Hear! Hear!
The task may seem simple enough: Choose the best wines you have had this year.
I am so grateful that I have so many generous friends that share their treasures with me. But to choose just one wine over all others can be a challenge. Regardless, here are my ‘wines of the year.’
My pick for the best Champagne of the year is the ‘3rd label’ MV Krug Grande Cuvée (Gold and Red label) which edged out 1999 Salon. First of all, these older bottles of Krug Grande Cuvée are already so rare, and to have one in perfect condition like this was amazing! It exhibited all the tasty brioche, concentrated nuances of fruit and chalk, with notes of apple strudel and even Sauternes but dry and vivacious in the mouth. Each sip showed something different and unique, the complexity is beguiling. I hope to find more of these treasures.
Best red Burgundy of the year goes to the 1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche. A gorgeous wine by every measure. It is ethereal, silky, kaleidoscopic in aromatics and flavor. Downright sexy and luxurious, this wine continues to mesmerize those lucky enough to be able to taste it. And it is still amazingly youthful at 25 years ‘old.’ An honorable mention was a bottle of 1993 Musigny from Domaine Frédéric Mugnier. Not bragging but I have had more La Tâche than Musigny and this bottle made an indelible mark on my palate and heart with its romantically scented florals and fruit along with an incredibly velvety texture and mouthfeel. A grand wine that has few equals and fewer better.
Best Bordeaux of the year is a tie. A bottle of 1986 Château Mouton Rothschild was absolutely singing. It was showing the beautiful yin and yang of masculine and feminine — the fist in a velvet glove. The tannin has finally resolved to show the lace beneath the leather. It is a wine that may outlive me. The other bottle worthy of this is yet another First Growth in the 2000 Lafite Rothschild. This bottle was had in the company of an older vintage, 1989 to be exact, from the same estate which seemed to outshine this bottle, at least for the first half-hour, but then the 2000 started revving up and never looked back. This monumental wine is far from monolithic. It blends great structure backed by gobs of perfectly ripe black fruit and a terroir that only comes from Lafite. A true classic that will certainly be something that the fortunate will enjoy for decades to come.
The best White Burgundy goes unequivocally to the 2001 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet. In an era infamously marked by premature oxidation when you have a perfect bottle from a top domaine, there are few things finer, this was that bottle. It soared from the first pour with heavenly scents of fruit, earth and flowers. Cloud-like texture and an angelic symphony of flavors, it was as if an angel had intervented with this bottle to grace us with a smile from heaven itself. Gorgeous!
While in the white wine category, the best New World White goes to 2020 Aubert Wines Lauren Vineyard Chardonnay. This could quite easily be mistaken for a Grand Cru white Burgundy, it explodes with pinpoint perfectly ripe but not overripe fruit, aligned with just the right amount of new oak and some wet stone earthiness for added complexity. As juicy as it is in the mouth, it never loses its elegance, nor does it push over the bounds of heaviness — an absolutely lovely wine.
The best New World Pinot Noir goes to 2013 Marcassin Vineyard from Sonoma Coast. This is one of the great examples of how great California Pinot Noir can be even after a decade in bottle. Effusive with a plethora of red and blue fruits, floral components and spices. Those delicate flavors and aromas transition seamlessly into the palate with a silky texture and long aftertaste that ends with a kiss of flowers. Like a beautiful woman walking into a room and taking the breath from every man aware of her beauty.
Best New World Cabernet goes to the 2016 Scarecrow. What was wild about this wine is that I had it amid a bunch of Old World icons, including a couple bottles of Lafite Rothschild. But it made such an impression on me that I can remember its opulent, vibrant and exotic bouquet filled with unctuous fruit and framed with sweet and spicy scents of vanilla and baking spices. Nothing was out of balance, it was rich and robust but not vulgar. Loud and proud but with a pure song. Terrific juice here.
And finally, the best Italian wine this year was a magnum of 1997 Marchesi Antinori Solaia. Equivalent to any First Growth from Bordeaux in quality, this bottle kept getting better and better as we drank it. It took eight of us to finish it during a four-hour meal, along with a few other bottles. But no one wanted to leave a single drop behind.