Fine old wines from old vintages are generally hard to find.
A very good storage is absolutely indispensable to have drinkable wines from older vintages.
Furthermore the apparent perfect condition of the bottle indicate a healthy wine: the color must be ruby and bright and not turbid. The level and the capsule have to be perfect. The vintage wine chart year by year

wine chart - wine rating 1900 - 1929

1900 Excellent Bordeaux vintage.
1901 Uneven vintage.
1902 Bordeaux and white Bordeaux good.
1903 Poor Claret but very good year for Sauternes.
1904 Excellent year in Bordeaux.
1905 Very good year in Bordeaux.
1906 Excellent vintage of well-structured wines.
1907 Large and good quality vintage.
1908 Good vintage.
1909 Moderate to good Bordeaux.
1910 Very good vintage all round.
1911 Poor Bordeaux vintage.
1912 Average vintage, but some good Bordeaux wine.
1913 Another poor to moderate vintage for Bordeaux.
1914 Excellent vintage for Bordeaux.
1915 War time in France, so very little wine available.
1916 Average year and always tannic.
1917 Bordeaux had a good vintage, but still war time so not much about.
1918 Excellent vintage.
1919 Good vintage but earlier drinking style, so not a lot has survived.
1920 Fine vintage in Bordeaux. Top wines should be very good.
1921 Big, hot vintage produced profound wines, so may have lasted well.
1922 Poor year.
1923 Average year.
1924 A great vintage and reputedly still drinking very well.
1925 Another deemed as 'early drinking', so scarce and may not have lasted.
1926 Great Bordeaux vintage; top Burgundies may have some interest.
1927 Sauternes a better bet than Claret, but excellent Port.
1928 Very good Bordeaux.
1929 Superb vintage.

wine chart - wine rating 1930 - 1939

In our wine shop you can find old and wines from around the world via a diversity of selection spanning over a hundred and fifty vintage years.

All the wines have optimal level, color, label and cork. Click on the vintage to go directly to the selected year.
1930 Poor Bordeaux year. Bordeaux 1930
1931 Poor year again except excellent Port. Bordeaux 1931
1932 Three strikes in a row; a very poor year indeed. Bordeaux 1932
1933 Better, but a small crop and scarce. Bordeaux 1933
1934 Very good indeed. Bordeaux 1934
1935 Decent Bordeaux, very good red Burgundy, Great Port. Bordeaux 1935
1936 Good to very good vintage in general throughout Europe. Bordeaux 1936
1937 Good vintage. Bordeaux 1937
1938 Another good year, but not renowned for staying power.Bordeaux 1938
1939 Start of the war years, so production and supply was disrupted. Bordeaux 1939

wine chart - wine rating 1940 - 1949

1940 Very good Bordeaux, short supply. Bordeaux 1940
1941 Poor year. Bordeaux 1941
1942 Average year. Bordeaux 1942
1943 The best of the war-time vintages. Bordeaux 1943
1944 Average Claret, better Sauternes. Bordeaux 1944
1945 Fabulous vintage. Candidate for 'vintage of the century'. Bordeaux 1945
1946 A decent year, always in the shadow of 1945. Bordeaux 1946
1947 Another superb, legendary year for Bordeaux and Burgundy.Bordeaux 1947
1948 Moderate to good year, except VG Port. Bordeaux 1948
1949 Third of a truly great 1940's trio. Finest Burgundies of the century? Bordeaux 1949

wine chart - wine rating 1950 - 1959

1950 Good vintage, even better for the top wines. VG Port. Bordeaux 1950
1951 Not a great vintage in Bordeaux. Better for Barolo (wines of Piedmont). Bordeaux 1951
1952 Fine year, with the right bank (St-Emilion and Pomerol) on top form. Bordeaux 1952
1953 An excellent vintage in Bordeaux and throughout Europe. Bordeaux 1953
1954 Average vintage, not a lot of wines in good conditions. Bordeaux 1954
1955 Another average vintage, though Burgundy did better and VG for Port. Bordeaux 1955
1956 Very poor year. Bordeaux 1956
1957 A little better than 1956 Bordeaux 1957
1958 A very good year that could surprise if bottles have been well stored. Bordeaux 1958
1959 This is another top-notch vintage, one of the century's best. Bordeaux 1959

wine chart - wine rating 1960 - 1969

1960 A decent but light vintage. Most wines past it. Port good but fading. Bordeaux 1960
1961 Vintage of the century?. Excellent year for Bordeaux and Piedmont. Bordeaux 1961
1962 In the shadow of '61, but a great year. Bordeaux 1962
1963 Poor year, wines past their best except excellent Port. Bordeaux 1963
1964 A very good vintage that has drunk well throughout, so now scarce. Bordeaux 1964
1965 Poor weather led to a poor year. Bordeaux 1965
1966 Fine year. I have drunk several great wines from 1966. VG Port. Bordeaux 1966
1967 Pick and choose, but Claret not great; Sauternes better. Bordeaux 1967
1968 Poor to moderate year. Good in Piemont Bordeaux 1968
1969 Poor in Bordeaux, but very good in Burgundy. Bordeaux 1969

wine chart - wine rating 1970 - 1979

1970 Great for Port, top wines only now in Bordeaux, Rhône and California Bordeaux 1970
1971 Great in Germany, some good Bordeaux and Loire stickies. Bordeaux 1971
1972 Most fading or past it. Top Rhônes best of bunch possibly Bordeaux 1972
1973 Good in Germany, and still great top wines, but fading Bordeaux 1973
1974 Mostly past it. Top Piedmont, Tuscany & Rioja possibly Bordeaux 1974
1975 Some Bordeaux, Sauternes, Germany, Champagne still good. A few Ports Bordeaux 1975
1976 Germany (especially sweetest), Californian Cabs, some Champagne Bordeaux 1976
1977 Top Port year, all long-lived. Bordeaux mostly past it. Bordeaux 1977
1978 Top Rhônes are stars, California Cabs, Barolo, some Bordeaux and Port Bordeaux 1978
1979 Some Bordeaux still good, top Barolo excellent Bordeaux 1979

wine chart - wine rating 1980 - 1989

1980 A poor year in most of Europe and past it. California & Australia better Bordeaux 1980
1981 Wines fading, but some Rioja and Bordeaux still very good Bordeaux 1981
1982 Bordeaux superb, elsewhere patchy; some Champagne, Barolo, Port Bordeaux 1982
1983 Bordeaux fading, but top wines still great, good Port and Germany Bordeaux 1983
1984 Poor year, now generally all past it. Bordeaux 1984
1985 Lovely year in Bordeaux, Port & Champagne, top Burgundy still good Bordeaux 1985
1986 Great, long-lived Bordeaux and Sauternes, top Californian and Australia Bordeaux 1986
1987 Not good most of Europe or Australia, but Californian Cabs very good Bordeaux 1987
1988 Excellent Sauternes, good Bordeaux, Champagne Bordeaux 1988
1989 Excellent Bordeaux, Sauternes, Rhône, Germany, Barolo & Champagne Bordeaux 1989

wine chart - wine rating 1990 - 1999

1990 Great year for Europe, Port not declared, OK in California & Australia Bordeaux 1990
1991 Europe all very risky, though Port declared and very good in California Bordeaux 1991
1992 Another poor European vintage, though excellent Ports Bordeaux 1992
1993 Slightly better in Europe. Bordeaux 1993
1994 Bordeaux right bank best, Germany, Port, California all good Bordeaux 1994
1995 Very good Bordeaux, Rhone, red Burgundy and consider Rioja Bordeaux 1995
1996 Very good Bordeaux, Piedmont, Ribera del Duero & Australia Bordeaux 1996
1997 Forward european year, so dangerous. Piedmont & Tuscany excellent Bordeaux 1997

1998 Top right bank Bordeaux year, also southern Rhone, Piedmont, Australia Bordeaux 1998
1999 Solid year across Europe, Italy VG, poor in California Bordeaux 1999

wine chart - wine rating 2000 - 2005
2000 Millennium fever means high prices, but most European wines VGI
2001 Good right bank, superb Sauternes, also Southern Rhone, Italy, Spain
2002 Challenging. Burgundy, Australia & California best bets. Port declared
2003 Extreme heat raises question marks. Best: Bordeaux, Rhone, California
2004 Pretty good Bordeaux and Rhone, Italy, Germany & Spain better
2005 Potentially great year across Europe, Australia and California

Our old wines are often purchased directly from the cellars of famous wineries. Only after carefully scrutinizing the storage conditions and examing the bottles do we put these up for sale.The bottles are usually available in small quantities since the wines are hard to find.