2021 Annual Tasting Report: 25,000 Wines and Beyond

The JamesSuckling.com Tasting Team rolled through 2021 despite its many challenges to bring you the best of the Wine World, from the top countries to blossoming regions to the uncovered outliers. It’s a safe bet that no other wine media organization with in-house tasters found the time or energy to rate as many wines as we did – more than 25,000!

We’re proud of the work we did together to review all the wines, even amid the pandemic. Tasting team members James Suckling, Claire Nesbitt and Kevin Davy held down the fort in Hong Kong while Jo Cooke, Stuart Pigott, Zekun Shuai, William McIlhenny, Nathan Slone and Nick Stock tasted and rated thousands of more bottles on the road in Europe and the United States as well as South Australia and China.

It’s impossible to generalize about the quality of the wines we tasted in 2021, but 21,588 of the wines received scores of 90 points or more. This means that 86 percent of the wines were of outstanding quality. That figure may seem high to some people, but it highlights the fact that the quality of premium wines in the world is at an all-time high. It’s also why it’s never been a better time to be a wine lover. Excellent wines are available from just about everywhere, suiting every taste and budget.

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF THE USA 2021

How much has the quality of wine improved? Back in the early 1980s, when James worked for The Wine Spectator in California, he said he was “elated to find a 90-point.” Today it’s a different story. In James’ words: “I have seen the betterment in viticulture and winemaking with my own eyes, with new winemakers and better methods utilized in every wine region in the world. It’s a golden moment for quality wine production in the world.”

New Zealand is a great example. Back in the 1980s, it was in a fledgling state of wine production, with most of the output going into massive bottlings for supermarkets. And yet there was a sign of greatness from a handful of small producers who were leading the way to the future. Fast forward to today, and the Kumeu River Chardonnay Kumeu Mate's Vineyard 2020 was our Wine of the Year in 2021. We rated it a perfect 100 points.

In fact, we rated no less than 35 wines 100 points in 2021. That’s about 0.135 percent of all the wines we tasted, but it’s still something. And we found 100-point wines in many countries, such as Australia, Germany and New Zealand, as well as in famous regions including Bordeaux, Brunello di Montalcino, Burgundy, Champagne, Chianti Classico, Veneto, Napa Valley and Rioja. We believe in perfection in life and wine, which is why we are not afraid to rate a wine 100 points!

It wasn’t a surprise that the major wine regions gave us some of the best bottles. We covered the U.S. West Coast extensively, rating more than 2,100 wines from California, nearly 500 from Washington and 800-plus from Oregon. But it was the phenomenal 2018 vintage in Napa Valley that took center stage, with James and Associate Editor Claire Nesbitt rating over 450 Napa reds from 2018 – with the scores reflecting the excellence of the vintage. Around 30 percent of the wines achieved a classic rating of 95 points or higher, while nine reds were awarded perfect scores. These included the Grace Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2018, Continuum Napa Valley Sage Mountain Vineyard 2018, Harlan Estate Napa Valley 2018 and Dominus Napa Valley 2018.

Similar class was evident in our tastings of Sonoma reds and whites, with a number of wines from top producers, such as Aubert, Littorai and Peter Michael Winery, achieving near-perfect scores. The “pitch-perfect balance" Aubert Chardonnay Napa Valley Sugar Shack Estate Vineyard 2019 was our No. 5 wine from the United States.

Over in Europe, Senior Editor Stuart Pigott focused mainly on wines from Germany, Austria and Alsace, with some Beaujolais thrown in. In the case of Germany, while confirming that the stellar 2019 vintage was going to be a hard act to follow, Stuart described 2020, coming from the third drought year in a row, as a “schizophrenic” vintage, but with “a significant group of truly stunning wines with extremely high scores that make 2020 look like a really great vintage.” In fact, it was a 2020 riesling, the Dönnhoff Riesling Nahe Hermannshöhle GG 2020, that eventually pipped the 2019s to the post on our list of Top 100 German wines for 2021.

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF AUSTRIA 2021

GLOBAL BEST:  James and the Tasting Team award our 2021 Wine of the Year, the Kumeu River Chardonnay Kumeu Mate's Vineyard 2020.

No. 1 IN ITALY: Francesco Ricasoli of Barone Ricasoli discusses our Italian Wine of the Year, the Barone Ricasoli Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Ceniprimo 2018, and why he's making his best wines ever.

Austria’s wines were less impressive from the 2020 vintage due to the wet conditions during the summer and fall. Stuart found that riesling in the top vineyard sites of Austria coped much better than gruner veltliner, the nation’s signature grape. Austrian dry riesling highlights came from top producers like F.X. Pichler and Rudi Pichler, while the blaufrankisch red wine star kept rising, championed in the excellent 2019 vintage by the likes of Moric and Dorli Muhr.

James, Tasting Manager Kevin Davy and Associate Editor Claire Nesbitt rated close to 1,300 wines from the Bordeaux 2018 vintage in our Hong Kong headquarters during the spring and, later in the year, made a start on our review of 2019 – the middle vintage in what James termed “the great modern trilogy for Bordeaux.” James’ thoughts on 2019 and 2020 will follow in 2022, but as he reported in 2021, “the 2018 shows how today’s Bordeaux can provide fruit and richness without being too alcoholic or out of balance. This is true across the board. And it’s something unique to Bordeaux.”

Two wines from Bordeaux’s left bank, Château Margaux Margaux 2018 and Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 2018, were awarded perfect scores, joined by two from the right bank, Château Trotanoy Pomerol 2018 and Château Lafleur Pomerol 2018. But a clearer sign of the overall quality of the vintage was the fact that James rated 87 percent of the 2018s 90 points, or higher, which translates to outstanding quality in our book.

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF FRANCE 2021

And although Bordeaux was a major part of our ratings from France, Champagne was perhaps a more stimulating option, if only for the bubbles. Our Champagne report covered over 300 wines from the historical winemaking region and highlighted “how we at JamesSuckling.com believe the appellation is making some of the most exciting wines in France and some of the best values in fine wine,” in James’ words.

Topping our Champagne ratings with perfect scores were wines from two of the leading Champagne houses: Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2008 and Krug Champagne Brut 2008. Significantly, nearly a third of the Champagnes we tasted received scores of 95 or above, putting them into “classic” territory.

Burgundy, too, gave us some premier bottles out of the 503 we tried. The winemakers who best mastered the 2019 vintage's tendency to opulence made the greatest wines. The standouts were one perfect white, the Bouchard Père & Fils Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru Domaine 2019, and one perfect red, the Louis Latour Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru Les Quatre Journaux 2019, both of which received 100 points.

Stuart was able to travel to Burgundy in July and found that the 2019 vintage tasted in bottle was not only consistently of high quality from Chablis in the north to Macon in the south, but the rich and aromatic wines are already very approachable. Quantities are low, particularly for the Cote d'Or whites, but the following vintages are even smaller in quantity, so we recommend that you don't miss the best 2019s.

And Beaujolais is clearly on a roll with a string of excellent vintages – most notably 2018 and 2019 – enabling the ambitious winemakers to show what stunning wines can be made with gamay grape there. Sure, we all love Morgon, and we rated Morgons from Michel Guignier, Jean-Marc Burgaud and Mee Godard 96 points. Morgon, in fact, remains the strongest of the Crus, with the highest average rating. However, the highest rated Bojos with 97 points were a Fleurie from Château des Bachelards, plus two Moulin-à-Vent wines from Domaine Anita and Yohan Lardy.

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF ARGENTINA

Between tastings in Hong Kong and Italy, we rated over 6,000 Italian wines in 2021, covering the major part of the peninsula’s wine regions. In the case of Barolo and Brunello, perhaps the two Italian appellations that enjoy the largest share of consumer interest, we pitted the current releases from the difficult, exceptionally hot growing season in 2017 against 2015 and 2016, which were both considered top vintages. And while, in general, shortcomings were evident in both appellations in 2017, there were still a number of exceptional Barolos, such as the Roberto Voerzio Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata 2017 and Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato 2017, and enticing Brunellos, including the Giodo Brunello di Montalcino 2017 and San Filippo Brunello di Montalcino Le Lucére 2017.

We also offered in-depth coverage of other key areas of Italy, including Veneto, which Tastings Editor Jo Cooke delivered from his tasting room on the coast of Tuscany, as well as Sicily, which Stuart and Jo covered from James' house in Tuscany.

Spanish wine was another big one in our tastings. Of the 1,500 we rated, we unearthed further evidence of the increasing influence of young, innovative winemakers who are creating wines that are stealing some (though certainly not all) of the limelight from the more traditional Spanish styles. Examples of this movement include the only perfect-scoring Spanish wine in 2021, the Compañia de Vinos Telmo Rodriguez Rioja Las Beatas 2018, which James described simply as “a magical wine,” as well as the Artadi Alava Viña El Pison 2018. But fear not, Rioja fans, because plenty of top-quality, traditional-style Rioja remains to be enjoyed, such as La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 2015 and the CUNE Rioja Imperial Gran Reserva 2015.

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF SPAIN 2021 

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE SHINES

Neither was there any shortage of JamesSuckling.com reviews from South America in 2021. Between Argentina and Chile, we rated close to 3,000 wines, which confirmed that both countries are continuing to cement their role as major players on the global wine stage. As an example, reflecting on the quality of wines made from Argentina’s signature grape variety, malbec, Associate Editor Zekun Shuai wrote that “the top players already make world-class wines, comparable with the finest reds from the rest of the world.”

Among the malbecs worthy of this accolade are the Catena Zapata Malbec Mendoza Adrianna Vineyard Fortuna Terrae 2019 and Susana Balbo Wines Malbec Agrelo Nosotros Single Vineyard Nómade 2017.

Our Hong Kong Tasting Team rated more wines than ever from Chile and our tastings confirmed Argentina’s neighbor as one of the best regions in the world for good value-wines, while at the same time turning out what James described as “superstar” bottles, including the Viñedo Chadwick Cabernet Sauvignon Valle de Maipo 2019, the Almaviva Puente Alto 2019 and the Montes Carmenere Petit Verdot Valle de Colchagua Purple Angel 2018.

Contributing Editor Nick Stock continued his scrutiny of wines from all over Australia and part of New Zealand. He uncovered classics like the Mount Mary Yarra Valley Quintet 2019 down under, with the latter our Australian Wine of the Year, leading a strong component of cabernet-based wines in our top Australian 100. This Bordeaux-esque red blend has long been a highly regarded wine, garnering immense respect over many years and playing a major role in establishing the Yarra Valley region.

Margaret River also delivered much in terms of concentration, strong regional character and compelling drinkability, as well as the ability to age so reliably. You could see the sheer intensity of fruit in the wines of Cullen, Vasse Felix, Juniper Estate, Deep Woods and Xanadu, among others.

And the rapidly ascending star of Australian wine styles in terms of both quality and consumer popularity, grenache, was well represented among our favorite Aussie bottles, with the Yangarra Grenache McLaren Vale Ovitelli 2019 leading the way, marrying power so closely with elegance, focus and purity. From South Australia, the Penfolds Shiraz St Henri 2018 was a reminder just how great the vintage was for shiraz in this part of the wine world. It should be a staple for shiraz collectors not just in Australia, but everywhere.

Out of New Zealand, our 2021 Wine of the Year, the Kumeu River Chardonnay Kumeu Mate's Vineyard 2020, which Nick described it as “perfect chardonnay,” was among 24 chards on our Top 100 list from the country, but we also tasted plenty of great pinot noir and sauvignon blanc. But it’s chardonnay that is the true hero of the country’s wine repertoire, and it’s been ascending particularly rapidly in the past five or so years in our coverage.

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF AUSTRALIA 2021

Kumeu River winemaker Michael Brajkovich was chair of the major New Zealand wine show for five years, from 2012 to 2016, and saw chardonnay consistently rise to the top there. “The best white wines were always chardonnay,” he said, “and now people have recognized the potential for New Zealand chardonnay. We have new clones with better areas planted to chardonnay and a much stronger focus on the pursuit of ultimate quality.”

But pinot noir producers in New Zealand have also stayed right at the top of their game, something that shines through clearly in the Ata Rangi 2019 pinot noir and the Rippon Mature Vine 2018.

Staying in the Southern Hemisphere, the biggest surprise from South Africa was the quality of wines from the white grape chenin blanc (known locally as “steen”). The best examples came from David & Nadia, a young husband-and-wife winery in The Swartland, and included top-scorer David & Nadia Chenin Blanc Swartland Skaliekap Single Vineyard Wine 2020. After tasting over 50 steens from 43 wineries, James was led to remark that it “is the most exciting grape for us in the country, and when the wine is well made it equals or beats anywhere else in the world, including France’s Vouvray or other parts of the Loire Valley.” White wine lovers will surely want to add South African steens to their shopping list!

The Leeu Chardonnay Stellenbosch Passant 2019 was also an excellent example of the intensity, richness and vibrancy that can be found among South African white wines.

Our coverage of China is growing steadily, thanks to the Beijing residency of Associate Editor Zekun Shuai, and for the first time in 2021 we assembled the top labels in the first edition of our Top 100 Wines from China. As Zekun wrote, “We hope this list sends out the signal that the pursuit of quality wine is here to stay” in the country.

There was encouraging growth in the number of Chinese wines with classic ratings (95+) to prove his point. The long-term leaders of the pack in the Middle Kingdom, LMVH’s Ao Yun winery, which operates amid the foothills of the Himalayas, and the Rothschild investment, Long Dai in Shandong province, excelled again, with the Ao Yun Shangri-La 2017 and Long Dai Qiushan 2019 a couple of the stars of the show.

But Zekun also gave ratings of 95 or higher to Kanaan Winery Ningxia Crazy Fang 2019 (our Chinese Wine of the Year), Great Wall Chateau Sungod Cabernet Sauvignon Shacheng Chief Winemaker's Selection 2015, Domaine Franco Chinois Petit Manseng Huailai 2015 and Xiao Ling Cizhong Shangri-La 2018, showing that excellence is coming from a wider variety of regions and grape varietals.

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF CHINA 2021

And we covered the nether wine regions, too: Hungary, Israel, Russia and even Greece are all firmly on our radar. Consulting Enologist Stephane Derenoncourt of Bordeaux has been making wonderful Greek wines, both red and white, from the winery of T-Oinos on the island Tinos near Mykonos. The wines, particularly the reds, show wonderful definition and polish with ultra-fine tannins. They’re a great example of how winemaking is evolving in farther-flung places.

As 2022 starts, the pandemic is still with us, affecting some of our tasting trips and winery visits that are normally considered essential to our tasting program. But what won’t be lacking in 2022 is the number of wines we review and publish in our Weekly Tasting Reports and in-depth regional and varietal reports, keeping you abreast with what’s on offer from all over the world.

But 25,000 wines alone in 2021? We dare say we crushed it, but we’ll let you decide…

– Jo Cooke, Tastings Editor, and Vince Morkri, Managing Editor