The vintage

1976

The summer everyone remembers

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The 1976 vintage, rated

The summer everyone remembers

In 2026 a bottle from 1976 marks a 50th birthday or anniversary

The vintage

Good · 3/5

All that heat gave Bordeaux sugar but not structure, and September rain swelled the grapes; the reds came out soft and forward and most are now past their best. Germany had a legendary year — the 1976 Auslesen and Beerenauslesen are magnificent — and Sauternes was very good too.

What we would buy, and why

Buy something sweet. The German 1976s and the Sauternes are the wines that justify this year, and both are far more durable than a fifty-year-old claret. If you want Bordeaux for sentimental reasons, choose a first growth or a top Graves and accept that it will be soft and mature rather than grand.

1976 in the world

The summer of 1976 was the hottest Britain had recorded: reservoirs emptied, standpipes appeared in the street, and the government appointed a Minister for Drought — after which it rained for weeks.

Best bets for 1976

  • A 1976 Riesling Auslese from J. J. Prüm, Maximin Grünhaus or Schloss Johannisberg — €150–350
  • Château Rieussec or Château Coutet 1976 — about €150–280
  • Château d'Yquem 1976 — one of the celebrated Yquems, €500–800
  • A 1976 German Beerenauslese in a half bottle if you want something small and remarkable

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.