Our ratings in November included a relative bonanza of perfect-scoring bottles – five from California and one from Germany – as we tasted more than 1,800 wines from 17 countries. Of the total, 518 came from Italy, 482 were from the United States and 340 were Australian offerings.
But it was California, specifically Napa and Sonoma, that gave the most bang for the buck. James was back in Northern California earlier than normal this year to test the quality of the 2021 vintage, and he found many exceptional wines from the year that may end up surpassing the 2018 and 2019 vintages in quality. This was especially true of pinot noirs, especially from Sonoma County. One that stood out was the Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir Sonoma County Sonoma Coast Raschen Ridge 2021, which James called “superlative at all levels, with fantastic precision and depth.”
There were plenty of other pinot noirs as well as chardonnays from 2021 that James tasted along with winemakers from the West Sonoma Coast Vintners association (WSCV) These included offerings from Ernest Vineyards, Red Car, Flowers, Senses, Wayfarer, Freeman and Whistler, among others, The general consensus is that 2021, is all about structure, with impressive harmony to boot.