1985 Wine and Port Vintage
Vintage Summary and Recommendations: 
Welcome to Vintage Wine and Port's 1985 wine page. Read on for our summary of the 1985 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!
1985 is unanimously regarded as a wonderful vintage for much of the wine world, especially in Europe.
Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône and Champagne all put out extraordinary vintages; some, like Champagne, are even regarded as a vintage of the decade. Safe to say, there should still be a wide range of 1985 French wine still drinking well today, particularly long-lived reds from the major growing regions. Italy was also exceptionally good. The Port vintage was universally declared and there will be many great Ports still drinking well today and quite likely for some time still to come. Any of these wines would make a fabulous 40 year old wine gift for an Anniversary or birthday.
Our Wine Expert currently recommends the following wines for this year:
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Bordeaux: The 1985 wine vintage produced examples that are characterised by being well developed, rich and having a seductive complexity with an attractive perfume. A drought for much of August and September led to concentrated grapes at harvest. The wines have now generally gone through the peak of their maturity and should be drunk within the next few years.
Italian: 1985 was an outstanding vintage for Italian wines, one of the best in the last 50 years for Piedmont and Tuscany. The vintage produced wines of great consistency, and the best wines should be great.
Portugal:
The 1985 is a great classic Port Vintage, with concentrated, rich and potent wines. The year was a general declaration of vintage, the majority of Houses judging it to be up to their high standards. 1985 was a model year for the growth of the vines: a wet winter followed by a moderate spring led into an extremely warm June and a hot July and August. The harvest took place under perfect weather conditions, and the fermentations went well also. From the very start shippers were predicting outstanding wines. The resulting ports are characterised as being forward with enormous structure, and staggering depth, dimension, and length. They are at the peak of their maturity and will remain so for another 10-15 years. Spain: 1985 was a near-perfect vintage for Spanish wines, with a warm summer and a perfect ripening season. The wines produced are generally easy-drinking wines of medium intensity. About 10% of wine went into Gran Reserva production.
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29 products found.
Dow's, 1985
Vintage Port
Clearance Offer - Damaged Labels | Now £89.95
The 1985 Dow's Vintage Port is a highly regarded wine from one of the oldest and most respected Port houses in the Douro Valley of Portugal. Dow's is known for producing structured, dry-style Ports with a focus on balance and longevity, and the 1985 vintage is considered one of the best from the latter half of the 20th century. The 1985 vintage is widely recognized as an outstanding year for Port, producing wines with exceptional aging potential. Weather conditions were ideal, with a warm and dry growing season that led to perfectly ripened grapes, resulting in concentrated and powerful wines. …
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Price: £89.95
Stock: Out of Stock
Gigondas, 1985
Gour de Chaule
This distinguished 1985 Gigondas from Domaine du Gour de Chaulé is a fine example of a traditional, family-run Southern Rhône estate. Known for its artisanal approach and old-vine Grenache, the domaine produces structured, soulful wines that age with grace. The 1985 vintage, one of the finest of the decade in the Rhône Valley, gave wines of balance, ripe fruit, and longevity—qualities that still shine nearly forty years on.
Tasting Notes
Brick-red with an amber rim, this mature Gigondas opens with complex aromas of dried cherries, figs, garrigue herbs, and leather, laced with notes of cedar, spice, and truffle. …
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Price: £59.95
Stock: Out of Stock
Graham's Port
40 Year Old Tawny Port New Edition
Decanter (DWWA 2025) Gold
RRP £219 Special Offer £185
Graham's 40 Year Old Tawny. A truly remarkable wine cared for across generations. A great testament to the arts of blending, cooperage, and ageing. Aged for an average of 40 years in seasoned oak casks, our 40 Year Old Tawny is a testament to time and patience. Composed of wines put aside generations ago, this is an incredible wine with an amazingly long finish, indicating both its age and immense quality.
Graham's 40 Years Old Tawny is made from wines of the very highest quality which, following careful selection, are matured in seasoned oak casks of until their peak of maturity is reached. …
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Price: £185.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Speyside, 1985
First Cask- Cragganmore Distillery
The First Cask 1985 Speyside Single Malt – 22 Years Old is a rare and characterful whisky from one of Scotland’s most celebrated regions. Bottled as part of the much-admired First Cask series, this single cask expression offers whisky lovers the chance to experience an unrepeatable snapshot of Speyside distilling at its finest. With only around 120–150 bottles drawn from the cask, each one represents genuine scarcity and individuality.
On the nose, this whisky immediately shows its maturity: rich layers of honeyed malt, baked orchard fruits, and vanilla mingle with subtle oak spice. Two decades of careful ageing have created a depth and complexity that is both elegant and inviting. …
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Price: £345.00
Stock: Out of Stock