B-21's B-Blog

Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines

I don’t get it.  On Thursday wine snobs sniffed at the foolish hubbub over the world; today they are rabidly chasing the Wine Spectator’s Top 100.  The 2005 Columbia Crest Columbia Valley Reserve Cab is now harder to find than a robot hamster.

Well, I take both in a tolerant “all in fun’’ attitude.  All the world loves lists, me included, if only to argue and analyze.  A word of caution before the Cabbage Patch scavenger hunt begins:  WS lists specific vintages but their panel could have tasted vintages on their way out or just coming in.  At B-21, we were into the Columbia Crest and Numanthia Termes early but have gone through the 2005s and are on to the 2006.  A year can make some difference, but great vineyards remain great.

Let the battle begin  — and please join in.  (Don’t have the list yet?  Here’s a sneak peak!)

1)      Cheap, cheap, cheap.  Even Marvin Shanken knows we’re in a recession.  Almost a quarter of the Top 100 are at $20 or less.  That’s my normal budget but some of these are softballs.  Would Brancott’s NZ Sauv Blanc (No. 28) make the list in a normal year?  Yet they nailed some of my faves that deserve a boost like  the poorman’s Super Tuscan from Monte Antico (No.61), the great Barossa Shiraz from Peter Lehman (No. 54)  and D’Arenberg’s Stump Jump (no. 82).  I’m glad someone points out that some $20 wines are worth more – from those that are simply cheap wore out great bargains

2)      We’re over California.  Go Huskies.  Twenty years ago when Bob Betz was still with Chateau Ste. Michelle he pulled me aside to say “Washington is going to be known for great reds, not just crisp whites”, and poured me the promise.  Glad to see WS now agrees.  Cabs, Syrahs and Merlots from Columbia Valley, Canoe Ridge, Walla Walla and Red Mountain are on the 2009 list.  All told, nine WA labels are on the list.  If Columbia Crest’s 2005  isn’t the absolute best, the Columbia Valley Reserve and CSM’s 2006 Horse Heaven cab (No. 38) are rich proof of the sumptuous depth Washington delivers for just $30.

3)      Get behind me, Cabernet.  Like the rest if us, WS is enthralled with Shiraz/Syrah and all its Rhone kinfolk.  Twenty-some Syrahs from France, Australia, USA and even Italy made the list, both rustic and regal.  Their favorite was the 2007 la Crau CdP from Vieux Telegraph (No.3).  B-21 has it in both 375 and 750.  The Bordelaise only landed a dozen or so, and that’s giving credit for Malbecs and Carménère. 

4)      Learn Italian.  At least more than Sassicaia.  I counted almost 20 Italian labels on Top 100, starting with a great 2006 Chianti Classico from Barone Ricasoli (No.5) through the rest of Tuscany, the Piedmont and beyond, from 2004 through 2007.  If the Top 100 is your guide for drinking in the next few months, focus on the Italian nominations for the most thrilling education.

What do you think?  Does an $8 Washington Riesling  (Barnard Griffin, No. 66) cheapen the list?  Is the 2006 Chappellet Signature (No. 6) the best of California?  Is there a wine you expected to see make the cut, but it didn’t?  You tell me.