The vintage

1966

Wembley, Pet Sounds and a proper claret

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The 1966 vintage, rated

Wembley, Pet Sounds and a proper claret

In 2026 a bottle from 1966 marks a 60th birthday or anniversary

The vintage

Excellent · 4/5

A genuinely good year and a classical one: a dry summer, a late harvest and clarets built on structure rather than flesh, the best of which are still holding. The Douro declared 1966 almost universally and it is the finest Port vintage of the decade after 1963. Champagne was excellent and Burgundy very good.

What we would buy, and why

The safest strong year of the sixties, and for anyone British who watched that final it carries a second meaning entirely. Classed-growth claret sits at €250-500 in decent condition; the Port is better value still and will please a non-specialist far more, because 1966 clarets are austere and want food. For a 60th, this is a year where you can spend at the top of the range without hunting for a rarity.

1966 in the world

England beat West Germany 4-2 at Wembley on 30 July, with a hat-trick from Geoff Hurst and a crowd that had waited a very long time. Pet Sounds came out in May and Star Trek was first broadcast in September.

Best bets for 1966

  • Château Léoville-Las Cases, Palmer or Lynch-Bages 1966
  • Fonseca, Taylor's or Graham's 1966 Vintage Port - the best-value great Port of the era
  • Champagne 1966 from Krug, Bollinger or Dom Pérignon, late-disgorged where available
  • Château Latour 1966 for a landmark 60th, if the budget reaches four figures

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

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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.