2015 Christophe Billon Cote Rotie "Les Elotins - I still remember tasting this out of barrel like it was yesterday. It was so dark, so saturated, so fresh, so deep and just incredible. It was my first 2015 Cote-Rotie I had out of barrel and it was beautiful and a portent of what was to come in the standout appellation of the 2015 Northern Rhone.
2015 Battenfeld Spanier Kirchenstuck Riesling GG - It was so hard to pick one wine of Battenfeld and one wine of the the Rheinhessen as 2015 was so exceptional there, but if I had to pick one it was the playful, deep, kinky Kirchenstuck GG. Complex, layered, yet fun and approachable, with great depth and almost a cheerful quality. Not foreboding like a lot of the young 15's.
2015 Martin Muellen Krover Kirchlay Riesling Spatlese Trocken ** - Martin's 15's are so outrageous it cannot be believed. This is the first dry Kirchlay in over 12 years. This wine is explosive, piquant, powerfully mineral and structured to last 25+ years. Insane wine. Just insane.
2013 Gilles Barge Cote Rotie La Cote Blonde - Brought this out to a dinner in mid September and it absolutely crushed the competition. 96 Giuseppe Mascarello Monprivato is nothing to sneeze at but this gorgeous bottle of Cote-Rotie did just that. So kinky and exotic and wonderfully sexy that it could be drunk young. La Cote Blonde was so great in 2013 that Barge bottled it separately. I can see why.
2014 Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly "Cuvée Zacharrie" - This wine is by far the best of the vintage. It's not close. At a tasting of 20 or so 14 and 15 Beaujolais, this towered above the rest for its serene quality. Everything in balance. It has a zen like balance to it along wine crazy concentration and old vine sap. Built for the long haul. This will age for 30 years.
2008 Brice Bouzy Grand Cru - Drank all 3 of my bottles this year. So much for aging it. It is that good. With urgent Pinot Noir fruit and such elegance and delicacy it can not be believed. Juicy and so long. This is and always will be a stunner.
NV Perseval-Farge La Pucelle 1er Cru Chamery Brut Nature - I drank all 3 of my bottles of this this year. Zero dosage single vineyard Pinot Noir does not get better than this. A stunning example of the right way to achieve no dosage and no severe screechage.
2015 Enderle & Moll Pinot Noir Muschelkalk - Simply put one of the best wines I have had in my life. An emotional experience.
1964 Burlotto Barolo - The king of Verduno blew my mind with this at a wonderful lunch at Mailano. Fresh as a daisy and perfectly mature. Haunting.
2010 Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos - Had a wonderful bottle of this at Au Fil du Zinc in Chablis and it was my 3rd bottle in the last 2 years. Endless length, insane texture, high pitched acids and just that extra thing that makes it one of the world's greatest wines.
Well this list had to eventually come as I would have to turn in my wine card if I did not do a top 10 list of my wines of the year. Many more young wines on the list than older as I'm an importer now and taste and drink an excessive amount of young wines. I just scrolled through my Tasting Note Blog, my Delectable and my memory and came up with this list.
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