The vintage

1964

Clay beats Liston, rain beats the Médoc

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The 1964 vintage, rated

Clay beats Liston, rain beats the Médoc

In 2026 a bottle from 1964 marks a 62nd birthday or anniversary

The vintage

Good · 3/5

A vintage decided by the calendar. A hot summer broke with heavy rain from 8 October: Pomerol and St-Émilion had largely picked and made excellent wine, while much of the Médoc was caught mid-harvest and made thin, washed-out claret. Rioja, meanwhile, had one of the greatest years in its history, and Burgundy was very good.

What we would buy, and why

Ask the merchant which bank the wine comes from before you ask anything else - a right-bank 1964 is a proper gift, a Médoc 1964 is a gamble unless it is Latour or Haut-Brion, both of which picked before the rain. The outstanding value of the year is Spanish: 1964 Rioja Gran Reservas from the great houses are still fresh, still perfumed, and cost a quarter of the Bordeaux. Budget €200-350 for the Rioja, €400 upwards for a good Pomerol.

1964 in the world

In February, Cassius Clay took the world heavyweight title from Sonny Liston and announced his new name days later; the same month the Beatles played the Ed Sullivan Show to some seventy-three million Americans. Mary Poppins opened in August.

Best bets for 1964

  • La Rioja Alta 890 or López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva 1964 - arguably the best-value great wine of the decade
  • Château Latour 1964, the Médoc estate that picked early and got away with it
  • Vieux Château Certan, Trotanoy or Figeac 1964 from the right bank
  • Barolo 1964 from Borgogno, Fontanafredda or Giacomo Conterno

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.