How quickly time passes! A year has passed and it is time, once again, to take stock of the wines of the last twelve months. This year I have not made the podium in the championships in which I have participated, but that does not mean I have stopped living great moments around a bottle of wine. These are the twelve wines of the year (thirteen, because I include a duo) that, for one reason or another, have excited me.
1º) CHAMPAGNE LA CLOSERIE. LES BEGUINES.
I hadn’t drunk it in a while and when my friend David Carril gave it to us blindly, I enjoyed it a lot. Possibly the best pinot meunier I know.
2º) CHAMPAGNE BARADON MICHAUDET. MILLESIME 2007.
At Easter, my wife and I spent a few days in Champagne and stayed at the country hotel of the Baradon Michaudet winery, in Le Mesnil sur Oger, where Chardonnay reigns supreme. What a pleasant surprise to discover their wines!
3º) DOMAIN OF THE EAGLE. 2019.
Last year it was already on the list, although it was the Viñas Viejas and another vintage. Every time I drink this albillo I think of the top wines of Burgundy. Who hasn’t tried it, it’s too late.
4º) DOMAIN OF ATAUTA. LLANOS DEL ALMENDRO 2016.
A gift from my friend David from another friend, Jaime Suárez. A wine in which elegance and finesse coexist with robustness. A marvel.
5º) CONTINUE. VIÑA DEL OLIVO 2014.
My friend Gaspar gave us this wine blindly during one of our tastings at Marinetta Mía and it was another delight. An addictive freshness and subtlety.
6º) THE DUO LA RIOJA ALTA, SA. GRAN RESERVE 904. HARVEST 1990. AND CHATEAU DURFORT-VIVENS 2009.
I brought out this duo at the blind tasting that I had to organize in July. They were two of those wines that remain etched in memory for a long time. Two countries, completely different varieties, but with a historical common thread.
7º) CHATEAU ANGELUS 1995.
Possibly, this was the wine that I liked the most this year. There are many qualifiers for this wine, although I will leave it in one simple word: round. Drinking with my friends from the Benagéber Council.
8º) CHATEAU LE PUY. 2019.
It had been a while since I drank this merlot from Saint Emilion and this time I did it in Mevino, with my friends Vicente and Maricruz. Possibly the wine with the best quality-price ratio in Bordeaux.
9º) GUISEPPE MASCARELLO. MONPRIVATO 2017
Barolo, always barolo!, but if it is with a Mascarello Monprivato much better. One of the myths of Piedmont that should not be missed, at least once a year.
10º) GAJA. DAGROMIS. BAROLO 2017.
What was said for Monprivato is valid for this Dagromis. Gaja is another of the producers who turn everything they touch into liquid gold. Exceptional.
11º) LE RAGNAIE. BRUNELLLO DI MONTALCINO 2018.
We are still in Italy and this year I have taken a liking to Italian wines. I have been lucky enough to try this brunello on two occasions within a week of each other and I hope the third time is coming soon.
12º) BIONDI SANTI. BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011.
Once again I repeat the wine, although this time it was a 2011. Biondi Santi could be among my twelve wines of the year every year. Absolute fan.
Selecting the twelve wines of the year is not easy, since many have been enjoyed with different friends, so thank you to everyone with whom I have shared a wine in 2023, because it was surely a happy moment.