Weekly Tasting Report (Dec 14-20, 2021): Popping the Holiday Bubbly and the Best of Old McDonald

Champagne is the big news in this report covering the last seven days of tasting around the world for JamesSuckling.com. There are a lot of old Champagnes with some outrageous bottles, like a Moët & Chandon Champagne Grand Vintage Collection 1959 that Senior Editor Stuart Pigott rated in a historical tasting in Epernay, France. Meanwhile, I tasted the new late release of a reserve Cristal from the millennium vintage 2000 – the Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Vinothèque 2000. We tasted about 50 Champagnes in total, including some lesser-known names such as Andre Clouet, Georges Laval and Tarlant.

You can actually buy the Cristal Vinothèque 2000 right now. It seems to be at its peak and is showing all the character and texture of an aged Champagne. It’s aged about 10 years in the cellars of Roederer on its lees, then disgorged and aged another decade or so. I would be curious to see how it compares to a normal bottle of 2000 Cristal now.

Contributing Editor Nick Stock tasted a few classics himself last week in Australia, with the S.C. Pannell Grenache McLaren Vale Old McDonald 2021 and William Downie Pinot Noir Gippsland Camp Hill 2020 taking his top kudos. The former is the best Nick has ever had of the Old McDonald, while the Camp Hill pinot from Bill Downie continues to highlight what the long-bearded winemaker is best at – real pinot from organically grown grapes.

And I found who could very well be the Bill Downie of Italy's Sicily – Nicolò Grippaldi. His three wines come from hand-manicured, biodynamically tended vineyards in the province of Enna in a small town called Gagliano Casfelferrato. It's in the center of the island. He is the only wine producer there and tends a few hectares of vines. The wines are pure and so attractive, especially the Nicolò Grippaldi Nero d'Avola Sicilia Salvatore Grippaldi 2019.

Senior Editor Stuart Pigott continues his annual evaluation of the tiny-production wines of Stefan Steinmetz, 42, of the Gunther Steinmetz estate in the Mosel region of Germany. Stuart has rated more than 50 different Stienmetz wines, and the Günther Steinmetz Riesling Mosel Dhroner Grosser Hengelberg Monopollage Reservé 2020 is one of the best – and it’s from an underrated vineyard that Stuart continues to admire.

There’s a lot to appreciate about the Dolum Estates Napa wines that I just rated considering their brightness and balance. I have never rated them before. Of course, they were produced in the wonderful 2018 vintage, which is known for making harmonious and beautiful wines. Check out the Dolum Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Oakville 2018, which is so true to its appellation with a richness and dense center palate alongside dry earth and tile to the ripe fruits, yet it is fresh and so drinkable already.

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF THE USA 2021

I also tasted a few dozen 2018 and 2019 Bordeaux as we work our way in Hong Kong through almost 2,000 samples of the two vintages. The 2018s definitely show a little more ripeness and plushness, as one would expect due to the slightly hotter summer, while the 2019s have firmer and more structured tannins. (Check out my report on Bordeaux 2018 earlier this year.) Stay tuned through the holidays and in January for more updates on Bordeaux. Associate Editor Claire Nesbitt also found some compelling pinot noirs from New Zealand's Greystone, including the Greystone Pinot Noir Waipara Valley Vineyard Ferment 2019, which she found "vibrant and wild."

There are a few more Brunello di Montalcino 2017s and Riserva 2016s as well. The latter stands out as the best because 2017 was so hot and dry. I was also happy to see a rating for the Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco 2018 from Tasting Editor Jo Cooke. The cooperative, which represents about one in four bottles, always makes excellent Barbaresco, and at reasonable prices.

Merry Christmas from all of us at JamesSuckling.com and we hope you have only great bottles of wine over the weekend!

– James Suckling, Chairman/Editor

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by James Suckling and the other tasters at JamesSuckling.com. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.