My reaction to James Suckling’s Top 100 World Wines. I breakdown the list and offer some value-for-money wines as an alternative…
🥂 Wines featured in this episode:
Artazu, Pasos de San Martin Garnacha https://rebrand.ly/artazu-garnacha
Fattoria le Pupille, Morellino di Scansano https://rebrand.ly/pupille-morellino
Fattoria le Pupille, Poggio Valente https://rebrand.ly/poggio-valente
Catena, Historic Rows Chardonnay https://rebrand.ly/historic-rows-chardonnay
Chateau Pape Clement 2020 (pessac leognan) https://rebrand.ly/pape-clement
Chateau Suduirait, Sauternes 2020 https://rebrand.ly/40zb84b
La Rioja Alta, 904 Gran Reserva 2015 https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=qzMzPmEvjyM&mid=2025&murl=https://www.wine.com/product/la-rioja-alta-gran-reserva-904-seleccion-especial-tinto-2015/1307861
La Rioja Alta, Ardanza Reserva 2015 https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=qzMzPmEvjyM&mid=2025&murl=https://www.wine.com/product/la-rioja-alta-vina-ardanza-reserva-2015/748324
Lar Rioja Alta, 890 Gran Reserva 2010 https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=qzMzPmEvjyM&mid=2025&murl=https://www.wine.com/product/la-rioja-alta-gran-reserva-890-tinto-2010/1049944
Wittman, Riesling https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=qzMzPmEvjyM&mid=2025&murl=https://www.wine.com/product/wittmann-westhofener-riesling-trocken-2021/1215113
Vina Alberdia, Rioja Reserva https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=qzMzPmEvjyM&mid=2025&murl=https://www.wine.com/product/la-rioja-alta-vina-alberdi-reserva-tinto-2018/962750
Zenato, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Sergio Zenato Riserva 2017 https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=qzMzPmEvjyM&mid=2025&murl=https://www.wine.com/product/zenato-sergio-zenato-amarone-classico-della-valpolicella-riserva-2017/1245965
Zenato, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2018 https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=qzMzPmEvjyM&mid=2025&murl=https://www.wine.com/product/zenato-amarone-2018/1247844
St. Andrea, Aldas Bikaver Superior https://www.tastehungary.us/product/st-andrea-aldas-egri-bikaver-superior-2018/
Artadi, Alava Viña el Pison 2021
Bibi Graetz, Testamatta 2021 (sangiovese)
Bruno Giacosa Falletto, Barbaresco Rabaja 2020
Carl Loewen, Riesling Mosel Maxmin Herrenberg GG 2022 (alte reben)
Catena Zapata, White Bones 2022 (historic rows chardonnay)
Commando G, Sierra de Gredos Tuma del Rey Moro 2021 (Agricola de Cadalso, Sierra de Gredos 2022)
Damilano, Barolo Cannubi Riserva 2016
Domaine de Chevalier 2020 (l’esprit)
Domaine de la Solitude, CdP Réserve Secrète 2019 (i like the cdr)
Donnhoff, Riesling Nahe Hermannshohle GG 2022
Fattora le Pupille, Saffredi 2021 (poggio valente or mds riserva)
La Rioja Alta, Rioja Gran Reserva 904 2015 – I like the 890 or ardanza vina Alberdi
Moric, Blaufrankisch Burgenland Lutzmannsburg Alte Reben 2021
Niepoort, Douro Robustus 2017
Passopisciaro, Contrada R 2021 (passorosso)
Roberto Voerzio, Barolo Brunate 2019 (try Barbera)
Schloss Johannisberg, Riesling Gunlock Spatlese 2022 (Gelblack)
St Andrea, Egri Bikaner Grand Superior Nagy-Eged-Hegy Agape 2018 (aldas)
Don Melchor, Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Wittmann, Riesling Morstein GG 2022
00:00 Janes Suckling
01:22 Top 100 Wines Reaction
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26 Comments
I love your channel. Thank you for sharing.
Why won't you cover Chinese wines?
not reacting to any of the top 10s? I'd love you take on 1-10.
Great video!
La Solitude retails in Europe for € 12.50. Incredible.
Nice video! I love Fattoria le Pupille, their Poggio Valente is just excellent year after year 👌🏻
I've been stocking up some Alta 904 recently. I recently bought a case of 2004 from a London retailer which was in bond. The price worked out at about £60 a bottle. The prices of a lot of aged Spanish vintages have peaked and you can buy them at about the same prices as current releases. Good quality stuff like 904. Believe it or not, I can get the Alberdi for £16 a bottle at a local U.K supermarket.
Recently someone in my street put a box full of aged Wittmann wines in front of the appartement complex with a sign: "Zu verschenken" (for free). I was surprised to see a lot of Erste Lage (1G / Premier Cru) Rieslings from 2012-2020. Things like this can only happen in Germany 😂
I buy a box of Morstein, Kirchspiel and other GGs every year and they are outstanding after a few years of bottle age.
The Tesch Mond Riesling from the Nahe region really surprised me this year.
Another wonderful Riesling is the Jakob Jung Hohenrain GG from the Rheingau.
Matthew, was wondering whats the reason in these videos you don't show the places you visit? Frankly , it's a bit boring seeing you in the same room , video after video? Could you mix and match them up?
Agreed on the pasopiscaro Rosso being better than the Cru!
And Aldas was the wine that got me into wine!!!
I would like to see your top 10 of the best wines you had tried this year, I think would be great and interesting.
I usually remove 3-4 points from JS scores. Otherwise, I can say it matches my palate.
My issue with JS is the descriptions he writes are more like an attempt at poetry, laid on extra thick. I guess we're not really his target audience. I get it. But I never found his descriptions useful. You, Agnese and Peter Koff actually tell me something…even if half of it is over my head sometimes. 😅
Suckling gives 90’s to everything.
Suckling is a tw@.
Hmmm some of my memorable wines this year have been a 2019 Domaine Serene Winery Hill Pinot..reminded me of Xmas. Another memorable was a 2021 Cristom Viognier.
Suggestion: Maybe just leave out this annoying background music and talk a little slower? Content is fine, presentation is in need of improvement.
My favourites on this list are the Herrmannshöhle that isn´t even that expensive here in Munich nor are the Moric which I drink probably more of than I should but with roast veal that Blaufränkisch is hard to resist. Also respect to you for also suggesting some affordable alternatively to try the producer/style without paying fantasy prices.
I love that you offered less expensive alternatives for most of them – I'll probably go back and make a list of those. Great video!
I was expecting your review to the Gran Enemigo Gualtallary 2019 that suckling and parker rated at a perfect 100 points. Cab Franc is becoming one of my favorites wines right now.
I am surprised that first wine comes to mind was a low intervention wine from Ardèche: 2019 Le Raisin et l'Ange – Fable
Great video and I love that you offered more wallet friendly alternatives to JS Top 100 list. Since I already shared my favorite wines of 2023 in another post I just want to comment on this list. JS is an interesting individual in the wine world, yes he does score his wines a tad high; but nothing like Luca Maroni or some others. He is a wine critic and taster, but also a business person; so we have to view him differently that wine YouTubers or other critics.
Like yourself I do take off around 3-5 points if I am looking at JS scored wines and I have been disappointed with a few of the wines he rated. But not enough to make a definitive call if his palate and mine align or are totally different. One major positive about JS is that he is highlighting lesser known regions and countries, Austria, Chile, China, Hungary, etc. Also he is big champion of Riesling, which is something that you don't see that much of on WS, WA or Vinous.
Which is a big boon for those countries and their image and placement on the international market. With him reviewing more and more Hungarian wines and wineries it's made me seek out smaller family and boutique wineries in Hungary. Although St. Andrea is one of the top wineries in Hungary, we visited there in 2016 and their Aldas is a great quality QPR Bull's Blood.
Dönnhoff yeah! It's amazing that the entry Rieslings from Nahe, Rheinhessen and Pfalz are relatively cheap in Germany since they offer a lot of wine. I'm blessed, it's only a few hours drive to get there. )) Keep up the good work Matthew, always enjoying your video's. Looking forward to your Barbera tasting.
The Carl Loewen Alte Reben is a great shout. Great wine at an even better price.
I'm drinking one of my best wines this year right now: Egon Müller Scharzhof 2015. I've had a lot of Saar Rieslings lately and this certainly delivers. An excellent wine and extremely youthful still at eight years old. The others I've had have all been much more recent. I want to mention Peter Lauer, Zilliken (Saarburger Rausch OMG) and Falkenstein as the top among the other producers but all have been very good (von Othegraven, Stefan Müller and von Kesselstatt).
Other top wines this year have been:
– Confuron-Cotetidot Vosne-Romanée "Les Suchots" 1er Cru 2012, probably the best red wine I've ever had, closely followed by
– Valenti Etna Rosso "Puritani" 2014 (also their Etna Bianco "Enrico IV" was great)
– Sattlerhof Gamiltz Sauvignon Blanc 2020
– Emmanuel Darnaud Crozes-Hermitage "Mise en bouche" 2016. Insane QPR at 12.90€
James Suckling has a heavy hand with points…so i take the scores with a fair dose of scepticism. No one can deny that he has been around for many years and tasted beyond the classical regions of wine. I share his love for German and Austrian white wine but again he's been the voice of tuscan wine through his reviews and scores without worrying too much about sounding independent. I guess the italian charm got him 😉 Leaving aside the points his Top 100 list is usually more diverse and fun than his colleagues at Wine Spectator.