Totally agree. And I think that’s part of the reason why it’s here. Had it a Zero George in Charleston. A rec from the somm. Well priced and with a little age on it. Textural and just hit the spot, went with the tasting menu perfectly. Hit all the right notes and wasn’t something I expected, so it made the list IMO.
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WOTY 2018 Fourrier Gevrey 1er clos St. Jacques (Not the most complex or mature wine on this list by any means, yet somehow, this one just rang my bell)
Very honorable mentions
2000 Bartolo Mascarello (Whoa, wait, this is Barolo? It sings)
2013 Trimbach Clos Saint Hune (Wow…just wow)
2020 Guffens-Heynen Mâcon-Pierreclos Tri de Chavigne (threw shade all over a 20’ Maltroye Batard…remarkable and delicious)
2006 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato (Even the hardcore mature old wine lovers liked the fruit in this one)
2005 Château Pontet-Canet (There, I said it…)
2016 Cappellano Rupestris Barolo (More please…)
1995 [edit, 25 Dec] Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Sonoma Mountain (On a table of heavyweights, this was the one I kept coming back to…)
DOTY
That there are great glasses for an avowed Pinot-phile to enjoy in aged Barolo, Bordeaux and even (gasp) California
Aged Chablis- Holy crap. So this is what aged chard can do in the right hands
Fourrier: I’ve always liked it, but this year I went right down the rabbit hole
Firsts in 2023: It’s been a very good year
DRC 04 La Tache, 08 Tremblay Chapelle Chambertin, 09 Drouhin Musigny
Chambertin: 09 Rousseau, 09 Trapet
Amoureuses; 18 Drouhin, 10 Bertheau, eyeballing a Drouhin 13’ for Christmas…
Some remarkable Bordeaux: Cheval blanc, Magdelaine, 16’ Trotanoy, 1928 Montrose
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WOTY 2019 Macdonald
Discovery of the year: aged Scherrer zin!
Ooo—I like that, Steve. “notable firsts” will be added to the thread title for next year. Great thought.
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I keep a list of “first” or new wines experienced on my phone for each year. It’s fun to reflect on new benchmarks I’ve encountered.
as for 2023,
Sparkling: 2008 Doyard Lumieres, 1990 Dom Perignon
White: 2019 Bernaudeau Nourrissons, 2018 Keller Schubertslay Alte Reben, 2006 Grillet
Reds: 1985 Verset (same bottle at @Dav1d_Sawyer), 1990 Margaux, 1988 Palmer, 88 Dujac CdLR
Sweet: 2001 Yquem
Discover(ies): I’ve gotten into riesling quite a bit more this year, across a variety of producers, having had wonderful experiences with Keller, Julian Haart, Stein, Von Winning, and Clemens Busch to name a few. Really excited by the wines of Benoit Moreau in Burgundy. I continue to love 1998 Bordeaux, especially on the right bank. Egly VP has been a revelation. 2020 Ferret Pouilly Fuissé Perrieres has been probably my QPR of the year.
Alot of my best drinking in the past has been courtesy of others. While that’s true this year as well, I’ve also derived a TON of pleasure from pulling more special bottles/producers from my own cellar to share with newer drinkers, and knock wines off of their bucket list as has been done for me. Definitely discovered it’s at least as good to give than receive in this wonderful hobby.
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Many, many fantastic bottles this year, but these were the best of the best:
1990 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
1990 Château Haut-Brion
2001 Château d’Yquem
1981 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único
2017 Domaine Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Clos des Bouchères
2000 Château Latour Grand Vin
1983 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
1976 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle
1988 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
1980 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Honourable mention – 1928 Château Palmer
No discoveries.
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As usual (being very fortunate) many great bottles comes to mind and some most probably also forgotten:
Sparkling
Selosse Initial - a recent bottle was mindblowingly good
White
Chateau Laville Haut Brion 1975 - wonderful
A flight of 2009 Klaus Peter Keller Morstein, Pettenthal and G-Max were three strikes in a row
Huet Le Mont 1952 Demi-sec just beautiful
Red
Soldera IGT 2016 (from magnum), a legend in the making
Chateau Margaux 1983, perfectly mature
Vega Sicilia Unico 1966, another fine mature bottle
Cappellano Barolo Pie Franco 2010, wow
Burlotto Barolo Acclivi 2019, the star of Burlotto this vintage
Bruno Giacosa Barolo Villero 1989 - just my favorite wine in a strong lineup of Giacosas
Discovery of the year: G. Cortese Barbaresco Rabaja 2019, what a beauty
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The greatest of the unknown Huets? I have been dreaming about this wine since it was the star of our first big Huet tasting in New York in 2000. Forever in my list of best wines I’ve ever had.
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I was a little more dranconian in picks this year than in some past years. Only up to two per category. Various Berserkers were present for most of these.
Sparkling
2013 Agrapart Avizoise (really crazy good; hits just perfectly for me)
2002 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvée (my favorite at the special Vilmart dinner Greg put together)
Rose
2006 François Cotat Chavignol (went to a level I never expected in spite of some weird floculation I filtered out that had been there for years)
White
1996 López de Heredia Tondonia Reserva (holy moly)
Red
1993 Rousseau Chambertin (no words; perfect bottle)
1975 Magdelaine (now in a place where this bottle got the nod in my second spot over honorable mentions 1966 Ducru (from magnum) and 1993 Dujac Charmes)
Sweet-ish
1975 Aloys Frederich Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese (Source Material special)
2021 Falkenstein Krettnacher Euchariusberg Förster Spätlese (AP5) (my favorite young 2021 Falkenstein and, well, it made this list)
Sweet
Forgot one: 1996 Muller-Catoir Haardter Mandelring Scheurebe Eiswein (another wow wine from HGS)
DOTY
2022 Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko (How had I not been exposed to or known about this before?)
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I’m a relatively new wine enthusiast, but have really enjoyed broadening my palate this year.
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a 1990 Domaine de Chevalier red was incredibly pleasurable, full of ripe cherry fruit, sous bois and a delightful leatheriness, although the most impressive part was the structure, which was still grippy and full of minty freshness - actually the same freshness I experienced in the 2020 recently.
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I loved the 2017 Clos St. Hune. It’s so primary it’s difficult to describe, but just think of a laserbeam of incredibly pure citrus fruit and shockingly virile minerality. I loved the structure of this. The 2021 Donnhoff Hermannshohle GG wasn’t far off in terms of sheer power and elegance, though, and it is far cheaper…
My discovery of the year was the 2006 Ridge Lytton Springs. Pure bramble and wild growth, powerful fruit structure and incredibly animalistic, but youth gave it a powerful umami kick and an incredibly citrus-y finish.
Whites:
- 2021 Schäfer-Fröhlich Felseneck GG. Loong layers of minerals, lemon sherbet, thyme.
- 2021 Kühling-Gillot Pettenthal GG. All the citrus fruits swirling together - lime, orange, tangelo, lemon. ‘22 pricing increase suggests this is poking above the radar.
- 2017 Henri Germain Mersault Porozuts 1er. Tangy fruit, minerals all day long, dry extract galore.
Reds:
- 2013 Fourrier Griottes Chambertin. Endless layers of cherries with perfectly balanced acid.
Sweet:
- 2021 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein Goldkapsel. Just wow.
Surprise:
- the emotionally fraught task of consolidating my dads cellar from 5,000+ bottles to 1,500 bottles following several strokes led to my discovery of how much I like old vine Hunter Valley Shiraz. The best examples with dense concentration & minerality, tart red berries, good acid, roses - like good Nebbiolo fruit weight without the tannin.
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As you begin your annual tabulations, I have a question. Can a “discovery” named by a lot of people really be a discovery. I mean if everyone knows about it …
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A fair question (and I don’t tabulate the discoveries). In terms of the intent, yes, I think so Howard, because it’s a discovery to that person themselves rather than a discovery for the group. I do think that’s how most people are treating it 
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Steve, the Laurel Glen you loved was 1995, not 2005.
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I think the wines that most captured my imagination this year were:
Champagne:
Ulysse Collin Roises 2014 base 60 month
I’ve had this several times in the last few months and I think it’s one of the two best Champagnes to be made in the past 10 years. A thrill to have it each time and to continue to experience it as it ages.
White:
2008 Dauvissat Le Clos.
When this wine is on, there are fewer better white wines. With friends in Paris, which helped.
Red:
2021 Mugnier Les Amoureuses
From barrel with several friends (including @chetkern who arranged the visit), listening to Freddy talk about the changes in Burgundy and his memories of Becky Wasserman. This wasn’t objectively the best wine I had this year, but far and away the most memorable.
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It’s always hard to limit the list, as I’m blessed to be able to drink with a number of incredibly generous people with great cellars. I’m also almost certainly omitting some wines that really belong in the list, but here’s a shot:
Sparkling
1988 Krug (this is also my overall WOTY)
2002 Salon
2008 Cristal Rosé
2009 Cristal Rosé
Ulysse Collin Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut
White
2015 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard
2000 Nikolaihof Riesling Steiner Hund
2008 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet
Red
1992 Laurel Glen Sonoma Mountain Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
1955 Jean Bourdy Côte du Jura Poulsard
1991 Gentaz-Dervieux Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune
1969 Faiveley Clos de La Maréchale NSG
1990 Mugnier Musigny
2000 Mugnier Musigny (the 1996 and 2001 should be here as well but I needed to limit it at least somewhat)
2001 Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala
Dessert
2001 Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr GKA
1988 Chateau d’Yquem
Surprise
2010 SQN That Kind . . . of Rosay Grenache Rosé
2021 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah Local Election
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What is the other?? Inquiring minds…
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2013 Cristal Rose
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biggest discovery was the 2022 efusivo clarete by entre pedras from acores…mostly merlot, 11.5 abv and incredibly refreshing!
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1999 Giacosa Falletto Le Rocche
WOTY and DOTY both
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