The vintage

2016

Great almost everywhere

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

The 2016 vintage, rated

Great almost everywhere

In 2026 a bottle from 2016 marks a 10th birthday or anniversary

The vintage

Legendary · 5/5

After spring frost and a wet start, a dry, warm summer delivered an outstanding vintage. Bordeaux 2016 is one of the great modern years, classic and long-lived across the Médoc. Barolo 2016 is a reference vintage, Brunello 2016 superb, Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016 exceptional. Burgundy lost much of its crop to frost, but the wines are excellent. Port was widely declared. Champagne was ordinary.

What we would buy, and why

A tenth birthday and a great year: buy something that will still be improving at twenty-one. Barolo 2016 and Left Bank Bordeaux 2016 are the classics to keep; a Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016 is generous enough to open now. Burgundy 2016 is scarce and priced accordingly.

2016 in the world

In February scientists announced the first detection of gravitational waves. In May Leicester City won the Premier League at odds of 5,000 to 1, and in June the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.

Best bets for 2016

  • Barolo 2016 - a reference vintage
  • Médoc classed growths 2016 - classic, long-lived Bordeaux
  • Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016 - exceptional
  • Vintage Port 2016 - widely declared, very good

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.