Can wine connoisseurs really tell the year wines were made simply by tasting them? And if they can, then how do they do it? How does one year differ from the next?
Some can. This page lists some of the criteria required to get a Master Sommelier Diploma, and includes the following paragraph:
Vintage being, of course, the year the wine was produced.
I used to work with a Master Sommalier. At that time, there were only 12 in the country. The things he could tell you about wine just by tasting it were truly amazing.
And yes, wines do differ from year to year, based on a particular year’s climate, growing conditions, etc.
It depends.
If you just give a glass of wine to somebody, no. If you have serveral known quantities (like several bottles of wine with labels) it is possible.
Some people can. It’s an amazing gift! Robert M. Parker, Jr who publishes the Wine Advocate is supposed to have one of the best noses in the world.
IMHO, we can build electronic “noses” to do that pretty soon. All we need is a big massive database of vapour molecules in those wines.