Hello my dear friends! 2023 is coming! The Wine Chaser wishes you a Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year, with great wine, of course! Today's post is dedicated to those curious readers who have asked what the best wines of 2022 were. So here we go!
Each year, Wine Spectator editors survey and review over 12 months and select a top 100 list. This annual list honors successful wineries, regions and vintages around the world. 'Wine Spectator’s Top 100 for 2022' showcases the most exciting wines discovered by editors and specialists in their blind tastings, and pictures a year in wine.
During the past year more than 8,800 wines were reviwed. Nearly 60 percent of those rated 90 points or higher. Wines get evaluated for quality (based on score), value (based on price), availability (based on cases either made or imported into the United States) and, most importantly, the passion and story behind each bottle. You’ll find some of the top wines from premier grape varieties and blue-chip appellations. California Cabernet, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir figure prominently on the strength of the 2019 vintage. Italy displays its muscle from Piedmont and Tuscany, and France’s Rhône Valley also shines.
Here are the 10 best scored wines on the list:
1. Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Double Diamond, 2019, $80
Packs in generous steeped plum and bittersweet cocoa. Brimming with dense fruit, and is squarely in the not-shy style. Only 10,000 cases made.
2. Fattoria dei Barbi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, 2019, $130
Though vibrant and expressing cherry, currant, herb and mineral flavors, this is tannic and locked up for now. Leans to the elegant side, with a dense layer of dusty tannins guarding the finish. 3,000 cases made.
3.HdV Chardonnay Napa Valley Hyde Vineyard, 2019, $78
This stunning version offers a pure beam of white nectarine, mango and ripe Bartlett pear flavors that mingle with notes of pound cake, toasted, salted hazelnut and nutmeg on a supple, rich frame, which draws focus from a bright thread of acidity. 2,323 cases made.
4. Château Talbot St.-Julien, 2019, $65
Well-built and rather refined for the vintage, with a deep well of red and black currant paste and plum reduction flavors supported by a deeply inlaid iron note, all of which run the length of the wine. Offers subtle savory, tobacco and singed cedar notes that add range, with a savory echo that leaves a mouthwatering feel in the end. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. 23,333 cases made.
5. Antinori Toscana Tignanello, 2019, $145
A supple, elegant red highlighted by bright cherry, black currant, violet, tobacco, iron and oak spice aromas and flavors. Though fluid and seemingly approachable now, this is well-structured and shows the balance to age. Fine length. A blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. 25,800 cases made.
6. Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville The Estates, 2019, $85
Throws off some pretty gorgeous aromas of violet, anise and sweet bay leaf, with a core of ripe, streamlined boysenberry and blackberry pâte de fruit flavors following closely. The finish has a racy graphite edge, while the fruit and aromas just spill through. 13,500 cases made.
7. Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 2019, $121
A gorgeous wine, with a remarkably pure display of cassis, cherry puree and plum reduction flavors laced ever so gently with threads of leather, alder and dried garrigue. The sleek iron spine is buried deeply on the finish, and there's a lingering hint of warm stone as the fruit echoes through. Built to last. A complex blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Counoise, Vaccarèse, Terret, Muscardin, Clairette, Picpoul, Bourboulenc, Picardan and Roussanne. 7,000 cases made.
8. Fattoria Le Pupille Toscana Saffredi, 2019, $100
A deep, polished red, whose black currant, blackberry, plum, violet and oak spice aromas and flavors mesh well with the dense structure, showing terrific length. Very focused and balanced, this needs a few years to integrate. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. 3,000 cases made.
9. Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley, 2018, $200
A dynamic red, impeccably structured yet rich and harmonious, with expressive blackberry and black tea flavors laced with a hint of tobacco, which builds tension toward big but polished tannins. 5,300 cases made.
10. Louis Roederer Brut Champagne Cristal, 2014, $359
This vivid Champagne shows up-front and linear definition, thanks to rapierlike acidity, with finely meshed flavors of ripe black cherry and mandarin orange fruit, raw almond, anise and cardamom spice as well as a touch of honeycomb, which all unfurl and expand on the fine, creamy palate. Sleek acidity continues through to the finish, with additional racy character provided by a streak of minerally saline and chalk, which gains momentum through the midpalate and rings out on the well-cut, lasting finish. A mix of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 9,181 cases imported.
Other magazines have interesting selections as well. Wine Enthisiast's Top 100 called out a savory, brambly Australian Pinot Noir from Giant Steps ($65) as the No. 1 wine of the year and a Barolo with scents of pressed roses and pine forest from G. B. Burlotto ($110) as No. 2.
This particular list focuses on wines with high scores but lower prices.
James Suckling's Top 100 World Wines also offers perspective on the best of 2022. The Wine of the Year award went to a Californian wine, The Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Georges de Latour Private Reserve 2019, followed by the Künstler Riesling Rheingau Hölle GG 2021 and Albert Mann Pinot Noir Alsace Grand H 2020 respectively.
Trevor Durling, the chief winemaker at Beaulieu Vineyard in Napa Valley,
James Suckling's 2022 Wine of the Year. (Photo by JamesSuckling.com)
We hope today's post lures you out into the unknown so that you open yourself to new varieties, styles and appellations and gain a better appreciation for wine’s delightful diversity.
Cheers to a 2023 of amazing creations!
And that's a wrap for today my avid friends. Have a happy rest of the week and let's meet again next Wednesday for what will be our last post of 2022! Until then... Santé!
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