Talk-A-Vino

Here we go again – another year is winding down in a mere 2 days. Thus the time has come to summarize all the great wine experiences of the 2014. It is always fun, and it is always a challenge – was that wine worthy of the “Top Wines” list? Or may be the other one? You know, this is my personal list, so trying to conduct a voting wouldn’t really help, it still will be up to me to decide. But at this point this is a tradition (no, I’m not looking for an easy play on the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge, where “Tradition” is an actual theme of the challenge #14) – I created the Top Wines lists in all the years this blog existed – here are are links for 2010, 2011, 2012 second dozen, 2012, 2013 second dozen and 2013 top – so 2014 will not be an exception.

Let’s make things clear. This list doesn’t have any technical merit. It doesn’t have any price merit. I’m not trying to be fair to all regions. The wines included into this “Top” list created an emotional connection. They were thought provoking. They made me to say “wow”, may be multiple times. And they created memories, they didn’t leave me indifferent. So in reality, this is the list of most memorable wines of 2014 – here, I said it.

For the past two years instead of being a “top dozen” list, the list rather includes two dozen of wines, and sometimes even a few more. I do get to taste a lot of wines throughout the year, so I don’t feel that I have to constrain the list to the 12 wines only – hence the two separate posts. Well, and I have to say that even for the memorable wines, the list is not all encompassing by any means. Lots and lots of very worthy wines were left outside of this list – but they all live on the pages of this blog. And the last few words about the information you will see below. If I wrote about the wine in the past, you will see a link. Also, in the past, I was requested a few times to provide the retail prices for the wine. I will gladly comply, where possible, however, there might be some unavoidable omissions.

Here we go:

24. 2012 Villa Bellangelo 1866 Reserve Riesling Finger Lakes ($32) – this probably was the best one out of the group of excellent wines from Villa Bellangelo and a number of other wineries from Finger Lakes. To be entirely honest, I chose this wine to rather represent my discovery of the Finger Lakes wine region as world-class wine producing area. I had a number of Finger Lakes wines in 2014, and they were simply one better than the other. This particular wine had a beauty of Riesling with all the restrained white fruit notes, supported by excellent minerality and acidity – just the wine you want to drink all the time.

23. 2010 Bodegas Rafael Cambra Soplo Valencia DO ($11, 100% Alicante Bouschet) – beautiful, powerful and playful. A unique grape, often used only for the blending, as it adds color, produced powerful and delicious wine.

22. 2007 Ferrari Perlé Trento DOC, Italy ($35) – simply delicious sparkling wine. If I would drink sparkling every day, Perlé would be one of the top contenders. Round and perfectly balanced in every drop.

21. 2010 Le Tourmentin Valais AOC, Switzerland ($NA, blend of Pinot Noir, Cornalin, Humagne Rouge, Syrah) – delicious old world wine – bright fruit and the wine cellar aromatics. Outstanding. Wish it would be available in US…

20. 2011 Navaherreros Blanco de Bernabeleva Vinos de Madrid DO ($14.99, 50% Roussanne, Albillo, Macabeo) – big, plump and balanced – ripe white fruit in the firm package, with minerality and baking spices complexity.

19. 2013 La Garagista Coup de Foudre White Pétillant Naturel, Vermont ($NA, 100% Brianna) – this was my first experience with Pétillant Naturel wines – sparkling wines where the first fermentation is finishing in the bottle. The wine was refreshing, with perfect minerality, and thought provoking, with each sip begging to take another. A great discovery of 2014.

18. 2011 Adega Pedralonga Albariño, Rias Baixas, Spain ($22) – an incredibly sophisticated Albariño – lots of minerality, a fresh sea breeze, delicious fruit and perfectly balancing acidity – a beautiful and unique wine. You really have to try it for yourself – if you can find it.

17. 2010 Lenné Estate Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton AVA, Oregon ($45) – I had a number of delicious Oregon Pinot Noir wines, all of a great power and finesse, so it was really a learning experience. I chose Lenné to represent this discovery, as the wine was outstanding – different, dark, concentrated, with explicit minerality, herbs and perfect balance.

16. NV Mumm Napa Brut Prestige, California ($20) – a Champagne precision – acidity, elegance, touch of fresh apple, perfectly balanced. California Sparkling wines give a great run to Champagne for the money, and this Mumm sparkler is one of the best examples. Whatever you are celebrating, this wine will perfectly complement it.

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15. 2010 St. Clement Oroppas Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley ($45) – Delicious Cabernet Sauvignon, classic Napa Valley rendition – fruit forward but restrained enough to let the balance shine – tannins, acidity, fruit – everything in a perfect harmony.

14. 2007 Teixar Garnatxa Vella Montsant DO ($75) – a textbook Grenache. Dark chocolate, ripe fruit – all tightly put together on the firm, muscular body. A hedonistic pleasure.

13. 2005 Clos Terrasses Clos Erasmus Priorat DOCa ($1,000) – elegant, beautiful, tremendously complex – what else can I tell you? A delicious wine! I don’t get to drink Priorat wines too often, and much more rarely I drink the wines at this price level. However – and you don’t have to believe me – I was first simply blown away by the taste of this wine, and only then I learned about the cost, which is a result of 100 points Parker rating and practically an absence of this specific vintage on the market. Either way, I’m glad I got to taste it.

Before we part, one more note – the wines are numbered, but only for the purposes of the count itself – outside of the wine #1, which is the most memorable wine of the year, the number in the list doesn’t mean much. In other words, it doesn’t mean that I like wine #15 more than wine #20 – I’m sure you got my point.

Have you had any of these wines? What do you think of them?

To be continued…