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Wine Spectator Top 10 Tasting
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I use this wine key: Forge de Laguiole Ebony
I have used the following glass in this video: Nude Stem Zero Powerful Red
I have tasted the following wines in this Video:
Top 10 – 2022 Ramey Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, USA
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/ramey+chard+russian+river+valley+sonoma+county+north+coast+california+usa/2022?referring_site=KSB
Top 9 – 2020 G. D. Vajra Barolo Albe, Barolo DOCG, Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/g+d+vajra+albet+docg+barolo+piemonte+italy/2020?referring_site=KSB
Top 7 – 2020 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau, Rhone, France
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/dom+du+vieux+telegraphe+chateauneuf+pape+la+crau+rhone+france/2020?referring_site=KSB
Top 6 – 2022 Roserock Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, USA
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/rose+rock+pinot+noir+eola+amity+hill+willamette+valley+oregon+usa/2022?referring_site=KSB
Top 5 – 2021 Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Stags, Leap District, USA
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/chimney+rock+cab+sauv+stags+leap+district+napa+valley+county+north+coast+california+usa/2021?referring_site=KSB
Top 3 – 2021 Marchesi Antinori Tignanello Toscana IGT, Tuscany, Italy
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/marchesi+antinori+tignanello+tuscany+igp+italy/2021?referring_site=KSB
Top 1 – 2021 Concha y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon, Puente Alto, Chile
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/concha+y+toro+don+melchor+cab+sauv+puente+alto+maipo+valley+chile/2021?referring_site=KSB
The 100 Point Scoring System (from www.robertparker.com):
96-100: An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase and consume.
90 – 95: An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, these are terrific wines.
80 – 89: A barely above average to very good wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavor as well as character with no noticeable flaws.
70 – 79: An average wine with little distinction except that it is soundly made. In essence, a straightforward, innocuous wine.
60 – 69: A below-average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavor or possibly dirty aromas or flavors.
50 – 59: A wine deemed to be unacceptable.
It is that time of the year again when the major publications publish their best of 2024 lists, and the Wine Spectator is no exception.
They have made a big deal out of their top 10 wines this year and revealed them across a week to build up excitement for this selection.
So my team purchased most of the Top 10 wines so that I can independently review them and determine whether Wine Spectator has selected the best wines of 2024.
While print wine media is not going through a golden age the Wine Spectator is still standing and keeping up with publishing their top 100 lists. This is the 36th version as it was established in 1988
Their editors select the most “exciting” for that list and they write: In addition, our selection also prioritizes quality (based on score), value (based on price), and availability (based on the number of cases either made or imported into the United States). These criteria are applied to the wines that are rated outstanding (90 points or higher on Wine Spectator’s 100-point scale) each year to determine our Top 100.
My favorite thing about the Top 100 lists is that they are still available on the website so you can go back in time and get a glimpse of what the wine world looked like decades ago.
20 years ago in 2004 they had two Sauternes in the Top ten and the 2001 Rieussec won first place – that is unthinkable today, as demand for Sauternes has dropped significantly.
The 2004 Top 10 was pretty international including a Chilean wine, one from Spain, three from Italy, one from the US, one from Australia, and three from France.
But there was no Pinot, which would be strange today and there was no dry white wine included in the Top 10.
48 Comments
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Every time Tignanello enters this list or any similar famous list, the price goes up by $20-$30. That means an increase of revenue of 7 to 10Million $, every time. The quality is there, but I think the above is the real reason there is an Antinori wine in the list almost every year. They can pay !
Don Melchor is Mozart in a bottle with South American Swing. The fact that I can't get it at a reasonable price here in Germany must be due to EU's barriers. For the same price (in Chile) it would destroy most Italian/French/Spanish.
it would be nice to review those wines again after some breathing. for instance, that freshly opened Barolo cannot be ready to be drank, don't you think? 😉
Konstantin I can’t find name of the company you work for in London . I following you for 1 years already , I remember you saying something- about company in London . Thank you
I am trying to find the Pinot Noir from Oregon in european shops and I struggle. Any advise?
I've been buying GD Vajra for a long time. Their Langhe Rosso (it's their field blend) is my favorite and I bought it back in like 2020 for $11 a bottle and all through the 2010's. I think it's up to like $20 a bottle now but still totally impressive.
The Barolo is maybe my least favorite from GD Vajra (their Ravera Cru is way better). The one on the Wine Spectator list always tasted more watery and lacked the punch and legs of both the field blend and the ravera cru. I was surprised to see that one on the list.
Anyways, it's always nice to see wineries I really enjoy get more publicity. Piedmont is just the best.
I was blessed to try that tignanello 2021 a few weeks ago and I just want to say that it gave me goosebumps. I’m happy to see it on this list.
Thanks for the video. As a former Oregonian, good to see an Oregon wine on the list! And since it is an affordable Pinot, I am going to look for it.
Very interesting and useful. I went for a tasting at Ramey's HQ in Healdsburg in October, and all the wines they offered us were red cabernet. I wonder why it never occurred to them to offer a Chardonnay – especially if it is that good?
I wish for your channel to grow large enough for you to gain enough Notoriety to branch off and become a leading wine critic
I would like to see your scores next to the wine selection at popular merchants
I feel like there is too much conflict of interest $$ in the wine business today
Good critique, appreciate the honesty. Having had several of these, and think it a conservative list for a conservative publication. I suppose it's hard to stay relevant in such a diverse industry these days. But the real point of this WS list – not clear. Murky.
Love your tastings and this one definitely followed suit and definitely one of the better takes on the top 10 list that I have seen so far. Great job as always. Cheers!!
I value your opinion Konstantin, will search out some of these, thanks, keep on drinking 🍷👍
That gd vajra is around $88 where I live , always enjoy their Nebbiolo at $40…. Won’t buy the overpriced Barolo despite the 91 points , a year ago it was 2×1 during Christmas, should’ve grabbed it .
I’m sure Antinori buys quite a lot of ad space in that glossy rag…😂 cheers 🥂
Wine Spectator is the same nonsense every year. Aspirational wines, constant coverage of DRC, Boutique California Cabs, and other stuff nearly nobody will ever enjoy. I haven’t subscribed in twenty five years, but saw a friend’s new release. Same crap.
167k , your really getting big these Konstantin!
Fully agree on your evaluation, even if I m chocked to see Alba Barolo in this list which has desapointed me many times and which i would not even rate 90 points when the rest of his wines can be delicious. This is complete mystery or they have an excellent PR company. Cheers
Nothing from Chambolle Musigny or other great Burgundy villages? 2022 was a brilliant vintage in Burgundy. Nothing ever from Rioja, including Tondonia and La Rioja Alta? Not even Pichon Baron? Bordeaux is very conspicuously absent. Yikes.
Interesting tasting !
Which wineglasses are you using for your tasting?
Dude, youre living in a dead paradgm. Nobody under 40 cares about the Wine Spectator and their ratings.
„Es gibt den Williams Salem … blah blah“ lol … Ooops – passiert mir auch öfters 🙂
That Barolo retails for the equivalent to 26€ here in Sweden.. Alot cheaper then 42$! And people say that alcohol is so expensive here in Sweden! 😂
@14:18 Cow powder?
I definitely agree with your assessment that there're too little white wines in the list and some countries / regions / varieties are missing. (where are the german rieslings???? answer: in Sucklings list actually. thanks to Stuart Pigott). This year I've tasted the Barolo Albe by Vajra. Next to a few other of their Barolos, this wasn't my favourite (that'd be their Coste di Rose, incredibly delicate style of Barolo). I've also drank the Roserock, which I absolutely loved. I bought some of the other Drouhin wines from Oregon and they're snoozing in the cellar for another 2/4 years or so. cheers!
I visited G.D. Varja this past fall and it was a great tasting. I didn't try their Albe but their higher end offerings were remarkable. The facility itself is also beautiful with stained glass overseeing their stainless tanks and a really unique cellar. I highly recommend their Ravera offering.
I only drink wines from Mexican vines.
Of all the wines in the world to say the majority of the top 10 come from America feels a little Not Quite Right but great video and looks like a couple of the final wines get the big KB points too 🙂
We need sparkling wine for new year!
I have no proof, outside of hearsay, but the idea you can buy a spot in the top 10 wines has been out there for years. It would explain how the same wines get top billing over the years.
Fantastic reviews of the WS top 10 list. Appreciate your tasting notes, opinions, and score on these wine!
I think that Whites and Reds should be separated in these types of Top 10/100 reviews. Reds are 3 dimensional and whites are 2 dimensional at best.
If wine spectator rates them high, they were bought off! Buy anything but
Hi Konstantin, now that you have mastered “Syrah”, we need to work on your “Don Melchor” pronunciation 😊. With warm regards from a Spanish fan of your channel
thanks for these nice little discoveries, cheerz
I live near Napa and was a member of chimney rock wine club for several years. It’s a great wine from stags leap but have recently been big fans of cliff lede. Thanks for your videos!
The only definition of a good wine is one you like no matter the price ,year or vintage.
even if the review were 100, if it were a united statian wine.. even if the price were below 1$ still no go 4 me 4 the next 4 years..
Review Faust please
Where can I get that picture of faust on your wall?
Got to visit Domaine Drouhin and I got to try and buy Rose Rock. I loved Rose Rock wine and need to find where I can buy it!
Filtering strips flavour. Massively.
Agree 100% about better Napa Cabs for the money! Chimney Rock is delicious but not top tier in my opinion.
Spectator is fine but I'm more a fan of Galloni as he keeps his scores reasonable and not stratospheric. He also focuses more on old world wine which is the majority of my cellar (56% French). Not a big fan of CdP's anymore due to the high alc levels, but Vieux has always been nice with proper cellering. I describe it as the Burgundy of Chateauneuf.
Thank you! I think I’ll try the reasonably priced wine from Oregon!
As you are bringing the prononciation topic: the final c in Sauvignon blanc and Cabernet franc are silent in French 😊. Thank you for the top notch videos!
Top 100 marketed wines this year