1986 Wine and Port Vintage
Vintage Summary and Recommendations: Welcome to Vintage Wine and Port's 1986 wine page. Read on for our summary of the 1986 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 1986 vintage was largely good but stopped short of excellent. In France, Bordeaux, Sauternes, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Champagne and the Loire all performed well, while Alsace and the Rhône Valley struggled a little more. In wider Europe, both Piedmont and Tuscany had so-so years with few truly stand-out wines, but some good ones were still made. Port and Spain were largely average while Germany and Tokaj were both good. 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:
This Year in History: Fun Fact: Halley’s Comet appeared in the night sky, as it also did back in 1682, 1758, 1835, and 1910. Halley’s Comet orbits the sun every 75-76 years, and will not be seen again until 2062.
Eurovision Winner: Belgium with the song "J'aime La Vie" by Sandra Kim
Top Grossing Movie: Top Gun
Bordeaux: 1986 was a great vintage for the wines produced in the northern part of Bordeaux (St Julien, Pauillac) where many of those wineries produced deep, concentrated wines that will mature over the next decade or two. What marks the 1986 vintage is tannin. The tannins originate from the skins of those well ripened grapes which were left on the vines for several weeks before harvest - in tastings the 1986 usually stands out because of this particular quality. The wines only reached their peak recently but will remain there for many years to come. Drinking well now, these wines would make a great 40 year old wine gift for a birthday or celebration and would grace the table of any anniversary event.
Italian: 1986 was a very good year for Italian wines. The wines produced that year are generally quite consistent and there are some great Barolos from Piedmont. The wines have reached full maturity but will last for a few more years.
Portugal: A good year that produced forward, fruit packed Single Quinta Vintage port wines that are at their best now and will remain so for many years, however there was no declaration of vintage in 1986. Tawny or Single Harvest Ports will offer a great alternative to Vintage Port and would make an excellent 40th Birthday gift, or anniversary gift this year!
Spain: The 1986 was a good vintage for Rioja and Ribera Del Duero, with the former producing some good but rather lean wines and the latter standing out for its power, structure and complexity.
34 products found.
Quinta do Poco do Lobo, 1986
Quinta Poço do Lobo - Cabernet, Bairrada
Quinta Poço do Lobo – Cabernet Sauvignon
Bairrada, Portugal
A distinctive Portuguese expression of Cabernet Sauvignon from Bairrada, showing a more restrained, Atlantic-influenced style than New World examples.
Aromas lean towards blackcurrant, dark cherry and plum, layered with cedar, graphite, dried herbs and a subtle earthy note.
The palate is structured and linear, with firm but well-integrated tannins and fresh acidity typical of the region. Dark fruit flavours are balanced by savoury notes of tobacco, spice and gentle oak, leading to a long, dry and composed finish.
Serving & Pairing
Serve at 16–18°C. …
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Price: £79.00
Stock: 110 in Stock
Kopke
40 Year Old Tawny Port in Gift Box
Decanter Silver Award ( DWWA 2025 )
This Kopke 40 Year Old Tawny Port is a beautifully balanced and richly complex wine, perfect for savouring on special occasions. Its intricate layers of flavours and aromas make it a delightful experience for the palate, showcasing the masterful aging process and the quality of the port.
Tasting Notes
Deep amber with mahogany highlights, indicating aging. Its aromas include dried fruits, caramel, toffee, butterscotch, roasted nuts, vanilla, and spices. The palate is smooth and luscious, with a pronounced sweetness and well-integrated acidity. The texture is velvety and full-bodied, offering a luxurious mouthfeel. …
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Price: £119.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Cabernet, 1986
F.lli Pighin
1986 Cabernet – F.lli Pighin (Friuli, Italy)
A fully mature, old-school Friulian Cabernet (likely Sauvignon with a touch of Franc) showing savoury poise over power. Deep garnet shading to tawny at the rim; aromas of dried blackcurrant and cherry, cedar and pencil shavings, bay leaf, tobacco and leather, with hints of green peppercorn, cacao and dried herbs. Mid-weight and silken on the palate: lively, cool-climate acidity carries cassis, sour-cherry and chinotto notes; tannins are fine and resolved. The finish is long and tapering with cedar spice, graphite and a touch of cocoa.
Producer note: Fratelli Pighin farms gravelly, …
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Price: £69.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Chateau Cos d'Estournel, 1986
St Estephe, 2nd Growth Classification
95 Points - Robert Parker
Reviews: "The 1986 is a highly extracted wine, with a black/ruby color and plenty of toasty, smoky notes in its bouquet that suggest ripe plums and licorice. Evolving at a glacial pace, it exhibits massive, huge, ripe, extremely concentrated flavors with impressive depth and richness. It possesses power, weight, and tannin." Parker, Wine Advocate 1994
"his bottle is similar to the one last year: dense, masculine, wet sand, austere on the nose, as if the wine is slamming a door in your face, but after a time there is a lovely touch of cardamom that develops. The palate suggests that it is worth cellaring, …
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Price: £225.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Chateau d'Angludet, 1986
Margaux Cru Bourgeois
This is a fragrant Margaux at its best. Lovely lifting scents of tobacco, redcurrant and cedar. The wine is only light to medium bodied and tastes a touch dilute but has a delicious mature cedary flavour with plenty of red fruits and a delicious soft texture - loads of development over a 3 hour period. Nice wine to be appreciated for its delicate nuance and charm rather than power and concentration.
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Price: £84.50
Stock: Out of Stock
Chateau Leoville Barton, 1986
St Julien 2eme Cru Classe
The 1986 Château Léoville Barton is a powerful, classically structured Saint-Julien from one of the most robust and long-lived vintages of the 1980s. The wine opens with an intense bouquet of blackcurrant, cedar, graphite and cigar box, underscored by hints of dried flowers, leather and warm earth. It is immediately recognisable as a firmly built, traditional Left Bank claret of serious pedigree.
On the palate, the 1986 is deep and authoritative, with dense layers of cassis, black cherry and plum wrapped in still-present, muscular tannins. Notes of tobacco, iron, pencil shavings and savoury herbs add complexity, giving the wine a distinctly Pauillac-leaning profile despite its Saint-Julien origins. …
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Price: £195.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Chateau Trotte Vielle, 1986
St Emilion Premiere Grand cru Classe
The Château Trotte Vieille 1986 is a wine from the Saint-Émilion appellation in Bordeaux, France. This estate is classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classé (B) and is known for producing elegant and age-worthy wines that reflect its historic terroir. The 1986 vintage was more celebrated on the Left Bank but still yielded intriguing wines on the Right Bank, particularly for producers with meticulous vineyard management.
Wine Overview
Château Trotte Vieille is known for its classic Bordeaux blends, and the 1986 vintage is likely composed of:
Cabernet Franc (dominant): Contributing structure, floral aromatics, and herbal notes. …
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Price: £79.95
Stock: Out of Stock
Dow's
40 Year Old Tawny Port ***92 Points- Wine Enthusiast***
Dows 40 Year Old Tawny Port A beautiful translucent amber-golden colour and an almost transparent rim with exquisite fragrances of delicate dry fruit coupled with a hint of fine marmalade. A luxuriously silk-like palate with polished elegance and notes of fruit preserves. The complex, long and slightly dry finish reveals nutty praline notes ending with a tea leaf flourish
Dow’s Port is one of the most famous names in the Port trade and today is owned and managed by the fifth generation of the Symington family. The family, whose experience dates back over 100 years, supervises all the vineyards, winemaking and ageing of this wine. …
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Price: £139.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Sandeman
40 Year Old Tawny Port
***95 Points- GOLD Winner- IWC 2024***
***95 Points- Gold - Decanter 2024***
Comes in Original Gift Tube
The Sandeman 40 Year Old Tawny Port is a luxurious and complex aged tawny port, known for its exceptional depth and sophistication. This port is the result of meticulous blending and extended aging in oak casks, which imparts rich flavours and a smooth, refined character.
Tasting Notes
Deep amber with golden and greenish highlights, indicating a long aging process. Its aroma is intricate, with notes of dried fruits, toasted nuts, caramel, honey, spice, vanilla, and oak. The palate is remarkably smooth, rich, and full-bodied, with a harmonious blend of dried fruits, toffee, caramel, cinnamon, nutmeg, and citrus. …
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Price: £159.00
Stock: Out of Stock