Red Burgundy - 1960

Overall quality of the vintage: mediocre. 

Syrupy Bordeaux - 1960

Overall quality of the vintage: mediocre.

With bunches weighing in at 500g, the weight record is shattered, and so is that for dilution. The yield from 10,100 kilograms of grapes per hectare is the highest since 1934. For the Comité interprofessionnel, "lacking in structure but fine and with a bouquet, these wines can be used to make satisfactory cuvées", in non-vintage blends, naturally.

Is a little indulgence required? A little, no doubt, because there are certainly some good, honest wines on this passable basis.

The great fault of the exceptional vintages is to cast a shadow over those that are not. Pinned between the unforgettable 1959 and the superlative1961, the abundant harvest of 1960 did not make the record books. It did, indeed, seem diluted in the poorly managed vineyards. All the grapes from the region, however, all more than acceptable in terms of quality, produced strong wines pleasant to drink on the fruit.

This very early year, with rain at harvest time, produced a large harvest but dry and fairly thin wines overall.