The 10 Best Wines I Tasted In 2023

Dear Friends,

There are arguably no better experience than sharing wines with friends and family. Now being out of the Pandemic, we are finally able to enjoy these special experiences together. It is my hope that 2023 has brought you wonderful prosperity and many memorable moments with sharing wine with your loved ones whenever possible. We wanted to share some of the incredible wines that I was able to taste throughout 2023. 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 2023? Here are mine. 

11) 2014 Louis Roederer ‘Cristal’ Champagne

I love Cristal and had to include this as my #11. There is something magical about this wine that is made beautifully in even super challenging vintages like 2007 and 2013. I have had the chance to revisit the 2014 ‘Cristal’ many times this year. It is a scintillating bottling that I think I might have even underscored when first reviewed, because of how tight it was. Now after about 20 to 30 minutes of air it really comes together seamlessly. Gobs of stuffing, lemon oil and beautiful tension make this wine one of the finest champagnes you will taste in the world. Bravo!

10) 1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothchild

It was such a pleasure to revisit one of the great wines of 1982, the magnificent Chateau Mouton-Rothchild. A friend graciously opened this bottle that is now at perfect peak. The mushroom and black fruits were really rocking here, but the texture was downright ethereal. This held on strong for an hour. What an experience!

9) 2005 Chateau D’YQuem Sauternes-

I have long held these wines as arguably the finest made in the world. Many years back I purchased several .375L bottles of the 2005 D’Yqyem. This was a dream right now especially in the small format. Yet for some reason I feel like the freshness imparted makes me feel that this might not quite be at peak? It is close to peak nonetheless. The honey and marzipan notes really rock, as this does not come off as overly sweet at all — just impeccably balanced. It is downright impossible to find a dessert wine bottling that has this flavor range.

8) 2008 Piper Heidseick ‘Rare’ Champagne

I love wines from great vintages. This year I had several bottles of the 2008 Piper Heidseick ‘Rare’ Champagne. The first bottle I had was very lightly corked and never fully came together. However subsequent bottles provided me with data that this is one of the outstanding wines made this vintage. Scintillating, polished and full of life, this is a big, burly Champagne that is going to pair with an insane range of foods. But if you are like me, I just prefer to drink this on its own and watch it beautifully evolve. What a wine!

7) Laurent-Perrier ’26 ed. Grand Siècle’ Champagne

I know this is another champagne on the list but this ’26 ed.’ might be the finest ‘Grand Siecle’ ever made. As a context, for my birthday this year I tasted editions 23-25 of ‘Grand Siecle.’ The ’23 ed.’ is shining brightly, mostly comprised of 2006 wines that are quite fleshy and delicious now. The ’26 ed.’ also has that incredibly dense character but is also possessing racy acidity and a very lengthy finish. Having tried this now four times I highly recommend a 30 minute decant to fully take in the downright scintillating range of flavors and aromatics.

6) 2021 HALL ‘Rainin Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon 

The ‘Rainin’ is one of the finest wines made in Napa that is part of the HALL Platinum Collection. Made in very small volume, this beauty was a total head-turner that I won’t forget. Opulent and soft, yet extremely powerful, words made it difficult to define how good this wine really was. This was nothing short of perfection in the bottle. It doesn’t come cheap but this will be worth a visit someday.

5) 2000 Dom Perignon ‘P2’ Champagne

We were in Vegas and we thought that a top Champagne would do the trick. I went downstairs to Wallys and purchased a super expensive bottle of ‘P2’ to mark the occasion. The first bottle was corked and the manager working there was less than impressed that I had found the first one to be flawed. It was quite honestly a horrible buying experience. I tried to explain to her that I am a wine critic who does this for a living.

To her chagrin, she agreed to give me a second bottle to replace the corked one. The second bottle was a total world-beater. Filled with stuffing and beautiful racy acidity, this showcased the richness and tension that the vintage provided. What a wine!

4) 2004 Charles Heidseick ‘Blanc des Millénaires’ Champagne

It has now been many years since I have had the chance to try this wine, coming from the really good 2004 vintage. At now twenty years of age, it is right at its peak. Blanc des Millénaires 2007 is now the current vintage and this edition is considerably richer with more flavor range, as the nutty and earthy character of the wine was really showing beautifully. The best part was I shared this with one of my best friends.

3) 2015 Chateau Angelus

It was on a whim that we decided to open a beautiful bottle of 2015 Chateau Angelus. Tasted with friends, we waited about two hours and saw this beautifully evolve. Pillowy and soft, this is still really an infant but the potential! I think this will easily be a 30 year wine. Perfection in a bottle.

2) 2012 Cayuse Vineyards ‘God Only Knows’ Grenache

This was a buy that I purchased online and you never know what you are getting with these buys. However, this wine was shining brightly for quite some time. A literal cornucopia of flavor meets this beauty, as the texture and freshness was so beautifully intact. I love when you drink a wine right at its peak and this was it for me! If you can’t afford Chateau Rayas, buy this!

1) 2021 Quilceda Creek ‘Columbia Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon

I feel so fortunate that I was able to taste this wine over multiple days. This beauty is going to really rock your world. I think that it is the finest ‘Columbia Valley’ Quilceda ever made. I love to drink top Washington young to get a feeling for their aging potential. For a future release 100 point wine, offers already unbelievably good tasting experience that you won’t forget. I just tasted this on its own without food but the beautiful chocolate and coffee ground notes make me think what a seamless match this would be with bitter chocolate.