It’s been a fantastically busy year at JamesSuckling.com, and an even more exciting year for wine lovers around the world. It’s hard to pick out some top moments, but I have to mention the launch of my MasterClass (the first in the MasterClass.com series dedicated to wine appreciation) as a proud moment for me personally. I hope it provides the tools and the knowledge for anyone keen to ramp up their wine knowledge and ability to evaluate wines well. Apart from that, we tasted more than 22,000 wines around the world this year, making JamesSuckling.com one of the biggest databases of wine tasting notes in the world – another achievement I’m very proud of. You can see our favorites in the Top 100 reports below. Finally, we produced some hugely exciting events throughout the year, nearly all of them sold out, that gave wine fans the chance to taste beautiful wines and talk to the producers and winery owners in the flesh. This year’s events were the most popular and successful we’ve ever held, and we’re adding new locations next year, so watch this space. Below are some reports that I particularly enjoyed. Here’s to another year ahead of tasting great wines and reporting back to you with our notes.
Top 100 Reports
In 2018 my team and I tasted over 22,000 wines and traveled to dozens of tasting locations around the world including Austria, Australia, America, Andes, Barossa, France, Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Germany, and more. Have a look at our Top 100 selections of 2018 below.
| 2017 Bordeaux En Primeur will be always remembered for the horrible frost, but the quality is much better than expected. The top wines of the vintage add to the reputation of this unique year. |
The past year we tasted more than 1,100 Australian wines from different regions, styles and vintages, and with a lot of momentum and huge inroads being made into the Chinese market, it is clear to see Australian wine is back in the game!
In 2018 we lost Bruno Giacosa, one of the legends of Barolo. He passed away at the age of 88. Giacosa was a mentor to me with his sharp wit and he was a larger than life figure who knew the Langhe better than anybody. Read my tribute and why I’ll never forget this legend below.
Chile had a great year in 2018. Many current releases from Chile show high points for wine consumers looking for bright, fresh reds and whites, which underline the continued greatness of the wine country. There has never been a better time to drink Chilean wines.
I waited in anticipation for months and when my Master Class course on wine appreciation came out it was definitely worth the wait. It is now available online and it immerses viewers in the world of wine and has inside tips from me. Viewers will travel with me through Tuscany and join a special meal prepared by my wife. Watch the trailer above.
