#1 Wine of the Year
This time of year is infamously known for the Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year Awards. All of the lemmings out there then rush out and buy the #1 wine causing the price to spike upwards for some undetermined time frame. Whether that price holds is dependent on any number of factors including availability, desirability, etc. Granted, once the Wine Spectator announces this so called #1 wine, it’s desirability factor goes up. This year, the award went to a Chilean wine. Now, hearing that makes me want to open and taste a Chilean wine. One problem: my cellar of some 1700 bottles has exactly 0 Chilean wines. Am I missing something here? In a year that saw 2005 Bordeauxs fetch astronomical prices, and 2005 Burgundies command even more ($10,000 for a bottle of DRC Romanee Conti, $2000 for Mugnier Musigny??), a wine from Chile is the wine of the year?? And I have absolutely 0 Chilean wines in my cellar?? What am I missing? Well, the Wine Spectator, I suppose had to do something different. All of the Burgundy wine lovers ignore the rag to start off with, and Wine Spectator’s criteria for wine of the year precludes a Burgundy from even being included (not enough production). But what about a Bordeaux? From the latest vintage of our lifetime? Bordeaux gets snubbed by a Chilean wine? Made from Bordeaux varietals? I’ll be honest with you: I really do not like Bordeauxs. I suppose there was a time that I enjoyed them, and I certainly have a few in my cellar; heck, I even bought some from the 2005 vintage. I suppose I got caught up in that feeding frenzy before the economy tanked, and wine prices and my retirement savings along with it. But really, I’m a Burgundy whore. I love a good Burgundy. An intense, painful minerally white, or a sappy sweet pinot with a bit of that Burgundian funk red - I love them both. And really, my wine of the year had to be the 1996 Salon. I was lucky enough to have that wine on a couple of occasions; it is an intense focused linear beam of light. But a Chilean wine? Wine of the Year? I suppose the Wine Spectator needs to spread it around. The past few years have seen Chateauneuf du Pape, Brunello di Montalcino, domestic Bordeaux blend, Sauternes, domestic Merlot, and another Chateauneuf win the wine of the year (confession - being the lemming that I am, I bought and still own all of these wines). Perhaps it was Chile’s time. But do I think it actually compares to the 1996 Salon? Or to any of the big 3 from the 2005 Rousseau lineup? Please… That said, any one know where I can get some? One day I want to taste all of Wine Spectator’s #1 wines together…. Any other lemmings out there are more than welcome to join me….
