1961 Wine and Port Vintage
Vintage Summary and Recommendations: Welcome to Vintage Wine and Port's 1961 wine page. Read on for our summary of the 1961 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 1961 vintage enjoyed some extraordinary moments, particularly in France. For Bordeaux, the vintage was legendary with great wines produced in Pessac-Léognan, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Pomerol and – although less uniform – Margaux. However, as is often the case when conditions are ripe for perfect Bordeaux, the year was not so conducive for the sweet wines of Sauternes, and they tended to be more of a mixed bag. The year was also excellent for both Burgundy and Beaujolais, as well as Champagne, the Rhône and the Loire Valley. Although information is limited for Alsace, what does exist suggests it was very good. Outside of France, the vintages for both Piedmont and Tuscany were excellent and the best Barolo should still be drinking well now.
Our Wine Expert currently recommends the following wines for this year:
This Year in History: Fun Fact: The farthing coin, used since the thirteenth century, ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.
Eurovision Winner: Luxembourg with the song "Nous Les Amoureux"
Top Grossing Movie: 101 Dalmations
Bordeaux: This is one of the legendary vintages of the century. Although most of the 1961 wines are now fading slowly, the top examples continue to shine through offering concentrated, ripe fruit with amazing bouquets. The crop was tiny and there are very few examples available. Provided the bottles have been stored correctly these wines should last for another few years. 1961 wines make and incredible 64 year old wine gift for a birthday or anniversary.
Italian: In Italy, 1961 is considered to be one of the greatest vintages of the 20th century. The wines from Piedmont (Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera) and Tuscany (Chianti, Brunello) are outstanding. Now fully mature these wines, with careful cellaring, will still keep for many years to come.
Portugal: While not generally a declared year, the hot weather produced some concentrated ports in 1961. The harvest started in extremely hot conditions at the river quinta in early September, progressing in other areas until the end of the month making it a long, drawn out vintage. The picking required a very rigorous selection which entailed picking out the burnt and imperfect grapes from the bunches before putting them in the baskets. This led to a small harvest, making bottles from this year quite rare. Making a great wine gift for any birthday or anniversary, the 1961 ports produced are still drinking well today.
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40 products found.
Nebbiolo, 1961
Vino Pazzo - Ce.Di.Vi
Very forward nose of leather and cherries, liquorice wild strawberries, ripe plums and pencil .The palate is very nice balance of sweet fruit and acidity.
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Price: £69.00
Stock: 4 in Stock
Pertinace Antico, 1961
F.lli Minuto
Very forward nose of leather and cherries, liquorice wild strawberries, ripe plums and pencil .The palate is very nice balance of sweet fruit and acidity.
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Price: £129.00
Stock: 3 in Stock
Salento, 1961
Ruffino Rosso, Puglia
Sweet Red Wine
Salento is in the region of Puglia on the heel of Italy. The Ruffino is a fortified wine made predominantly from the primitivo grape. The wine has a liquorice and spice bouquet, a mediaum body and a long alcoholic finish.
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Price: £189.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Salento, 1961
Bianco, Ruffino, Puglia
Sweet White Fortified Wine
Salento is in the region of Puglia on the heel of Italy. The Ruffino is a fortified wine made predominantly from the primitivo grape. The wine has a liquorice and spice bouquet, a mediaum body and a long alcoholic finish.
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Price: £195.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Salice, 1961
Leone de Castris - Gran Riserva
Clearance Offer - Last Bottle | Was £99 | Now £50
Salice Salentino is a DOC of the Puglia wine region in south-eastern Italy. Its original incarnation exclusively covered red wines, but the rules were modified first in 1990 and then again in 2010, and now permit white and rose wines too. The catchment area for the wines centers on the small town of Salice on the Salento peninsula, and spreads out to the north and west.
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Price: £50.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Sichel & Fils Frères, 1961
Vosne-Romanée "Les Malconsorts"
The 1961 Vosne-Romanée "Les Malconsorts" by Sichel & Fils Frères is a fine and rare Premier Cru Burgundy wine from the esteemed Les Malconsorts vineyard in the Vosne-Romanée appellation. This vineyard is renowned for producing Pinot Noir wines of exceptional depth and complexity.
Given the wine's age, availability is extremely limited.
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Price: £345.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Sogno di Bacco, 1961
Umberto Fiore
Special Offer | Was £119 | Now £79
Sogno di Bacco is made from thelong lasting nebbiolo grape. Nebbiolo is a black-skinned red wine grape variety most famous for creating the 'tar and roses' scent of Barolo wines from Piedmont, north-western Italy. The grape's very name is evocative of its home among the misty foothills of the western Alps; the nebbia (Italian for 'fog') after which it is named frequently arrives on early October mornings, when the Nebbiolo harvest is in full swing.
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Price: £79.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Spanna, 1961
F.lli Berteletti - Riserva
Special Offer | Was £139 | Now £80
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: £80.00
Stock: 5 in Stock
Spanna, 1961
Tenuta San Vi della Gran Terra - Riserva
Clearance Offer - Last bottle and damaged label | Was £99 | Now £60
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: £60.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Spanna, 1961
Dessilani
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: £69.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Taylor Fladgate, 1961
Colheita Single Harvest Port
Includes Taylor's oak gift box
Taylor’s has an extensive and enviable library of very old Ports and this very limited 60 year old Single Harvest Port which represents the cream of their aged reserves.
Only 3,000 bottles of this phenomenal Port have been released. Nestled in a beautifully illustrated box, we think this limited-edition Port is the ultimate 60th anniversary gift. Or, with its fabulously festive flavour profile, it may well be the perfect Christmas Port.
The cool Taylor’s Cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia are home to one of the most extensive collections of very old Port casks anywhere in the world. Tucked away are a selection of Single Harvest Ports with an immense capacity to age and develop. …
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Price: £365.00
Stock: 8 in Stock
Tokaji, 1961
Export Monimpex (Half litre, 50cl)
Hungary’s most famous dessert wine is Tokaji the legendary sweet elixir. It can only be spoken in the superlative about this wine, as it is a medicine, a real nectar. The name Tokaji (which is of Protected Designation of Origin) is used for labeling wines from this wine district. The location of the region has a unique climate, beneficial to this particular viniculture, due to the protection of the nearby mountains, long warm autumns and mists that come in from the River Bodrog, creating perfect conditions for noble rot. Creating the botrytised ('aszú') grapes for which the region is famous. A wonderful sweet wine from this renowned producer. …
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Price: £225.00
Stock: 2 in Stock
Warre's Vintage Port, 1961
Vintage Port (Late Bottled)
A rare bottle of vintage Port from Warre showing the characteristics of the 1961 vintage.
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Price: £449.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Bordeaux, 1961
Delor
Bordeaux, in the south-west of France, needs little introduction to anyone with an interest in wine. One of the world's most prolific wine regions, it also manages to rank among the most famous and prestigious. The secrets of Bordeaux's wine success (other than magical Bordeaux Blend) are its three trump cards: diversity, quality and quantity. The majority of Bordeaux wines are the dry, medium-bodied reds that made the region famous.
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Price: £99.00
Stock: Out of Stock
