Friends, there is arguably no better feeling than experiencing special moments with special wines. It is my hope that 2019 brought you wonderful prosperity and many memorable moments with sharing wine with your loved ones. I want to share with you some of the most special moments with the incredible wines that I was able to taste over the course of 2019. I hope you all enjoy a wonderful holiday season making many more memories with special wines and cherished relationships.
What were some of your favorite wines of 2019? Here were mine.
10) 2008 Louis Roederer ‘Cristal’ Champagne- 98 Points
Madrid is a enological and culinary Mecca. Visiting with my friend Deano in March, I had brought several bottles from home to enjoy for this short jaunt from London. Flying in style on a BA flight out of London we had consumed our share of Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle in the Concorde Room before our travels, which gave me a good litmus for my special purchase. We had visited a great wine shop and I spotted a 2008 ‘Cristal’ for 200 euros. ‘This is going to be way too young,’ I initially thought to myself. I had read all the hype about the wine but I really wanted to see for myself. We chilled the wine and sat with it over more than an hour, savoring each sip. It is a massive wine with incredible power and tension with a racy acidity and incredible weight. The 2008 ‘Cristal’ is nowhere near its peak right now but it was such a fun moment to try this special wine for the first time.
9) 2005 Chateau D’Yquem Sauternes (375ml)- 100 Points
Every so often I like to check on Sauternes to see how it is showing. It isn’t an everyday practice uncorking a bottle of D’Yquem but with some wine collecting guests, I figured that out of a half bottle this would be sinfully good even at this early stage in its development. My wife sadly doesn’t typically enjoy Sauternes, and even she was spellbound by this wine. As I poured for my friend, Devin, he was left utterly speechless. I recall grinning from ear to ear as we tried this wine to begin our tasting. I gave considerably thought about when to try this in the sequence of our tasting and I made the right call. Having this at the start was the perfect choice. The elegance, power and purity of the wine was unlike any other. The texture to the wine was downright ethereal. While it was obviously very young, it was at a wonderful place right now.
8) 1998 Dom Perignon Champagne- 97 Points
My wife and I tied the knot in June and I wanted a wine that would satisfy this glorious occasion. Her favorite wine in the entire world is Dom Perignon and I had been mesmerized by this wine a month before at the special Dom Perignon tasting with friends. While this bottle didn’t show quite as well as the ’98 did in May, it was the marvelous occasion that added to the overall experience. My wife and I were quite tired with all of the stress and details of the day, as we had retired back to the hotel and put on comfortable clothes. I found an adequate ice bucket and we made our way down to the lobby in the afternoon to sample this nectar of the gods. ‘Please don’t be corked,’ I thought to myself. The wine actually took a good deal of air to be fully aroused. The nutty tones began to settle in with lighter orchard fruits and tones of peat moss and biscuit entering the fray. The bright beam of salinity also delighted. We had very little to say as we enjoyed the wine over an hour but my guess was she was feeling every bit as content as I did.
7) 2004 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon- 99 Points
My wife and I traveled to Calgary to visit friends this summer after some rest and relaxation in Los Angeles. Since we hadn’t seen the sun in six months, we luckily encountered some sensational weather in both spots. My buddy Devin has a cultured palate and rarely gets the chance to sample great wines of Washington, with limited distribution in Alberta. It had been more than five years since I had embarked on a serious vertical of Quilceda Creek. This tasting I elected to choose vintages from 2004-2010. We started with the best wine of the tasting, the absolutely epic 2004 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon which was a thrilling wine at the fifteen year mark. I loved the combination of blueberry compote, tomato leaf with sagebrush and chocolate. Novel and highly unique the wine had great finesse and power. There is no need to wait on this wine, as it is a true heavyhitter now and truly flirts with perfection. After we both took our tasting notes of the seven wines, we looked at each other to see which wine we both wanted to revisit. We both immediately grabbed the ’04.
6) 2015 Sine Qua Non ‘Trouver l’Arlene Syrah- 99 Points
My friend has a thing for the great wines of Sine Qua Non and graciously shared a new Syrah with me over dinner. It was the not only the wine but the moment that made this so special, as we had enjoyed the ’14 Beaucastel prior to this and sat down to sample this seamless, impeccably rich and balanced wine, paired with a juicy burger at a top French restaurant. The pairing was utterly sensational and cut through the richness of the medium-rare burger. As two wine geeks usually do, we couldn’t stop fawning over the ’15 Syrah. What a treat this pairing and special summer moment was.
5) 2014 Cayuse Vineyards ‘God Only Knows’ Red Wine- 100 Points
When my wife and I visit Walla Walla we always frequent Whitehouse-Crawford, where I held my graduation party from Whitman College many moons ago. My 2017 Washington Wine Blog wine of the year, the 2014 ‘God Only Knows’ is a seamless, masterful effort by famed vigneron, Christophe Baron. The range imparted from bulls blood to Umami and iodine to salted charcuterie and bright red fruits with citrus rind accents is unparalleled. Silky and seductive, this one of a kind wine was absolutely singing in May 2019, not needing any more time in the cellar. My wife was so captivated by the wine that she looked at me with delight, saying nothing. Her look did all the talking.
4) 2009 Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon- 100 Points
I always enjoyed the 2009 vintage upon release. These were wines that were rich but had a good acid backbone and wonderful depth. Dr. Hong graciously uncorked the 2009 Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon for some friends, The aromas were downright intoxicating following a long decant as the the seamless and weightless quality of the wine was utterly remarkable. This was pure perfection in a bottle. After a generous sip, Dr. Hong gave me a look of contentment. ‘What a wine’ we both proclaimed!
3) 2005 Chateau Climens Sauternes 100 Points
People are down on Sauternes. Berenice Lurton at Chateau Climens conveyed her feelings about the current market for these cherished wines. ‘The problem is,’ Berenice explained ‘Is that these wines are only seen as dessert wines.’ She continued ‘The truth is that these wines pair with an incredible range of foods.’ Sitting with her at her famed chateau I couldn’t agree and disagree more. While some vintages of Climens seemed to be a perfect pairing for foods, the purity, elegance, texture and vibrancy of the 2005 Climens made this wine simply too good to pair. It was best on its own as pure perfection in a bottle.
2) 2016 Chateau Mouton Rothchild- 100 Points
Sitting through a stunning vertical of Mouton wines, at the end our reward was this thrilling new wine from what should be an absolutely epic vintage. My colleagues at International Wine Report were floored as well. Upon entry the silky texture and insanely good range and terroir leaves you dumbfounded. My colleagues and I simply looked at each other in dismay. Our looks were enough to convey what is an absolutely epic new Mouton.
1) 1996 Dom Perignon Champagne- 100 Points
Years ago I was tasting with one of Washington’s top winemakers, Billo Naravane, MW, at his Rasa Vineyards and we started talking about wines we enjoy. ‘I’ll tell you what,’ Billo explained, ‘If you put me on a desert island, Dom Perignon is what I want.’ I looked at him and smiled, as he had no idea of my penchant for the same champagne house. ‘Well,’ I explained, ‘Dom Perignon is definitely up there for me.’ That day Billo and I made plans for a Dom Perignon tasting with close friends. It only took us five years for our tasting to take place. In early May we gathered together in Walla Walla to try a huge range of Dom Perignon wines. One of the highlights of this tasting was a sensational bottle of the 1996 Dom Perignon. I’d had this wine on several occasions but this bottle was the best I’ve ever had from this house. Silky, round, showing incredible tertiary tones and bright orchard and citrus fruits, Billo and I tasted together and caught a glance upon entry. We both smiled. ‘This has to be 100 points, right?’ Billo exclaimed. I nodded and smiled.