Our top wines of 2011?

Well, since no one has started the topic, I will do the honors. What were our best, favorite, most enjoyed, most special, or most memorable wines of 2011? Use whatever criteria you care to choose, and name however many wines you care to list.

The best of the best for me, 5-star wines, and amongst the greatest I've ever had:
Krug, Brut, Champagne 1996
--Possibly the single greatest wine I've ever had
Chateau d'Yquem, Sauternes 1996
--Greatest Sauternes I've ever had
Clos du Mont-Olivet, La Cuvee du Papet 2007
--Best Chateauneuf I've ever had
Vincent Arroyo, Petite Sirah, Rattlesnake Acres, Napa 2004
--Best Californian I've ever had

The most memorable of the 4-star wines:
Leacock Collection, HFS "E", Madeira 1896
Chateau de Beaucastel, Chateaunuef-du-Pape 1983
San Felice, Campogiovanni, Brunello di Montalcino 1990
Krug, Brut, Champagne 1988
Dr. Pauly Bergweiler, Riesling Eiswein, Graacher Himmelreich 1996
Chateau Musar, Blanc, Bekaa 2000
Pierre de Champvigne, Les Folatieres 1er Cru, Puligny-Montrachet 1993
Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux, Margaux 1998

Not exactly following your lead, but a wine that thrilled me in 2011 was the 2009 Cerasuolo di Vittoria from Gulfi (thanks, Wine Bottega!). Arianna Occhipinti's 2009 "Frappato" (from purchased grapes) was/is wonderful and affordable. And the 2009 Puzelat "Le Telquel" gives so much pleasure.

[David M. Bueker]

The 1998 J. J. Christoffel Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Eiswein has to be the most memorable for me. It was a stunning wine.

There were a ton of great, memorable wines at the Bob Ross jeebus - too many to name (though the '47 Huet springs to mind...).

2001 Knoll, Riesling Schutt Vnyd.
2008 Rhys, Pinot Noir Skyline Vnyd.
Best, Jim

[James Roscoe]

David, that '47 Huet is at the top of my list as well. The entire Bob Ross jeebus was a lifetime event.

The 1998 J. J. Christoffel Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Eiswein has to be the most memorable for me. It was a stunning wine.

Yup.

Other standouts, in no particular order, were the 1999 Nikolaihof Riesling Steiner Hund, 1995 Alzinger Riesling Steinertal Smaragd, 2003 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling Auction Spatlese, 1994 Noel Verset Cornas. Not to forget some of the highlights from the Bob Ross jeeb (the 89 Conseillante and 47 Huet that evening, and the 85 and 90 Haut Brion, followed by the 90 Chave over dinner the prior night ).

2001 Pahlmeyer, Napa Valley Merlot

2000 Chateau LaGrange, Saint Julian

2003 David Fulton, Saint Helena * Napa Valley, Petite Sirah

2006 Tobin James, French Camp, Zinfandel

Cheers, Carl

2011 rates as a year to remember for mostly the wrong reasons - my wife undergoing major surgery in September with a long but successful recovery period followed by a series of medical issues of my own, some of which are still being treated or require treatment in the coming months. I also left my position within in the car industry after thirty long years, working for my last employer for two stints totalling over twenty-six. I'm negotiating to do some consultative work within the wine industry as well as playing and teaching jazz piano in small formats to supplement the income.

As to my best wines, this years' list contains very few surprises. At the top of the heap was a wine I drank with good friends on a jazz road trip through Victoria earlier this year and, most regrettably, forgot to write up on the site (shame!). I'll never forget the majestic nature of this most exceptional Australian fortified shiraz - Campbell's 1972 Braeburn Vintage Port. Earlier in the year, I plucked this wine from my cellar on a few occasions to drink with close friends or to serve at an important wine dinner only to see it return unopened and resume its place in its nominated numbered box in my cellar. Eventually, this ultimate event occurred after a few absolute duds had been poured that evening (firstly, Fevre's 2005 GC "Valmur" - corked, then an oxidised 1982 Calon-Segur!). Holding an amazingly dark colour with only a little bricking perceivable close to the meniscus, this prodigious work of vinous joy produced a nose and palate to die for. Fresh licorice with a lick of lantana brought back memories of other Aussie greats - the 1956 and 1975 Hardys Museum VP's - followed by a cornucopia of nuance from deep sweet earthy tones ranging to impeccably-judged spirit at the back end. Words cannot do justice to the heights this sweet fortified soared, needless to say, the three of us at the table consumed most of the decanted bottle over several hours of superior wine drinking. I scored it at a much-deserved score of 97 points.

Two other wines (96 points) deserve special mention - Fritz Haag's magnificent 1983 Auslese Riesling (LGK) from the famous Juffer-Sonnenuhr vineyard in Germay's Mosel was a very close second to the Campbell's above. This wine was positively freakish when opened at the Merimbula Jazz Festival in June. Sublimely fresh but incredibly detailed and complex, this benchmark late-picked riesling blew everyone away at the table on the night, and quite remarkably a mature woman present who had "never enjoyed a glass of wine in her life" (heaven help her) thought the tiny sip she tried to be "beautiful" and promptly asked for a refill. Later she asked where she could buy a case of this nectar! I wished her a lot of luck finding it in Australia. In third place was a preposterously good bottle of 1996 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill Champagne. Unfortunately, I have opened another bottle which didn't reach a similar platitude, so there may be bottle variation from this vintage. Be warned.

Others worth a mention at the very highest level -

95 Points

Ch. Suduiraut Creme de Tete 1989 (but needs to be drunk)

Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling 1989 (Vendange Tardive)

Domaine William Fevre Chablis Grand Cru "Les Clos" 2007

Louis Roederer Blanc de Blanc 1996 (be warned another bottle was starting to oxidise)

Leflaive 2000 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru "Clavoillin" - (utterly brilliant and without a skerrick of premox)

Ch. Leoville-Las-Cases 1985 - a dry red finally cracked it!


As usual, my 94 pointers get a guernsey here, too -

Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz 1990

Trimbach CFE Riesling 1989

Ch. Pichon-Lalande 1983

Fritz Haag Juffer-Sonnenuhr Spatlese Riesling 1998

Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru "Valmur" 2000

Marc Sorrel Hermitage "Le Greal" 1991

Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling 2002

Ch. Palmer 1985

Jean-Jacques Confuron Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru "Les Beaux-Monts" 1996

Francois Chidane Montlouis "Les Lys" 1989

Orlando Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon "St. Hugo" 1988


Good drinking for 2012!

1. 1996 Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Rose Cuvée Palmes d'Or
2. 1991 Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve
3. 2000 Corton Charlemagne Bonneau du Martray
4. 1998 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
5. 1988 Lafaurie-Peyraguey

Only one of my top five wines is a purchase that I made. I tasted all of the others at off-lines. It amazes me how generous wine lovers are with their stashes. Rather than feeling left short by the wines that others bring I always leave the get togethers worried that the wines I bring will leave other feeling slighted.

Fritz Haag's magnificent 1983 Auslese Riesling (LGK) from the famous Juffer-Sonnenuhr... this benchmark late-picked riesling blew everyone away at the table on the night, and quite remarkably a mature woman present who had "never enjoyed a glass of wine in her life" (heaven help her) thought the tiny sip she tried to be "beautiful" and promptly asked for a refill. Later she asked where she could buy a case of this nectar!

That's some wine epiphany!

White: 1958 Cresta Blanca Livermore Semillon - remarkable aroma, still hanging in there with old but not completely oxidized fruit, Semillon tobacco elements; sweet mellow flavor with some earthy tobacco honey, caramel notes, medium body, good length, distinctly sweet but not Sauternes or BA level. Not my "best" white wine for flavor and aroma, but a fascinating and surprising slice of history.

For balance and complexity, graced with pure deliciousness, it would be Burt Simon's 1999 Serriger Wuertzburg Riesling Auslese GKA.

Red: tie between 1988 Barolo Villero Castiglione Falletto, Bruno Giacosa & 1982 Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste. Both were unbelievably fine, complex and complete wines, representing everything I would want in a mature Barolo or Pauillac.

I don't know about best or most memorable wines, but I had some fun wine experiences as always.

One was when my friend and I were kicked out of the annual spring LDM tasting by a ranting and raving Joe Dressner because I didn't want to re-hash the old arguments about whether tasting notes have any value. We were disappointed that we couldn't chat with more of the winemakers. But it was a much more relaxing experience to retire to my friend's nearby apartment and watch Djokovic beat Federer in the semis at Indian Wells while sipping 08 Mugnier Marechale. The tennis was actually painful to watch but the wine was beautiful for its gentle grace and un-LDM-ness. Of course I think we may have opened some LDM wines later in the evening, but it was one of those curious days.

Another was when I was at a job interview dinner and I ended up choosing the wine. This is academia so I erred on the side of reasonable bottles and chose a 2009 Morgon that I had not heard of. Which was a big mistake because the wine was most likely terrible and corked. Either way it was not the moment to make a fuss and get the bottle replaced, as we had much weightier things to discuss! But there were some rumblings inside of me!

Another was when I was at a job interview dinner and I ended up choosing the wine... the wine was most likely terrible and corked.

Job interviews...the next target market for screw-caps!

Another was when I was at a job interview dinner and I ended up choosing the wine... the wine was most likely terrible and corked.

Job interviews...the next target market for screw-caps!

Actually, this year I was also on the other side of the table, interviewing candidates for our university. And there I also chose the wine for dinner, the first of which was a screwcapped Austrian gruner. When the waitress brought it over for me to taste I made my usual comment about it being screwcapped, which then set her on the defensive saying 'oh, but's still very good', to which I then replied, 'of course, it's just that it's definitely not corked so my taste is less relevant'. But when I'm on the hiring side I can be as fussy as I like! (Within reason).

[Jenise]

David Lole--our best to you and your wife. I'll bet you're glad to put such a troubling year behind you and fortify yourself for a gentler 2012.

As to a year's best list, though I normally have a long mental list of things like this by now, somehow this year I wasn't paying attention in the usual way. As I look back over the year most of the wines that stand out do so because they were so unexpectedly incredible, like a 99 Kanonkop Pinotage or because they were new discoveries that upped their particular game for me, or like a pair of well-aged Paolo Scavino Barolos that Bill Spohn and Devin Roch brought to an offline. I'd always enjoyed Barolo, who doesn't, and I buy them, but until I tasted those Scavinos I'd not yet had the Barolo I could be a slave to. Now I own some Scavinos myself. Another in this category is a British Columbian Sauvignon Blanc that expertly nails the Dagenau style, Vieux Le Pin. The 2010 isn't just good, it's perfection. Other wines stand out because they were both excellent and the right wine at the right time, like a Rene Geoffrey Volupte champagne that Bob and I shared on the phone with a pair of our best-but-far away friends to celebrate the life of the friend who introduced us, and who just died of the same type of brain tumor that Joe Dressner had. A vertical of Quilceda Creek's early years, 89 thru 96, made the kind of impression on me that the newer style can't dent, as did the generosity of the friend who shared them.

1990 La Tache, DRC
1947 Barolo, Borgogno
1998 Hermitage, Cuvée Cathelin, J-L Chave
1982 Ch Pichon Lalande
1990 Crichët Pajé, Barbaresco, Roagna

The five most amazing wines I had during 2011, at least those are the ones that come to my mind now. I might have to add some more later. So many good wines during last year!

See you in chat later today!

Cheers,
Anders

Since this thread appeared, I've been racking my brains for truly great wines drunk this year and none stand out from memory without doing a trawl through my TNs apart from a couple of Vouvrays from Huet, both Le Mont, which rated 18/20 and over on my personal scale; one was 1996 sec and the other was 2002 demi-sec. There were probably others at that level but they don't spring to mind.

I've been lucky enough to taste a few notable bottles.

1955 and 1963 Taylors Port both excellent

Taylors Scion Port (c. 1855)

1980 Diamond Creek (all 3 single vineyards)

1986 Guigal Cote Rotie (all 3 'La-Las' but especially the La Turque)

1976 Hugel Gewurtraminer Vendage Tardives Selections des Grains Nobles, ‘Sélectionneé par Jean Hugel’ Cask 20 (who says German wines have the longest names?)

1988 Lynch Bages and Pichon Baron

1961 Gruaud larose

1961 Grand Puy Lacoste

1985 and 1986 Chave Hermitage

1961 Ch. Latour (probably my wine of the year!)

1977 Grange Hermitage

1998 Vieux Telegraphe

1970 Montrose (much better than the 1970 Cheval Blanc we also had)

1986 Mouton

1978 Quinta do Noval Nacional

1982 Cheval Blanc

1963 Dow Port

I enjoy these annual threads, as they make me look back over the past year and I am always impressed with how darned lucky I've been to taste some of the wines that have crossed my path!

I've been lucky enough to taste a few notable bottles.

Yes you have!