You might be wondering where our Top 100 Napa and Sonoma selection is. We scrapped it. We decided after tasting more than 3,300 wines from the United States, we would do a Top 100 American wines list this year. And we think it’s pretty exciting.
When talking about American wines we can no longer just consider Napa Valley, or even California. American wine is much, much bigger, as most of you know. For our Great American Wine Revolution tasting earlier this year we went to Virginia where we tasted hundreds of wines from across the country, from Arizona and Colorado to Virginia, Maryland, and New York state. It was fascinating, and we found many excellent wines.
Our top American wine is Ridge Vineyards Santa Cruz Mountains Monte Bello.
Granted, Napa Valley still dominates the fine wine scene in the United States and most of the wines in our list are from there and from names we all know and appreciate. For example, our Best American Wine in 2018 is the Ridge Vineyards Santa Cruz Mountains Monte Bello 2015. It is an iconic wine with its history in fine winemaking. It doesn’t cost a fortune like so many of the cult wines from Napa Valley, and it remains true to itself, maintaining its reserve yet opulent character despite many other wines that went to a full-throttle, fruit-forward style in the late 1990s. And, of course, the mountain vineyard of Monte Bello delivers a unique bottle of wine through the ever-thoughtful hands of the Ridge winemaking team.
Of the Top 10 wines, seven are from Napa Valley and mostly from the 2015. We believe this year turned out much better than expected as winemakers, aware of the short crop and dry, hot weather, picked more carefully. We also include some 2016s that show the brilliance of the harvest, the fifth consecutive outstanding year in California.
The Littorai Pinot Noir Sonoma County Sonoma Valley Sonoma Coast The Haven Vineyard 2016 was the sixth-ranked wine in our list. And it shows the amazingly deft winemaking hand of the legendary Ted Lemon. He and his team are incredibly precise, with pinpoint winemaking that transmits the goodness and unique nature of his single vineyard bottlings.
After that, we have two superb syrahs from Washington that should not be missed and highlight how the state is making some of the most exciting wines in America. This variety is Washington’s strength, so if you can find them, don’t miss trying a bottle of Cayuse Vineyards Syrah Walla Walla Valley Bionic Frog 2014 (No. 7) or No Girls Syrah Walla Walla Valley La Paciencia Vineyard 2015 (No. 10).
As well as lots of Washington wines in our list we loved several from Oregon too, with Antica Terra, Domaine Drouhin and Domaine Serene shinning the brightest as usual. They are the masters of pinot in the state in 2018.
Barboursville Vineyards in Virginia is in our Top 100 American Wines list at No. 95 with its Bordeaux blend the Barboursville Vineyards Virginia Octagon 2016.
This brings us to the final quarter of the list that includes several wines from other states. Most striking here are the three red Bordeaux blends from Virginia led by the RdV Vineyards Lost Mountain 2016 (No. 69), followed by the Early Mountain Virginia Eluvium 2015 (No. 93) and Barboursville Vineyards Virginia Octagon 2016 (No. 95).
These will surprise anyone who hasn’t yet caught up with the quantum leap in winemaking for reds in that state. All are remarkably polished reds with considerable concentration, characteristics shared by the Roanoke Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon North Fork of Long Island Striking Distance 2015 (No. 99) from New York State.
New York State also provided us with the most astonishing dry white from outside the West Coast. The Red Newt Cellars Riesling Finger Lakes The Knoll 2016 (No. 86) has an amazing intensity of floral honey, white peach, tropical fruit and citrus aromas. The combination of ripeness and scintillating acidity reminded us of Trimbach’s Clos Ste. Hune, the most expensive and sought-after dry riesling from Alsace, France. It is a sure sign of the white wine revolution in the Finger Lakes region.
All the wines in our list were ranked primarily on their ratings and then we took into account other factors such as availability and WOW factor that includes anything from newness to emotional value for us. Price was less of a factor in this list compared to our list of Top 100 Wines of 2018.
If these wines excite you, we suggest you consult our Great American Wine Revolution report where you will find plenty more wines from these states that scored 90 points or more, plus some wines from Arizona and Colorado that also came close to placing on our list. They make us confident that in the coming years our Top 100 America will be even more diverse.
It’s an exciting time to be drinking American wines with so many states making outstanding bottles. We look forward to tasting more next year and will be visiting many states including California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Virginia and New York. — James Sucking, Editor & CEO, and Stuart Pigott, Senior Editor
