the
wine anorak's
wines of the year 2002
wine highlights
Here
I've selected my favourite wines from the past year. It's a personal
selection, and as such I've let my personal quirks and biases lead me.
Value for money and availability were not taken into account in
compiling this list.
We
start with Portugal, and specifically two of Dirk Niepoort's wines.
Batuta looks set to define the standard in the Douro for some years to
come, and Niepoort's 2000 vintage port is being hailed as one of the
stars of a superb vintage. The
two Madeiras are wonderfully complex, idiosyncratic wines.
Niepoort Batuta 1999 Douro, Portugal
The first vintage of this wine, which is based on grapes from
Niepoort’s own vineyard at Quinta do Carril. This north facing site
has an average vine age of 60 years, and yields are a miserly 10
hl/ha. Opaque red/purple colour. Very rich spicy herby nose is complex
with tarry, liquoricey notes. The palate is extremely rich and
concentrated, with firm tannins and spicy complexity. Wonderful stuff
with real character. Sensationally good. Excellent
Niepoort Vintage Port 2000, Douro, Portugal
Opaque colour. Tremendous liqouricey, spicy nose. Very deep and
dense: this is a massive wine with sweet, rich fruit and firm, spicy
tannins. Deep and concentrated, with huge structure. Excellent
D’Oliveiras Reserva 1968 Boal, Madeira
Brown/orange colour. Striking, articulate nose of lifted acid,
caramel, toffee, tar and smoke. The palate is rich with raisiny
sweetness brilliantly balanced by the slightly bitter high acid
finish. A remarkable complex old wine full of character. Excellent
Barbeito ‘Single Harvest’ Madeira Tinta Negra Mole
1995
Tinta Negra Mole is traditionally a bulk Madeira grape variety, but
Barbeito are trying to show that it’s possible to produce interesting
wines from it. This example is cask matured and displays a wonderfully
complex nose with spice, vanilla and caramel notes. The palate is medium
sweet with a lovely texture and huge spicy, rich complexity. Quite
wonderful, and a great introduction to the charms of decent Madeira.
Excellent
Staying
with the Iberian theme we move to Spain. I've had some wonderful
Spanish wines this last year, and these three probably stand out.
Alvaro Palacios L’Ermita 1999, Priorat
This is a blend of 80% Garnacha, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5%
Cariñena. Opaque purple colour. Massively rich and intense nose,
displaying a tarry, minerally lift, spicy, liquoricey complexity and a
fresh-ground coffee edge. There are also some sweet herbal notes. The
palate shows a huge concentration of spicy, berry fruit with massive
tannic structure underneath. There’s a lot of oak evident but there
is also good acidity and a strong mineral streak. Hard to assess so
young: the sweetness of the fruit and oak makes it approachable now,
and it doesn’t lack elegance, even thought it’s a big wine.
Remarkable. Excellent
1997 Alión, Ribera del
Duero, Spain
Owned by Vega Sicilia, Alión is a separate estate making Tempranillo-based
wines in a slightly different style to its illustrious parent. And this is a
superb wine from a year that's supposed not to have been very successful in
1997. Quite deep coloured, there's a compelling mineral edge to the deeply
fruited, almost meaty nose. It has a superb, richly liquoricey palate with a
great density of berry fruit combining well with the oak. There's a savoury, meaty, earthy edge and it's quite tight knit and brooding.
Excellent
Contino Reserva Rioja 1982, Spain
Yes, this wine is expensive, but it's very, very good and drinking at
its peak now. Contino is a single-estate Rioja, linked with CVNE by part shared
ownership but autonomously run. Mid-coloured with a touch of fading at
the rim. Lovely rich exotic nose of sweet herbs and spices, with a
touch of tar and smoke. The palate shows great balance: it’s quite
exotic and rich with a lovely leathery edge to the sweet fruit that is
still there. Drink now. Excellent
The
Northern Rhône is one of my favourite regions, and I've indulged
myself with picking five favourites. Côte Rôtie has the greatest
concentration of quality-minded producers in the region, and four
picks come from here. J.L. Chave is Hermitage's best producer by a
mile, and is my other selection.
Michel Ogier Côte Rôtie 1995, Northern Rhône
Very deep coloured. Powerful, meaty nose has a lovely perfumed bacon-like
edge. Rich, but still quite elegant with smooth, classy raspberry fruit.
The palate is extremely savoury with firm tannins, herby fruit and high
acidity. Hints of green olives and stinky cheese, too. A sensational wine.
Excellent
Michel Ogier Côte Rôtie ‘La Belle Hélène’
Côte Rozier Vielles Vignes 1995, Northern Rhône
Ogier’s most recent release of this special bottling of Côte Rôtie,
which is matured in new barrels, was awarded 100 points by Robert Parker,
so expect the pricing go into the stratosphere. This 1995 has a
sensational nose with liquoricey, meaty green olive-tinged fruit. Lovely
complexity. Rich, spicy, meaty palate is wonderfully complex. The new oak
seems to bring out the best in this wine without being in any way
dominant. Excellent
Gilles
Barge Côte Rôtie Cuvée du Plessy 1999
Wonderful nose: complex, smoky and spicy with perfumed meaty,
green-olive character. The palate is spicy and tannic, but with lots
of rich, savoury fruit and no trace of unripeness or austerity. It’s
rich and juicy and the tannins are fine grained. A brilliant
expression of Côte Rôtie. Excellent
JP
& JL Jamet Côte Rôtie 1999
Quite a rich, fragrant nose showing a touch of oak, along with
spicy meaty notes. The palate is dense and rich with lots of spicy
character and some new oak. With good acid and tannic structure, this
is brilliantly balanced with lots of potential. Don’t open for
another five years as I suspect this is soon to close down. Excellent
J. L. Chave Hermitage 1988, Northern Rhône
Still very deeply coloured, this is a remarkable wine. The rich,
meaty, savoury nose has some animal-like complexity and leads to a dense,
slightly stern palate. There’s still lots of tannic structure but some
savoury richness too. Full-on and completely delicious. Shame about the
price of the current release, but given the quality of this fourteen
year-old example it’s easy to see why. Excellent
Northeastern
Italian whites have been one of my favourite discoveries in the past
year, so here are two brilliant examples, both from Silvio Jermann.
Silvio Jermann Afix Riesling 2000 IGT Delle Venezie, Italy
The second Fruili wine to make this month's selection. Silvio Jermann
named this wine after his son (no, he’s not called Afix; this is a
name taken from parts of his two first names). Quite a beguiling,
delicate floral/fruity nose. It’s quite ‘pretty’, with good
density. The palate is rich and rounded showing great balance between
the fruit, acidity and the touch of residual sugar. A complex, full
flavoured wine, this is mineralic and slightly spicy. Perfectly
poised, and brilliant stuff. Excellent
Silvio Jermann Vinnae 2000 IGT Venezia Giulia, Italy
A blend of Ribolla, Riesling and Malvasia. Very minerally, savoury nose
is tight and complex, with a slightly creamy edge. Concentrated,
rich-textured mineralic palate, with good acidity and finishes dry. Nicely
structured and will no doubt develop. Superb stuff: not showy but very
elegant. Excellent
...followed
up with two serious Italian reds.
Castello di Fonterutoli Chianti Classico 1998, Tuscany,
Italy
A blend of 90% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, from Fonterutoli's
Siepi (250 m altitude) and Fonterutoli (450 m) vineyards. Deep coloured.
Full, striking nose is savoury and exotic at the same time, displaying rich,
sweet spicy fruit with lush menthol notes. The palate is concentrated, rich,
spicy and savoury with firm tannic structure and good acidity. Very serious.
Excellent
Scarpa Barbaresco ‘I
tetti di Nieve’ 1978, Piedmont, Italy
Deep coloured.
Intriguing spicy, earthy, slightly meaty nose with rich, sweet
medicinal elements. The palate is quite wild, initially showing quite
a severe medicinal nature with lots of tannic structure. In the glass
it opens out to show rich spicy, balsamic complexity. Quite brilliant,
in a robust sort of way. Excellent.
What
about the new world? New Zealand Pinot Noir really hits the mark for
me, and here are two of the best.
Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir 2000, Martinborough
Deep coloured. Wonderfully intense nose of cherries, herbs and dark
chocolate. Brilliantly balanced palate is savoury with rich berry
fruit. There’s a bit of sweetness to the fruit. Good complexity and
density. Excellent
Isabel
Estate Pinot Noir 2000, Marlborough, New Zealand
New Zealand's reputation as a leading wine producer stems mostly from
its vivid Sauvignons, but I suspect in 10 years time it will be New Zealand
Pinot Noir that wins the most critical acclaim. This is a cherry red colour,
and has a lovely intense nose showing an attractive
medicinal edge to the bright berry fruit. The palate displays a good
concentration of savoury, herb-tinged fruit, and although this is a
young wine it’s already showing a good degree of complexity. A
deeply impressive Pinot Noir that gets it just right. Excellent
Finally, a
couple of sweet wines that were both sensational, in very different
styles.
Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 1997, Constantia, South
Africa
This is sensationally good. A deep yellow/orange colour the nose
shows lovely, complex crystallized fruit and marmalade character: it
is sweet and rich with a little lifted acidity to keep it lively. The
palate is intense, complex and well balanced despite the sweetness.
Quite brilliant. Excellent
Château d’Yquem 1990 Sauternes 1er Grand Cru Classé,
Bordeaux
Deep yellow/orange. Complex and slightly restrained nose of herbs,
honey and straw, with hints of vanilla and butterscotch. The palate is
intense and waxy with lots of herbal complexity, and notes of caramel
and toast. Seamless, well balanced and not overtly sweet this is a
legendary wine to sip with reverence. Excellent
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