CA
Wines of the Year: The Winners
After
two rounds of tastings, sorting through over 100 total
entries, we're finally ready to reveal our wines of the year.
The
finalists in each category (as selected by the members of our
tasting panel who work or have worked in the wine industry)
were tasted in flights by non-industry members of our panel
as well as a handful of invited guests. Everyone who voted enjoys
wine and drinks it it on a regular basis, but certainly are
not experts. In essence, they are simply members of the general
wine-buying public, and since consumers do most of the purchasing,
our thinking was they'd be best suited to pick our wines of
the year. Each participant was told to vote for the wine they
felt should win each category.
Winners
of each category are listed below with the percentage votes
they received.
Honorable
Mentions are also listed by category. They include any wines
that also received votes. Finalists that did not garner votes
have been omitted.
2011
CA Bordeaux Wine of the Year
click
on label to enlarge |
Steele
Wines 2008 Stymie Merlot (Lake County): 33%
Honorable
Mentions:
Steven Kent 2008 Petite Verdot (Livermoe Valley): 27%Round
Pond 2008 Estate Cabernet (Napa Valley): 20%
Hunt Cellars 2005 Cab-Ovation (Paso Robles): 20%
See the
other entries and category finalists here.
|
2011
CA Rhone Red Wine of the Year
|
Hunt
Cellars 2006 Que Sirah, Syrah (Paso Robles): 100%
Honorable
Mentions:
t(none)
See the
other entries and category finalists here.
|
2011
CA Pinot Noir of the Year
|
J.
Lohr 2009 Fog's Reach (Paso Robles): 27%
Honorable
Mentions:
La Rochelle 2008 Sonoma Coast: 20%
Dieberg 2007 Pinot (Santa Barbara): 20%
McIntyre Vineyards 2009 SLH (Monterey County): 20%
Calcareous 2009 York Mountain (Paso Robles): 6.5%
Ampelos Cellars 2006 Pinot (Santa Barbara): 6.5%
See the
other entries and category finalists here.
|
2011
CA "Other" Red Wine of the Year
|
Midnight
Cellars 2008 Estate Zinfandel (Paso Robles): 53%
Honorable
Mentions:
Summit Lake 2007 Zinfandel (Napa Valley): 40%
Cedarville 2009 Zinfandel (El Dorado County): 7%
See the
other entries and category finalists here.
|
2011
CA Chardonnay of the Year
|
Ferrari-Carano
2009 Reserve (Napa Valley): 34%
Honorable
Mentions:
McIntyre Vineyards 2009 SLH (Monterey County): 27%
Mitchell Katz 2010 Shadow Hills (Livermore Valley): 13%
Alma Rosa 2007 El Jabali Vineyard (Santa Barbara): 13%
Steele Wines 2009 Cuvee (Lake County): 13%
See the
other entries and category finalists here.
|
2011
CA "Other" White Wines of the Year (Tie)
|
Scheid
Vineyards 2009 Pinot Blanc (Monterey County): 34%
Lone Madrone 2009 Points West White (Paso Robles): 34%
Honorable
Mentions:
Peju Provence (Napa Valley): 27%
Yorkville Cellars 2009 Eleanor of Aquitaine (Mendocino
County): 13%
See the
other entries and category finalists here.
|
2011
CA Port/Dessert Wine of the Year
|
Hunt
Cellars 2000 "Oldie But Goodie" (Paso Robles):
87%
Honorable
Mentions:
Ventana Vineyards 2010 Orange Muscat (Monterey County):
6.5%
Murrieta's Well 2010 Livermore Valley Port: 6.5%
See the
other entries and category finalists here.
|
Congratulations
to all the winners!
May 2012 be just as wonderful a year for wine!
By
Jason Barlow