If you have a Birthday or a significant anniversary in 1983 then you are in luck! 1983 was an exceptional year for Bordeaux, Port, Armagnac and Madeira. These would make an ideal gift for a 40th Birthday or Anniversary in 2023

Vintage Port 1983 vintage ports are now considered great classic, concentrated, rich and potent wines. It was a general declaration of vintage, with 10 major shippers declaring this year. In youth the wines were powerful yet austere, lacking the showy opulence of the 85s. However, in bottle they have developed marvellously, with the best examples being complex and harmonious. These are excellent value-for-money ports, and would make a brilliant 40 year old wine gift for a birthday or anniversary.

Italian Wines The 1983 wine vintage is rated as very good for the regions of Tuscany and Piedmont. The vintage produced rich, structured, full-bodied wines that are still drinking well today.

Bordeaux The 1983 vintage produced wines of mixed quality, with some excellent wines from the Margaux region. A tropical humid heat-wave in August led to over-ripening in some regions, but those Chateaux who adopted careful selection produced some outstanding wines. Those from the Margaux region were probably the greatest of the decade. St Julien and Pauillac also turned out very good wines. The irregularity means that no single characteristic defines the vintage, however the wines are now at the peak of their maturity.

Champagne A good year, that was overshadowed by the outstanding 1982 vintage. The winter was harsh, and conditions did not improve much in spring, which was cold and damp. As a result, flowering was late, although when it did take place it did so under ideal conditions. The sunny, warm weather continued throughout much of the summer, although enough rain fell to prevent the crop from drying out. Rain, and the temperature, fell at the start of September, but conditions picked up in time for the harvest at the end of the month and beginning of October.