Vintages

Vintages are counterfeited for a myriad of reasons. One might logically thing that only vintages that are acclaimed for great wines are counterfeited. But historical influences, especially in ancient wines can be just as important to making and selling counterfeits.  It is not likely to think that a wine from 1787 would still exist, but a lover of both wine and history would prize a bottle from this vintage, which was also the year the US constitution was adopted by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. One highly counterfeited vintage, especially in Bordeaux is 1811, which was known as the year of the comet. 1865 was not only a greatly heralded vintage in Bordeaux, but it is also the year that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. This makes that wine historically significant beyond the greatness of the vintage. And thus a highly counterfeited vintage. Of course in the lead up to the millennium, lots of vintage 1900 wines started to appear on the market. Then there are the amazing vintages which are highly counterfeited, like 1945, and 1961. The vintage in 1961 was small, in fact it was only 5 years after the great frost of 1956, which decimated vineyards across France, yet the markets seem to have an unending supply of this vintage.

In this section we will march through time and look at the vintages that are highly counterfeited, from both the perspective of wine, and historical significance. We will also share which wine or wines we have noted to be most highly counterfeited in any given vintage.

Here is a list ranking the top counterfeited vintages across the globe (in chronological order):

• 1870
• 1899
• 1900
• 1921
• 1937
• 1945
• 1947
• 1949
• 1959
• 1961
• 1982
• 1990
• 2000
• 2005

(Not On Global List)

Here is a list ranking the top counterfeited vintages in Burgundy (in chronological order):

• 1919
• 1934
• 1962
• 1964
• 1971
• 1978
• 1985

(Not On Global List)

Here is a list ranking the top counterfeited vintages in Bordeaux (in chronological order):

• 1929
• 1950
• 1953