Naming a wine of the year is an annual ritual for me.  Over my many years in wholesale, near the end of each December, I would always highlight a wine I thought was exceptional.  Since the central idea behind Serendipity is to bring to the retail market, the experience, passion, and insider knowledge of a seasoned wholesale professional, I thought it appropriate that I continue this tradition, but direct it instead to the “real” wine drinking public rather than limit it to my former retail and restaurant customers.

In selecting my wine of the year, I should say I’m not necessarily interested a wine with the most prestigious pedigree, highest price, or best scores. Rather, I’m interested in recognizing and bringing to the attention of my customers, a wine that’s truly singular, across the board.  I have been fortunate to taste through a lot of excellent wine this past year, much of it while building my portfolio. Notable wines of 2007 would include Edmunds St. John Bassetti Vineyard Syrah 2003 ($41.99 a bottle).  What a fabulous bottle!  Steve is one of the few true believers left in California, and makes, to my mind, some of the best and most authentic new world wines on the market today.  Others include Alto Moncayo 2004 ($42.99 a bottle), Chappellet Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 ($49.99 a bottle) and Echevin Côtes du Rhône Villages 2005 ($21.99 a bottle).  There were many other similarly impressive wines as well, but I’m not interested in praising the established great growths of the new and old world, as these wines get enough attention on their own.  What I’m looking for is a wine with verve and personality, a wine that grabs and holds your attention, and ideally does so without breaking the bank. Before getting on to the wine, please indulge a related anecdote, presented below, as it provides necessary context for my choice for Wine of the Year.

The other day, my husband came running through the house with a copy of The Wine Spectator in hand yelling, “Ann, did you see this?”  When he found me, he placed the open magazine in my lap and said, “Do you believe it?  Clos des Papes is Wine of the Year!”  I said, “I know.”  You see his excitement stems from the fact that we consider Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape “our wine.”  This is because about fifteen years ago (long before the mainstream American press caught on); I was the proverbial sales rep crying in the wilderness to any customer willing to listen to my unqualified endorsement of the wine.  I had to really struggle to get a few placements on the wine, but after some hard convincing on my part, one retailer I had known for years took two bottles. Unfortunately, the bottles sat languishing on the shelf for weeks if not months.  Then one week I came in on my usual sales call, and they were gone.  “Sold’em,” I was told by the proprietor, guessing my question by the look on my face.  He hesitated a minute as he thought of bringing it back into stock, but then said “okay, I’ll take two more bottles.”  The next week I went in and low and behold those two bottles were also sold!  This went on for several weeks, much to my joyful astonishment.  Then one day, I was running very late, and didn’t make it to the shop for my sales call until 5:00 in the evening.  While I was there, a customer walked in, and one of the employees said to me, “Let me introduce you to the person who has been buying all of that Clos des Papes… Ann Busch meet Chuck Boucher.”  It was love at first wine.  So now on every anniversary, we crack a bottle Clos des Papes and toast Paul Avril (proprietor of Clos des Papes) for his part in bringing us together.  Of course, it has become much more expensive than it was back then, and this will only get worse now that the Wine Spectator has pointed it out to everybody. Sadly, the days of getting this wine for about $25 a bottle are long gone, but I am very happy to see the winery getting the recognition I knew it always deserved.

I offer this story to point-out the value of tasting independently, rather than following the critics.  This has and will always be my approach to wine.  I react to the wines, and evaluate them accordingly, regardless of what the critics may or may not say; and to be perfectly frank, it has at times put me well-ahead of the curve.  Chave Hermitage comes to mind.  Twenty years ago I was simply enthralled with the wine, but could hardly give it away.  I’m not kidding here; it was a “hard to move wine” back then.  Similarly, fifteen years ago, Clos des Papes and Alban Syrah, where real tough sells. At that time, John Alban was planning to grub up his Syrah vines in favor of Chardonnay.  Please understand, I’m making no claim that I had anything to do with the rise of Chave Hermitage and the like, but proudly, I was among the few in the mid-west trade who saw these producers for what they where… brilliant!  These wines are now iconic and considered luxury brands, commanding three digit price tags. Well, along similar lines, I think an argument can be made for my choice for the 2007 Wine of the Year.  Perhaps, fifteen years from now this wine just may be a darling of the both The Wine Advocate and The Wine Spectator, complete with the attendant hefty price tags and tightly allocated distribution. My choice for ‘07 wine of the year is the 2005 Kinkead Ridge Petit Verdot ($19.99 a bottle). My reasons for this choice and the long introduction are simple; the wine is very good and by industry standards is completely unknown.  Furthermore, consider that the vineyards are still young and owners, Ron Barrett and Nancy Bentley, have literally and figuratively only scratched the surface of their site.  Given the high quality I have observed thus far, I do predict big things from Ripley in the future.  Chave Hermitage big? Perhaps not, but I think Kinkead Ridge is producing exciting and novel wines, while at the same time quite literally giving birth to a new fine wine region.  For this alone they merit high praise and loyal patronage.

Kinkead Ridge Petit Verdot 2005 Tasting Notes (kinda)

Upon receiving my allocation of the 2005 Petit Verdot from Kinkead Ridge, I brought a bottle home to try with my husband.  That evening, I gave it to him blind, as I often do, so as to get his honest reaction. He swirled and took a good sniff.  Over the glass, he raised his oversized eyebrows and threw a hopeful glace my way. He then took a sip, chewed and slurped the wine for a moment.  “Very nice! Definitely French,” he announced, “but I can’t quite place it.”  I quickly retorted that it was Petit Verdot from Kinkead Ridge.   He quickly swallowed the remainder of his small sample and dashed for the bottle.  Truth be told, I drank my full glass in a few moments and followed right behind him, as I wanted another look, as the wine was quickly opening-up.   Although we have been strong advocates of this producer since our founding, we had yet to try any of their Petit Verdot. We refilled our glasses and almost drank the whole bottle in a half hour, toasting Ron and Nancy in our kitchen with each newly refreshed glass.  I was just dumb-struck at how absolutely charming the wine was, with its fragrant pepper and spice nose, beautiful palate, and a very good finish.

Instead of deploying my tired and well-worn wine adjectives, I will let the above micro-vignette serve as tasting notes.  However, I will point-out that quantities are EXTREMLY limited, as only 74 cases were made!  In fact, my allocation is sold out, thanks the an overhelming response I received from customers on my e-mail list.  If you would like to sign up to receive weekly e-mails from Serendipity, click here. 

If you are interested in reading what I have said about Kinkead Ridge, in the past, and learning what other wines are currently available, click here.