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Vintage Wine Gifts ideas
Vintage
Wine Gifts
Free wine thermometer with orders over £99.
Free delivery available. Money back guarantee.
Gift idea: buy a bottle of wine for a birthday present - buy it from
the year the person was born in!
All bottles are beautifully packaged in silk lined wooden boxes and come
with a gift message and tasting and storage notes. Vintage Wine Gifts
offer a no quibble refund policy and a price promise guarantee. They also
tell you when your gift has been delivered! Our minimum order quantity
is one bottle.
Search by region
Armagnac Australia Bordeaux Burgundy Champagne Cognac Ireland Italy Portugal
Rhone Scotland
Search by drink
Armagnac Champagne Cognac Port Red wine Whisky White wine
Vintage Wine Chart - check it out and see what vintages are good. plenty
to read and tempt you.
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| About vintage wine - The price of each bottle is determined by the
vintage and the place it is produced. Depending on the weather
when the grapes are ripening and being picked will determine whether
a vintage is good or not. |
Bordeaux
As Bordeaux covers a large area, there are great variations in quality
for the different regions even in the same year. A good Medoc vintage
does not necessarily mean a good Pomorol vintage, or vice versa. Below
are the classic vintages of the 20th century:
Snapshot
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| Outstanding |
1945, 1947, 1949, 1953, 1959, 1961, 1982, 1985, 1989, 1990,
2000, 2003 |
| Very good |
1934, 1952, 1955, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1986,
1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, |
| Good |
1933, 1943, 1946, 1948, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1988, 1993,
1994, 1997, 1998, 2001 |
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Details
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| 1930 |
Poor vintage |
| 1931 |
Poor vintage |
| 1932 |
Another poor vintage |
| 1933 |
Small crop average year |
| 1934 |
The decades best vintage the best wines still drinking well |
| 1935 |
Moderate vintage |
| 1936 |
Moderate vintage |
| 1937 |
Good vintage the best wines still drinking well |
| 1938 |
Mediocre vintage |
| 1939 |
Mediocre vintage |
| 1940 |
Mediocre vintage |
| 1941 |
Small crop still drinkable |
| 1942 |
Small crop still drinkable |
| 1943 |
The best of the wartime vintages |
| 1944 |
Underrated vintage the best still drinkable. |
| 1945 |
One of the greatest vintages of the century. |
| 1946 |
A good vintage sandwiched between two great vintages |
| 1947 |
Another great vintages |
| 1948 |
A good vintage |
| 1949 |
Yet again a great vintage |
| 1950 |
uneven vintage the best wines still drinking well |
| 1951 |
Dreadful vintage |
| 1952 |
Very good vintage |
| 1953 |
A marvellous vintage |
| 1954 |
Dreadful vintage |
| 1955 |
Aged exceptionally well producing wines of charm and character |
| 1956 |
Awful vintage |
| 1957 |
Poor vintage |
| 1958 |
Average vintage |
| 1959 |
A magnificent vintage |
| 1960 |
Poor vintage |
| 1961 |
The finest vintage since the second world war. Ready for drinking |
| 1962 |
Another amazing vintage. Ready for drinking. |
| 1963 |
Dreadful vintage |
| 1964 |
Great for Pomorol, St Emilion and Graves who harvested before
the rains. Ready for drinking. |
| 1965 |
Awful vintage, except for sweet Banyuls |
| 1966 |
Best vintage since 1961. Ready for drinking. |
| 1967 |
Poor vintage |
| 1968 |
Poor vintage |
| 1969 |
Another poor vintage |
| 1970 |
Very good vintage |
| 1971 |
Another very good vintage |
| 1972 |
Really dreadful vintage |
| 1973 |
Poor vintage |
| 1974 |
Awful vintage |
| 1975 |
Paulliac and Pomorol most successful. A highly touted vintage.
Drink now or cellar. |
| 1976 |
A good vintage. St Julian, Paulliac, St Estephe and Margaux
the most successful vineyards producing soft fruity drinking. |
| 1977 |
worse vintage of the decade. |
| 1978 |
Excellent red wine vintage. Fully mature. |
| 1979 |
Good quality wines. Ready for drinking |
| 1980 |
Lots of supple wines produced. Ready for drinking. |
| 1981 |
A good vintage. Less intense wines produced. Ready for drinking.
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| 1982 |
A wonderful red vintage, with fat ripe juicy wines. The wines
are drinking deliciously now, but will keep. |
| 1983 |
Average vintage. Quality was less uniform than in 1982, and
the best wines are in Margaux. |
| 1984 |
Poor vintage |
| 1985 |
Another fine vintage. The wines are beautifully balanced and
drinking well now. |
| 1986 |
A good vintage with a good concentration of fruit. |
| 1987 |
A very drinkable vintage. Drink up now. |
| 1988 |
A good vintage with wonderfully ripe St-Emilions and Pomerols,
drink or cellar.. |
| 1989 |
Wonderful Medoc and good Pomorols and St - Emilions. Drink
or cellar. |
| 1990 |
Undoubtedly the best vintage of the decade |
| 1991 |
Poor vintage |
| 1992 |
Poor vintage |
| 1993 |
Variable vintage the Merlot grape wines being the best |
| 1994 |
Good vintage |
| 1995 |
A good vintage, red wines of charm and structure produced.
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| 1996 |
A good not a great vintage. Not ready for Drinking. |
| 1997 |
Quite good vintage. Not ready for Drinking. |
| 1998 |
Variable vintage, Pomerols and St Emilions the best. Not ready
for Drinking. |
| 1999 |
Quite good vintage. Not ready for Drinking. |
| 2000 |
Excellent vintage. Not ready for Drinking. |
| 2001 |
Very good vintage.Best in Pomerol and St Emilion |
| 2002 |
Quite good vintage. Not ready for Drinking. |
| 2003 |
Excellent vintage. Not ready for Drinking. Best in St. Julien/Pauillac
St. Estephe. |
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Burgundy
A good white vintage does not mean a good red vintage. Below is a table
to assist you choosing the perfect gift.
Snapshots
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White Burgundys |
| Outstanding |
1864, 1865, 1906, 1928, 1947, 1962, 1966, 1986, 1989, 1996,
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| Very good |
1899, 1919, 1923, 1929, 1934, 1937, 1945, 1949, 1952, 1953,
1955, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983,
1985, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, |
| Good |
1941, 1950, 1957, 1959, 1964, 1970, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993,
1994, 2001, 2002 |
Red Burgundys |
| Outstanding |
1937, 1945, 1949, 1959, 1962, 1969, 1978, 1985, 1988, 1990,1999 |
| Very good |
1933, 1934, 1943, 1947, 1952, 1953, 1961, 1964, 1966,1971,
1986, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002 |
| Good |
1935, 1942,1955, 1957, 1972, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1987,
1992, 1994, 2000, 2001 |
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Rhone Valley
Snapshots
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Northern Rhone (Cote Rotie, St Joseph,
Hermitage, Crozes Hermitage and Cornas) |
| Outstanding |
1929, 1945, 1949, 1959, 1961, 1969, 1971,1978, 1983, 1985,
1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 |
| Very good |
1933, 1937, 1943, 1947, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1962, 1964,
1966, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1995 |
| Good |
1934, 1942, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 2001 |
Southern Rhone (Chateauneuf –
du Pape) |
| Outstanding |
1929, 1945, 1949, 1952, 1959, 1961, 1970, 1978, 1983, 1985,
1989, 1990, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001 |
| Very good |
1934, 1937, 1947, 1955, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1982,
1999 |
| Good |
1939, 1944, 1953, 1966, 1972, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1988,
1992, 1996, 1997 |
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Italy
Snapshot
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Piedmont (Barolo, Barbaresco) |
| Outstanding |
1961, 1964, 1971, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1997 |
| Very good |
1967, 1970, 1986, 1996, 1999 |
| Good |
1962, 1968, 1969, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1993, 1995, 1998 |
Tuscany (Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino) |
| Outstanding |
1962, 1964, 1967, 1971, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1995,
1997 |
| Very good |
1968, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1986, 1994, 1996, 1999 |
| Good |
1961, 1970, 1973, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1998 |
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Piedmont and Tuscany are the regions where vintages most matter, and
where the wines most repay ageing, especially Barolo and Barbaresco from
Piedmont and Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino from Tuscany.
This is not to say that other Italian reds do not improve with age; most
whites however are best drunk in early youth.
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