The vintage

1990

Great almost everywhere you look

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

The 1990 vintage, rated

Great almost everywhere you look

In 2026 a bottle from 1990 marks a 36th birthday or anniversary

The vintage

Legendary · 5/5

One of the genuinely great post-war vintages, and unusual in how widely it succeeded. A hot, dry summer gave Bordeaux ripe, generous wines on both banks, Barolo and Barbaresco a benchmark year, the northern Rhone and German Riesling something close to perfect, and Sauternes the last of three outstanding harvests in a row. Port was the exception: the houses held back and declared 1991 and 1992 instead.

What we would buy, and why

You will pay a premium for 1990 and it is earned, so budget properly rather than hunt for a bargain, because a cheap 1990 from a famous name usually means a bottle that has been badly stored. Insist on seeing the fill level and the state of the capsule before the bottle ships. Around 250 to 350 euro buys a classed-growth claret in good condition; the same money in Piedmont or Sauternes buys something exceptional.

1990 in the world

Nelson Mandela walked free from prison on 11 February after twenty-seven years inside, and on 3 October Germany reunified. That April, the Hubble telescope went up.

Best bets for 1990

  • Chateau Gruaud Larose 1990, St-Julien - classic claret still on song, roughly 250-350 euro
  • Produttori del Barbaresco Riserva 1990 - one of the great Nebbiolo years, about 200-300 euro
  • Chateau Suduiraut 1990, Sauternes - the third of three superb sweet vintages, 120-170 euro
  • Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle 1990 - the northern Rhone at full stretch, 600 euro upwards

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.