1961 Wine and Port Vintage

Vintage Summary and Recommendations: Welcome to Vintage Wine and Port's 1961 wine page. Read on for our summary of the 1961 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 1961 vintage enjoyed some extraordinary moments, particularly in France. For Bordeaux, the vintage was legendary with great wines produced in Pessac-Léognan, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Pomerol and – although less uniform – Margaux. However, as is often the case when conditions are ripe for perfect Bordeaux, the year was not so conducive for the sweet wines of Sauternes, and they tended to be more of a mixed bag. The year was also excellent for both Burgundy and Beaujolais, as well as Champagne, the Rhône and the Loire Valley. Although information is limited for Alsace, what does exist suggests it was very good. Outside of France, the vintages for both Piedmont and Tuscany were excellent and the best Barolo should still be drinking well now.

Our Wine Expert currently recommends the following wines for this year:

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Bordeaux: This is one of the legendary vintages of the century. Although most of the 1961 wines are now fading slowly, the top examples continue to shine through offering concentrated, ripe fruit with amazing bouquets. The crop was tiny and there are very few examples available. Provided the bottles have been stored correctly these wines should last for another few years.

Italian: In Italy, 1961 is considered to be one of the greatest vintages of the 20th century. The wines from Piedmont (Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera) and Tuscany (Chianti, Brunello) are outstanding. Now fully mature these wines, with careful cellaring, will still keep for many years to come.

Portugal: While not generally a declared year, the hot weather produced some concentrated ports in 1961. The harvest started in extremely hot conditions at the river quinta in early September, progressing in other areas until the end of the month making it a long, drawn out vintage. The picking required a very rigorous selection which entailed picking out the burnt and imperfect grapes from the bunches before putting them in the baskets. This led to a small harvest, making bottles from this year quite rare. Making a great wine gift for any birthday or anniversary, the 1961 ports produced are still drinking well today.

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Chianti, 1961

Melini

Chianti, situated in Tuscany in central Italy, is home to probably the best-known and most iconic of all Italian wines. Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are primarily made with Sangiovese grape whereas the Vernaccia grape is the basis of the white Vernaccia di San Gimignano.
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Price: $129.88 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock

Portuguese wine

1961 Wine and Port Vintage

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Chianti, 1961

Dow's, 1961

Gattinara, 1961

Gattinara, 1961

Graham's Port, 1961

Graham's Port, 1961

Krohn Port, 1961

Nebbiolo, 1961

Pertinace Antico, 1961

Salento, 1961

Salento, 1961

Salice, 1961

Sogno di Bacco, 1961

Spanna, 1961

Spanna, 1961

Spanna, 1961

Taylor's Port, 1961

Tokaji, 1961