Top Wines of 2009: Trends Revealed!

A valid look at the 2009 Top Wines of the year should include a combination of the results from both  the Wine Spectator (WS) and Wine Enthusiast’s  (WE)” Top 100 Wines of the Year”. What are the trends? What are the top countries and producers? Is one of the publications more biased towards Italy? Is one of the publications more focused on Pinot noirs? Is the USA representation appropriate?

To make this analysis statistically more significant, the two lists are pooled, and some interesting facts are revealed.  What are the most inexpensive wines of the 2009 selected? What are the most expensive wines of 2009 selected? What are the emerging varietals and blends with significant “picks”?

About the Scores and Publications: Both highly respected publications have their own scoring rules to include the raw quality score, availability, price, and an “X” factor -excitement.  Needless to say, some of  the most scarce, expensive wines  may not be included as selections  even though their raw, judge’s score is very high.  Both publications’ headquarters are in New York, USA.

GrapeStone Concepts Conclusions:

Top Countries: It is not surprising to see the top countries selected are the USA, France, Italy, Spain and Australia.

Top Varietals: It is not a shock to see that the top varietals selected are Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sangiovese (including Chianti) blends, and Shiraz and Syrah. But a surprising number of selections are blends  of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape style of GSM’s (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, +others) from both old and new world growing regions. And, the number of non-Chianti reds of Italy are quite high. The number of both new and old world Tempranillo blends is significant. It is wonderful to see the number of new and old world Rieslings and Sauvignon blancs in the list. The “pure varietal” winner, however, is Pinot Noir. Otherwise, Cabernet Sauvignon combined with the Bordeaux blends and other  cab-based red blends would be the overwhelming winner.

Top Regions: Some of the top regions include:  Napa Valley (inclusive of internal AVA’s- 13 total), Tuscany (inclusive of internal regions - 14 selected), Australia’s Barossa Valley (6 selected), Sonoma’s Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast(13 combined), France’s Bordeaux (6 selected), Argentina’s Mendoza( 5 selected). What is a revelation in this analysis? It is really remarkable to see the great showing and good value of the Columbia Valley, Washington wines (12 selections).

Number of Wines $20 and under Since these two lists were compiled with value and availability weighing against judges’ scores, it is still astonishing to see that there were 31 wines that are $20 or less.

Email :  [email protected] and we will send you a document of the combined list of the Top 200 WS and WE  wines that retail for $20 or less.

 

4 least expensive wines in  the combined 2009 Top 200 Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast:

Producer	Region	Wine	WE/WS Rank	Price
Barnard Griffin	Columbia Valley, WA	Riesling	66	$8
d’Arenberg	McLaren Vale, Australia	The Stump Jump Shiraz	82	$11
Allram	Kamptal, Austria	Qualitätswein Trocken Kamptal Strassertaler	45	$12
Loosen Brothers	Mosel ,Germany	Riesling QbA	62	$12

4 most expensive wines in the combined 2009 Top 200 Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast:

Producer	Region	Wine	WE/WS Rank	Price
Fontodi	Chianti Classico, Italy	Colli Della Tuscan Centrale Flaccianello (Sangiovese)	8	$110
Close des Papes	Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France	Châteauneuf-du-Pape	42	$115
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou	St. Julien, Bordeaux, France	Bordeaux blend	96	$145
Bonneau du Martray	Burgundy, France	Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru	98	$150

Producers picked by both publications:

There were only 3 producers selected by both Top 100 lists.

1. Bodega Centena Zapata (Argentina) for their 2005 & 2007 Malbec

2. Brancott’s (New Zealand) Sauvignon blanc

3. Two Hands (Australia) Shiraz - Bad Impersonator and Bell’s Garden

 

Data: Combined results of the Top 100 Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast 2009 selections

Most frequently selected countries and varietals:

Country	# top wines
Argentina	6
Australia	14
Austria	5
Chile	5
France	31
Germany	5
Hungary	2
Italy	27
New Zealand	6
Portugal	4
South Africa	2
Spain	15
USA	78

Top Varietals and Unique blends only	# Top Wines
Pinot Noir	18
Cabernet Sauvignon	17
Red Blends including Bordeaux with Cab	16
Chardonnay	16
Syrah*	13
Riesling	12
Shiraz*	11
Sangiovese Blends (including Chianti)	11
GSM+ Blends	11
Tempranillo Blends	7
Malbec	6
Nebbiolo	5
Sauvignon blanc	5
Pinot Gris/Grigio	4
Touriga National Blends	4
Zinfandel	4
* same grape, stylistically different

Readers: Your comments on these trends are valued.

Comments

[Captain Robert High]

I love the pairings! I send these to the past chefs of my yacht who love it. Keep them coming!

[Tricia Conover]

Robert, Yes there are several Sangeovese, Malbec, Shiraz, US Bordeaux-style blends, Cabernet and Syrahs on the list of $20 and under that were selected by WS and WE. Please email our operations at: [email protected] and we will send you a complete list of the 31 most inexpensive. Thank you for your comments....Keep tuned for an article soon on Wine and Health.
Cheers,
Tricia

[Robert Dickson]

Can we get some recommendations on reds in the $12-20 range?