the best wine in the world - top ten (rubbish!!)

[Ken Gargett]

This is done by winesearcher.com taking scores and averaging them, if they have at least five years. different critics get different “weights” to their opinion.

One suspects that they may have heavily weighted the American critics.

Personally, I think this is a load of rubbish, mostly.

 

The World's Best Wines

© Domaine Leroy | Lalou Bize-Leroy (L) in her beloved Burgundy vineyards.

We dig deep into our database to rank the critics' picks for the world's greatest wines.

By Natalie Sellers | Posted Thursday, 29-Mar-2018

To introduce Wine-Searcher's best wines in the world takes some courage – after all, how do you define "best"?

For one person the best building in the world could be the Taj Mahal, for its ivory beauty and passionate love story, for another it could be the Shanghai Tower for its engineering, high-speed elevators and green architecture. Both as different as they are brilliant.

So how on earth, you might wonder, can Wine-Searcher possibly rank the world's best wines, when wine is so particular to taste and opinion? Well, we've ranked them the only way we know how. None of the wines listed below are vintage specific, instead we have taken the average aggregated critic score (that's all the critic scores we have grouped together) across all vintages, and there must be at least five vintages available. Using this data, the final Bayesian critic score is calculated for each wine. The scores are weighted depending on the critic (that's the Bayesian bit), which is why they are not just straight averages.

To find our top 10, we simply drilled into our data and took the wines with the highest Bayesian scores to form our list. There are no prizes for guessing who's in it – Burgundy, tick; Napa Valley, tick; Bordeaux, tick; but like veteran gladiators, every spot on this list has been hard won and well earned.

So, in short, you may not agree – in fact you will probably strongly disagree – but all I can say is one man's meat is another man's poison and, as poison goes, these aren't half-bad if you ever manage to get a drop.

1. Domaine Leroy Chambertin Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits Taking top spot is Domaine Leroy the self-professed "Guardian of Great Wines". A regular guest on these lists, Leroy will appear a lot more in this article, showing owner Lalou Bize-Leroy is truly a force to be reckoned with. One of Burgundy's finest estates, Leroy's Pinot Noir is legendary. So much so that most people have more chance of stumbling across Pegasus ambling through a field than tasting this mythic drop. Founded in 1988, the domaine has always followed biodynamic principles in accordance with Bize-Leroy's firm beliefs that "everything is alive: the soil, the grounds, plants … as alive as animals and humans", and the resulting wines tend to be spectacular.

Burgundy specialist and Master of Wine, Clive Coates – also grappling with the concept of greatness – declared Domaine Leroy "the greatest estate in Burgundy … How do you determine great? Is it size? Is it quality? Is it price? Is it reputation (whatever that is)? Is it the amount of media coverage? However you do compute it, the greatest domaines of Burgundy today must be those under the control of Lalou Bize: The Domaine Leroy and her own Domaine d'Auvenay." So, there you have it, taking the crown for best wine in the world is the Leroy Chambertin Grand Cru with a Bayesian high score of 97 points and a frankly plutocratic average price tag of $4426.

2. Leroy Domaine d'Auvenay Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune Next, it's her other estate, Domaine d'Auvenay. Originally run by Bize-Leroy's husband, Marcel Bize, who passed away in 2004, Bize-Leroy naturally picked up the reins. The estate is also home to the hunting lodge she and her husband resided in up until his death and which she continues to live in. Like Domaine Leroy, Domaine d'Auvenay is biodynamic and produces notoriously small vintages. Small but perfect, which is why the Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru is #2 on our list with a Bayesian critic score of 96.7, yep there's only 0.3 separating the two wines. However, if you thought Domaine Leroy was expensive, the Chevalier-Montrachet's average price of $5500 should reassure you that, yes, it can and does get crazier.

3. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits Turning to another Burgundian juggernaut, the powerhouse DRC, which famously fired Bize-Leroy from her position as co-chair for being too successful. It's no surprise that their Grand Cru comes in at number three on this list. The closest Burgundy comes to having a brand, the DRC label is instantly recognizable and, by the same token, highly susceptible to forgery. Owned since 1942 by two families, de Villaine and Roch, with the contentious influence of Leroy, the key figures are Aubert de Villaine, who is by all accounts a humble man sharply aware of the responsibility of preserving DRC's distinguished reputation, and Henri-Frédéric Roch. De Villaine, despite being a Burgundy man at heart, has a rich knowledge that reaches far beyond France. He spent some time in California, his wife is American, and he was part of judging panel that made history at the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting.

After some initial trials, the DRC estate went wholly biodynamic in 2007. De Villaine does, however, still prize tradition and employs a horse called Mickey to plow the land. Mickey has proven popular amongst the Burgundians and is occasionally borrowed by neighbors to work their vineyard plots. So, what makes DRC wines so good? As tempting as it may be to credit Mickey, it's only fair and accurate to say the wines are this good because of the perfect vineyards on perfect locations and the expertise of an experienced team. So, DRC's flagship wine comes in with a Bayesian score of 96.6, and an eye-watering average price of $17,790.

4. Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits Hot on the heels of DRC is the irrepressible Leroy – yes, she wasn't going to be away for long. Fourth on our list is yet another spectacular and spectacularly unaffordable Pinot Noir, her Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru. A hair's breadth of a point behind DRC at 96.5, you can rest assured this is sublime stuff. And at $8732 you can buy two, almost three for the same price as DRC. That's Burgundian bargain-hunting for you.

© Maitre de Chai | Early morning pruning at Abreu's Thorevilos vineyard.

5. Abreu Vineyard Thorevilos Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Finally breaking from free from the Pinot-Noir-soaked shackles of Burgundy, we go to sunny California and Cabernet. Founded in 1980 by David Abreu, whose resumé includes illustrious estates Harlan and Screaming Eagle, Abreu Vineyards in the Napa Valley specializes almost exclusively in single-site Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Drawing from the four key vineyard sites –  Madrona Ranch, Capella, Las Posadas and Thorevilos – dotted around St Helena and Howell Mountain, it is the latter that makes our list. Described as "one of David's favorite haunts as a child", Thorevilos is technically a bit of a floater. Sitting in between St Helena and Howell Mountain AVAs without strictly belonging to either, Abreu himself describes it as "an outlier". However, that hasn't stopped it getting top marks from Robert Parker across several vintages. Our own Bayesian score rates it at 96.4 and for an average of $573 it's pretty much a steal in Burgundy terms.

6. Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Next up is the notorious Screaming Eagle. Founded by Jean Phillips in 1986, who built it up with the help of Richard Peterson and his winemaker daughter, Heidi Peterson Barrett. Heidi happens to be married to Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena, whose wine famously won the 1976 Paris Tasting where our previous character, Aubert de Villaine was judge – it's a small world when it comes to the crème de la crème. With a Bayesian score of 96.4, Screaming Eagle is at the top of its game. Despite all the noise, it's actually quite a shy bird with limited goods. If you're keen to grab some of its stunning Cab, there's a waiting list you need to join and "Please note that you will only be contacted by Screaming Eagle once you have moved from the waiting list to the active member list". All in all, pretty exclusive stuff. And if you think you can bypass all that and simply just visit the winery, you’re out of luck – due to the extremely small quantity of wine produced they don't offer tastings or tours. It's tempting to think that it's all got a bit too much and they would just like everyone to calm down – a rebrand as Whispering Eagle, perhaps, or Very Quiet Eagle? But as they're raking it in at an average of $3542 a bottle, that's probably unlikely.

7. Château d'Yquem, Sauternes Moving back to France, we find our first and only Bordeaux – and it's not even a red. But it is perhaps the most famous sticky there is. Yquem has been going some 400 years and has a history as rich as it is long. The estate originally belonged to the Duke of Aquitaine, who also happened to be the King of England. However, at the end of the Hundred Years' War in 1453, the pesky Anglais were moved on and Charles VII brought the land back under French control where it remains. And it was under the careful custody of the Sauvage family, where the estate really came into its own during the gilded reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV. By the 1780s, the wine had already gathered fans such as Thomas Jefferson, showing it’s growing international reputation. It was Françoise Joséphine de Sauvage d'Yquem, a young widow, who developed the estate into the business we know today. With a Bayesian score of 96.4, this golden drop comes #7 on our list. And with an average price of $486 it's also the most affordable, although it still probably doesn't qualify as cheap.

8. Harlan Estate, Napa Valley Enough French frivolity, it's back to Napa. Harlan Estate is famous for its Oakville AVA Cabernet Sauvignon, and it has earned five 100-point scores from Robert Parker down the years. Founded in 1984 by William "Bill" Harlan, a decidedly ambitious man who originally made his money in property, the estate was the end result of a cocktail of factors including an inspirational trip to France, organized by Californian legend, Robert Mondavi; a natural love of wine; and a deep desire to build a legacy. It was over in France that Bill was exposed to the historical nature of many of the estates and decided to form his own 200-year plan; the aim to build a family name equal to Rothschild or Taittinger. In short, Harlan Estate is Bill's answer to the French First Growths. But as Napa is full of well-heeled estates with limited wines and slick marketeers, what sets Harlan Estate apart? Well, he really did have to tame a hillside to create it; not only did trees need to be cleared and rocks moved, but new roads had to be built. It was and still is a labor of love and if Bill's big ideas go to plan you will still be able to buy a bottle of Harlan in 2184 unless the apocalypse or (more likely) global warming strikes. Our Bayesian score of 96.3 confirms this as one of Napa's greats and, at an average price of $991, it remains loftily exclusive. 

9. Domaine Leroy Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits A final hurrah from reigning champion, as Domaine Leroy Romanee-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru comes in at #9. Perhaps we should have a 'Best Of" just for Leroy, as it's crystal clear that all of her wines are really rather good. This one has a score of 96.3 and an average price tag of $3675, making it the cheapest of her wines to grace this list. Go on, treat yourself.

10. Schrader Cellars Old Sparky Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Last but certainly not least is the cheerily named Old Sparky from Schrader Cellars. Inspired by an auction of Napa Valley wines in 1988, Fred Schrader, aka "Old Sparky", set off to make world-class Cabernet Sauvignon. But not just any Napa Cab Sauv; Fred fell in love with the particular expressions from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville. Naturally that then became the basis for a deep, longstanding partnership with grower, W. Andrew Beckstoffer. With grapes secured, Fred then set about finding a winemaker and Thomas Rivers Brown soon joined the team. Since then the team has expanded to include Fred’s wife Carol and their golden retriever pup, Rocky. So, what of the Old Sparky Cab? Described as "an ode to our fearless leader" (perhaps signified by the fire-breathing dragon on the bottle), Old Sparky is a blend of the very best Beckstoffer To Kalon barrels. With a Bayesian score of 96.2 and the rockstar price of $630, Old Sparky finishes our list off with a bang.

 

[Ken Gargett]

actually, just looking at this again has made me rather grumpy. i know that there are people out there who swear by madame leroy and sure, she makes brilliant wines, at obscene prices, but i have never had a leroy wine that has really thrilled me - some exceptional ones, sure, but DRC, so many times. they are kidding if la tache or DRC richebourg or mugnier musigny or roumier et al are not at least as deserving. rousseau chambertin? and as much as i love burgundy, you'd swear that that there was bugger all but burgundy and napa. no great italians? no red bordeaux? no champagne? no this/that/the other? 

what an utterly useless list. 

[ayepatz]

All these top ten lists are totally subjective, and somebody always has an agenda, or an axe to grind, in my view.

Of all the wines, in all the world, four of the top ten are made by the same maker?

Sounds to me like the worst type of cronyism.

[Colt45]

13 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

actually, just looking at this again has made me rather grumpy.

As well you should be - knowing as we all do that Barolo is the king of wines....

[cigaraholic]

Piss on all the CA wines...they’re overpriced jokes, no perfume in there DNA. You can never argue with d’Yquem and DRC!

[Ken Gargett]

5 hours ago, Colt45 said:

As well you should be - knowing as we all do that Barolo is the king of wines....

right up there. 

[PapaDisco]

I still think it would be fun if you'd post your annual best guess for wine futures worth buying.  

[Ken Gargett]

37 minutes ago, PapaDisco said:

I still think it would be fun if you'd post your annual best guess for wine futures worth buying.  

so i can send everyone broke, not just myself?

[PapaDisco]

1 hour ago, Ken Gargett said:

so i can send everyone broke, not just myself?

Ha!  Just for fun.  I promise I'll only get a little and not hold you responsible at all!!  

[Luca]

@DirtyHarry this may interest you. Have a read!

[BrightonCorgi]

No Monfortino, no Nacional???