Monday, December 05, 2005

My 2005 Top Wines

Everybody talks about the Wine Spectator's 2005 Top 100 these days. And like every year, people wonder how the magazine came up with its ranking. For me, the list is interesting because I haven't drunk any of these wines, although I had some from a different vintage. So, does that mean that I completely missed the best wines of the year?

This led me to wonder what were my own 2005 Top wines. A simple query to my Wine Database returned a list of almost 100 wines that I tasted in 2005 and found excellent or exceptional (four stars or better in my rating scheme). These are the wines that I enjoyed the most this year and all of them are associated with fond memories of dear friends and delicious food.

I already featured several of these coup de coeur wines in recent posts. Here are some more :

• 1980 Page Mill Cabernet Sauvignon Volker Eisele Vineyard Napa Valley
• 1985 Château Lynch-Bages
• 1986 Château Raymond-Lafon
• 1995 Château Cantenac-Brown
• 1996 Merryvale Profile
• 1996 Santenay Premier Cru Clos de Tavannes Domaine de la Pousse d'Or
• 1998 Miner Family Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
• 1999 Brunello di Montalcino La Mannella
• 1999 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Clos des Capucins Cuvée Sainte Catherine
• 2001 ZD Reserve Pinot Noir Los Carneros
• 2001 Gamba Old Vine Zinfandel Russian River Valley
• 2001 Gigondas Domaine Les Goubert Cuvée Florence
• 2001 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine de la Janasse
• 2001 Barolo Mauro Molino
• 2001 Schmelz Riesling Smaragd Durnsteiner Freiheit
• 2002 Two Hands Angel's Share Shiraz
• 2003 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Spätlese
• 2003 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru La Maltroie Michel Colin-Deleger et Fils
• 2003 Vacqueyras Blanc Domaine La Monardière
• Champagne De Meric Grande Reserve Sous Bois Brut

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Catherine, Thanks for the link on your page! Great list here. If you liked that '96 Pousse d'Or, I urge you to keep trying some of the newer wines, as there was a change in ownership after that '96 vintage. I visited the new owner, Patrick Landanger last January at Pousse d'Or and tasted back to the '96 vintage, and the newer wines, especially '99 have a new freshness and finesse after re-vamping the viticulture process completely. - CD

Catherine Granger said...

Thanks a lot for the info! I heard that there was a new owner but did not have the chance to try the new wines yet.

Anonymous said...

Don't pay attention to the Top 100 of the Spectator's wines... like the blogger here, create your own!!! Besides, everyone knows the Spectator is out-of-date and passe and the real deal is over at the Enthusiast!!! You want brett-infested, lack luster vino, go to the Spectatot... you want FRUIT-driven, yet complex Wines, go to the Enthusiast... seriously folks... love wine and it'll love you back!!!