Must-Have Wines of the Lunar Year - Year of the White Rabbit 2011
The Year of the Dragon begins at 6.24pm, February 4th 2012: To which the Wandering Palate draws a line in the cellar/tasting-notebook and presents a retrospective account of the standout wines of the drinking year – the 2011 lunar drinking year – Year of the White Rabbit.
Why the lunar year?
Notwithstanding I reside in Asia, the nucleus of my ideologies revolve around a back to nature approach with wine, food and the environment – sustainable, organic and biodynamic principals that have its roots in ancient feng shui and Chinese gardening that have evolved over the eons yet pivotal today.
So not only do I care about the planet, I have gone lunar!
This digest is the distillation of all the wines The Wandering Palate has assessed at trade tastings around the world, some of them mammoth annual events, others more intimate tastings, retrospective vertical line-ups, professional workshops, new release luncheons and dinners. Throw in the occasional wine judging appearance, regional wine celebrations or symposiums and assiduous assessing at the resident tasting bench as well as countless home dinners and frequenting of restaurants. Most importantly, the continuous vineyard visits, unquestionably the most enlightening, grassroots way of interpreting wine and its regional and cultural nexus.
Whilst these extraordinary wines are benchmarks of genuine artisan vignerons and highly expressive of terroir or ‘sense of place’ encompassing the unique qualities of their region and micro-climate, there is also an underlying message in adjudging beyond the merits of the individual wine – it is a proclamation of the winery and dedication to environmentally sustainable-viticulture and perhaps most importantly, outstanding price/quality rapport.
Ultimately, the goal is to promote underappreciated wines or wine styles and to inspire further discovery and adventurism in your wine consumption.
A point of difference, this is a retrospective account, thus not conjecture or tarred by commercialism in trying to promote what is about to be released. That said many of these wines are quite likely to be current releases in Asia or available on the secondary market worldwide, if you look hard enough. More importantly, it is the winery itself that you should be directing your curiosity sampling the current vintage, or an older one for that matter.
This is an unashamedly subjective selection but motivated by objective goals and by no means intended to be definitive; besides, the more you know about wine, the more realize how little you know about wine!
All the wines that have made it this far have been tried over a meal, as you would normally enjoy them moreover, their intended purpose.
There are no scores, a flawed and soulless methodology that I detest. At the end of the day, the most significant wine critic in the world is you, for my part is only to stimulate a thirst for real wine.
Tasting notes and extended articles on each wine/winery/region will be posted over the coming month, click on each heading accordingly.
Cheers! Curtis Marsh – The Wandering Palate
Most Auspicious Wine for Chinese New Year 2012 – Year of the Black Water Dragon year
Pegasus Bay Prima Donna Pinot Noir 2009 – Waipara, New Zealand
Best Wine of the Year
Carpineto Vino Nobile di Montipulciano 2001 – Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy
Best Red Wine of the Year
Pegasus Bay Prima Donna Pinot Noir 2009 – Waipara, New Zealand
Best White Wine of the Year
Domaine Drouhin-Vaudon Chablis AC 2009 & 2010
http://www.thewanderingpalate.com/wanderings/cha-bliss/
Best Rose of the Year
Champagne Jacques Lassaigne Rose de Montgueux Extra Brut NV – Montgueux
Best Champagne of the Year
Ulysse Collin Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2007 – Côtes des Blancs
Best Sparkling Wine of the Year
Quartz Reef Methode Traditionnelle 2007 – Central Otago, New Zealand
Best Sweet Wine of the Year
Chateau Climens 2007 – Barsac, France
Best Wine with Cheese of the Year
Domaine Huet Le Haut-Lieu Vouvray Moelleux 1997 – Loire Valley, France
Best Fortified Wine of the Year
Emilio Lustau Centenary Selection Pedro Ximenez Murillo – Jerez, Spain
Biodynamic Property of the Year
Felton Road – Central Otago, New Zealand
Defining Wine Moment of the Year
Dinner with Jancis Robinson and Nick Lander
http://www.thewanderingpalate.com/wanderings/dinner-with-jancis-robinson-and-nicolas-lander-london/
Winery of the Year
Gembrook Hill – Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia
Vigneron of the Year
Jim Clendenon – Au Bon Climat
Best Winery Restaurant
Pegasus Bay – Waipara, South Island, New Zealand
Most Underappreciated Wine/Region
Vouvray – Loire Valley – Marc Bredif Vouvray 1996 – Loire Valley, France
Best Wine/s of the Year from the Cellar
1993 Bass Phillip Premium Pinot Noir – Leongatha South, Gippslands, Australia
Domaine Raspail-Ay Gigondas 1990 – Southern Rhone Valley, France
Best New Discovery Vineyard of the Year
Bella Ridge Estate – Swan Valley, Western Australia
Most Profound Wine Experience of the Year
Asia Symphony of Flavours – Burghound in Asia – Singapore
http://www.thewanderingpalate.com/events/asia-symphony-of-wine-and-flavours/
Pinot Noir Fix of the Year – most affordable with requisite pinosity
Two Paddocks Picnic Pinot Noir 2008 – Central Otago, New Zealand
Most Consistent Best Value Red Wine
E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2007 – Rhone Valley, France
Most Consistent Best Value White Wine
Kumeu River Village Chardonnay 2008 – Kumeu, North Auckland, New Zealand
New Zealand – Red Wine of the Year
Mount Edwards Pinot Noir 2009 – 3 cuvees – Central Otago, New Zealand
Morrison Vineyard – Lowburn
Muirkirk Pinot Noir – Bannockburn
Stevens Vineyard – Gibbston
New Zealand – White Wine of the Year
Felton Road Bannockburn Chardonnay 2009 & 2010
http://www.thewanderingpalate.com/must-have-wines/must-have-wine-of-the-week/
Australia – Red Wine of the Year
Bass Phillip Premium Pinot Noir 2009 – Leongatha South, Gippsland, Australia
Australia – White Wine of the Year
Giaconda Aeolia Rousanne 2008 – Beechworth, Victoria, Australia
USA – Red Wine of the Year
Domaine Drouhin Laurene Pinot Noir 2007 – Dundee Hills, Oregon, USA
USA – White Wine of the Year
Peter Michael La Carrière Chardonnay 2010 – Knights Valley, Sonoma County
France – White Wine of the Year
Hugel Gewurztraminer Vendage Tardive 2005 – Alsace, France
France – Red Wine of the Year
Chateau Chauvin 2005 – St. Emilion, France
Austria – White Wine of the Year
Huber Grüner Veltliner Berg 2009 – Traisental, Austria
Austria – Red Wine of the Year
Moric Neckenmarkt Blaufränkisch Alte Reben 2007- Mittelburgenland, Austria
Germany – Wine of the Year
Donnhoff Riesling Neiderhauser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese 2010 – Nahe
Italy – White Wine of the Year
Villa Russiz Sauvignon 2009 – Collio, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Italy – Red Wine of the Year
Sandrone Barbera d’Alba 2009 – Piedmont, Italy
Spanish – White Wine of the Year
Bodega Naia Naiades Verdejo (Old Vines) 2007 – D.O. Rueda, Valladolid, Spain
http://www.bodegasnaia.com/index.php
Spanish – Red Wine of the Year
Conde de Hervias Reserva 2004 (Old Vines); D.O.Ca Rioja, Spain
Wine Accessory of the Year
Riedel Mamba decanter
Wine Bar of the Year
Terroirs – London
Wine List of the Year – Asia
Iggy’s – Singapore
Sommelier of the Year – Asia
Khun Cha – Conrad Hilton Koh Samui
Wine List of the Year – Europe
Les Ambassadeurs – Hotel de Crillon
Sommelier of the Year – Europe
Simeray William – Les Ambassadeurs – Hotel de Crillon
Wine Merchant of the Year
Liberty Wines, UK
Asia region – Wine Merchant of the Year
Best Cellars – Thailand
Asia region – Specialist Importer of the Year
Sensus Wine Studio – My Little Spanish Place – Singapore
www.mylittlespanishplace.com.sg
Most Dynamic Wine Marketer of the Year
Nigel Greening – Vigneron/Proprietor
Most Dynamic Wine Industry Person on the Rise
Shalom Chin – Sommelier – Singapore
Best – Most Dynamic Wine Educator
Georg J Riedel
Favourite Wine Website of the Year
The Prince of Pinot
Most Trusted Authority on Wine of the Year
Andrew Jefford
Best Reference Wine Book of the Year
Cool Climate Wines 媒体资料白葡萄酒经典 by Michael Thurner & Susie Wu
http://www.thewanderingpalate.com/?p=5502
Wine Book of the Year (Global)
A Hedonist in the Cellar – Jay McInerney ISBN-10: 1400044820
http://www.amazon.com/Hedonist-Cellar-Adventures-Wine/dp/1400044820
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