/9217489/Interactive-graphic-French-wine-map-shows-the-best-vintage-from-1978-to-2011.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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