anniversary vintage chart
This guide is for people wishing to purchase a special bottle to commemorate a noteable anniversary.
Please remember that with old wines there really are no guarantees: even a top wine from a top vintage can be ruined by poor storage.
The broad summaries below are for top Bordeaux, but where other areas had a particularly good vintage these are noted.
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1907
Large and good quality vintage.
1908
Good vintage.
1909
Moderate to good Bordeaux, but almost certainly past it.
1910
Very good vintage all round, tipped for Armagnac and Cognac.
1911
Poor Bordeaux vintage. Spirits like Armagnac probably safer.
1912
Average vintage, but some good Bordeaux. Excellent Port.
1913
Another poor to moderate vintage for Bordeaux.
1914
Excellent vintage for Bordeaux, but again a small crop.
1915
War time in France, so very little wine available.
1916
Average year and always tannic. Unlikely to be great drinking now.
1917
Bordeaux had a good vintage, but still war time so not much about.
1918
Excellent vintage.
1919
Good vintage but earlier drinking style, so not a lot has survived.
1920
Fine vintage in Bordeaux. Top wines should be very good.
1921
Big, hot vintage produced profound wines, so may have lasted well.
1922
Poor year.
1923
Average year.
1924
A great vintage and reputedly still drinking very well.
1925
Another deemed as 'early drinking', so scarce and may not have lasted.
1926
Great Bordeaux vintage; top Burgundies may have some interest.
1927
Sauternes a better bet than Claret, but excellent Port.
1928
Very good Bordeaux.
1929
Superb vintage. The Latour is renowned, but will cost a packet.
1930
Poor Bordeaux year, so back to Cognac and Armagnac once more.
1931
Poor year again except excellent Port.
1932
Three strikes in a row; a very poor year indeed.
1933
Better, but a small crop and scarce.
1934
Very good indeed. I recently drunk a lovely Duhart-Milon Rothschild '34.
1935
Decent Bordeaux, very good red Burgundy, Great Port.
1936
Good to very good vintage in general throughout Europe.
1937
Good vintage.
1938
Another good year, but not renowned for staying power.
1939
Start of the war years, so production and supply was disrupted.
1940
Very good Bordeaux, short supply.
1941
Poor year.
1942
Average year.
1943
The best of the war-time vintages.
1944
Average Claret, better Sauternes.
1945
Fabulous vintage. Candidate for 'vintage of the century', including Port.
1946
A decent year, always in the shadow of 1945.
1947
Another superb, legendary year for Bordeaux and Burgundy.
1948
Poor to moderate year, except VG Port.
1949
Third of a truly great 1940's trio. Finest Burgundies of the century?
1950
Good vintage, even better for the top wines. VG Port.
1951
Not a great vintage.
1952
Fine year, with the right bank (St-Emilion and Pomerol) on top form.
1953
An excellent vintage in Bordeaux and throughout Europe.
1954
Average vintage, will need luck to find good drinking.
1955
Another average vintage, though Burgundy did better and VG for Port.
1956
Very poor year.
1957
A little better than 1956, but unlikely to have survived
1958
A very good year that could surprise if bottles have been well stored.
1959
This is another top-notch vintage, one of the century's best.
1960
A decent but light vintage. Most wines past it. Port good but fading.
1961
Vintage of the century? A recent Smith Haut-Lafitte was stunning.
1962
In the shadow of '61, but a great year. I've had some lovely '62s.
1963
Poor year, wines past their best except excellent Port.
1964
A very good vintage that has drunk well throughout, so now scarce.
1965
Poor weather led to a poor year.
1966
Fine year. I have drunk
several great wines from 1966. VG Port.
1967
Pick and choose, but Claret not great; Sauternes better.
1968
Poor to moderate year.
1969
Poor in Bordeaux, but very good in Burgundy.
1970
Great for Port, top wines only now in Bordeaux, Rhône and California
1971
Great in Germany, some good Bordeaux and Loire stickies.
1972
Most fading or past it. Top Rhônes best of bunch possibly
1973
Good in Germany, and still great top wines, but fading
1974
Mostly past it. Top Piedmont, Tuscany & Rioja possibly
1975
Some Bordeaux, Sauternes, Germany, Champagne still good. A few Ports
1976
Germany (especially sweetest), Californian Cabs, some Champagne
1977
Top Port year, all long-lived. Bordeaux mostly past it.
1978
Top Rhônes are stars, California Cabs, Barolo, some Bordeaux and Port
1979
Some Bordeaux still good, top Barolo excellent
1980
A poor year in most of Europe and past it. California & Australia better
1981
Wines fading, but some Rioja and Bordeaux still very good
1982
Bordeaux superb, elsewhere patchy; some Champagne, Barolo, Port
1983
Bordeaux fading, but top wines still great, good Port and Germany
1984
Poor year, now generally all past it.
1985
Lovely year in Bordeaux, Port & Champagne, top Burgundy still good
1986
Great, long-lived Bordeaux and Sauternes, top Californian and Australia
1987
Not good most of Europe or Australia, but Californian Cabs very good
1988
Excellent Sauternes, good Bordeaux, Champagne
1989
Excellent Bordeaux, Sauternes, Rhône, Germany, Barolo & Champagne
1990
Great year for Europe, Port not declared, OK in California & Australia
1991
Europe all very risky, though Port declared and very good in California
1992
Another poor European vintage, though excellent Ports
1993
Slightly better in Europe, though no long keepers. Choose carefully
1994
Bordeaux right bank best, Germany, Port, California all good
1995
Very good Bordeaux, Rhone, red Burgundy and consider Rioja
1996
Very good Bordeaux, Piedmont, Ribera del Duero & Australia
1997
Forward european year, so dangerous. Piedmont & Tuscany excellent
1998
Top right bank Bordeaux year, also southern Rhone, Piedmont, Australia
1999
Solid year across Europe, Italy VG, poor in California
2000
Millennium fever means high prices, but most European wines VGI
2001
Good right bank, superb Sauternes, also Southern Rhone, Italy, Spain
2002
Challenging. Burgundy, Australia & California best bets. Port declared
2003
Extreme heat raises question marks. Best: Bordeaux, Rhone, California
2004
Pretty good Bordeaux and Rhone, Italy, Germany & Spain better
2005
Potentially great year across Europe, Australia and California
