Anniversary Vintage Wines for 2026 arrives – as it did in 2024 and 2025 – at a time of economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
In 2025, Russia’s terrible war in Ukraine ground ahead into its third year.
The horrific conflict in the Middle East also continued, with no end in sight.
Consecutive days in December 2025 saw mass shootings at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, and at Brown University on Rhode Island, USA.
Inflation in many countries, particularly the UK and US, showed signs of easing from peaks.
But it remained elevated, meaning less disposable income to spend on wine.
There was (and is) ongoing disruption created by AI and politics.
Overall, the world remains a troubled place – except perhaps for NVIDIA shareholders.
Nonetheless, let’s try and look to 2026 with optimism. Life becomes more bearable when you break bread and enjoy great wines with friends and family.
Vintages that end in “6” include some of the finest years in their respective decades.
2016 – Ten years gone, holdin’ on
This was a good vintage in many significant regions in Europe.
But El Niño caused a drought in Australia and flooding in some South American countries.
2006 – XX-rated
A very good year in the Rhône Valley, particularly in the south at Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
The 2006 Champagne vintage produced rich, ripe, and generous wines with moderate acidity and a supple, approachable character.
While not considered a blockbuster year like 2002 or 2008, the best examples from top houses are excellent and have good ageing potential.
In Italy, Tuscany was particularly outstanding for its wines in 2006 – though many might have been drunk already in celebration of the Italian football team’s World Cup win that year.
1996 – Trial of the Thirty
An excellent vintage for 30-year olds.
Top-quality Champagne, Barolo, and Barbaresco were produced in 1996.
It was a good Bordeaux vintage in 1996, too.
For example, Château Margaux 1996 when tasted in the company of the late Paul Pontallier some years ago was gorgeous then and might be even better now.
“A real reference for Margaux,” in Pontallier’s opinion.
Outstanding, intense white Burgundy was made in 1996 but beware of premature oxidation.
In 1996, some winemakers’ malolactic fermentations took so long that they may have bottled the wines without their usual, gradually achieved sulphur dose – hence premature oxidation.
A few Aussie ’96 wines enthusiasts encountered at a Langton’s Classification tasting a while ago. Henschke’s 1996 Hill of Grace impressed and might still be going strong.
Vanya Cullen produced Cullen’s Cabernet Merlot ’96 as her 14th vintage but has benefited from much better vintages (and even more winemaking expertise) since then.
They named Penfolds Bin 707 after the Boeing aircraft, apparently, and the 1996 vintage hit with about as much subtlety as a jet plane.
Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet 1996 delivered good quality, as did the 1986 and 1976, though the latter became increasingly feeble as it aged.
The 1966 offered leathery and supple characteristics – old-school Aussie winemaking.
1986 – Top 40
The most praised wine of 1986 is Château Mouton Rothschild – a legendary wine, given a perfect score by numerous critics.
Véronique Sanders, Haut-Bailly’s President and CEO, sampled the Château Haut-Bailly 1986 at a tasting a while ago.
They made this atypical Haut-Bailly wine entirely from Cabernet Sauvignon, relegating the Merlot to the second wine La Parde de Haut-Bailly.
Consequently, the wine became more tannic than usual.
Pol Roger released the 1986 vintage as the fifth Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill.
This effort proved to be very good for a rather mixed Champagne vintage and can still be enjoyed for its richness, elegance, and balance.
1976 – 50 Scent
A heatwave across Europe during the summer of 1976 profoundly influenced the style and quality of the wines made that year.
Many producers made Bordeaux red wines that were too low in acidity and too high in tannins to be truly fine.
However, it was a great year for the sweet white wines of Sauternes and particularly (and inevitably) Château d’Yquem.
Fifty-year old red wine drinkers might consider Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 1976.
It has lighter tannins and less structure – they did not use new barrels that year – compared to earlier Sassicaia vintages.
Champagnes from 1976 can also still be enjoyable, though producers probably would make late-disgorged examples fresher and brisker.
1966 – A Safe Port (Anniversary Vintage Wines for 2026 at Arden Fine Wines)
A very good Champagne vintage, with Dom Pérignon highly-regarded for its complexity and longevity.
Bordeaux and Burgundy also had a good year, with Château Latour the stand-out claret of 1966.
The Vintage Ports of the Douro Valley in Portugal are the very best wines of 1966.
Well-cellared examples still offer outstandingly good drinks, as well as great value for money compared to Bordeaux and Burgundy.
1956 – The Ice Age
February 1956 brought cold weather across Europe.
On 19th February, two inches of snow fell on Hampstead Heath in north London – a bit chilly for skinny-dipping in the Mens’ or Ladies’ Ponds.
On 21st February, temperatures dropped to -20°C in Bordeaux. The Garonne river didn’t freeze solid as it did in 1871, but icebergs floated beneath the Pont de Pierre.
Mild weather before February caused the sap to rise in the vines. The frost then froze the sap solid, causing many vines to split open and die.
However, the Gironde estuary – where the Dordogne and Garonne rivers meet 15 miles downstream from central Bordeaux – didn’t freeze.
Château Latour’s 1956 was a good wine for this nightmarishly nippy vintage.
It has some flavour but lacks the intensity of less difficult years.
Away from freezing Europe, the 1956 vintage was an exceptional year for Chateau Musar in Lebanon. This is the finest wine available for 70-year olds in 2026.
A tremendous year for Barolo but very few examples have survived.
1946 – Eighty Years’ War
Considering the post-war dilapidation of many wine estates, winemakers produced some surprisingly good wines in Bordeaux in 1946.
Overall, critics found the quality underwhelming but understandable.
However, 1946 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon stands as a fine example of old Napa Valley red wine.
Perfect for an 80th birthday – if you can find it.
1936 and 1926 – The Hundred (Anniversary Vintage Wines for 2026 at Arden Fine Wines)
Very little of interest exists for 90-year olds from the 1936 vintage, which was poor just about everywhere.
For centenarians, Bordeaux experienced a hot vintage in 1926, which yielded intensely rich wines.
The 1942 film Casablanca featured the 1926 vintage of Champagne Veuve Clicquot.
I have one tasting note for a 1926 wine. They made Massandra Red Port 1926 from Mourvèdre grapes, so it was effectively a pastiche of Bandol.
This sweet, oxidative red wine came from Massandra near Yalta on the Black Sea, in what is now Russian-occupied Crimea.
Ancient “6” vintages – Anniversary Vintage Wines for 2026 at Arden Fine Wines
As with 1946, 1916 was affected by wartime conditions, with very little wine made.
However, what was bottled was of reasonable quality.
A 1906 Montrachet is described in Evelyn Waugh’s 1945 novel Brideshead Revisited:
“I watched the champagne go round the table… And for the wine I let him give me a bottle of 1906 Montrachet, then at its prime…”
The 1846 Burgundy vintage was described as “An unparalleled year as far as quality is concerned” in Les Grands Vins de Bourgogne by Danguy and Aubertin, published in 1892.
In Bordeaux, 1896 produced an abundant crop of wines that impressed with elegance, delicacy, and good quality.
The other “6” vintages of the nineteenth century yielded mostly poor results.
The exception is 1846, which produced “Good, robust wines,” according to the Bordeaux négociant Tastet & Lawton.
Charles Cocks and Michel-Édouard Féret published the first edition of their Bordeaux directory in this year.
They have continued to update it, and it remains the most comprehensive information source on Bordeaux wine estates.
Find these Anniversary Vintage Wines for 2026 at Arden Fine Wines in London.