The vintage

2008

Champagne's year, and a classic Barolo

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The 2008 vintage, rated

Champagne's year, and a classic Barolo

In 2026 a bottle from 2008 marks a 18th birthday or anniversary

The vintage

Excellent · 4/5

A cool year that rewarded patience. Bordeaux made classic, fresh wines that were undervalued at the time and have aged well, with the Right Bank and the sweet wines especially good. Burgundy is bright in red and superb in white. Champagne 2008 is one of the great vintages of the era, and Barolo and Barbaresco 2008 are classic, perfumed and long-lived.

What we would buy, and why

A vintage Champagne 2008 is the obvious gift for an eighteenth birthday - a great year and a celebration in the same bottle. For someone who prefers red, Barolo 2008 or a Right Bank Bordeaux is drinking well now and will hold. Prices for 2008 Bordeaux are gentler than the neighbouring years for the same quality.

2008 in the world

Usain Bolt broke the 100 metres world record at the Beijing Olympics in August. In September Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, and in November Barack Obama was elected president.

Best bets for 2008

  • Vintage Champagne 2008 - a benchmark year for the region
  • Barolo or Barbaresco 2008 - classic, perfumed and built to age
  • Right Bank Bordeaux 2008 - fresh, classic and fairly priced
  • White Burgundy 2008 - taut and precise

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.