Pointing the way with top-notch wines

A quick thought. As you know I’m not a pointillist (is that an infantilist who believes that scoring wines has a point?), but I read other people’s shabby ranking systems and go hmm – if they can chuck numbers around willy-nilly and proclaim top dogs and mangy curs then why shouldn’t I convert my qualified praise into digital delight? So for one night I’m relenting and giving you the scores as they stand on the doors.

If you had to characterise me I’m grouchy marks. When I’m on panels, an infrequent happening, points have to be dragged from me literally kicking and screaming. I am a self-styled Rhadamanthus, the demonic anti-Parker because, for me, the bigger they are – and they are usually big - the harder (my grades) fall.  Since so much wine is morbidly dull I set my bar for mediocrity very low (or do I mean high) and to garner even a reasonable mark, therefore, the liquid in the glass has to talk eloquently to me. I am deaf to the hallelujahs and hosannas of noisy wines, ie those that usually go on to win gold medals in competition. Out of 20 my grudging 16s are occasionally sighted, my blood-out-of-a-stone 17s are rare birds indeed, and it is rumoured that I’ve coaxed 18 once or twice out of my stony soul. It is a completely different story In the comfort of my home where my appraisals become natural and generous, not that my critical backbone has suddenly been filleted and discarded, but that I choose wines that I think I would love to drink rather than being given wines that I am forced to judge.

Although I drink lots of different things throughout the year about 70% of the wines quaffed are what may be described as natural (ie low sulphur) wines, whilst the remainder are almost invariably organic or biodynamic, and wines from small producers. 98% of what I drink is French or Italian – apologies New World – and is always accompanied by food– this not only amplifies the pleasure of the wine but also helps me to relate to it. A bottle might last me two or three days, which also provides an excellent opportunity to witness how it develops.

Here are twenty wines that have given me enormous pleasure this year.  The points are uncritical, they reflect the timbre of the epiphany.

1997 Hermitage Rouge, Dard et Ribo
This was a revelation. It possessed a rugged, feral, yet hauntingly fragile beauty that was completely captivating. 99 points

2005 Vin de Paille, Domaine Ganevat
Quintessential sweet purity, distillation of autumn fruits and chestnuts. Words don’t do this justice. 99 points

1874 El Tresillo Amontillado Viejo, Bodega Emilio Hidalgo
Mahogany-brown viscous wine smells of toffee cream, toasted walnuts, old polished furniture warming in the autumn sunshine pouring through the windows of a stately home, a spice box of cinnamon and cloves, some dried fruits. Intense nuttiness and poignant freshness makes this a wine that lasts for several minutes on the palate. A meditation wine. 99 points

1985 & 1988 Cahors, Clos de Gamot
Two vintages of an utterly traditional Cahors, pale, delicate, expressive and with loads of life left. (98 points for both)

2007 Sancerre Skeveldra, Seb Riffault
Carafed for two hours and served cool but not fridge cold this was a staggering wine loaded with secondary and tertiary aromatics. It tasted like a great old Chenin crossed with an Amontillado and then in the background was the gunflint minerality that bolted the ensemble together. A wine that would terrify any wine educator or master of wine. 98 points

2004 Barbaresco Asili, AA Roagna
Although it is infanticide to drink the Asili at this stage the wine has an elegant come-hither quality. The texture of the wine is so fine you find yourself teasing the liquid across every taste bud, nibbling the tannins, sucking the minerals… 98 points Asili/97 points Paje

2009 Bourgogne Rouge Auguste Domaine des Vignes du Maynes
When I first smelled this I went « whoof » as if I’d been belted in the solar plexus. These vineyards used during the Roman period are just being reclaimed now. This is terroir, bright and beautiful, the wine literally singing through the stone. 98 points

2008 Tankadeddu Rosso, Panevino
All the Panevino wines would make my top 20 of the year. This young vines Cannonau supplemented by Monica and Carignano was fresh, mineral and oozed the confidence of youth. 97 points The Vigne Vecchie (97) was equally outstanding; one of the greatest examples of booming Cannonau I’ve ever tasted – powerful but not heavy.

2008 Cotes du Rhone Sierra du Sud, Domaine Gramenon
My default red wine when I see it on a wine list this wonderfully expressive Syrah has bags of fruit, seasoned with garrigue herbs, liquorice finishing with a delicious freshness that elevates it above most other Cotes du Rhones.  97 points

2007 Montevertine Rosso, Montevertine
Drunk and loved on three occasions. It is which I call a confident wine, immaculately turned out but without any pretensions. What Sangiovese could be all about – 97 points

2006 Maremma Bianco, Massa Vecchia
Amber Vermentino meets Malvasia and various other grapes in a fabulous melange. Like other natural wines this wouldn’t sit still in the glass and evolved from restrained floral aromas into full-flavoured , complex, warm, spicy number with flavours of honey-dipped chestnuts and the exotic notes of the orient. 97 points

2008 Irouléguy Blanc, Hegoxuri, Domaine Arretxea
This wine doesn’t always deliver but on three occasions this year it would the wow factor. Explosive fresh tropical fruit, roast pineapples, passionfruit, mango and rich secondary flavours of marzipan cake carried by thrilling ripe citrus acidity and crunchy minerality. 95-97 points

2007 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc « Karrière », Dard et Ribo
A wine that you could easily miss, Karrière is Marsanne from a specific clay terroir that has subtle aromatic flavours that go on for minutes in the mouth. 96 points

2008 Anjou Blanc BB, René Mosse
Luscious gobsmacker that impressed me at France Under One Roof. The next time I tried it was at the IWC dinner when all the wines on the table tasted flat. This shone! 96 points

2007 Fiano Don Chisciotte, Il Tufiello
Fum fo fi fee –ano, I smell the blood of a natural wine.  In the game of natural wine poker yeasts are wild. Yet for all waltzing yeastiness there is apple and medlar fruit, soothing cool climate freshness and lickety-split minerality . Fantastic stuff – 96 points

2006 Riesling Kaiton, Peter Pliger
A wine that never sought one’s approval or to charm the palate finally relented. Gripping in every sense.  - 96 points

2008 Morgon, Cote du Py, Jean Foillard – magnum
Out of the magnum into the glass the wine was singing immediately, the fruit of the Gamay given beautiful definition by the minerality of the terroir. 95 points

2008 Buisson Pouilleux Vieilles Vignes, Thierry Puzelat – magnum
Yellow veering to amber old vines Sauvignon – a wine that provoked and challenged and changed with every mouthful. 95 points

2008 Le Rouge et Mis, Thierry Puzelat
Wine does not have to be serious to be truly delicious. Drunk on three different occasions and on two of them it was sublime.  From grape to glass with minimal mediation this Pinot Meunier is laden with sweet raspberry fruit.- 95 points

2009 Mauvais Temps, Nico Carmarans
Crazy little, adorable wine that was irresistible in every respect. A vivid assemblage of fresh fruit, earth, minerals and acid. 94 points