1988 Wine and Port Vintage
Vintage Summary and Recommendations: Welcome to Vintage Wine and Port's 1988 wine page. Read on for our summary of the 1988 vintage, our top recommendations and region reports. Scroll down to see all of our wines currently available. If you cannot find what you are looking for please call us on 01425 837177 or Contact Us. We would love to help you with your wine choice!
The 1988 vintage was mostly excellent across the board with some serious highlights. For France – Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Rhône, Alsace and the Loire Valley all enjoyed brilliant vintages with Sauternes, in particular, delivering an excellent return. In Italy, both Piedmont and Tuscany had superb legendary vintages. Although the vintage for Spain, Port and Tokaj was slightly more so-so, some excellent wines were still made.
Our Wine Expert currently recommends the following wines for this year:
This Year in History: Fun Fact: Microsoft sold its one-millionth mouse, and McDonald’s opened its ten-thousandth restaurant.
Eurovision Winner: Switzerland with the song "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" by Celine Dion
Top Grossing Movie: Rain Man
Bordeaux: This was the first in a trio of great vintages for Bordeaux, and one that has been rather overshadowed by the 89s and 90s. 1988 is the most classic of the trio, with many of the wines not being overtly fruit-driven but having levels of extract and concentration that that make them perfect candidates for keeping. These would make a brilliant wine gift for a birthday or anniversary celebration.
Italian: 1988 Italian wines were produced in an excellent, almost outstanding vintage. Good growing conditions particularly in Tuscany and Piedmont produced rich, full bodied wines that will hold for many years to come.
Portugal: 1988 was a very difficult growing year, with bad weather in the spring and summer resulting in a small crop of average quality. As a result there was no declaration of vintage (a mark of the highest quality). Nevertheless, some very attractive single quinta ports were produced.
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17 products found.
Ryst Dupeyron Armagnac, 1988
Ryst Dupeyron Reserve Joseph Millesime vintage Armagnac
50cl bottle
Includes original orange colour cardboard gift box
The 1988 Dupeyron Armagnac is the expression of a single year and has a unique character associated with the year and the cask in which it has been stored. These vintages are bottled at the alcohol level in which they naturally come out of the cask. There is a wonderful contrast between the sweet and sour flavours of wood, amplified by the strong alcoholic degree. Rich palate feeling the alcohol and the concentration of dry plums, spicy with persistent flavour of rancio and of spices, but round, soft and long in the finish. The tannins are very present, but full-bodied and round.
The Maison Ryst-Dupeyron was founded by Joseph Dupeyron in 1905. …
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Price: $103.38 USD
Stock: 6 in Stock
Bodegas Toro Albalá, 1988
DON PX 1988
Half Bottle 37.5 cl
The 1988 Don PX from Toro Albala is an extremely concentrated and syrupy wine. Currants, raisins, caramel and orange peel. Same on the palate with some coffee candy as well. A beautifully clean and clear PX with great sweetness, but very nicely balanced by beautiful acidity. Suitable for long ageing. 2040+
Learn more about Toro Albala
Learn more about Pedro Ximenez
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Price: $78.45 USD
Stock: 46 in Stock
Bairrada, 1988
Quinta Poço do Lobo - Cabernet
Caves S. Joao, established in 1920, became a dominant force in Portuguese wine making in the early 20th century with their houses Porta dos Cavaleiros in Dao and Frei Joao in Bairrada. Given the shifting trends in consumer preferences, Bairrada and Dao fell to obscurity in the 1990s when critical influence drove the demand for bigger, extracted, warmer climate wines. As in all things, however, what comes around goes around! Sure enough, 20 years later savvy consumers and food-conscious sommeliers are looking for finesse and freshness and heading back to Bairrada and Dao. Wines that when young had a vegetal character, …
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Price: $90.29 USD
Stock: 118 in Stock
Barbera d'Alba, 1988
Cascina Rossa di Veglio
Barbera is a wine of prestige, rich colors that refer generally to the ruby purple, just what clothes cardinals; the bouquet is ample and composite, with fruity notes of blackberry, cherry, strawberry and red fruit jam and spicy aromas reminiscent of cinnamon, vanilla, green pepper.
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Price: $77.21 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock
Barolo, 1988
Abbona - Terlo Ravera
Barolo is known as the 'king of wines' and is made from the Nebbiolo grape. Heady aromas of rose, leather, vanilla, cherry, pepper, cranberry, strawberry. Fruits are perfectly knitted with the tannins and acidity. It's a powerful wine but remarkably subtle. Don't underestimate it and certainly serve it with food to show at it's best. Nebbiolo has naturally high tannins and acidity, so it will take on full-flavoured, rich foods with no problem at all.
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Price: $208.06 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock
Chateau Branaire-Ducru, 1988
Sale
St Julien, 4th Growth Classification
Bin soiled and stained labels.
Special Offer | Was £179 | Now £139
1988 Chateau Branaire Ducru. Nose of black cherry, red cherry, cassis and sage, same on the palate, medium/big body, very tasty, held up well but time is short so you should immediately drink up, elegant, and a long, long finish. Cellar Tracker Tasting 2019.
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Price: $181.89 USD
Stock: 3 in Stock
Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey, 1988
Lafaurie-Peyraguey, Sauternes
Sweet White Wine
Lafaurie-Peyraguey has produced some of Sauternes' most powerful wines for many decades now. The massively rich, yet fresh, lively 1988 offers a compelling, flowery, honeyed bouquet of vanilla custard, buttery orange/apricot scents, and smoky ceme brulee. The wine's zesty acidity brings everything into extraordinary clarity. With plenty of botrytis evident, this is a full-bodied, super-concentrated, fascinating, powerful yet elegant Sauternes that will age beautifully
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Price: $117.71 USD
Stock: 5 in Stock
Chateau Musar, 1988
Bekaar Valley, Lebanon Gaston Hochar
This rare 1988 Musar is a blend of Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Carignan from this well-known and highly regarded Lebanese winery.
Chateau Musar is often referred to as the Lafite of the Lebanon. Wine maker Gaston Hochar defied the odds producing a string of great wines during the Lebanon War. Musar has assumed legendary status. Complex, long-lived and endlessly varied, in some vintages it seems more like a Burgundy, in others a Bordeaux, in still others a Hermitage. But it is always brilliantly, uniquely, Lebanese. Ages magnificently but good vintages are usually best at 10-20 years old. …
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Price: $281.35 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock
Chateau Musar, 1988
Bekaar Valley, Lebanon Gaston Hochar
This rare 1988 Musar is a blend of Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Carignan from this well-known and highly regarded Lebanese winery.
Chateau Musar is often referred to as the Lafite of the Lebanon. Wine maker Gaston Hochar defied the odds producing a string of great wines during the Lebanon War. Musar has assumed legendary status. Complex, long-lived and endlessly varied, in some vintages it seems more like a Burgundy, in others a Bordeaux, in still others a Hermitage. But it is always brilliantly, uniquely, Lebanese. Ages magnificently but good vintages are usually best at 10-20 years old. …
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Price: $260.41 USD
Stock: 2 in Stock
Dao, 1988
Porta dos Cavaleiros
Caves S. Joao, established in 1920, became a dominant force in Portuguese wine making in the early 20th century with their houses Porta dos Cavaleiros in Dao and Frei Joao in Bairrada. Given the shifting trends in consumer preferences, Bairrada and Dao fell to obscurity in the 1990s when critical influence drove the demand for bigger, extracted, warmer climate wines. As in all things, however, what comes around goes around! Sure enough, 20 years later savvy consumers and food-conscious sommeliers are looking for finesse and freshness and heading back to Bairrada and Dao. Wines that when young had a vegetal character, …
more >>>
Price: $90.29 USD
Stock: 117 in Stock
Dolcetto, 1988
Cascina Rossa di Veglio
A native black grape variety of Northern Italy grown almost exclusively in the provinces of Cuneo and Alessandria in Piedmont. It is relatively easy to cultivate, although it is susceptible to fungal diseases. It ripens before Barbera and Nebbiolo and is often grown in high north-facing sites which would be unsuitable for Nebbiolo. The finest Dolcetto wines come from grapes grown on soils rich with white marls, especially those found on the right bank of the River Tauro. The wines generally are low in tannins and acidity and are usually fruity and fragrant, often with hints of almonds.
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Price: $77.21 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock
Madeira, 1988
Barbeito Vinhos - Sercial - Frasqueira
Winemaking:
Grapes from various quality vineyards from Seixal. This Sercial 1988 is originated in grapes produced in the Seixal vineyards. It is the first wine of a series of bottling that pay tribute to Mr. Manuel Euge´nio as a way of enduring the long-term relationship between our families. In August 2017, 650 bottles have been filled, all individually numbered.
Grape Varieties:
Sercial
Tasting Notes:
Gold color with greenish highlights. Fresh and mineral bouquet, resin, smoked wood, hint of leather, lemon zest, and dried figs. Salty touch on a fine and elegant palate, balanced, with a fresh and pure acidity. …
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Price: $352.01 USD
Stock: 4 in Stock
Nebbiolo, 1988
Cantine Prandi
The Nebbiolo has a lovely earthy bouquet. The nose has cherries, dark cherries, tar and slight dried rose notes. Complex and layered. Nice acidity. Medium tannins still present. Cherries on the palate too. Nice finish. Great food wine. Nebbiolo is a fickle grape famed as much for its pale appearance as for its tannic character and produces some of the most perfumed and richly flavored wines. Though generally only medium-bodied, the wines possess rose and anise scented aromatics and deep flavors of cherry, orange peel and subtle green herb tones.
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Price: $90.29 USD
Stock: 16 in Stock
Orbello, 1988
Sella
Produced mainly with Nebbiolo grapes cultivated on the slopes of Monte Rosa, west of Gattinara, of medium aging, 2 years minimum, it comes from a knowledgeable use of aging wood. Of ruby color, complex scents of mature fruit and spices, fresh and austere body. It's suited for a medium/long aging.
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Price: $103.38 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock
Taittinger, 1988
Vintage Champagne Imai
Amongst Champagne's luxury cuveés and super-premium labels, Taittinger's wines live on one extreme end of the style spectrum.
While many top Champagnes can be quite difficult to approach in their youth, with laser-like focus and delineation, even austerity, Taittinger instead tends to be immediately open and welcoming. These are beautiful, delicious Champagnes, with bubbles lazily winding their way up to the surface, inviting you to take another sip.
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Price: $503.80 USD
Stock: 2 in Stock
Vieux Chateau Certan, 1988
Pomerol
91 points Vinous
The 1988 Vieux Chateau Certan is a vintage that I have not tasted often, something I rue even more having been reacquainted with it. To be honest, for the first five minutes it felt overawed by the 1989. However, it soon gets its act together to deliver and gorgeous nose of black fruit, melted tar and cigar box, unashamedly classic in style, less sensual than the succeeding two vintages and yet extremely well defined. The palate is well balanced with fine tannin, perfectly judged acidity, tobacco and cedar dominating the second half and yet there remains more than enough freshness and length to urge you back for another sip. …
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Price: $229.00 USD
Stock: 7 in Stock
Vouvray, 1988
Domaine Huet Vouvray Clos du Bourg Moelleux
Domain Huet is one of the top producers of this fabulous sweet wine. The 1988 displays a brilliantly intense and very aromatic, quite floral, Gewurztraminer-like bouquet of ripe fruits (white fleshed stone fruits, apricots, quince confiture), rose petals, spicy and some stony flavors; it shows up very precise and complex and much younger than you might expect from a 30+ year old Chenin. Rich, intense, fresh, powerful and just slightly sweet on the palate due to the vibrant acidity and the tight and grippy tannins, this very mineral Chenin reveals a great tension and a compact, persistent and slightly drying finish, but a lingering salinity. …
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Price: $129.55 USD
Stock: 2 in Stock