I have had the pleasure of enjoying some absolutely stunning wines this year, some at the wineries, others in the presence of friends and colleagues. For the sake of recommending wines that can actually be found in the market today I am going to sadly have to ignore the majority of wonderful Burgundies I have tasted as the new vintages will not be released for a while. There are some wines that I simply have to mention. 2012 jaw droppers include the Vina Matosevic Grimalda White 2009, a stunning Croatian Malvasia aged in acacia wood; the Eyrie Pinot Gris 2008 from Oregon transforms from a truculent teenager to a wonderfully elegant and captivating wine on decanting; François Villard’s Condrieu Deponcins 2010 and Pierre Gaillard’s Côte Rotie La Rose-Poupre 2009 (I am a huge Rhône fan); not forgetting Sylvie Esmonin’s Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques 2010 if you can get your mitts on it, the Cederberg V Generations Cabernet 2008; the Hartenberg Eleanor Chardonnay 2008, Silvano Bolmida’s Barbera Conca del Grillo 2008, Gritsch Riesling 1000 Eimerberg 2010 and the legendary Jean Foillard Morgon Côte de Py 2010.
What I want to drink depends on my mood so just one wine is impossible, however if I was forced to I think it would have to be the Charles Hours Cuvee Marie Sec 2010 from the much underrated Jurançon region of SW France. This wine punches well above its weight, it is rich and powerful, seamlessly elegant and yet so vibrant and alive that it gives me goose bumps. I love seeing peoples’ faces when they try it for the first time – the thrill of a new discovery from a little known region never fails to elicit shrieks of delight. The second thing I love about it is that I can afford to drink it regularly.
I have to say I think that was a thoroughly mean question!
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