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Wine Spectator Top 10 Tasting
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I use this wine key: Forge de Laguiole Ebony
I have used the following glass in this video: Nude Stem Zero Powerful Red
I have tasted the following wines in this Video:
Top 10 – 2022 Ramey Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, USA
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/ramey+chard+russian+river+valley+sonoma+county+north+coast+california+usa/2022?referring_site=KSB
Top 9 – 2020 G. D. Vajra Barolo Albe, Barolo DOCG, Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/g+d+vajra+albet+docg+barolo+piemonte+italy/2020?referring_site=KSB
Top 7 – 2020 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau, Rhone, France
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/dom+du+vieux+telegraphe+chateauneuf+pape+la+crau+rhone+france/2020?referring_site=KSB
Top 6 – 2022 Roserock Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, USA
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/rose+rock+pinot+noir+eola+amity+hill+willamette+valley+oregon+usa/2022?referring_site=KSB
Top 5 – 2021 Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Stags, Leap District, USA
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/chimney+rock+cab+sauv+stags+leap+district+napa+valley+county+north+coast+california+usa/2021?referring_site=KSB
Top 3 – 2021 Marchesi Antinori Tignanello Toscana IGT, Tuscany, Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/marchesi+antinori+tignanello+tuscany+igp+italy/2021?referring_site=KSB
Top 1 – 2021 Concha y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon, Puente Alto, Chile
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/concha+y+toro+don+melchor+cab+sauv+puente+alto+maipo+valley+chile/2021?referring_site=KSB
The 100 Point Scoring System (from www.robertparker.com):
96-100: An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase and consume.
90 – 95: An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, these are terrific wines.
80 – 89: A barely above average to very good wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavor as well as character with no noticeable flaws.
70 – 79: An average wine with little distinction except that it is soundly made. In essence, a straightforward, innocuous wine.
60 – 69: A below-average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavor or possibly dirty aromas or flavors.
50 – 59: A wine deemed to be unacceptable.
It is that time of the year again when the major publications publish their best of 2024 lists, and the Wine Spectator is no exception.
They have made a big deal out of their top 10 wines this year and revealed them across a week to build up excitement for this selection.
So my team purchased most of the Top 10 wines so that I can independently review them and determine whether Wine Spectator has selected the best wines of 2024.
While print wine media is not going through a golden age the Wine Spectator is still standing and keeping up with publishing their top 100 lists. This is the 36th version as it was established in 1988
Their editors select the most “exciting” for that list and they write: In addition, our selection also prioritizes quality (based on score), value (based on price), and availability (based on the number of cases either made or imported into the United States). These criteria are applied to the wines that are rated outstanding (90 points or higher on Wine Spectator’s 100-point scale) each year to determine our Top 100.
My favorite thing about the Top 100 lists is that they are still available on the website so you can go back in time and get a glimpse of what the wine world looked like decades ago.
20 years ago in 2004 they had two Sauternes in the Top ten and the 2001 Rieussec won first place – that is unthinkable today, as demand for Sauternes has dropped significantly.
The 2004 Top 10 was pretty international including a Chilean wine, one from Spain, three from Italy, one from the US, one from Australia, and three from France.
But there was no Pinot, which would be strange today and there was no dry white wine included in the Top 10.
36 Comments
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I don't care for winelist with wines I can't afford, sorry.
I used to buy Don Melchor at the Publix chain of supermarkets in Florida years ago at $50. Crazy it’s a $170 wine today!!
I think that until the viewers, who complain about your pronunciation of “Syrah”, can correctly pronounce “Winzergenossenschaft”, they should stop complaining
I think they were going for wines that were commercially available to their readers. I really don’t think that this is an accurate representation of the top 10 wines produced. No one will argue that. The point is who really respects WS’s opinion.
The problem is that the wines at the top of the list double or triple in price immediately.
Best not to publish any lists. It destroys the availability of these wines.
I did try the Albe Barolo too and also found it good but a little underwhelming. Have tried earlier vintages and really enjoyed them though, they are great value for a Barolo!
Very nice review! As far as the list goes, it's all subjective. As you mentioned, there are other wines from other countries and regions that deserve to be on the list. Looks like their main focus is on the U S. West Coast. Some of the wine coming in out of Chile and Portugal are fantastic at reasonable prices.
See ra? It’s She-raz mate :p
It would be interesting to see the difference in your opinion when the bottles had been opened serveral hours earlier. Particularly with the Barolo, i find the rise notes arent always there straight away and need some time to appear.
The confidence, wearing this fit tasting red wine 😂
the chardonnay costs yen 11,770 in tokyo. sad face. usd$79.
I'm not sure if he reminds me of Bear Grylls or Christian Bale.
thank you. really enjoyed this one.
Great video with 7 of the top 10. Would love to see an update if you can locate the other three. Best YT review of the Top 100 from WS.
i had a Don Melchor 2018 last year, was really good, didn't expect the 2021 one become the top #1 this year
for me, "Château l'Hospitalet La Clape Grand Vin Rouge" will be my #1 this year, this bottle taste really impressive, almost unbeatable at this price
"Widely available in the United States" is the controlling criterion.
Excellent and enjoyable, my fave is Vieux Telegraph
So many great Pinots in Canada and yet none make the list.
Great video as always. I will say, spectator puts a lot of emphasis on availability, maybe too much this year. The barolo for example, you will find in so many wine shops. There are better examples, but it's easy to find and a good value.
On the other end of the spectrum, I've noticed sucklings top 100 is shifting more towards "these are the best wines, period" with no regard to value. Lots of expensive items on his list.
To each his own. Let's see KBs top 10 now… cheers! 🍷
I tasted Terrunyo CS 2021 a few miles away from the vines. It is the younger brother of Don Melchor and is stunning, something happen there in 2021! And please don’t age it, it’s a lush wine that can be enjoyed fully now.
Gave up my sub to WS 10 years ago and have not missed it at all. Glossy bunch of hype an bs. Cheers 🥂
92 points on the jokes as i appreciate the frequency of them. Keep it coming! lol
At that price for a Napa cab, is prefer an Eisele Vineyard (or aurajo) Altagracia
Hi Konstantin
What is the name of the glass?
Thx for at an amazing channel❤
WS is pay to play.
Great video! What are your favourite wines of 2024?
Beneide dich, so viele gute und teure Weine jede Woch zu trinken. Ich frage mich, ob du die ganzen Flaschen danach auch austrinkst, nach dem du den Korken auf dem Boden geworfen hast 😅?
Oregon Pinot Noirs are incredibly good and consistent. I think they are among the best value wines you can buy both at the bottom and the top end. Always delicious. Always well made. And unlike, say, NZ Sauvignon Blanc (which are also always well made and consistent), you can get some complex and interesting wines as well.
Don Melchor, 2018, 2019, 2021 are great vintages.
Astonished the Albe from Vajra is on that list, I've tasted over three vintages and could never get much of a perfume from them and found them really tight without revealing any complexity. Best avoid and reach for better and surely less expensive bottlings.
I’ll drink M Chaoutier Hermitage Monier de la Sizeranne, Syrah wine on this New Year’s Eve.
For the mariage to this wine, what kind of dish should I cook?
At this point, I will cook some hamburger steaks with wine-sautéed onions and nutmeg.
I see some utility in the WS wine list. I think you have never rated a wine that high like no 1 and 2 on this channel.
I suspect many of the producers on that list were included because they pay for ads in the magazine.
Here in Sweden we can get the G.D Varja 2020 Barolo for 299 sek so about 26 euro or 27.5 USD right now from our state own wine and sprit store. Great wine for that price in my opinion!
Costco in Oregon had the RoseRock 2022 for $30 until just recently. They now have the 2023 also for $30 which is just as lovely as the 2022.