Wines of the Year Tasting
A retrospective tasting puts eight top releases to the test
By Tim Fish
The Wine Experience seminars kicked off on Friday with the "moment of truth" tasting, as senior editor James Laube described it, when Wine Spectator assembled eight of its former Wines of the Year for a retrospective tasting.
"We get a chance to see how we did," Laube said of the editors who annually select the No. 1 wines, "and to see how the wines did, too."
The wines, which ranged from the 1990 Wine of the Year to the 2000, represented regions and winemaking styles from around the world. When the magazine selects its top wine, it considers quality, price and availability. In addition, editor-at-large Harvey Steiman explained, "There's also what we call the X-factor. It's really exciting to come across a wine that changes how we think about wine, and the wines we're about to taste all did that."
Leading off was the Château Pichon-Longueville-Baron Pauillac 1989, the 1992 Wine of the Year, which originally received a 98-point rating on Wine Spectator's 100-point scale and cost $45 on release. "Pichon was a sleeping beauty until the mid-1980s," when it was purchased by AXA Millésimes, said Christian Seely, managing director of the estate. "And this was the first wine that represented the renaissance of Pichon." The Pichon reflected the classic 1989 vintage, with beautiful black currant and mineral aromas, a juicy, supple texture and still-youthful structure.
Two Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons from different decades followed, illustrating how the appellation's wines have evolved. First was the Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Private Reserve 1986, the 1990 Wine of the Year, which originally received a score of 95 points and was released at $30. Winemaker Ed Sbragia said, "This is one of my favorite children. You have to make wines that please you, and this one pleased me a lot."
Next up was the 1994 Wine of the Year, the Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Special Selection 1990, which rated 98 points and cost $75 on release. Winemaker Chuck Wagner noted the similarities between the Bordeaux and the two older Napa Cabernets, adding that the two regions "have departed dramatically in style" since those days. Newer Napa wines are more about texture, Wagner noted, and less about trying to mimic Bordeaux's classic balance.
The final California wine in the group was the Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County Cinq Cépages 1996, the 1999 Wine of the Year, which was rated 95 points and cost $28 on release. Winemaker Margo Van Staaveren, who has worked at the winery for 25 years, said the key to Cinq Cépages is in the blend. St. Jean uses all five Bordeaux varieties and harvests grapes from diverse regions around Sonoma County. The wine remained rich and powerful. "I think this has a long way to go," Laube said.
Although the next wine came from Italy, it too was a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend, with some Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc added in. The Antinori Toscana Solaia 1997, which was named the 2000 Wine of the Year, rated 98 points and cost $115 on release. The super Tuscan "changed a lot of our perceptions of what could happen in Tuscany and Italy," Laube said. Still muscular and rich, the '97 is beginning to take on a new depth of elegance, but as Steiman told the crowd, "It's still a baby."
"In two months I will be celebrating my 40th anniversary," Piero Antinori said of his tenure leading the winery. "And my greatest emotion in that very long career was when I was told that Solaia was named Wine of the Year."
As Solaia boosted Italy's image, so the Penfolds Shiraz South Australia Grange 1990, which was the Wine of the Year in 1995, helped change the way Americans thought about Australian wines. Steiman said that Grange is a wine "that never dies. Go back to 1951, '52 and '53. Those wines are still gorgeous."
Winemaker Peter Gago said the 1990 Grange, which received a 97 rating and cost $100 on release, is cut from the same cloth as all Granges. "The objective is to evolve subtly but not to change the style. The great challenge is to make more of the wine and retain the quality."
Wrapping up the tasting were two 1994 vintage Ports, which shared the honor of 1997 Wine of the Year: Fonseca and Taylor Fladgate. Both wines received a perfect 100-point rating, but each cost only $55 on release, and the vintage itself won a near-perfect 99-point rating from Wine Spectator.
Adrian Bridge, managing director of both Port houses, told the group that one thing that made 1994 such a superlative vintage is that it allowed Fonseca and Taylor Fladgate to produce two distinctly different house styles. The Fonseca, he noted, was rich and voluptuous, while Taylor Fladgate was all about structure, poise and length.
In the end, all the wines faced their moment of truth with colors flying.
