Acquired Tastes

Our 101 Favourite Wines of 2009

It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it: condense a year's worth of tasting into one single list of the most interesting wines of 2009. From bubblies and Bordeaux to port and pinot noir, we swirled, sniffed, sipped and swallowed to bring you this, our annual Top 101 list of the most notable potables of the year.

1)	96 Roederer 2002 Cristal Champagne Champagne, France $265-$280
	Very tiny, continuous mousse. Clean cherry, citrus, toasty, mineral nose, with green apple, honey, floral aromas. Dry, crisp, creamy, fine mousse, with a rich, but refined, elegant and balanced palate. Big green apple, nutty, toasty, light garlic lees, floral, lime, lemon, honey and cherry flavours. Very dry, long and elegant style, with crisp acidity and the ability to age for at least 2 decades, but you can open this anytime. Excellent quality. (ST)
2)	96 Quinta do Crasto 2005 Vinha Maria Teresa Douro Mixed Vines Douro Superior, Douro Valley, Portugal $130-$140
	The '05 Maria Teresa is stunning thanks to its mix of 30 different grape varieties pulled from 90-year-old vines that get midday sun but are in the shade all afternoon. It's all handpicked and crushed by foot before fermenting in open temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks. The wine is black, the fruit dark, sweet and concentrated with spicy cinnamon laced with chocolate and vanilla. Impressive, to say the least, and showing even more finesse than the regular Crasto labels. Hold until 2015 for best results. (AG)
3)	96 Penfolds 2004 Bin 95 Grange Shiraz South Australia $300-$450
	The ‘04 mixes Barossa fruit with fruit from McLaren Vale and McGill. The fruit mix, which spends 16 months in new American oak, is 96 percent shiraz and 4 percent cabernet sauvignon. The colour is dark to the edge and the nose fragrant with bits of cola, dried herbs and black tea. The palate is full and already seamless, something that bodes well for a long life. Look for plums, spice and more tea in what is a blockbuster effort. Buy and cellar for decades. (AG)
4)	96 Krug N/V Grande Cuvée Champagne, France $250-$280
	Look for a light yellow colour, fine, continuous mousse and a nutty, toasty, mineral, earthy nose with floral, almond, quince and spicy, baked apple aromas. Crisp, elegant and dry, but structured, with high acidity and fine, creamy mousse. Nutty, toasty, citrus, honey, quince, lemon, floral, rhubarb, tobacco, earthy, mineral flavours and a persistent dry, rich finish, with lots of nuts and lemon. More intense and concentrated than almost any other Champagne, but also austere and drier. Ready to drink now, but will hold for many years. (ST)
5)	96 Jim Barry 2005 The Armagh Shiraz Clare Valley, South Australia $170-$230
	The single vineyard Armagh is a force to be reckoned with and the 2005 vintage is outstanding. Rich, dark and inky black, it has all the hallmarks of a blockbuster shiraz swimming in boysenberry, blueberries and spicy toasted oak. The wine is only a baby and will need more than a decade of cellar time to show its true form. If you are brave enough to drink it now, be sure to double decant and let it breathe for 90 minutes. (AG)
6)	95 Taittinger 1998 Comtes de Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne, France $220-$250
	If there is one Champagne we can never get enough of it is the elegant Taittinger Comtes de Champagne. Look for baked apple, citrus, creamy, floral, nutty, brioche, peach and mineral aromas. Very fine mousse on the palate, with a creamy texture and persistence. Delicate, with creamy, toasty, lees, spicy, baked green apple, mineral and citrus flavours. Fresh, crisp, dryer brut style, with great finesse and acidity. A bit tight now, this will improve with 3 to 5 years of age. (AG)
7)	95 Signorello 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, California, United States $60-$80
	From the moment you smell the bouquet, you are drawn to this very special bottle. The winery's 18-year-old vines have clicked into overdrive and the wine shows it. Polished black fruit with specks of vanilla and spice captivate the nose and palate, along with a vibrancy and tension that is rare in Napa. Love the finesse here, the tannin management, the fruit and the acidity. One beautiful bottle for the price and this will only improve over the next decade. (AG)
8)	95 Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils 2006 Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru Chevalier-Montrachet, Côte de Beaune, Côte d'Or, Burgundy, France $340-$360
	Very fine, spicy, floral, butter, honey, mineral, quince, pear skin, cream, baked apple, anise, vanilla, toasty oak and lees nose. Dry, crisp, full and round, but juicy and structured. Lemon, butter, green apple, toasty lees, vanilla, honey, slate, floral and pear flavours. Long, elegant, juicy finish. Delicious, but you pay the price for such limited production. Supremely classy, this wine will age for years. (ST)
9)	95 De Angeles 2007 Gran Malbec Vistalba District, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina $55-$70
	This is a terrific bottle of wine made with selected grapes planted in 1924. Big aromatic, spicy, peppery, cedar, coffee, mocha, vanilla, garrigue, savoury, black cherry jam and black plum aromas. Rich, round, dry, suave, elegant palate packed with flavour and fine-grained tannins. Coffee, vanilla, cedar, black cherry jam, black liquorice, fig, garrigue, spicy, savoury, tobacco flavours. Great finish, length and finesse, not extracted, but finely balanced. Will age nicely for 3 to 7 years. (ST)
10)	94 Vina Cobos 2006 Nico Perdriel District, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina $190-$210
	A blend of 63/37 cabernet sauvignon/malbec. Very floral, waxy, spicy, garrigue, liquorice, tobacco, peppery, blackberry jam, black cherry, cassis, barnyard, saddle leather, coffee, vanilla and black olive aromas. Rich, ripe, round, full and supple palate with grainy tannins. Very concentrated and intense, with cassis jam, black cherry jam, savoury, allspice, tobacco, coffee, black olive, smoky tea, liquorice root and graphite flavours. Needs 3 to 5 years to fully soften. No lack of intensity here. (ST)
11)	94 Vérité 2004 Le Désir Sonoma County, California, United States $240-$300
	Peppery, spicy, tobacco, meaty, saddle leather, coffee, orange peel, chocolate, green olive, spicy, savoury aromas. Rich, round, full and supple, with fresh acidity and grainy tannins. Coffee, leather, liquorice, orange, vanilla, peppery, spicy, black tea, plum jam and black cherry flavours. Good finesse and intensity, with good fruit and complexity. Young and a bit hot, this wine needs 5 to 7 years, but has very good potential. (AG)
12)	94 Tapanappa Etages 2005 Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide, Australia $70-$90
	This wine is a knockout punch for Oz chardonnay that gets little respect on the world stage. The 2005 vintage was a cool one in the Piccadilly Valley, and you can taste it in the wine. The nose is an intriguing mix of spicy lees and peachy fruit, with a firm line of acidity. Even at 4 years, it remains fresh and vital on the palate, with a fine, long, complex finish. This is a very exciting wine. Another label to join Yattarna in the Aussie assault on Burgundy. (AG)