Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| Your Top Ten of the Year 2012 Edition | Login/Join |
| Member |
I'll post my list in a bit, but I won't have much in the way of tasting notes. I'm not the note-writer I used to be. The problem is that all of my top 10 wines were enjoyed in the company of interesting, engaging people - so much so, that I would have a hard time putting conversation on hold and retreating into the introverted/analytical headspace I find necessary to channel my inner Parker. At best, I might sneak a few moments just to write down the name/vintage of the wine and make a comment like "YUM!!!" or something. I did take some careful, thoughtful notes on a few wines, but they were relatively more commonplace wines that I didn't mind drinking at home by my lonesome (and so wouldn't make my top 10). | |||
|
| Member |
Agree with Glenn about lists but I can still smell and taste all of these wines. Many of these were shared with fellow forumites - thanks for a great year and look forward to 2013. 1990 Champagne Charlie 1990 Ornellaia 1982 Pichon Lalande 1975 Robert Mondavi Reserve 1990 Fuligni Riserva BDM 1998 Sassicaia 1997 Lisini BDM 1989 Pichon Baron 1982 Montrose 1990 Leoville Poyferre 1989 and 1990 Lynch Bages | |||
|
| Member |
OK here they are: Reds 2002 Dominus 1982 L'Evangile Pomerol 2009 Flor de Pingus Ribera del Duero 2009 Alvaro Palacios Priorat Finca Dofi White 2010 Donnhoff Riesling Spatlese Niederhauser Hermannshohle Sparkling 2002 Ployez Jacquemart Champagne Extra Brut Dessert 1970 Fonseca VP 1977 Taylor Fladgate VP 2005 Ch. Rieussec Sauternes 2005 Ch. Guiraud Sauternes | |||
|
| Member |
Best Red: 1990 Château Haut-Brion 1989 Château Haut-Brion 1989 Château Montrose 1989 Château Palmer 1989 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 1989 Château La Conseillante 1999 Château Pavie 1991 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée Best Sweet: 1989 Château d'Yquem 2007 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey Best Champagne: 1995 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 1988 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 2002 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année NV Krug Champagne Grande Cuvée Brut Best Dry White: 2009 Ceritas Chardonnay Porter-Bass Vineyard 2007 Domaine Martelet de Cherisey Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru La Genelotte TNs are in CT under Wine Canuck. | |||
|
| Member |
Below are my WsOTY (Red/White). I left out Champagne as there is a separate thread addressing these. So many spectacular wines this year and many, many of those due to the generosity of other forum members here (which I've attempted to give credit to this year). There were also many wines shared with me by forumites that just did not make the list. In no way does this make anyone's contribution any less special. You know who you are and I sincerely enjoyed each occasion that we had throughout this year. Cutting to a 'Top 10' is truly not easy. The selected list below represents wines that showed absolutely spectacularly and were coupled with truly special occasions. Whites 1990 Beaucastel CDP VV Blanc (basecadet) 2005 Christian Moreau, Chablis, Les Clos (steve8) 2006 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc (vinaigre) 2007 2007 E. Guigal Hermitage Blanc Ex-Voto (vinaigre) Reds 1955 Chateau Montrose (Longboarder) 1955 Biondi Santi Riserva BdM (gkapoor) 1959 Château Calon-Ségur (PurpleHaze) 1980 Col d'Orcia BdM Riserva (Longboarder) 1984 Diamond Creek Lake 1990 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque (DoktaP) 1982 Château Haut-Brion (PurpleHaze) 1983 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 1989 Chateau Montrose 1995 Rene Rostaing, Cote-Rotie, Cote Blonde (PurpleHaze) | |||
|
| Member |
| |||
|
| Member |
| |||
|
| Member |
i will be fortunate if over the course of my life i am able to taste a handful of wines of the quality of AML's "Honorable Mentions" -- which weren't good enough to crack his top 10 OF THE YEAR. and this in only his second year of "taking this hobby seriously." that said, i did have one of the wines on his list this year: the '98 krug — and i would love to taste that again in about 5 years. bravo, AML. and thanks for posting those wonderful notes. | |||
|
| Member |
KSC02, I just found the bottle we bought. They are the 2002 Chave Blanc. Have you opened any? | |||
|
| Member |
If you are ever visit the West Coast, we could do a "Sauternes line-up" at an offline. "Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt. " - Sam | |||
|
| Member |
well, here's my list. and i am happy to say that all but one of these wines were shared with members of this board. and the one wine that i had solo was meant to go to an offline that i couldn't make it to at the last minute. 2005 Sine Qua Non The 17th Nail in My Cranium Syrah: A nose that was beautiful, and initially hit me with the buttered popcorn note that I sometimes get from great merlot. Followed on the nose and palate by luscious dark fruits and black pepper, plus red fruits, brown sugar and spices. Not quite a velvet hammer, because it didn’t really hammer you. Just seamlessly expanded from its elegant, silky mouthfeel on entry to a mouthfull of flavor (the best midpalate I’ve ever experienced), then moved to layers and layers on the finish that seemed to go on for nearly a minute. The balance in this wine was a thing of beauty. Everything about it screamed of elegance and class. And yes, we really did pass around the last empty glass of this so we all could keep sniffing it (aromas changed from incense to ash). Needless to say, my WOTN, and the best wine I’ve ever experienced. 99 points. And if I had quiet time to spend with a glass to give it the respect it deserved, my score might be 100. 2007 Sine Qua Non Dangerous Birds Syrah: Similar to the above in most ways (minus the buttered popcorn note on the nose and the passing around of the last empty glass). A beautiful wine with layers of fruit, seamless and impeccably balanced. Still has room for improvement. A killer bottle that would be a WOTN under nearly any other circumstances. 96-97 points. 2004 Chateau Pegau Cuvee Reserve: Medium reddish purple. Profound nose that combined traditional CdP elements plus notes of lavender, spice, rose petals and oak. Perfect balance, suave tannins and a very long, expanding finish. Drinking spectacularly now and possible improvement ahead. 95+ points. 1998 Krug Brut: I literally laughed out loud when I first smelled this. What a nose! Loaded with brioche, plus meaty and nutty at the same time. Serious stuff, and I loved the aromas so much I went a while just smelling and not even wanting to taste it. Flavors echoed the nose, plus some lemon. This was tight in the mouth, though, with plenty of acid. Definitely a food wine. Got creamier with air and as it warmed up. I would give this at least 3-5 more years. Tough for me to score this ... since it's drinking so young. But a classic in the making. 94-96 points. 2010 Sine Qua Non That Type ... of Rosay: Salmon colored. Mostly grenache and syrah, plus some roussanne and viognier. Classic red fruit and spice aromas and flavors a la Provence, but with an intensity that I’ve never experienced in a French rose. A light silky mouthfeel, but the wine simply balloons on the palate, and the finish goes on and on. 15.4 percent alcohol and completely masked by the fruit, yet far from a fruit bomb. A remarkable wine and easily my favorite rose of all I’ve ever had (and I’ve had SQN rose before, along with the usual French suspects). I expect it will improve, but knowing how this wine is drinking now, there’s no way I could wait on popping the cork on one if I had one. 95 points. 1995 Krug Brut: Similar to the '98 in every respect, except it was tighter, with more acidity, and lots of lemon on the palate in addition to notes above. Serious stuff, and wouldn’t pop a cork on one of these for *at least* 5 more years. But patience will be greatly rewarded. 95-98 points. 2008 Ridge Pagani Ranch Zinfandel: Popped and poured about 2 ozs., with the rest going into the decanter. Beautiful deep reddish purple. Nose leaps from the glass. American oak is first thing apparent, but that quickly becomes more in proportion with the other components. On the nose and in the mouth, this just has that beautiful richness and intensity that you get from only truly old vine zinfandel (there's a combined 15 percent of alicante bouchet, petite sirah and carignane). Blackberry and briary zinberry fruit and spices, plus a high floral note. Really ripe fruit, but not into port territory. An amazingly smooth mouthfeel, and seamless from entry through its wonderful expanding finish. 15 percent alcohol is completely masked. The second half of the bottle was poured into a half bottle and was even a little better on night two. Just an amazingly well-made wine, that was remarkable in its balance and its drinkability at this young age. If I only had one to drink I’d probably wait until 2014 to pop it. But it’s a pleasure to drink now and you won’t feel like you’ve committed infanticide. Enjoyed this as much as any zin I’ve had, and I’ve been fortunate to drink some outstanding ones. 94 points. 2004 Clos des Papes Avril: Medium/darkish purple, lighter at rim. Beautiful nose (big, yet not over the top). A perfectly balanced wine that was seamless from entry until the end of its very long finish. A borderline classic CdP in a beautiful place yet with room to improve. 94-95 points. 2003 Tardieu-Laurent Villes Vignes: Darkish purple. Big, beautiful dark fruit and brown sugar. Expands a ton in the mouth. Nicely balanced, but a shortish finish. And I actually wrote “Concentrated like a mother------.” Pardon my vulgarity, but that’s a good thing. 93-95 points. 1998 Bosquet des Papes CdP Cuvee Grenache: Medium purple, going brickish at rim. Kind of dusty/musty aromas, follow by beautiful fruit and raisins... Excellent dark, earthy fruits plus plenty of black pepper. Excellent balance, and very long finish. This is showing its age, yet despite the fairly resolved tannins think this one might still improve and age a while. 93+ points. Not at bad year at all.  This message has been edited. Last edited by: newsguy, | |||
|
| Member |
Like some others, I left off the Champagnes as they were listed elsewhere. Most of these were courtesy of others on this board: 2000 Chateau Dereszla Tokaji Eszencia (Allred) 2003 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal Sélection de Grains Nobles (Anwar) 2005 Hundred Acre Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan (xhoser) 2006 Ridge Chardonnay Mikulaco (Allred) 1987 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 2005 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard (Allred) 2006 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Condrieu Les Chaillets (Dantherhonefan) 2003 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select (xhoser) 2008 Stefania Cabernet Sauvignon Crimson Clover (xhoser) 1997 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino (jcubed) | |||
|
| Member |
  I do not remember this. My CT consumption record show that I purchased 2 of these on WineBid November 2008 and then consumed 1 upon receipt (or shortly after) and the other with you, DoktaP and the gang up at DoktaP's cottage in 2010. Surely, CT does not lie  | |||
|
| Member |
...well I guess I will not inquire how they were. I found mine and recalled our purchase. | |||
|
| Member |
It's been a busy and crazy year for me, but here goes... 1976 Petrus - Still in it's prime, and delicious. A perfect food wine...just wonderful. 1962 Petrus - From a mid/upper shoulder bottle and it was easily a 100 pt. wine for me. Wow...I was floored! 2002 Gelin Clos de Beze - Drunk in Paris with a 7 course duck and foie meal....Everything just gelled (no pun intended) that night! I'll never forget it. 1967 Latour - I've had this a few times this year and it's a lovely wine. Very typical and classy Latour...not overdone or overstated...just right. 2000 Leroy Beaux Monts - Classic Leroy, classic Burgundy, and drinking perfectly. 2000 Rouget Cros Parantoux - The yin to the Leroy's Yang...classic Jayer styled "no stem", pure fruit Burgundy. Lovely. Drunk together with the Leroy and what a combination! 2009 Girardin Les Suchots - For me, this was not mindblowing, but instead exactly what I imagined the 2009 vintage to be based on what I read. It was balanced, full of ripe fruit, and well structured, yet very approachable. I loved it for what it was. 1976 Bollinger Grand Annee - Certainly ready to drink and depending on how you like your champagne...it was either perfectly mature or over the hill! I loved it for what it was. I've never liked a heavily sherried champagne (ala the British), and this was not heavily sherried, but it was very mature and still effervescent and tasty! A fun surprise and treat! 2000 Lynch Bages - Out of Magnum...as good as it was on release, and still young. This was, for me, the "turning point Lynch". When the property really elevated itself to being a top Bordeaux. This can compete with any of them. 2000 DRC Grands Echezeaux - sweet, subtle, sappy, stemmy, delicious! Lovely wine. Notable mention: The Windy Oaks group - What a great lineup of wines. Their 2009 Dianne's block was one of my recent favorites. These are my favorite value wines and great Pinot's for under $50!!! Get on their list if you're not! Happy New Year everyone! So much wine.....so little time!!! | |||
|
| Member |
You had a tough year, DRAB, All the best for 2013 99% of lawyers give the rest of us a bad name. | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata | Page 1 2 |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
| View $GS_USERNAME's Public Profile |
| Add $GS_USERNAME to my Ignore List |
| View Recent Posts by $GS_USERNAME |
| Notify me of New Posts by $GS_USERNAME |
We did purchase one from HDH but it was from their retail dept and not 'at auction'. Just can not recall the vintage now.