1996 Wine and Port Vintage

Vintage Summary and Recommendations: Welcome to Vintage Wine and Port's 1996 wine page. Read on for our summary of the 1996 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 1996 year was, overall, fantastic for much of Europe, and particularly France. Bordeaux had an incredible vintage for both dry reds and whites and Sauternes. In Italy, Piedmont enjoyed a dazzling year. For drinking now, look to Bordeaux, Sauternes, Burgundy or Barolo. There should still be a wide range of exceptional options still drinking well now to choose from.

Our Wine Expert currently recommends the following wines for this year:

Ryst Dupeyron 1996 Reserve Joseph Millesime vintage Armagnac

Burmester 1996 Vintage Port

Barros 1996 Colheita Port

Chateau Guiraud 1996 Sauternes Sweet Wine

Chateau Larmande 1996 Saint Emilion Grand Cru

Delamain Cognac 1996 Grand Champagne Cognac

Perrier Jouet 1996 Belle Epoque Vintage Champagne

Sandford Pinot Noir 1996 Pinot Noir Rita Hills Santa Barbara

 
This Year in History: Fun Fact: The Hubble Space Telescope revealed images of Pluto’s surface for the first time.
Eurovision Winner: Ireland with the song "The Voice" by Eimar Quinn
Top Grossing Movie: Independence Day
 
Bordeaux: The 1996 vintage produced exceptional wines that broke all price records (until the 2000 vintage). The top wines reached full maturity a decade ago, but will keep for many more years.
 
Champagne: A dry summer with long bursts of sunshine produced a very high quality harvest of slightly above average size.
 
Italian: 1996 was an outstanding vintage for Italian wines. In Piedmont, tricky weather all summer yielded to a period of hot and dry weather from mid-September through to mid-October. This enabled the late-ripening Nebbiolo to achieve a classic balance between fruit and structure. The best Barolos and Barbarescos are substantial on the palate and give every indication of a long life ahead, offering a superlative drinking experience if kept well. Like Piedmont, Tuscany had a cooler than average summer and this enabled a long, slow ripening of the grapes. The wines are richly aromatic, deeply coloured and abundantly fruity - making them brilliant 27 year old wine gifts for a birthday or anniversary.
 
Portugal: Although 1996 was one of the wettest years for port on record, the Douro region produced a large, abundant crop. The year was not declared as a Vintage, however a few good port wines were produced which are noted for being fruity and forward. A 1996 Vintage Port would make for an excellent 27 year old gift for a special anniversary this year.
 
Sauternes: Bordeaux had an incredible vintage for both dry reds and whites and Sauternes. The shining stars of could mostly, bar the odd exception, be found among the Left Bank estates.
 
Spain: A very good vintage for Spain, though less fine than the preceding two. The 1996 was particularly successful in Ribera del Duero, where ripe, relatively friendly wines were made.

Name Year Type Price Ascending Descending 25 Products Per Page 50 Products Per Page 100 Products Per Page All Products

1 products found.