My Wine Of The Year – 2013

If you’ve already read My Top 100 New-Release Bordeaux In 2013 and My Bordeaux Wine of the Year, you might expect to see all the same names cropping up here for My Wine Of The Year and its 10 runners-up. The point does need to be stressed that 2010 Bordeaux is a historic vintage, but for one fundamental reason I’ve decided against raving about my dozen 100 pointers again – price. Even though prices for 2010 Bordeaux have gone down substantially since initial release, a bottle of Latour, Margaux, Petrus or Le Pin will still cost you between US$1,500 and US$4,500.

For My Wine Of The Year, I wanted something accessible to most serious wine consumers. This essentially ruled out anything I scored above 96 points – all of which sells for $100 or more. So instead I picked the 2010 Domaine de Chevalier. It’s still excellent (click here for note and score), but it sells in the region of US$60 to US$70 a bottle and is widely available in all major wine markets.

Domaine de Chevalier struggled to make great wines in the 1990s after extensive vine replantation, but 2013 proves it is back to its former glory. This most recent release reminds me of their wines from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s – vintages that could compete with the classic Graves such as Haut-Brion or La Mission Haut-Brion.

My runner-up this year is Clos du Marquis. I actually scored it the same as the Domaine de Chevalier (click here for note and score), and you can pick it up around the world for US$50. It’s the sister wine of Second Growth Chateau Leoville-Las Cases, and it has much the same depth and focus. Of course in complexity it lags behind a little, but this is a go-to wine given the price tag. 

Going down my runners-up list, you might be surprised by my inclusions from Australia and Portugal, yet I think both these countries are on the rise in 2013. The 2010 Penfolds Bin is my no.3 because it represents a new, drinkable style of New World wines, while the 2011 Vale Meao, my no.8, is part of a developing movement for table wines from the Douro Valley. And I had to mention 2011 Cockburn vintage Port; I gave it a very high rating indeed (click here for note and score) but you can pick a bottle up for less than US$50!

Runners-up (Click on the wine for the note and score)

2. 2010 Clos du Marquis 3. 2010 Penfolds Shiraz Barossa Valley Marananga Bin 1504. 2010 Marchesi Antinori Tignanello5. 2011 Cockburn Vintage Port6. 2007 Castello di Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Poggio alle Mura Riserva 7. 2010 Gruaud Larose 8. 2011 Quinta do Vale Meao Douro 9. 2008 Argiolas Isola dei Nuraghi Turriga10. 2010 Luce della Vite Toscana Luce