Top 10 wines tasted from 2010

WINE TALK
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CellarTracker says I said:

1990 Château Léoville Las Cases
1982 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
1990 Château Lynch-Bages
1982 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste
1982 Château Talbot
1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron
2004 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select
1986 Château Margaux
1989 Château d’Yquem

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Thanks for all the continuing responses. It’s intersting seeing what different palates enjoy.

Francois… Of course your list makes me green with envy. I have actually tasted 6 of those wines. [cheers.gif]

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Hi Jeff…Happy new year! These should hit your wheel house.

1989 Château Haut-Brion
1990 Château Haut-Brion
1989 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron
1983 Château Margaux
1989 Château Montrose
1990 Château Montrose
2000 Château Montrose
2002 Sine Qua Non Syrah Just For the Love of It
1990 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn
1990 Domaine Robert Jayer-Gilles Echezeaux du Dessus

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Jeff

Nice list! I did not know you were such a Montrose fan. Make sure you let me know when you are out this way again.

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As you talk about Montrose, I have drunk recently 1955 Montrose, which was in a unique state of perfection.

For some years, the 1955 are absolutely brilliant, having reached a state of accomplishment which I find amazing.



Thank you for the comment, Jeff Leve.
When you come to France, tell me. We could share a nice wine.

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Okay amateur (or professional) psychologists…I’ve always declared myself a non-fan of Pinots and Chards. Just noticed that my top 10 of 2010 include 3 chards and 2 pinots! Does this mean that I don’t know what I like, or my expectation for those wines is low, so I’m easily impressed?

Incidentally, those are:
2005 Olson Ogden RRV Pinot
2008 Loring Aubaine (Brian, if you found a misplaced case, I’d be your new best friend)
2005 Iron Horse Native Yeast Chard
2007 Loring Keefer Ranch Chard
2007 Tandem Manchester Ridge Chard

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I’ve had a handful of great wines in 2010, a handful of very good wines and more average to poor than I care to think about. Top Ten?? Here’s a few that come to mind.

07 Bryant Family
07 Spottswoode
SQN 17th Nail
SQN Shot In The Dark
SQN Hospice du Rhone
SQN ERaised
05 Alban Seymour
91 Guigal La Landonne
07 Mon Aieul
82 Lafite

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  • 2005 Emrich-Schönleber Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese - Germany, Nahe (11/7/2010)
    Thick aromas of mango and papaya. In the mouth there is an acidic bite with white peach flavors. Syrupy. Clean finish, but ends shorter than expected… Quite enjoyable.
  • 2008 Gérard Tremblay Chablis 1er Cru La Fourchaume - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru (7/1/2010)
    Served slightly chilled. Pop-n-pour. Light aromas of hay, wet rock, and pear. Perfumed. In the mouth it is crisp, flinty, with the acidity lasting through the finish. Opens up with additional air time with the aromas getting stronger and picks up some weight on the palate. This is a great value chardonnay for those who don’t care for creamy, rounded, and oaky chard.
  • 2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Ranch Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (5/21/2010)
    Tour and Tasting at Rhys Vineyards (All over): Flinty and lots of compelling minerals/rock in the nose. Touches of oak spice and some floral elements. Entry in the mouth shows lots of fine but coating tannins. Progresses to lively acid and sappy dark berries midway through and then a long, lingering finish. “Brooding” is a good overall descriptor for this wine. A great wine that will require a lot of bottle age.
  • 1982 Château La Conseillante - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (2/12/2010)
    Pop-n-pour. Still a dark ruby. Musky, powdery dark fruit aromas. Noticeable cedar on the nose. In the mouth there are soft tannins with dark lush fruit, but they are still very grippy. Nice acidity that rides along to a long finish. Still seems adolescent instead of middle-aged. After some additional air, chalky, earthy aromas emerge. In the mouth, it has a sappy quality with “sweet tannins”. A big thumbs up for me.

Posted from CellarTracker

Honorable Mention:
[*]2008 Ayres Vineyard Pinot Noir Lewis Rodgers Lane Ribbon Ridge - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge (7/21/2010)
Seeing how this tastes young. Opened at 55degF. Pop-n-pour. Some slight earthiness immediately apparent on the nose. Some underbrush, iron in the background. In the mouth there is a great rush of acidity with an elegance. There are light, delicate tannins. Light red fruits. Structure is light but tight. Pleasant transition to a long but, gentle finish. Reminds me of an elegant Pommard? A definite buy. Too bad this is already sold out.

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Could not come up with a top-10 (too many wines scored alike), so here’s my top-20 split between regions in no paritcular order of merit:

Starting with the Top 20, split roughly into regions with no order of merit:



BURGUNDY (MY FIRST LOVE)

  1. 2000 Bouchard Père et Fils Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte - if I could only put one white Burg on a top-5 wines list, this would be it. At a beautiful place now, and just showing so many rich and complex facets

  2. 2006 Remoissenet Père et Fils Bâtard-Montrachet - another beautiful white Burg. Not quite as fine, but not too far behind.

  3. 2002 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny - a stong candidate for wine of the year. So young, yet this had everything. Pure Musigny magic

  4. 2002 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - may not be the best wine in terms of objective quliaty, but this might well be the most pleasurable drink of the year. Perfume, juicy, slinky - sex in a glass.

  5. 1985 Bitouzet-Prieur Volnay 1er Cru Pitures - not a big name or great vineyard, but this was another one of the most beautiful wines of the year. At peak, and just bursting with perfumy flowers and sweet red cherries


    GERMAN RIESLING (DRANK MORE THAN USUAL THIS YEAR)

  6. 2007 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs - best German GG out of many good bottles this year

  7. 1971 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Beerenauslese - best Riesling I have ever had. Hands down. Incredible complexity that was just a joy to drink


    BORDEAUX (A GOOD YEAR FOR THE LEFT BANKS)

  8. 1982 Château Mouton Rothschild - one of the most complete wines I have ever had in terms of fruit, balance, structure - everything. Awesome. And it is still barely out of its starting blocks - long way to go on this yet

  9. 1961 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron - unlike the 82 Mouton, this was at peak, and singing sweetly with incredible fruit expression. Pure joy

  10. 1966 Château La Mission Haut-Brion - different from the other Bordeaux on show, but every bit as special. This was the qunitessential Graves for me, and drinking beautifully

  11. 1953 Château Latour Grand Vin - textbook Bordeaux, textbook Pauillac. Everything was in the right place, and this could well be indestructible


    RHONE

  12. 2004 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc - first outing with this wine, and boy did it leave an impression. Just loved the unusual white Rhone profile. This was more than novelty value though, it was a complete white wine that was brilliant with food

  13. 1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - my first outing with this legendary vintage of Beaucastel, and it more than lived up to expectations

  14. 2007 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin - second Beaucastel on the list. Unlike the 1989, there is a long, long way to go with this yet, but it should turn out even better. Along with the 2007 Da Capo, probably the best young CdP I have ever had.

  15. 2000 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve - wow. This was charm and stylish grace in a bottle. Brilliant stuff, and unlike almost any other CDP in its Burg-like style



    VEGA SICILIA - IN ITS OWN CATEGORY

  16. 1970 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único - beautiful, beautiful stuff. The Unico is indeed unique amongst all the fine ines of the world. As complete as the 1982 Mouton, but with a Spanish flourish

  17. 1985 Bodegas Valdemar (Martinez Bujanda) Rioja Conde de Valdemar Gran Reserva -less heralded wine from a less heralded vinatge, yet this was not far behind the Vega Sicilia, if not in terms of quality, than in terms of sheer juicy deliciousness and complexity



    MORE ESOTERIC STUFF

  18. 1961 Talijancich Julian James Reserve - brillliant, brilliant Aussie fortified wine from the Swan Valley. Served it thrice, and it bowled over three different groups of wine geeks

  19. 1997 Romano Dal Forno Recioto della Valpolicella - have been waiting some time to open this bottle. A complete oddball of a sweet red wine, but boy was it good

  20. N.V. Equipo Navazos Jerez-Xérès-Sherry La Bota de Manzanilla “Navazos” Nº22 - one of many absolutely smashing Equippo Navazos sherries. They were all good, but this was probably the best