Wine Spectator reveals Top 10 wines for 2014 - LA Times

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Daily Dish
The inside scoop on food in Los Angeles

Wine Spectator reveals Top 10 wines for

2014

Wine Spectator's top 100 of 2014 (Wine Spectator)

By S. IRENE VIRBILA
NOVEMBER 14, 2014, 5:10 PM

ver the last few days, Wine Spectator magazine has done its annual slow reveal
of the Top 10 wines from the Wine Spectator Top 100 list. And this year, when
the No. 1 wine came up today, it wasnt a Bordeaux, a California Cabernet, a

Spanish Rioja or an Italian Barolo. The shocker is that its a wine from Portugal and a
port.
Port? Id be hard-pressed among my wine drinking friends to find many who drink vintage
port these days. But port has been making inroads on the cocktail scene, and if you dig deep
enough you can find a number of lighthearted port cocktails around town.
Wine Spectators No. 1 wine this year is Dows Vintage Port 2011. Here's what the
magazines judges have to say about it: In 2011, port surged to remarkable heights of
quality, with some vintners declaring it the best vintage in 50 years. The Dows Vintage Port

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2011 was the highest-scoring wine of the vintage at 99 points, or 'classic' on Wine
Spectator's 100-point scale. It is a fine value for its category at $82 a bottle, and 5,000 cases
were made."
But get this, two other Portuguese wines from the Douro River Valley cracked the Top 10
this year, a remarkable feat for Portugal. They're the 2011 Prats & Symington Douro
Chryseia with 97 points ($55) at No. 3 and the 2011 Quinta Do Vale Meao Douro also with
97 points ($76) at No. 4.
Its worth noting that all three Portuguese wines are from that heralded 2011 vintage, and
that Nos. 3 and 4 are dry reds made from the same grapes that go into port.
Other wines in the Top 10 include two Australian wines, the 2012 Mollydooker McLaren
Vale Shiraz Carnival of Love with 95 points ($75) at No. 2. And surprise, not another big
fleshy red, but the 2011 Leeuwin Chardonnay Margaret River Art Series with 96 points
($89) at No.5.
France, the worlds top producer, rings in with two wines, the 2012 Clos des Papes
Chateauneuf-du-Pape, always a top performer, with 97 points ($135) at No. 7, and a classic
Bordeaux from Chateau Loville Las Cases and the 2011 vintage with 95 points ($165) at
No. 10.
Italy has just one wine in the Top 10 and it's a Chianti Classico: 2010 Castello di Ama
Chianti Classico San Lorenzo Gran Selezione with 95 points ($55) at No. 6.
What about California? The sole wine in the Top 10 comes from our own backyard. Its the
2012 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills with 94 points and a price tag of $40! So
the No. 8 wine costs half of the vintage port at No. 3, a third of the Chateauneuf at No. 7 and
a quarter of the Bordeaux at No. 10.
Greg Brewer and Steve Clifton deserve a shout out. Think of it: Of the thousands of wines
tasted by Wine Spectator staff, their Santa Rita Hills Pinot is No. 8 in the world. The
recognition is so new they havent even managed to put it up on their website yet.
The Top 10 wines are featured at Wine Spectators site now. But youll have to wait until
Monday, Nov. 17, for the full list.
Follow @sirenevirbila for more on food and wine.
Copyright 2014, Los Angeles Times

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