My Top 100 Wines In 2015 - JamesSuckling.com

This year’s list of my Top 100 Wines focuses mainly on key themes I found during my tastings and reports on JamesSuckling.com over the last 10 months, including the great 2010 Brunellos, exciting 2012 super Tuscans, top Spanish reds and whites, as well as the superb wines of Chile, Argentina and Alsace. It also includes a number of great wines from New Zealand, Australia, and Champagne tasted by contributing editor Nick Stock.

In all, JamesSuckling.com reviewed close to 9,000 wines to create this formidable list of the Top 100 Wines in 2015. I tasted more than 7,500 wines myself and visited various regions in France, Italy, Chile, Argentina, Spain, and the United States. I was on the road for about six months this year visiting wineries and wine producers. I tried to include wines in the list that were released on the market this year; therefore, I didn’t list some highly-scored wines that I reviewed, including barrel samples such as 2014 Bordeaux and Burgundy, and wines aging in bottle in cellars for future release, such as 2010 Brunello di Montalicno Riservas. The later will be considered for my 2016 Top 100 Wines list.

This year, I tried to focus on relative value and quantity for the first 10 wines in the list of my Top 100 wines. All the wines can be found for $70 a bottle or less, according to Wine-Searcher. And there appears to be stock in the marketplace. I rated all the wines at least 96 points.

My Wine of the Year in 2015 – Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Brunello di Montalcino Castelgiocondo 2010 – clearly underlines this value orientation of my top wines in the list. Its current retail price is around $50 a bottle and thousands of bottles still appear to be in the market. Moreover, it’s an outstanding example of the extraordinary 2010 vintage for Brunello di Montalcino, showing wonderful balance, refinement and structure as well as freshness. It’s a harmonious wine that gives so much pleasure now but will improve for years ahead.

As you probably know, I have been a huge advocate of 2010 Brunello, so I hope many wine lovers can buy and enjoy a bottle of my Wine of the Year 2015. I also chose the 2010 Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona Brunello di Montalcino Pianrosso as my No. 7 wine in the Top 10 as another excellent example of a great 2010 Brunello that is relatively well priced and available.

Alsace was another compelling wine region that made it into my Top 10 with two wines due to its production of fabulous terroir-driven wines at relatively reasonable prices. I even started a bi-lingual annual guide in French and English this year with crystal producer Lalique to highlight the incredible wines being produced there – both red and white. My No. 6 white from FE Trimbach is a new single vineyard riesling from a top grand cru, while the No. 8 is a longtime favorite riesling from the Hugel family’s best vineyards. Don’t miss buying some of these dry and complex whites.

Spain, Argentina, and Chile all deserved a spot in the Top 10 of my Top 100. I found some wonderful wines this year in tastings in all three countries that emphasize finesse, complexity and uniqueness as well as value. The wines included Muga Rioja Prado Enea Reserva 2006 (No. 2), Bodegas Caro Mendoza Caro 2012 (No. 3) and Montes Syrah Valle de Colchagua Montes Folly 2011 (No. 4).

Australia and New Zealand did the same with their single wines in the Top 10: Ata Rangi Martinborough Pinot Noir 2013 (No. 5) and Flametree Margaret River SRS Chardonnay 2014 (No. 9). The former is a longtime favorite as a decadent and flavorful New Zealand pinot noir, while the latter is an up-and-coming producer in the cool region of Margaret River, an area undervalued for great structured chardonnay.

Finally, I had to include the prefectly-scored 100-points Fattoria Le Pupille Saffredi 2012 in my Top 10. This is a wine that I have tasted and drunk a number of times this year, and it continues to amaze me with its clarity, complexity and sheer drinkability.

In fact, I hope that all the wines in the list below impress everyone with their drinkability and amazing quality.

As usual, the list is not simply a compiling of the highest-scoring wines I tasted in 2015. I tried to put them in order thinking of pricing – those with the highest scores and lowest relative pricing should be higher – and I tried to place higher wines that somehow were embedded in my mind this year while tasting as unique and wonderful bottles.

Photos from top to bottom: James tasting in Spain; No. 2 wine of the year, Muga Rioja Prado Enea Reserva 2006; No. 10 wine of the year, Fattoria Le Pupille Saffredi 2012; Château d’Esclans Côtes de Provence Rosé Garrus 2014; Tua Rita Toscana Redigaffi 2013; James tasting a range of wines in Napa Valley.

TASTING NOTE

Leave comment CANCEL REPLY

2 thoughts on “My Top 100 Wines In 2015”

Leave comment
CANCEL REPLY