The vintage

2001

The year Sauternes made history

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The 2001 vintage, rated

The year Sauternes made history

In 2026 a bottle from 2001 marks a 25th birthday or anniversary

The vintage

Excellent · 4/5

In Bordeaux 2001 was quietly good rather than grand, and it has aged better than anyone expected - fresher and more graceful than the 2000, with the Right Bank ahead of the Médoc. Sauternes, by contrast, had one of the greatest years in living memory, with perfect late-autumn botrytis. Piedmont made classical, structured Barolo, while Champagne was rained out and effectively skipped the vintage.

What we would buy, and why

For 2001 the sweet wine is the headline act, not the consolation prize: a bottle of Climens or Rieussec at €90-180 will taste more remarkable than a mid-tier red at twice the price, and it keeps for weeks once opened. Barolo is the other strong play if the recipient likes savoury, tannic wine. Do not accept a 2001 vintage Champagne from anyone - almost no house declared, and what exists was a struggle.

2001 in the world

Wikipedia was started in January 2001 with a single edit, and Apple put the first iPod on sale that October with the promise of a thousand songs in your pocket.

Best bets for 2001

  • Château Climens, Suduiraut or Rieussec 2001 Sauternes, €90-180 - the finest sweet-wine vintage in fifty years
  • Château d'Yquem 2001, €500-900, if the budget stretches to the outright showpiece
  • Barolo 2001 from Vietti, Massolino or Giacomo Fenocchio, €120-250 - classical and only now at its peak
  • Château Canon or Clos Fourtet 2001, St-Émilion, €120-220 - more poised than the same estates' 2000

How we grade a bottle

Fill level, label, capsule and cork, then provenance. Every bottle is checked by hand by people who have handled thousands of old bottles, and we write down the flaws as well as the good news. What the fill levels mean · How to choose a birth-year wine

Real people, not a chatbot

Ask a person about this year

The people who answer are the same people who check and pack the bottles. Ask for photographs, a condition report or advice on a year and you get a straight answer from the ANNO team, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 CET.