Cover Story:
The Wine Report’s annual top-50 list...

... is a great place to start your own journey to the pinnacle of the wine world

Text: Steve Stevens
Illustrations: Neal Aspinall

When I was nine years old, I stole a piece of candy from my sister’s purse. It was an Atomic Fireball, a candy with a bright red sugary coating that turns instantly into liquid when it touches human skin. Perhaps you can already see the sad ending coming: My mother caught me red-handed— literally—which made it a little tough for me to plead my innocence.

If you know the candy I mean, you might wonder why I risked so much for that little ball of hellfire. They don’t taste good in a traditional sense; in fact, eating one is sort of unpleasant. They’re so hard that they can chip a tooth, and they have almost no flavor—just a faint patina of sweetness that is quickly obliterated in a blinding flash of volcanic heat. Still, there was an excellent reason why I risked my mother’s wrath to get an Atomic Fireball: It was No. 1 on a “Top Ten Hottest Candies” list.

Such is the power of lists. They pique the curiosity because everyone naturally wonders who or what is No. 1 and if their favorite made the list. Lists challenge the intellect because every list creates disagreement and discussion among people interested in the subject. So, in our opinion, the arbitrary nature of lists does not make them irrelevant; instead, lists are fun and engaging precisely because
they’re arbitrary.

Consequently, I know our list isn’t necessarily more worthwhile than your own list. Is it possible you might like our No. 50 wine more than you like our No. 1 wine? Or that many of your favorites are not on this list? Of course, and that’s okay. Because we compiled this list from the more than 500 wines we tasted this year, there will be many wines familiar to you that are not represented here. That doesn’t mean they aren’t great wines; it just means we didn’t officially score them this year. Ultimately, no matter what you
think of our top 50 wines, one thing is certain: A group of qualified, experienced tasters found them to be extraordinary, so it would probably be worth your while to try them.

On the other hand, getting hold of some of these wines might be easier said than done. For instance, our No. 1 vino, the 2004 J. Rochioli Vineyards Pinot Noir, has been sold out at the winery since June. Still, the venerable Sonoma County winemaking family is happy about the ranking.

“Wow,” said Rochioli winemaker Tom Rochioli upon finding out his wine was named The Wine Report’s best of 2006. “ What an honor, thank you.” Although they could certainly sell more of their highly regarded Pinot Noir, Rochioli Vineyards is selling as much wine as they can make already. They made about 3800 cases of the ’ 04 vintage and about 4000 cases of the ’05.

“ We are definitely operating at capacity,” Rochioli said.

So how should you use this list? Take note of both the producers and the regions represented. Really great wine doesn’t happen by accident. For instance, Rochioli is a venerable estate with a sterling reputation for Pinot Noir. The ’04s may be gone, but it won’t be long before the ’05s are here. Get in line. Look also at the types of wine on the list. Italian Barolos made from the Nebbiolo grape and Spanish wines made from the Tempranillo grape are bunched together at the top of the list for a reason. The industry has been abuzz with talk of these categories’ excellence for some time now. If you try the Spanish and Italian wine houses you find here, you’ll likely get a great introduction to two of the premier wine categories in the world.

In the end, everyone decides for themselves which wine is their own personal No. 1 wine. But I can guarantee you one thing: This list is a fantastic place to start your journey to the top.

—Steve Stevens is Wine Report’s editor in chief.

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