2005 Top 100 Introduction If, on looking through the wines I have chosen for this year?s Top 100, you think I have been unduly kind, just remember these have come from a total field of over 10,000 wines. The pre-qualified process I necessarily employ to avert up to half of these arriving at already stretched resources means that 1233 crossed the starting line. From this point on, there were a series of elimination steps to arrive at the Top 100 which I briefly outline (in numeric terms) at the start of each group. While the majority of the criteria aimed at ensuring a balance of variety, style and maker were the same as in prior years, I decided to pay particular attention to two issues: the closure and the alcohol of each wine. The latter question has led to an innovation this year: to show the alcohol of each wine. While the numbers are simply objective facts, there is a line in the sand behind the numbers. In reviewing my tasting note for each wine, I paid attention both to the closure (more of which in a moment) and the alcohol level. Road safety and alcohol abuse to one side (however important they may be) there are real issues and concerns from a quality/sensory viewpoint about the elevated levels of alcohol affecting Australian chardonnay (in the white wine sector) and all red varieties and styles. It is true that part of the red equation can be loosely called the Parker Factor. The United States is an export market of enormous importance to Australia, both at the yellow tail price point all the way to the top of the quality tree. Never forget that while economy class accounts for well over 95 per cent of all passengers, airline images and reputations are driven by what happens up front. By and large, it is the red wines (typically shiraz) with alcohol levels at or above 15?? which have attracted the most attention, and highest prices from consumers who believe Parker is indeed the emperor of wine, with papal infallibility. Many of these are what I might call ?trophy wines?, not in wine show parlance, but big game hunting. So to the line in the sand. I have given preference in most instances to medium-bodied wines with an alcohol level below 15??, the exceptions doing no more than proving the rule. A lesser weighting has been put on the closure, simply because the winemakers have been doing the job for me. Virtually all the young white wines submitted had screwcap closures. Some of the exceptions were designer or proprietary bottles which don?t come in screwcap conformations, and wines predominantly headed for export markets (Jacob?s Creek, yellow tail and so forth). The other exception was six or seven-year-old white wines (Hunter semillons, South Australian rieslings) which, in the years ahead, will come with screwcaps. Needless to say, a lower percentage of red wines came with screwcaps, but even here it was noticeable that technical closures (Diam, ProCork and Twin-Top) were often preferred to one-piece natural corks. There was less premeditation when it came to choosing between big company and small company wines. Excluding the 12 champagnes, 20 per cent (22 out of 88) of the wines chosen came from the big companies, 80 per cent from smaller producers, because ? as in prior years ? I have deliberately sought to present the widest possible spread of maker, variety, region and style. Enough of such boring protocols. Last year I was very happy with the quality of the selections, taking particular strength from the 2002 vintage reds and older vintage white wines, the concerns lying chiefly with the 2004 white wines. Once again, nature has smiled on this lucky country. There is no doubt the large 2005 vintage has produced white wines of exceptional quality right across the board, and all my intelligence reports suggests the red wines will be equally good. In the meantime, there is a veritable smorgasbord of both white and red wines from the 2001 to 2004 vintages (plus those 2005 aromatic or unwooded) to choose from. In the end, I found the choice so difficult you will find there are 101 wines in the Top 100: I simply couldn?t bring myself to delete one from the final list when I realised I had one too many. Moreover, there are so many wonderful wines which were arbitrarily excluded, I will devote some of my forthcoming weekly columns to look at these wines grouped on a variety-by-variety basis. Key to closure abbreviation - C Cork, S Screwcap, SY Synthetic, TT Twin-Top Cork Please select from the sections below:
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Nov 19 2005 | Author: James Halliday
