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1973 Wine and Port Vintage

Vintage Summary and Recommendations:

1973 Wine and Port

A short summary of the 1973 Vintage with our top recommendations

Welcome to Vintage Wine and Port's 1973 wine page. Read on for our summary of the 1973 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 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:

  • Quinta da Devesa 1973 Finest Reserve White port in presentation box
  • Ryst Dupeyron Armagnac
  • Bodegas Toro Albala 1973 Don PX Montilla Moriles, sweet wine, Spain
  • DOliveiras Madeira 1973 Verdelho


  •  
    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.

    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: $515.60 USD
    Stock: 1 in Stock

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    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: $179.62 USD
    Stock: 16 in Stock

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    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: $290.75 USD
    Stock: 7 in Stock

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    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: $51.69 USD
    Stock: 1 in Stock

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    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: $115.01 USD
    Stock: 8 in Stock

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    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: $84.00 USD
    Stock: 9 in Stock

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    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: $45.23 USD
    Stock: Out of Stock

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