You are going to really enjoy the diversity found on this year’s list of our Top 100 Wines of the USA 2022. We rated more than 4,500 wines from the states this year and we found so many exciting and excellent wines. It was the same with the more than 32,000 wines we rated this year from around the world.
The only criticism we have is that so many of the best American wines are so expensive that most people can’t afford to buy them, but if you look at their overall quality they are easily comparable to or better than the best in the world.
That’s why my No. 1 American wine of 2022 was not our Wine of the Year, the Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Georges de Latour Private Reserve 2019, but the K Vintners Grenache Walla Walla Valley The Boy 2019. It sells for about $50 a bottle, compared with the BV Private Reserve at about $150. This is a nod to K Vintners and all the other producers in the states who are making fantastic, affordable wines. We want to make the point that America still makes great wines with great prices!
READ MORE TOP 100 WINES OF THE USA 2021
I spent a day in March in the area of Walla Walla, Washington, with Brennon Leighton, the vice president of winemaking and vineyards for House of Smith who makes K Vintners, and the rocker has his heart and feet deeply entrenched in the wine world of Washington state, and he often acknowledges that great wines don’t need to cost a fortune. I only kicked the dirt in a number of his vineyards in Walla Walla, but they were varied and real with different soils, aspects and microclimates. It was easy to understand why the wines they produce are very different in nature and character. In addition, Brennon and his team have eased back on the richness in their wines looking for clearer and higher notes in recent vintages. And the end results are some superlative wines in the 2019 vintage.
‘GETTING THE VITICULTURE RIGHT’: Brennon Leighton of K Vintners talks Washington wine.
K Vintners has two wines among our U.S. Top 10, highlighting their unique ability to produce superb wines at real prices. A few other wineries also have two wines on the list below, but in general I only allowed one wine per winery on this year’s list.
The rankings, just like for our Top 100 World Wines 2022 list, were based on scores and prices as well as the “wow” factor, which is how the wines excite us as wine lovers. Small production is less of a problem, even if only a few barrels. For the Top 100 World list, we looked for wines with a minimum production of around 500 cases.
This year the majority of America wines we rated were from California, but we also tasted hundreds of wines from Washington, Oregon and other states, particularly New York. As I have been writing for some time now, it’s never been a better time to be a wine lover in America if you want to drink locally produced wines. There’s a real wine culture now where Americans are interested in drinking local wines and consuming regional food. Farm-to-table applies not only to food, but also to wine. Don’t forget all 50 states produce wine. So, check out many of the wines at the bottom of this list that come at very good prices and some less traveled wine routes like New York’s Finger Lakes and California’s Paso Robles. We plan to taste more non-West Coast wines next year.
THE TOP 10
It’s hard to think of a better U.S. wine for the money this year than our No. 1, The Boy 2019. The 100 percent grenache comes from House of Smith’s Powerline vineyard in the heart of the appellation of Walla Walla Valley, and its soils of cobblestones, gravel and dark sand are reminiscent of other similar great soils I have seen in the world, particularly parts of Pessac-Leognan in Bordeaux. In fact, just about any red variety grows wonderfully in Walla Walls alluvial soils even though most the area is planted to Rhone varieties.
Fundamentally, House of Smith is about great vineyards, according to Leighton. “It’s vital to make authentic wines from the place that they come from,” he said earlier this year. “If you are not doing the viticulture right and you are not trying to protect the integrity of the place, then you start in a negative place. Everything we do with winemaking is to honor the place that it comes from.”
The No. 2 wine on the list is the Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Georges de Latour Private Reserve 2019. As I wrote in our Top 100 World Wines 2022 report, the BV Private Reserve 2019 is a great cabernet from the superb 2019 vintage, and it harkens back to the great BVs of the 1960s and 1970s. It’s why it was our World Wine of the Year for 2022.
READ MORE WASHINGTON STATE ANNUAL REPORT: A CASCADE OF CHOICE, UNTAPPED POTENTIAL AND AN APEX SYRAH
The Soter Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton Mineral Springs 2018, at No. 3, is a benchmark for Oregon pinot noir with its richness and structure yet polished and refined texture. It’s so complex on the nose and palate. Veteran winemaker Tony Soter continues to make great pinot year in and year out in Oregon.
I am a huge fan of Peter Michael chardonnays, and the No. 4 Peter Michael Winery Chardonnay Sonoma County Knights Valley Ma Belle-Fille 2019 at is one of their best ever. It’s a thought-provoking white with fantastic depth and richness. The finish goes on for minutes.
The Kistler Chardonnay Napa Valley Carneros Hudson Vineyard 2020, at No. 5, is a slightly more structured chard than the Ma Belle-Fille, with brightness and phenolic character to the ripe and complex fruit. It’s great to see a top wine like this from Napa considering all the difficulty from the fires in 2020.
The Napa vineyard of Quintessa Winery, whose Quintessa Napa Valley Rutherford 2019 came in at No. 40.
At No. 6 and No. 7, respectively, the Anakota Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County Knights Valley Helena Montana Vineyard 2019 and the Mt. Brave Merlot Napa Valley Mount Veeder 2019 highlight the excellence of mountain reds in the 2019 vintage. The even growing season in ‘19 allowed the grapes to ripen for a long period, giving the tannins finesse and focus. Pierre Seillan, who also makes Verite, called 2019 “a perfect vintage.”
Two pinot noirs – the DuMOL Pinot Noir Sonoma County Russian River Valley Estate Vineyard 2018 and Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Dundee Hills Aspect 2018 – come in at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively. The former is a beautiful example of a Russian River pinot with a brightness and energy not seen often from the area, while the latter is a blend of the best vineyards from Domaine Serene in Oregon.
Finally, K Vintners has another wine at No. 10 but this time it’s an amazing syrah from Yakima Valley, the Motor City Kitty 2019. And it sells for about $40 a bottle, which again highlights that America’s best wines don’t need to be overly expensive.
– James Suckling, Editor/Chairman
Note: You can sort the wines below by vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.
