Favorite Wines: James Suckling’s Great Wines of the World

In this video, John Jackson, DipWSET a/k/a Attorney Somm discusses 10 of his favorite wines from the James Suckling Great Wines of the World wine tasting conducted in New York City on June 5 and 6, 2024! These wines wines come from a variety of different countries and regions, include red wine, white wine and a dessert wine, and cover a broad range of price points.

The wines discussed in this video are:
Seña Valle de Aconcagua
Château d’Issan
Albert Bichot Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Monopole Château Gris
Giodo Brunello di Montalcino
Bodega Chacra Patagonia Pinot Noir “Treinta y Dos”
Château Belair-Monange
Marjan Simčič “Ramato” Pinot Grigio Cru Selection
Domaine de Chevalier Blanc
Taylor’s Vintage Port
Fuligni Brunello di Montalcino

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I recently attended James suckling’s great wines of the world event in New York City this was an event that spanned two nights and I attended both tastings as a wine media member there were more than 300 wineries present and they poured more than 1,000 wines all of which were rated at least 92 points by James suckling many producers brought wines that were rated 98 to 100 points as well there was a fantastic selection of wines and over the course of both nights including some of the after parties I was able to try close to 200 wines so in this video I’m going to be discussing some of my favorite wines from this event I could do a video with all 99 to 100 Point rated wines but that doesn’t seem like it would be very interesting so you could just look those up for yourself in addition some of the wines that I tried are also wines that I featured recently and while they’re certainly worthy of inclusion again if I was just doing a straight ranking of the wines that were there it doesn’t make much sense for me to repeat my discussion about those Wines in this video and in addition there were some wineries that were gracious enough to bring some Library releases Lille lascos for example brought the outstanding 2009 Forest to taste and while that wine is also excellent as we some of the other Library vintages those are going to be a little bit harder for you to track down so in this video I’m going to discuss mostly new releases and mostly new releases that I’ve never featured before on this channel unlike some of the wine events that I attend this one is actually open to the public as well and it’s a great opportunity for you to try a large number of wines some of which are hard to locate and many of which are very expensive so if you get an opportunity to attend one of these shows I highly recommend it well I’m not going to include only 100 Point Wines in this video I am going to start with one one of my absolute favorite wines from this tasting was the 2021 senya seya is one of the very best producers in ol of Chile it’s located in the akaga valley about 40 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean senya started back in 1995 as a joint venture between Robert mandavi and Eduardo Chadwick while senya is widely recognized as one of the top wineries in the world today it struggled to achieve notoriety for a number of years after it first launched so in 2004 Steven Spurrier conducted a Berlin tasting that featured some top Chilean wines against some Bordeaux blends from both Bordeaux and also some super tuskin as well included in the competition were wines such as the 2000 lure 2000 lefit 2001 Margo and the 2000 salaya despite this Fierce competition the 2001 senya finished second only to another Chilean wine the Veno Chadwick if you haven’t tried senya wines before I highly recommend that you do so they’re extremely elegant one of the reasons for this Elegance is that they made a strategic decision to plant their Vineyards in a cooler location of course the Pacific Ocean is extremely cool due to the hanul current and they’re located only about 40 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean so while they do have a Mediterranean climate with warm dry Summers they definitely do have a large dial range because they have very cool nights despite the fact that they have warmer days as such these wines have ample acidity sen has 42 hectares of vines that are planted on a hill side they planted their vines on the east side of the slope however so that they could get some protection from the fierce Coastal winds Sena planted all six bordova Idols in their Vineyards so they have Cabernet sovon Merlo Cabernet frano Malbec and carire Sen is also a big believer in biodynamics and sustainable practices among other things this means that they have sheep to help control weeds and fertilize the ground they also use compost and other preparations and they also plant a wide variety of plants to promote biodiversity the 2021 senya is a Bordeaux blend that consists of 50% Cabernet sovon 27% Merlo 177% carire and 6% ptiv Vero 2021 was an extremely strong vintage for chile so I recommend not only the Sena but certainly that you pick up any other wines from Chilean producers that you admire as well as this is definitely going to be a strong vintage throughout Chile but it is going to be a little bit of a cooler one so if you’re looking for a comparable vintage think more of 2016 or 2018 than some of the warmer vintages like 2019 or 2020 and 2021 is definitely in my opinion going to go down as one of the very best vintages ever for senya which is certainly saying a lot as they’ve made a number of outstanding Wines in the past this wine matures for 22 months in a mix of 90% French Oak 70% of which is new and 10% foodis this wine was extremely impressive it was remarkably elegant despite its youth it had a red fruit profile with mixed spice and layers of flavor while this wine will certainly improve with additional bottle age it was already a treat and very fun to enjoy it when it was young I saw this wine selling for around $129 a bottle there are some places that sell it for much more than that so definitely make sure that you shop around and do a little bit of digging to get the best price there were a number of outstanding Bordeaux producers who attended James suckling’s great world of wines one of my favorites was the 2019 Ponte K which was showing extremely well but I recently featured Ponte K on this channel so I’m not going to repeat that one here instead I’m going to highlight the 2019 Chau Danon Danon is located in Maro on bordeaux’s Left Bank donon is located on a historic property that’s been used to make wine since since way back in the 1100s dies has 52 hectares of vines that are planted to about 2/3 Cabernet sovol a little bit less than onethird Mero and they have smaller amounts of Cabernet Fran Tau and malbeck since 2000 Danon has been making steady improvements and is now widely regarded as one of the better producers in Margo these improvements came through a couple different ways primarily through more strict selection now more than half the Harvest goes into the second wine and also they used a higher percentage of new Oak for their maturation process so now they’re using about 50% new French Oak to mature their wines better yet this wine sells for an extremely reasonable $59 per bottle the 2019 daon is impressive and received critical Acclaim not just from Mr suckling but from a number of other top critics as well this wine features a mixed red and black fruit profile along with floral notes to o and forest floor it had silky tannins and was an extremely elegant wine this is one you could enjoy young in a pinch with a healthy decant and a meal but it will be better after 8 to 10 years and while they’re pouring the 2019 the 2020 should also be on store shelves now and is at least as good if not even slightly better than this impressive 2019 while there were a number of outstanding wines pour to the James suckling great wines of the world there was Precious Little Burgundy only about three or four producers over the course of the two nights so it was a real treat to be able to taste the 2020 Elber Vish show Louis George Premier crew chog gree monopole this is a monopole which means that Cho gree is controlled by a single producer in this case Elber Bish show Cho gree is a top-notch Vineyard that’s been producing some excellent wines especially in some of the recent warmer vintages had the opportunity to tour this Vineyard about a year ago so it’s always a treat for me to taste this wine chog gree is a Terrace Vineyard which is somewhat unusual in burgundy it’s a wild Vineyard and it’s around 3 and a half hectares in size The Vines average an impressive 40 years and they’re planted at about 280 m above sea level Soo gree was certified organic beginning with the 2018 vintage the 2020 shree was a powerful burgundy that included descriptors such as BlackBerry black cherry raspberry red roses and crushed rock there were silky tannin and abundant acidity a very well balanced harmonious wine this is a wine that matures in oneir new French Oak I know there’s a lot of viewers in the United Kingdom so you’ll be interested to know that I found this wine selling for about 78 pounds per bottle if you buy a six-pack in the United States I saw it selling for as little as $99 although some places sold it for as much as $140 so definitely make sure that you shop around for this one jodo is a brunella deont Chino producer that was started by a talented Tuscan wine maker Carlo ferini among others Carlo learned how to make wine from legendary producer soera which makes one of my favorite Wines in the entire world jodo started as a personal project for Carla farini with a purchase of a single hectare of vines in 2002 and Joto’s first vintage was 2009 today jto has around six hectares of Vineyard Holdings and his daughter Bianca is also very heavily involved as with soldera jodo emphasizes uncompromising quality in all aspects of its wine production and its goal is to produce elegant well balanced wines with an extremely long finish by that standard there’s no question that the 2019 jodo Bernell deont Chino was an overwhelming success this impressive wine received a 99 Point score from James suckling this is a powerful structured wine but one with racy acidity and incredible balance the purity of fruit for this wine was particularly impressive and descriptors included dried cherry sage and crushed stone this wine came in at around 14.5% alcohol by volume this wine initially matured in French O casks then it spent 2 and a half years in concrete Vats followed by another 18 months in Bottle this is a wine that sells for around $119 a bottle and it’s certainly an extremely impressive reela deont Chino located in Patagonia Argentina in the Rio Negra region Bodega chakra was founded back in 2003 by the grandson of sasaki’s founder the chardonay from Bodega chakra was extremely impressive and interestingly that is a wine that’s produced in collaboration with famed burgundy producer Jean Mark Rulo but my favorite wine from Boda chakra was a Patagonia Pino Noir that comes from a single Vineyard and is named Trenta OS this wine is aptly named as it comes from a single vineyard with old vines that were planted way back in 1932 this Vineyard has special soils that contain layers of sand clay and Pebbles and which is ideally located for the production of highquality Pino Noir as it’s located in a cooler area right on the coast the 2022 Trent OS received an impressive 99 Point score from James suckling this wine featured impressive purity of fruit it definitely had bright vibrant red cherry fruit and some mixed spice ample acidity and a long complex finish this is a wine that’s definitely extremely age-worthy in fact just a couple years ago I tried the 2006 version of this wine and was still showing extremely well this wine is a natural wine and it’s also organic and biodynamic if you’re someone who does not like a lot of new Oak influence in your p this is definitely a wine for you as 45% of the fruit matures for about 19 months in concrete and the remainer matures in a mix of second third and fourth use Oak barrels so there’s no new Oak used to mature this one at all this particular wine sells for about $120 per bottle but Bodega chakra also has some impressive wines that sell for much lower price points and those are definitely worth considering as well if you’re interested in wine recommend ations wine collecting strategies and learning more about wine please do subscribe to my channel I’ve been collecting wine for more than 15 years and also have a level four diploma from the W so I have both formal certification as well as substantial practical Knowledge from the School of Hard Knocks the next of my favorite wines from the James suckling great wines of the world event was the 2018 Chateau Baer manange located in s emilion on bordeaux’s right Bank the property on which Chau B manange is located has a remarkable history dating back almost 2,000 years to when the ancient Romans grew grapes on this property Blair manange was purchased by a Christian mox’s company back in 2008 and its fortunes improved dramatically almost immediately thereafter these quality improvements are due to a number of factors including a reduction in yields a more strict selection later harvests and they’ve also embarked on a replanting program in the vineyard that’s been paying div dividends manange has around 23.5 hectares of vines their Vines average around 40 years of age but they have some that are much older than that the vard is planted to 90% Mero and 10% Cabernet Fran they mature their win in 50% new French O for 18 months the impressive 2018 Boler Minaj received a 99 Point score from James suckling and is also highly regarded by a number of other top critics as well the scriptors for this wine included black cherry plums floral notes Licorice and it had velvety tannins in an extremely impressive very long complex finish this wine sells for around $169 per bottle but it Compares very favorably to some right Bank wines that sell for much more than that if you’re not able to find the 2018 vintage definitely consider vintages like 2019 and 2020 as well and if you’re looking for back vintages you can by with confidence beginning in around 2009 well I’m not generally much of a Pino ggio guy there were actually a few very interesting expressions of Peno graio that were quite impressive at the James suckling great wines of the world event one of the most intriguing of these was the 2021 Marjan simich rameda pinio crew selection this is a family-owned producer and they’ve been in the wine business since way back in 1860 this Winery is currently run by the the fifth generation they have vines on both Italian and Slovenian soil and some of their Vines are an impressive 55 years of age James suckin gave this impressive wine a 95 Point score and in my opinion it was well deserved the fruit for this wine is grown in a Vineyard that is planted in opoka soils The Vines average 44 years of age they have Southeast facing exposure and the vineyard is planted at 250 m above sea level this an interesting production process for this wine as this wine is fermented in 2500 lit conical Oak barrels and it actually ferments on the Skins despite the fact that it’s white wine after that it matures on the leaves for one year and then it spends another 6 months in Bottle before it’s released the skin contact during fermentation is quite unusual for a white wine and it actually imparted a very very intriguing texture to this wine that I really appreciated this was an extraordinarily complex wine it’s somewhat rare for a white wine to include red fruit descriptors but this wine definitely had Red Apple and raspberry it’s a wine that comes in at around 14% alcohol by volume and is well worth trying if you’re looking for an interesting eclectic wine this is a wine that I found selling in the UK for around 23b and in the United States for about $49 per bottle dumain du chal is certainly a Bordeaux producer that I featured many times on this channel but I’ve been somewhat remiss in that to this date I’ve spoken only about their red wine and I’ve have not mentioned their impressive white wine fortunately however at the James suckling great wines of the world event I had the opportunity to taste the 2019 de du chal BL the wine maker was also there and I had the opportunity to ask him questions about this wine and the production process this is a wine that received an impressive 96 Point score from James suckling but is actually even rated more highly by Jeb dunck who gave it a 97 domain du chaler has 60 hectares of vines for their red wine but only about seven hectares of vines for the white wine they produce about 18,000 bottles of it annually this is wine that matures in 35% new Oak barrels and they also use bonage and stir the leaves while it’s maturing the 2019 domain du chaler Blan is 70% sanon Blanc and 30% Semion this wine comes in at 13.5% alcohol by volume descriptors for this wine include pear Peach Citrus in white flowers this was a full-bodied wine but it’s an extremely well balanced wine that had ample acidity and there was also some minerality on the finish that I enjoyed this is an extremely impressive Bordeaux Blanc it sells for around $109 in the United States but it Compares very favorably to some other BTO Blanc that sells for much more than that price point for next up is the 2003 Taylor’s vintage port this is an impressive wine that the wine maker compares to the outstanding 1966 Taylor’s vintage port while 2003 was a warmer vintage this wine still has impressive freshness at least in part due to the fact that the year before was a much cooler vintage SO was perhaps better able to withstand the heat the following year this wine was drinking remarkably young for a 21-year-old wine and it still has a long life ahead of it it’s just now beginning to develop some of the tertiary descriptors that you might expect in a port and certainly has plenty of room to gain additional complexity descriptives for this wine included Blackberry Plum licorice violets dark chocolate and mixed spice this is wine that sells for around $99 per bottle James suckling gave it a 94 and I think he actually was a little bit too conservative every other critic who reviewed this wine gave it a higher score than Mr suckling and I certainly think it’s deserving of a higher score as well one of the things I like best about the James suckling great wines of the world event this time was the large number of granella deont Chino producers many of which were pouring the outstanding 2019 vintage as well as the 16 reservas so the next wine I’m going to feature is the felini brunella de Mancino from 2019 this is a wine that received a 98 Point score from James suckling and sells for around 85 per bottle felini is a historic estate that’s located in Eastern Monto Chino they have 14 hectares of vines planted on their 100 hectare estate their Vineyards are Northeast facing so even in warmer vintages they’re able to produce wines that have some exceptional elegance and finesse The Vines are planted at altitudes ranging from 380 M to 400 m above sea level descriptives for this wine included black cherry mint licorice roses white pepper and orange peel it has 15% alcohol by volume but you’d never know it because it’s extremely well balanced and it carries it extremely well this wine is already very impressive but it will certainly be better in two to three years so I would suggest putting it away for a couple years if you can and if you’re interested in learning more about the outstanding 2019 vintage in Brello and hearing some of my other recommendations for wines to purchase from that outstanding vintage please be sure to check out this video that’s linked above