The end of the year is always a fun time for wine lovers who enjoy the various end of year round up articles and coming year predictions various industry magazines come out with. For those who have been waiting for Wine Spectator's annual "The Top 100" Most Exciting Wines of 2011, the December 31, 2011 - January 15, 2012 issue is hitting the stands this week. Without revealing any of the top winners, here is a look at some of the stats and how Old World wines play in this year's awards.
2011 Top 100 by Region and Variety
This year, Old World wine barely squeaked out over 50% of the entire 100 wines on the list when you combine all the regions together. Here's a breakdown of how many wines from each these regions are included:
Austria had two mentions, Germany and Greece earned only one each, Portugal place four and Spain had seven wines on the list. The two regions with the most wines on the top 100 were France and Italy.
France (17)
- Alsace (1)
- Beaujolais (2)
- Bordeaux (2)
- Burgundy (1)
- Champagne (1)
- Languedoc/Roussillon (2)
- Loire (2)
- Rhone (6)
Italy (20)
- Northeast (3)
- Piedmont (5)
- Tuscany (10)
- Other (2)
Italy made a strong showing in the 2011 list after depleted supply last year. Tuscany leads the Italian wines on the list after a stellar 06 Brunello di Montalcino. For France, Rhone was the most decorated region with a strong 2009 harvest year.
In comparison, the biggest winner for New World wine was California with a staggering 28 wines on the 2011 list. Ironically, many California wine producers use some Old World wine techniques or styles in their wine making process today. This year brought an extraordinary number of quality Pinot Noir wines from the 09 vintage year, making it hard to narrow down to just four different options.
Facts on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Exciting Wines for 2011
No matter where the wine is from on this year's list, the average rating by Wine Spectator judges is 93. As compared to the 2010 list, the median price for the wines has dipped. Last year saw an average bottle price of $48, while the wines of 2011 dipped to $44 a bottle.
Wonder how many wines Wine Spectator editors tasted to compile this list of 100? Over the course of this year, they blind-tasted more than 16,000 new release wines. Of those 16,000 wines, 5,400 rated outstanding (90 points or above).
Criteria Utilized in the Top 100 Exciting Wines List
Wine Spectator editors have a set list of criteria they use when coming up with the winners. To start, the 5,400 wines that were rated 90 or above were initial candidates. They apply four different criteria to come up with final selections:
- Quality (as represented by score)
- Value (as reflected by release price)
- Availability (measured by case production); for international wines (the number of cases imported)
- X-Factor (they call excitement)
Of the top 10 wines on this year's top 100, six are Old World wines. The two Italians on the top 10 are understandably a Brunello di Montalcino and a Barolo. The three French wines include a Vouvray Chenin Blanc, a Syrah, and Grenache blend. The last Old World wine on the top 10 is a red wine from Portugal.
Erin De Santiago - Erin is a freelance travel, food/wine, & Disney writer in Taipei, Taiwan, who has traveled within 40+ different countries to date.
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