The vintage

2006

Piedmont's year, and Italy's summer

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The 2006 vintage, rated

Piedmont's year, and Italy's summer

In 2026 a bottle from 2006 marks a 20th birthday or anniversary

The vintage

Excellent · 4/5

A hot July and a cool, wet August made Bordeaux uneven: Pomerol, Saint-Émilion and the Graves did well, the Médoc less so, while the dry whites and Sauternes are very good. Burgundy is charming in red and strong in white. Champagne was widely declared and drinks well. The real prize is Italy: Barolo and Barbaresco 2006 are structured, classic and long-lived, and Brunello is excellent.

What we would buy, and why

For a twentieth birthday this is an easy year to buy well. Barolo 2006 is only now coming into its stride, so it suits a bottle meant to be kept as much as one to open. Bordeaux from the Right Bank is safer than the Médoc; a 2006 Champagne, if the bottle has been stored well, is ready and festive. Ask where the bottle has been kept - twenty years is long enough for a bad cellar to show.

2006 in the world

Italy won the World Cup in Berlin in July, on penalties against France. In August astronomers meeting in Prague voted to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet.

Best bets for 2006

  • Barolo or Barbaresco 2006 from a classic house - structured, honest and built to last
  • Pomerol or Saint-Émilion 2006 - the better side of Bordeaux that year
  • Vintage Champagne 2006 - a widely declared year, ready to drink
  • Brunello di Montalcino 2006 - one of Tuscany's best of the decade

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.