by Fred McMillin
for December 27, 2001

One in a Thousand...

Our Best Wine of the Year

The terraced vineyards of Renaissance in the winter.

During 2001 we tasted about a thousand candidates for Best Wine. Here are the top bottles, the best of each varietal and the best of other categories. That is, the list shows our best Chardonnay, our best Merlot, etc. It also shows the best Chianti, the best Barolo, etc. The further you go down the list, the higher the rating, until you reach the Best of the Year. So, here's our...

Thirsty Thirty

Surprises So Far

St. Clement produced a top contender for our Best Wine of the Year.

1. Viognier ranked higher than Chardonnay in my blind tastings. (I'm a shameless Viognier booster.)

2. The Rancho Zabaco (Sonoma) Pinot Gris whipped a large number of native Gris/Grigio from France and Italy! Try it.

3. The little-known Negrette out-scored 14 bigger names.

4. Those old-vine Zinfandels really are better. The Folie à Deux Harvey Vineyard is one hundred twenty-nine years old!

Now, on to our...

Wine of the Year

It's the $120 Reserve Napa Valley 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon of Robert Mondavi. America's esteemed critic Robert Parker, Jr.'s opinion: "Explosive richness, marvelous extract, superb purity, impeccably well balanced." Little wonder that my panel gave it a near-perfect 98.

About the Writer Fred McMillin, a veteran wine writer, has taught wine history for 30 years on three continents. For information about the wine courses he teaches every month at either San Francisco State University or San Francisco City College (Fort Mason Division), please fax him at (415) 567-4468.

December 2001

"Houston, We Have A Problem!"
The Wines of Christmas
Our Best Buys of the Year 2001

Current WineWeek
WineWeek Archive

This page created December 2001

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