1973 Wine and Port Vintage
Vintage Summary and Recommendations: A short summary of the 1973 Vintage with our top recommendations 1973 Wine and Port
The 1973 vintage was generally considered better than the preceding 1972 vintage, but it still wasn't a standout year for Port or wine production in Europe. In Portugal's Douro Valley, the 1973 vintage was not widely declared by Port houses. Some Port houses did produce and release 1973 vintage Ports, but they are generally considered to be of moderate quality as they tend to lack the richness and depth of better vintages.
Our Wine Expert currently recommends the following wines for this year:
This Year in History: Television sitcom Last of the Summer Wine begins its first series run on BBC One.The Eurovision Winner was Luxembourg with the song "Tu Te Reconnaitras" by Anne-Marie David. Tom Kerridge, Chef, was born in this year and features on the reality culinary programs MasterChef, Saturday Kitchen, and Great British Menu.
Top Grossing Movie: The Exorcist
Bordeaux: Bordeaux 1973 wines are the product of a cold, wet summer, which was made worse by a rain in late August which bloated the grapes just before harvest. When released they were light, early drinking wines and time has not improved them! If you’re seeking a gift to celebrate a birthday or anniversary, we would recommend a bottle of colheita Port or a 1973 Montilla Moriles.
The 1973 wine vintage produced an enormous crop of easy drinking wines full of succulent fruit. The best examples from vineyards that adopted good selection are still drinking well today, although wines from Pauillac and Graves stand out. The weather was dry and warm throughout most of spring, providing good conditions for flowering. Heavy rain fell during much of July, but the month that followed was hot and dry. September began fine, but wet conditions returned from the middle of the month onwards.
Italian: Only a small crop of 1973 wine was produced in Italy and the wines are now very rare. The growing season was held back by inclement weather in the main Italian wine regions of Piedmont and Tuscany. Tuscany produced a small crop of Brunello and Chianti, generally characterised as having good colour, high acidity and some dryness. The best of the vintage originates from the more southerly regions.
Portugal: 1973 was not declared and very little Port exists from this year. A wet winter followed by an inconsistent summer led to a small crop. In 1973 there was a lack of quality spirit to fortify the grapes resulting in very little Port being made. Remarkably, we discovered a cask of 1973 white colheita Port at Devesa and persuaded them to bottle it exclusively for us.
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42 products found.
Quattro Vicariati, 1973
Cavit - Riserva
Very forward nose of leather and cherries, liquorice wild strawberries, ripe plums and pencil .The palate is very nice balance of sweet fruit and acidity
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Price: $88.80 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock
Recioto, 1973
Grasso, Sweet Red Wine
"Recioto," as in "Recioto della Valpolicella," refers to a dessert wine made from grapes that were dried on mats after picking. This process turns the grapes closer to raisins, concentrating the flavors. The wines are lovely and taste how you'd expect raisins-turned-wine to taste, rich and sweet.
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Price: $153.14 USD
Stock: 13 in Stock
Rosso Piceno, 1973
Sciarra
Clearance Offer | Was £89 | Now £45
Rosso Piceno is the largest DOC of the Marches region located in central Italy. It includes most of the hilly territory ideally suited to viticulture in the provinces of Ancona, Macerata and a limited area in Ascoli Piceno, but excludes the smaller zones of Rosso Conero and Lacrima di Morro d’Alba. The vineyards are situated on the upper hills at an altitude of up to 2296ft (700m). The wine must be made from a minimum 60% Sangiovese, balanced by smaller portions of Montepulciano.
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Price: $57.91 USD
Stock: 3 in Stock
Sassella, 1973
A. Pelizzatti
Valtellina Superiore Sassella wines are made under the Valtellina Superiore DOCG, specifically from grapes grown in the village of Sassella. Sassella is one of five viticultural sub-zones specifically identified as producing Valtellina wines of particularly high quality: the other four are Grumello, Inferno, Maroggia and Valgella. Sassella is considered to be the finest of these, and the pinnacle of the Valtellina viticultural zone.
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Price: $101.66 USD
Stock: 4 in Stock
Sforzato, 1973
Villa Bianzone
This is the most representative and prestigious wine of the entire Valtellina region. It can be produced in all valleys (from Ardenno to Tirano), but only in hilly, well exposed vineyards having with loose soil and gravel. This wine is obtained from hand-made selection of the best bunches of Nebbiolo-Chiavennasca grapes, which are dried on wooden racks in a well ventilated and dry room, a "Fruttaio", for at least 110 days until late January. During this winter time the climate of the Valtellina region does all the work, drying the grapes. By late January the grapes have lost about 40% of their weight, the berries are dry and their concentrated juice has developed specific and very intense aromatic substances. …
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Price: $178.88 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock
Sfursat, 1973
Nino Negri
The Sfursat di Valtellina wine is a dry red “Passito” style wine and is made by making wine with dried grapes. The best bunches of Chiavennasca are selected and laid out on specially made mats in aerated purpose-built cellars to dry (similar to the process in Valpolicella for Amarone). The “breva” wind which blows through this region has historically assisted the production of the Sfursat wines. The grapes spend about 3 and a half months drying like this and towards the end of January (once the main winery tasks for the other wines are all finished) the grapes will have lost about 40% of their own weight, the sugars will have concentrated and the signature passito aroma will be present. …
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Price: $166.01 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock
Sgreben, 1973
Vinicola Sociale Aldeno
Clearance Offer | Was £79 | Now £35
Price: $45.04 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock
Sizzano, 1973
Giuseppe Bianchi
The wines Sizzano must be made from grapes coming from the following varieties: Nebbiolo (Span): 50-70%; Vespolina and Uva Rara (Bonarda Novarese) alone or in combination 30-50%. Colour: ruby red with garnet; Bouquet: vinous, typical, with hints of violet, fine and pleasant; Flavour: dry, full-bodied and harmonious with a slightly bitter aftertaste; Aging: "Sizzano": at least 22 months of which at least 18 in wood; "Sizzano Reserve": at least 34 months of which at least 24 in wood.
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Price: $127.40 USD
Stock: 2 in Stock
Spanna, 1973
Umberto Fiore - Riserva Speciale - *** BIG BOTTLE of 5 LITRES ***
Spanna has often been cited by wine experts as one of Italy’s greatest ageing wines. Spanna’s longevity can be attributed, at least in part, to the addition of smaller amounts of less tannic, more acidic grape varieties. Tasting notes: The nose opens up beautifully after about an hour and the wine has gorgeous ripe and sweet fruit, nice acidity, and perfectly softened tannins.
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Price: $765.70 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock
Spanna, 1973
Vecchio Castello ** BIG BOTTLE OF 3,78 LITRES **
Spanna has often been cited by wine experts as one of Italy’s greatest ageing wines. Spanna’s longevity can be attributed, at least in part, to the addition of smaller amounts of less tannic, more acidic grape varieties. Tasting notes: The nose opens up beautifully after about an hour and the wine has gorgeous ripe and sweet fruit, nice acidity, and perfectly softened tannins.
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Price: $513.47 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock
Spanna, 1973
Antonio Vallana - Campi Raudi
Spanna has often been cited by wine experts as one of Italy’s greatest ageing wines. Spanna’s longevity can be attributed, at least in part, to the addition of smaller amounts of less tannic, more acidic grape varieties. Tasting notes: The nose opens up beautifully after about an hour and the wine has gorgeous ripe and sweet fruit, nice acidity, and perfectly softened tannins.
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Price: $178.88 USD
Stock: 16 in Stock
Taylor's Port, 1973
Sale
Crusted Port - Bottled in 1973
Special offer | Damaged Labels | Was £325 | Now £225
Crusted Port is a very small category, named because of the 'crust' of sediment that it forms in the bottle.
Invented by the British-owned Port houses predominantly for the British Port drinker, it is intended to be a more economical alternative to Vintage or Late Bottled Vintage.
Crusted is a blend of several harvests, which are bottled without being filtered and laid down to mature like Vintage wines. Using this approach allows the manufacturer to use some of the lesser harvests but still produce a good rich full bodied wine at an economical price.
Usually a year is stated on the label which, because the wine was made from a blend of harvests, is the year in which the wine was bottled. …
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Price: $289.55 USD
Stock: 7 in Stock
Uria, 1973
Cantina Sociale Cellinese
Special Offer | was £89 | Now £40
In 1957 in Cellino San Marco, cradle of typical Salento flavours, a small group of producers felt the need to create a community to best enhance their product. Thus was born the Cantina Sociale Cellinese, a cooperative made up of people with the same values and ideals, united by an incredible love for their territory and its fruits.
The area of production is Brindisi and the main varieties used are the local Negroamaro which is sometimes blended with Syrah or the local Malvasia nera di Brindisi.
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Price: $51.48 USD
Stock: 1 in Stock
Valtellina, 1973
Runchet - A. Pelizzatti
Valtellina is one of Italy’s most dramatic wine regions, located in Lombardy, the vineyards are located on steep mountains. The principal grape variety is Chiavennasca (the local name for Piedmont’s Nebbiolo and an Italian grape varietal that has been cultivated since medieval times here). The DOCG wines are generally comprised of at least 90% Chiavennasca and then blended with other quality local grapes like Brugnola, Rossola, Pignola. Then there is a DOC Valtellina Rosso (also called Rosso di Valtellina DOC) which requires at least 80% of the blend be Chiavennasca and does not have minimum ageing requirements. …
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Price: $114.53 USD
Stock: 8 in Stock
Valtellina, 1973
Sale
Cantina Coop. Villa
***Special Offer | Was £99 | Now £65***
Valtellina is one of Italy’s most dramatic wine regions, located in Lombardy, the vineyards are located on steep mountains. The principal grape variety is Chiavennasca (the local name for Piedmont’s Nebbiolo and an Italian grape varietal that has been cultivated since medieval times here). The DOCG wines are generally comprised of at least 90% Chiavennasca and then blended with other quality local grapes like Brugnola, Rossola, Pignola. Then there is a DOC Valtellina Rosso (also called Rosso di Valtellina DOC) which requires at least 80% of the blend be Chiavennasca and does not have minimum ageing requirements. …
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Price: $83.65 USD
Stock: 9 in Stock
Montepulciano, 1973
Sale
d' Abruzzo Cerasuolo-Riserva
Special Offer | Was £69 | Now £35
Montepulciano is a red wine grape variety grown widely in central Italy, most notably its eastern Abruzzo, Marche and Molise regions. The variety was named after the Tuscan parish of Montepulciano, but, confusingly, is not used in the famous wines produced there (see Vino Nobile di Montepulciano). Globally appreciated for their soft flavors, strong color and gentle tannins, Montepulciano wines are typically best consumed in their youth and with food. The deep-purple juice of Montepulciano grapes is used in varying proportions to produce wines under roughly 50 of Italy's DOC and DOCG titles. Although sometimes used on its own, …
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Price: $45.04 USD
Stock: Out of Stock