WsOTY--2022 Edition--and your Discovery of the Year--TABULATIONS COMPLETE (OP)

WINE TALK
1

OK everyone. I have completed the tabulations for 2022. As mentioned downthread, I had 700 entries to sort through which is a new record. Fantastic work!

Champagnes dominated and there was a lot of Riesling representation this year as well.

1st place tie with 5 votes each to 2008 Cristal and 1996 Salon

3rd place (with 4 votes each) was shared by 5 wines this year, the 2008 Taittinger CdC, 1989 Beaucastel, Jacques Selosse Substance, 2001 d’Yquem and 2001 Rieussec

In terms of house representation, you will see many usual suspects near the top, with champagnes taking top 3. Here’s what we’ve got (as usual, I will only enumerate those houses that received 5 votes or more):

Cristal - 16
Krug - 16
Dom - 13
DRC - 11
Rousseau - 11
Donnhoff - 10
d’Yquem - 9
Taittinger - 9
Selosse - 8
Salon - 7
Latour - 7
PYCM - 7
Ganevat - 6
Guigal - 6
Ramonet - 6
Huet - 5
Coche-Dury - 5
Egon Muller - 5
JJ Prum - 5
Leflaive - 5
Vilmart - 5

So while lots of champagne, it was fun to see that e.g. Ramonet, Leflaive, Coche who have been on the outside looking in during some past years made a nice comeback this year.

On the other side of the ledger? Probably my biggest surprise is that there is not a single MacDonald wine mentioned. Only one Kutch (mine) and 2 Rhys. There is also no Emmanuel Rouget this year. Leroy only with 3 mentions. Just 1 Sassicaia, 1 Mascarello and no Masseto. Just 2 Lafites and 2 Haut-Brions. And no Prager this year. 1 Screaming Eagle. 1 Scarecrow. No Kongsgaard

Perhaps not surprising, no Argentinian or Chilean wines here at all. These are 2 countries that I myself am thinking of doing some more wine exploration on in the coming year.

I reiterate my thanks to everyone for taking time to contribute to this thread. My own choices are below.

Mike

Sorry to be a little late starting the thread, but here we go. I think this is everything but will double-check. This is a monster list, and it probably should be for me—between two major wine-themed trips (US east coast and California) plus my long-delayed MEOW cellar depressurization event, plus a return to Atlanta for a weekend visit plus…well, you get the idea. I’ve had a huge quantity of super wine. I am thankful and grateful. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve tried somewhere around 1,000 wines this year. Not that that’s a good thing :slight_smile:

2008 Cristal Rose – there have been some serious challengers but I don’t think anything is unseating this, possibly the best Champagne I’ve ever had and worth the big number I spent on it

2001 Chateau D’Yquem (99+ but I never vote a repeat wine in as WOTY)
2001 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin
2017 Jadot Puligny Clos de la Garenne
2016 Tribute to Grace Santa Barbara Hillsides Vineyard Grenache (95)
2004 Bollinger Grand Annee Rose
2001 Chateau Suduiraut
2001 Chateau Rieussec
2001 Gundloch Nackenheimer Rothenberg Ries Auslese (94)
2014 Vincent Dauvissat Chablis La Forest
1994 Seavey Cab
2008 Taittinger CdC
2019 Rivers-Marie Herb Lamb Cab
2012 Mugneret-Gibourg Chambolle Feusselottes
2018 Roulot Meursault Clos les Boucheres
2008 Barmes Buecher Rosenberg PG VT (95)
1970 Taylor Fladgate Very Old Single Harvest
1998 Chateau Les Carmes Haut-Brion (93)
2013 PYCM St. Aubin En Remilly
2016 Thomas Morey Chassagne Baudines (94)
2017 Henri Darnat Meursault Clos Richemont
2018 Francois Cotat Sancerre Cul de Beaujeu
2009 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Ries Kabinett
2008 Cristal
1999 Bouchard Pommard Rugiens (95)
1991 Soldera Brunello
1902 D’Oliveira Bual Madeira (unholy level of youthfulness and energy)
2002 Bertheau Chambolle Amoureuses (I didn’t score it but probably 96 or 97)
2007 Sea Smoke Ten
2014 Kutch Santa Cruz Chard

DISCOVERIES

3-way tie. The 2016 Tribute to Grace Santa Barbara Hillsides Vineyard Grenache was a mind-blowing experience for this grenache hater. It changes how I think about the grape. If you can tell the difference blind between this and (a good bottle of) Rayas, you’re a better person than I am.

On my spring trip to Boston, Doug Schulman did an evil thing. He poured us all a blind that I guessed was older Aglianico with most of the rest of the table in Spain. 2010 Bartlett Wild Blueberry Wine (!!!)

Also on the spring trip, also a blind, Rodrigo Braga served us a Morey-St. Denis or similar from 2014. Except it wasn’t. It was a 2008 Friedrich Becker Kammerberg Spatburgunder. Just wow.

Hoping many will pile on with their picks. As usual, I will tabulate and provide results at the end of the year!

13 Likes
2

1989 Beaucastel with Alfert and French was a special wine, as much for the company as the wine, which really was excellent.

2008 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne and 2002 Dom Perignon are among my top champagnes of the year.

2019 Walter Scott Freedom Hill Chardonnay was my white wine favorite of the year. My first Walter Scott chard, and it blew me away.

2001 Velich Tiglat Austrian chardonnay was the surprise of the year at Restaurant Peter in Salzburg, a really enjoyable and wonderfully aged chardonnay.

2001 Pride Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon wins satisfyingly better than expected award of the year for being so perfectly spot on when opened, and a serious crowd pleaser.

4 Likes
3

1990 Cristal: a friend was gifted this by his aunt years ago, with questionable storage along the way. He opened it with us and boy was it a killer. I rated both this and the Arnot below a 97, but this is WOTY.

2019 Arnot Roberts Montecillo: really hit all the right notes for me. Need to revisit, but at the time it was killer.

4 Likes
4

1996 Margaux by quite a bit. Absolutely gorgeous monumental wine. Breathtaking.

2007 Vilmart CDC was my Champagne of the year. Oldest Vilmart I’ve tried and it really impressed me with both its youthful energy and development.

2 Likes
5

I’ll dive in here with you, Grams.

2012 Marguet Les Bermonts
2014 Laherte Frères Les Empreintes
2013 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee

I’ll retaste the LF before EOY to see if it continues to impress but so far two outstanding bottles this year. I know these wines are outliers in the big picture but for me, they are gorgeous.

4 Likes
6

WOTY (so far) Pol Roger Vintage Brut 1996

Other top wines:
Rhys Alpine Vineyard Chardonnay 2013 and 2014
Corison Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Karthauserhof Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Spatlese 2007
Chateau Talbot 2003
Billaud-Simon Chablis 1er cru Montee de Tonnerre 2012
Deep Woods Estate Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2014
Chateau Gruaud-Larose 1990

Discovery of the Year:
Vie di Romans Pinot Grigio Dessimis 2018

3 Likes
7

So far my WOTY has been a 1995 Weingut Hermann Ludes Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling Auslese. Silver goes to 2015 Martin Müllen Kröver Paradies Riesling Spätlese ** Deare which will probably be a better wine with some more time in the cellar.

Honestly, think my discovery was chardonnay from the Twenty Mile Bench in Canada. I’ll put chardonnay from Foxcroft Vineyard against some of the best in the world and expect it to win some converts. Cloudsley Cellars is then taking that gorgeous fruit and making a reductive style that I just adore. I’m half tempted to get an import license so I can get it in the USA. Bachelder and Pearl Morissette were right there too.

Honorable mention to 2018 Elyse Cabernet Sauvignon, which has to be one of the best values out there. Not sure how it will age–but who cares when it is this good now.

4 Likes
8

Red:
2018 Carmes HB
2019 EDWY Love Language Glowing Red
2005 Breton Bourgueil Perrieres

White:
2020 Willi Schaefer Graacher HImmelreich Kabi #3
2016 Schloss Lieser Graacher Himmelreich GG

Bubbly:
2014 Pierre Peters Chetillons (mag)

Sticky:
2005 JJ Prüm Wehlener Auslese GK

Values of the year <$30:
2021 Peter Lauer Ayler Riesling Senior #6
2020 Sabelli-Frisch Zinfandel Faun Lachland vnyd
2018 Sabelli-Frisch Marsanne Milk Fed Ramos vnyd

DOTY:
The wines of Raul Perez

4 Likes
9

So difficult to pick - but fun exercise nonetheless =)

Red
Winner

  • 2013 JF. Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses
    Runner-up(s)
  • 2017 Comte Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée 1er cru Les Petits Monts
  • 2019 A. Rousseau GC Mazy-Chambertin
  • 2018 A. Lachaux Vosne-Romanée (had the 2019 Les Chaumes and Haut Maizieres as well, but to my taste the village '18 was drinking much better at this stage)
  • 2019 Prieure-Roch NSG 1er cru Vielles Vignes
  • 2011 Rayas

White
Winner

  • 2013 Arnaud Ente Meursault Les Petits Charrons
    Runner-up(s)
  • 2008 Raveneau GC Les Clos
  • 2018 Coche-Dury Meursault
  • 2011 Roulot Bourgogne Blanc
  • 2012 Arnaud Ente Meursault
  • 2020 Guffens-Heynen Macon-Pierreclos ‘Juliette et les Vielles de Chavigne’

Champagne
Winner

  • Selosse Substance
    Runner-up
  • Jerome Prevost La Closerie ‘Les Beguines’

Discovery of the year is no doubt Guffens-Heynen in general - utterly magical whites from Puilly-Fuisse and Macon that outkicks their appelation in a way that is almost inconceiveable if you ask me.

Feel like I left soo many things out here, but have to pick something…

6 Likes
10

Didnt drink as much this year as last and the wines I did drink were more food friendly and less thought provoking.

WOTY for me was a 2017 Arnoux Lachaux Pinot Fin off a list in Munich for way under WS. Happened to go with a nice meal and evening. Some of the hype made sense after.

Discoveries -

  • was able to try a lot more Dujac this year which led to buying more than I planned.
  • But mostly discovering that my partner liked BdN and sparkling rose after telling me she didn’t like champagne was the best discovery of the year.
2 Likes
11

Thanks all for the great work and quick uptake. Vince, my friend Jay got me into the Raul Perez whites—-they can be special. Josh, so cool that you fell in love with Bench Chardonnays. You’re right about there being several great producers and styles. Besides those you’ve listed, I’m also partial to Queylus Estates, Westcott Estate and Kelly Mason wines

2 Likes
12

1989 Mouton, at a black tie event in the opera house in the city of Bordeaux. Wine + surroundings + excitement! I cannot answer this in any other way.

2 Likes
13

2008 Selosse Millesime
2014 Coche-Dury Bourgogne
2019 Kelley Fox Maresh Vineyard Star of Bethlehem Flower Block Pinot Noir

Discovery: Amorotti Trebbiano d’Abruzzo

2 Likes
14

1990 Marquis de Terme, Margaux
2019 Francois Gaunoux “Le Clos des Chenes”, Volnay
2000 Gloria, St-Julien
2008 Louise Brison Brut, Aube

The biggest surprise was the 1990 Marquis de Terme, since my '96s went off a cliff about a decade ago. But that’s Bordeaux…

1 Like
15

There has been a lot of interesting wines in 2022. But if i had to pick only one wine in each category it would probably be.

WOTY:
Coche-Dury, Meursault, 2007.

DOTY:
Francois Dumas, Saint-Joseph, 2019.

16

So hard to choose!

The wine that stood out most to me was a 1999 Vincent Girardin Bonnes Mares.

Some other notable wines
2002 Lafite (BWE convention)
1982 Dunn Howell Mtn (BWE convention)
1982 Talbot (BWE convention)
2002 Billecart Nicolas (BWE convention)
1979 Ponsot Latricieres Chambertin
1988 Lafaurie Peyraguey
1982 Guigal La Mouline
1996 Ornellaia
2017 Pattes Loup Butteaux
1998 Château Petit Village
1976 Hugel Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive SGN (OMG #2)

New discoveries Ziereisen, Rings, Eva Fricke, and Demeire

2 Likes
17

'88 LT
'69 DP P3
'59 Schloss Reinhartshausen Marcobrunn TBA
'88 Rousseau Chambertin
'99 LT
'96 Salon
'02 Cristal
'19 L’Arlot RSV
'19 Müller Scharzhofberger Spätlese
'18 Lamy-Pillot Montrachet

18

It’s been a great year :smiley:

Red
1989 Haut Brion (and I’m not at all a Bordeaux fan)
2005 Rayas
1996 Roumier Bonnes Mares

White
2012 Lamy Criots-Batard-Montrachet
1995 Nikolaihof Riesling Vinothek
2007 Ganevat Vignes de mon pere

Sparkling
1996 Salon
Selosse Substance (4/19)
2014 Ulysse Collin Les Enfers 60 months

Sweet
2001 Yquem
1946 Toro Albala PX
1986 Yquem

Discoveries
Thomas Batardiere
L’Arbre Blanc (too late)
Vinas Mora

2 Likes
19

WOTY(+1):
1968 Taylor (Fladgate) Very Old Single Harvest Port
2009 Abreu Thorevilos

Best Discoveries:
2019 Sabelli-Frisch Mission La Malinche
2016 Matthiasson Ribolla Gialla
2017 Tercero Carignane
2018 Round Peak Tannat
2016 Philippe Fontaine Champagne Cuvée des Lys

3 Likes
20

Discovery of the year is the Laherte ‘Ultradition’ Brut NV. Just fantastic for an entry-level champagne.

Wine of the year is probably the 1947 Borgogno Barolo from the tasting at Higgins with other Berserkers.

5 Likes