The vintage

1999

Burgundy's decade-closing triumph

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The 1999 vintage, rated

Burgundy's decade-closing triumph

In 2026 a bottle from 1999 marks a 27th birthday or anniversary

The vintage

Excellent · 4/5

Bordeaux was diluted by harvest rain and is no better than average, marginally stronger on the Right Bank. Burgundy, though, had one of its finest red vintages of the century: a large crop of unusually complete wines from the Cote de Nuits that are drinking wonderfully now. The northern Rhone was excellent, Barolo very good to excellent, and Champagne declared a fine year.

What we would buy, and why

Burgundy first. This is the rare Burgundy vintage where even village wines from good growers are worth opening, so you need not spend grand cru money to get something memorable. Northern Rhone or Barolo are the strong second choices. Leave Bordeaux alone - a 1999 claret at 250 euro is a worse gift than a 1999 Nuits-Saint-Georges at the same price.

1999 in the world

On 11 August a total solar eclipse crossed Cornwall and Devon, the first seen from mainland Britain since 1927. The Matrix had opened that spring.

Best bets for 1999

  • Domaine Faiveley Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru 1999 - 200-300 euro
  • Meo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanee 1999 - 400-600 euro
  • E. Guigal Cote-Rotie Brune et Blonde 1999 - 180-250 euro
  • Massolino Barolo 1999 - 150-220 euro

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.