Looking to help out a family member with a special birthday. Regions that excelled in 76? ‘Values’ out there?
Thanks in advance . . .
76 BV GdL is perhaps the best ever GdL.
It’s a great vintage in South Australia… Not sure what would be around except for Grange, which is not exactly cheap. If you could find some other options they may be holding up well.
Great Champagne vintage, but not cheap.
Some very good wines and value in Rioja.
I, too, am looking for a 1976 to celebrate a special anniversary next year. Thanks for the suggestions!
Roja in general. CVNE / LdH in particular.
Look to Rioja for reds, German Riesling for whites. Also excellent in Alsace, but the wine’s are scarcer and more expensive than most Germans at this point. There are also excellent red and whites from the Loire in '76.
My birthyear, so I’ve had a few 1976s. I second Rioja, but you gotta be lucky due to bottle variation. German Rieslings are good, but I’d go for Beerenauslese or Trockenbeerenauslese as the Auslesen are starting to get tired. It was a hot year with fairly low acidities and very high Oechsle levels. The 76s don’t match the 71s or the 75s and I’d probably look for Mosel, Saar and Ruwer as those had the highest acidities. Rheingau can be good, too. Unfortunately, a lot of 76 German Rieslings taste mainly sweet and lack the vibrancy from other years. There are some decent 1976 red Burgundies, many are dryish and a bit hard, but I’ve had not too bad experiences in the last years.
Larry, it’s my birth year and my 40th this March. I went heavy on Rioja and Port. Doesn’t bust the budget and should be drinking well.
A decent vintage for Red Burgundy as well - particularly in the Cotes de Beaune -
Most of the wines I had from 1976 are still very tannic. It was a very hot year. Had an excellent Chassagne Montrachet Rouge Clos St Jean that was excellent.
Another vote for Heredia.
I had a 76 Heitz Martha’s earlier this week that was good. I’ve also been lucky with some 76 Burgs from Camus and Ponnelle.
All three of the RLdH Gran Reservas from '76 are still showing fabulously. For me, the red Bosconia has been slightly better than the red Tondonia, but the Tondonia Blanco is underrated. Not quite at the level of the '81, but pretty darn close.
Michael
I quite agree on the Heitz. Had a 1976 Martha’s in April and it was damn good. Don’t know the cost of acquiring one however. This was from a cellar that still has 3 more in it.
My birth year as well. CVNE Vina Real can be really good. As Ray mentioned Champagne is great (pretty sure Krug and Dom are the only two big names I’ve had but both very good… missed a chance to get a mag of Salon for a price that seemed high 7 years ago, and I’m still regretting it). Some good Burgs. Best 76s I’ve had have been Trimbach CSH and Guigal Mouline (first barrique year IIRC), but obviously both on the pricey end of things now.
… Starting to feel old.
Leroy had quite a bit of '76 red Burgundies on the market at one time - they were wonderful wines - even the village offerings. I remember quite a bit of '76 Savigny-les-Beaune Rouge around and it was pretty special and not real expensive -
Here are some '76 Leroy offerings-
For “Values” don’t forget California. It’s in the shadow of great vintages and there’s some good stuff out there.
1976 Riojas are great. LdH have gone way up in price ($250-300), but you might find other labels for less, if on a budget.
Burgundy & CA can be better value. For the former, I would lean towards Cote de Beaune. Corton if looking for GC (something like Louis Latour) or a Pommard, but that is me being value conscious ($100-150). I’ve had some really good Vosne Romanee 1er cru, but they would be about $250-300.
Mosel would be my choice.