1964 Burgundy Vintage

The 1964 growing season began with deep snow in winter and a coolish spring, followed by a warm June that delivered a good flowering. Hot conditions in late June and July drove strong, even ripening across the Côte d'Or, while a smattering of rain in August provided welcome moisture without promoting rot or dilution. Light September rains allowed the tannins to develop, and the crop was harvested in good conditions before significant rainfall arrived in early October. Crucially, Burgundy's growers completed their harvest ahead of the heavy autumn rains that severely damaged much of Bordeaux that year.

• Warm June flowering produced consistent fruit set across Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune
• Hot July drove full physiological ripeness; August rain maintained vine balance
• Harvest completed before early October rains, securing fruit quality across the region
• 1964 recorded the lowest growing-season rainfall in Dijon between 1961 and 2015, at 250mm

The 1964 vintage was markedly more successful for red wines than for whites, a fact supported by both critic consensus and academic vintage research. Red wines from the Côte de Nuits, particularly Gevrey-Chambertin and Vosne-Romanée, achieved exceptional richness and concentration. Côte de Beaune reds from Pommard and Volnay also performed well. White Burgundies, by contrast, were rich and powerful but prone to early maturation; Decanter notes that while they kept for many years, they are now considered past their best for most bottles, with unusually high pH levels noted at some Côte de Beaune white Grand Cru sites.

• Red Burgundy 1964 ranked joint 7th across vintages from 1961 to 2015 in peer-reviewed research
• White Burgundy 1964 ranked only 35th for the same period, an unusual divergence from reds
• Côte de Nuits reds from Gevrey-Chambertin and Vosne-Romanée showed greatest concentration and aging potential
• White Grand Crus showed unusually high pH, possibly linked to later harvest dates that year

Domaine Armand Rousseau's 1964 bottlings from Gevrey-Chambertin are among the most celebrated wines of the vintage. The domaine, founded in the early twentieth century by Armand Rousseau and at the time led by Charles Rousseau following Armand's death in 1959, produced Chambertin and Clos St. Jacques of notable power and depth. Tasting notes from bottles opened decades later describe the wines as rich, full, and broad with liquorice and sweet fruit, with a fine seam of acidity preserving structure and freshness into old age. Domaine Marquis d'Angerville also produced well-regarded wines from Volnay's Premier Cru sites.

• Armand Rousseau 1964 Chambertin: rich and full-bodied with liquorice and ripe fruit, confirmed still vibrant in late tastings
• Rousseau 1964 Gevrey-Chambertin Village: described as still going strong in 2013, showing dried cherry, grilled meat, and autumn leaves
• Domaine Marquis d'Angerville 1964 Volnay Champans: rich and full, known for plum and spice, ageing remarkably well
• Vintage was immediately recognised at release and commanded record prices for its era

Decanter advises drinking 1964 red Burgundies now, noting they are good old-fashioned wines with notable concentration. Burgundy-Report tasting notes confirm that the best reds remain drinkable, defined by their still-bright acidity, with the finest examples from top producers in sound storage continuing to offer interest well into the 2020s. White 1964 Burgundies are largely past their best. For any surviving bottles, careful attention to provenance and fill level is essential, and decanting before service will help reveal the secondary complexity these wines have developed over six decades.

• Decanter recommendation: drink now for red Burgundies from 1964
• Top Côte de Nuits Grand Crus in excellent provenance may still offer compelling drinking through the mid-2020s
• White 1964 Burgundies are generally past their best; rare exceptions may survive in ideal cellars
• Acidity is a hallmark of the vintage, providing structure; decanting is advisable before service

The 1964 vintage occupies a respected position in the pantheon of post-war Burgundy, ranked by some as the finest vintage of the 1960s decade for red wines. Its stylistic character, rich, meaty, and fairly substantial, stands in contrast to the more elegant 1962s and 1966s, and has been compared to the classically structured 1949 and 1952 vintages. Clive Coates MW, whose book 'The Wines of Burgundy' covers every major Burgundy vintage from 1959 to 2006, included 1964 among the select group of vintages deemed worthy of detailed assessment. The vintage remains a touchstone for understanding old-school Burgundy: high natural acidity, restrained alcohol relative to modern benchmarks, and terroir transparency.

• Rated by some critics as the best red Burgundy vintage of the 1960s decade
• Stylistically compared to the classically structured 1949 and 1952 vintages
• Clive Coates MW included 1964 among the key Burgundy vintages assessed in 'The Wines of Burgundy' (2008)
• 1964 reds are characterised by notable acidity and concentration rather than opulence, reflecting the era's winemaking ethos