OK all. I had 774 entries to work with, a little bit off of last year’s record 900+ number. Last year, 2001 D’Yquem carried away top prize with 06 Krug Clos de Mesnil in 2nd and Selosse Initial (various disgorgements) and 13 Cristal tied for third.
And my early-line look held. 2025’s winner, with 6 votes is 1982 Chateau Pichon-Comtesse As far as I can tell, in 12 years of doing the tabulations, this is the first time a red Bordeaux has taken the crown
Tied for second with 5 votes each are Krug 168 and…2013 Cristal so the 13 Cristal moves up a spot.
I will make mention of the 2005 Coche-Dury Meursault Rougeots, the 17 Leflaive Chevy and 20 Leflaive BBM which all garnered 4 votes apiece, along with 08 Krug and 13 Rousseau Clos St. Jacques
In terms of overall house votes, Rousseau is at 30, just edging out Krug with 29. DRC is third with 22. The other houses picking up 6 or more votes on the whole are as follows:
Cedric Bouchard, 8 votes
D’Yquem, 15
Pichon-Comtesse, 8
Rayas, 9 votes
Coche-Dury 10 votes
Leflaive, 16–strong showing for them
Dujac, 9 votes
Ganevat, 6
Hubert Lignier, 8 votes
Huet 8
Mugnier 10
Drouhin, 11
Keller, 12 votes—I believe the highest non-burg, non-champagne house
Leroy, 9 votes
Mugneret-Gibourg, 17
Raveneau, 18 votes–best-ever showing for them for sure
Roederer, 7 votes
Roumier, 13
Salon 10
Taittinger 8
Vega Sicilia, 7
On the short side…it’s a good thing that Pichon-Comtesse came away with the top prize. The rest of highlight red Bordeaux? One each for Lafite and Mouton. 2 for Latour. No Angelus. No Ausone. No Cheval Blanc. One La Mission. No Lafleur. Quite something. No Egon Muller this time around, no Zind-Humbrecht or Prager either. No Emidio Pepe wines listed and not a lot of Brunello in general.
On this continent, only one vote for Rhys this year. Scarecrow and SQN garnered a couple votes and even one Screaming Eagle this time. Bryant and Bond and Realm were minimally represented. Only two ports total—a 48 Taylor Fladgate and a 31 Nacional. One Rivers-Marie. And, oddly, only 2 Ridge wines and no Montebello this year.
Again, much thanks to everyone for contributing. My OP is below
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Thanks to all for their patience with me in waiting for the annual thread to be posted
I’m 9 days late from my usual start time!
It’s so entrancing to me that so many of my WsOTY this year are in the category of wine I used to hate—Riesling. Now I clearly don’t. I’m still missing some that I have to gather, for sure.
WOTY (I don’t think I’ve nominated it in a prior year, and if so, oh well, it’s clearly been long enough) was the 2010 Argiano Brunello Riserva. From June:
It’s been 5 years since I’ve tasted this. It has always promised superstar performance and today it started to enter into that nova range. Gorgeous fireworks on the bouquet and on the palate, what has happened is the purity of the vintage has now come into some focus, along a string of cranberry, plum and cocoa dust. The expressiveness of this is unreal (slow-oxed for most of a day and decanted for 3 hours) and it is, I think, the best Brunello I’ve ever had. 98+ I have one more of these treasures and I will do my best to wait another 5-8 years to see if it gets to perfection.
2020 Hidden Bench La Brunante
2022 Domaine Roulot Bourgogne Blanc
2001 Trimbach CFE VT Riesling (95)
1999 Chateau Musar
2006 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne
1966 Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste
2001 Chateau Climens
1976 Schloss Eitz Eltviller Sonnenberg Riesling TBA
2003 Ramey Diamond Mountain Cab
2019 Willi Schafer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese #5
2010 Argiano Brunello Riserva (98+)
2008 Zind-Humbrecht Clos Jesbal Pinot Gris SGN Trie Speciale
2023 Jasud Own Rooted Cab (barrel sample)
2023 Kelly Mason Pinot Noir
2014 Kutch Santa Cruz Chard
2019 Claude Dugat Gevrey Chambertin La Marie
1998 Marchesi di Baroli Barolo Cannubi
2016 Huet Cuvee Constance (94+)
2013 Talenti Pian di Conti Brunello Riserva (93)
The discovery is a tie between Kelly’s Pinot—I’m super-picky about Ontario pinot and hers put me in mind of a theoretical mix of Gevrey and Vosne—and the rediscovery of how much I love 76 TBAs or Eisweins if I get the chance to taste one.
Have at it—I will do the usual tabulation exercise at the end of the year.
Kwa Heri
Mike