The vintage

1955

The safest bet in the fifties

Delivery in 7–10 working days, tracked · transit cover optional at checkout

The 1955 vintage, rated

The safest bet in the fifties

In 2026 a bottle from 1955 marks a 71st birthday or anniversary

The vintage

Excellent · 4/5

The most consistently good year of the decade, and the one where nearly everywhere got it right. Bordeaux made balanced, properly structured wines on both banks, with Saint-Emilion especially fine. The Port houses declared across the board, Champagne made a superb vintage, and Burgundy and Piedmont both had a good year.

What we would buy, and why

Because so much was made and so much of it was good, 1955 gives the widest choice of any year in the decade, and you do not need a famous name to get a fine bottle. A well-stored classed-growth claret sits around 500-900 euro; a 1955 vintage Port at 300-600 euro is the more reliable of the two, since Port at this age is far tougher than claret. Check the capsule and the fill before you look at the label, and prefer a bottle that has moved cellars once rather than five times.

1955 in the world

ITV went on air on 22 September 1955 and Britain had a second television channel for the first time. A month earlier a brewery had published a slim book intended to settle arguments in pubs - the first Guinness Book of Records.

Best bets for 1955

  • 1955 vintage Port - Taylor's, Fonseca, Graham's or Dow's, a classic declared year
  • Saint-Emilion 1955: Ausone had a famous vintage, while Figeac or Canon give the same year for far less
  • Medoc classed growths 1955 - Leoville-Barton, Gruaud-Larose or Calon-Segur, 450-900 euro
  • 1955 Champagne from Dom Perignon, Krug or Pol Roger, for a milestone where the opening matters as much as the drinking

How we grade a bottle

Fill level, label, capsule and cork, then provenance. Every bottle is checked by hand by people who have handled thousands of old bottles, and we write down the flaws as well as the good news. What the fill levels mean · How to choose a birth-year wine

Real people, not a chatbot

Ask a person about this year

The people who answer are the same people who check and pack the bottles. Ask for photographs, a condition report or advice on a year and you get a straight answer from the ANNO team, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 CET.