Every January we look back on the previous year and the wines that were tasted. 2014 seems to have been an especially all-encompassing year, with wines notes from over 250 appellations.
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Of note were the 85 Rieslings & Gruner Veltliners from the 2013 vintage, 2012 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noirs & Chardonnays, and the brilliant Napa Cabernet vintage of 2012. Some of these wines will be on our Top 2014. Others will be released throughout 2015. Most are available so enjoy the reviews and Happy New Year.
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#21: NV Mas Fi Brut Cava $9.95
An elegant and balanced sparkling wine with notes of white flower and citrus on the nose. Fresh stone fruits and minerality in the mid-palate with a long, clean finish. One of the best values in sparkling wines.
#20: 2012 Stolpman Angeli $64
100% Syrah from the best vines Stolpman has to offer. Rich in texture yet vibrant with great acidity. Violets, purple fruits, Spring time flowers with an edgy minerality. Everything's here for decades of aging! Stellar juice!
#19: 2012 Nickel & Nickel Chardonnay Stiling Vineyard Russian River $38.50
Wonderful Chardonnay. Clean, but not quite steely. Good acid with some minerality, slight apple and peach. A solid wine from an epic producer with a lovely finish.
#18: 2011 Domaine Masse Givry 1er La Brulee $26.50
We've mentioned this wine all year long. A Pinot Noir that packs more quality than the price tag might have you think. The appellation of Givry was recently awarded premier cru (1er) status on several of its vineyards, and this is a shinning example of what Pinot can do. Nice concentration, interesting spice, medium weight with an attractive hint of earthiness to add comlexity. Quiet lovely and a terrific value.
#17: 2012 EnRoute Pinot Noir Russian River 'Les Pommiers' $38.50
There are a few reasons we included this wine on our top 21: this is classic Russian River Pinot. Cherry, plum, rasberry fruit blessed with floral and mineral notes. Wildly aromatic, with a refresing acidity. Another reason: we were (and are) able to sell this wine at nearly half its stated retail price. Win-Win!
#16: 2013 von Winning Sauvignon Blanc II $30
Importer Terry Theise named von Winning "Winery of the 2013 Vintage".
We think that his Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best we have ever tasted. Reminiscent of Dagueneau's great Pouilly Fume but with more whimsical charm.
#15: 2013 Whitcraft Winery Pinot Noir Sierra Madre Vinieyard $44
An enchanting wine, with elegant structure, silky tannins, and a really long finish. To enjoy this completely do decant for an hour or two.
#14: 2010 Chateau Bernadotte $39.50
About half Cabernet Sauvignon and half Merlot, this wine is clearly the sleeper of the vintage, with loads of fruit, glycerin and extract. Its excellent purity and loads of spice box as well as red and black currants make for a delicious, impressively endowed wine.
#13: N.V. Parigot & Richard Cremant de Bourgogne Brut Rose $28
It seems that every hip bistro in Paris has this as their House Sparkling Wine. And so do we. 100% Pinot Noir from Burgundy. Lively, with nice broad red berry fruit, balanced with vivacious acidity, and a long long finish. Drinks more like Champagne than a 'simple' Cremant. Maybe that's why this has been our #1 selling French sparkling in 2014. (We also carry their outstanding 100% Chardonnay Cremant!)
#12: 2013 Kunstler Riesling Estate Trocken $26
If you're not use to decanting Riesling, try it. Not only do they deserve it, you will experience something that no other grape varietal has: Epic Diversity. I'll pass along Terry Theise' tasting notes on this wine, as my own words left me as I sampled this wine:
"A superbly conceived and crafted wine, which is a fancy-pants way of saying it’s farking delicious. Very bright, insanely tasty, full of perfume, gently earthy, gentlemanly and reassuring."
#11: 2012 Storm Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard $45
Dark red cherry, plum, baking spice and rose petal meld this wine together. Juicy, pliant and expressive, the 2012 captures the essence of this great Sta. Rita Hills site. The resonant, layered finish is particularly long and gorgeous. Ernst Storm is one of the hottest winemakers on the Central Coast (don't miss his Cabernet Project which just happens to be out #10 WOTY).