With exciting developments in production and some tantalising new grape varieties, modern wineries are producing some excellent bottles that promise to go down in history as some of the all time great red wines.
From some startlingly good red wines from New Zealand and Germany to new ‘superstar wineries’ and up-and-coming wine growing regions, we take a look at which of the red wine bottles on today’s shelves are likely to be regarded as classics in years to come.
Firstly, let’s look at the critics’ favourites. Hugely influential US wine magazine Wine Spectator picked the 2005 Clos Apalta from Chilean winery Casa Lapostolle as its number one wine of 2008, after judges blind tasted almost 20,000 wines from across the world. The wine certainly promises to age well and at under US$80 is a bottle that, while far from a snip, won’t break the bank as a ‘special occasion’ wine. Scoring 97 points out of a possible 100, this wine won rave reviews across the board and Wine Spectator even credits Clos Apalta with helping to cement Chile’s reputation as a serious red wine producer.
The critical success means that, even at this price, the bottles are flying off the shelves and with less than 6,000 cases produced, the wine also enjoys rareity value.
The wine is the product of some smart thinking on the part of Casa Lapostolle owner Alexandra Marnier-Lapostolle, who blended signature Chilean grape Carmanere with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from the Colchagua Valley region, before fermenting and destemming by hand and finally adding four% Petit Verdot to create a wonderfully rich and flavoursome red wine. Most experts consider 2005 to be Chilean’s best vintage of recent years, helping to ensure this superb wine’s status as a modern classic.
Meanwhile, critic Robert Parker, whose 100-point rating system revolutionised wine buying in the United States, has been waxing lyrical about wines from Spain’s previously overlooked Toro region, which he has gone so far as to dub ‘the world’s next great wine-growing region’.
Parker holds aloft the 2004 Bodega Numanthia Termes as a case in point and this certainly looks set to go down in history as one of the wines that brought Toro to the attention of the wine-buying public. Parker gave this ‘excellent’ red wine 98 points under his wine-ranking system and the Tinta del Toro grape used to produce it is certainly making waves in the red wine world. Essentially a smaller, thicker-skinned version of the famous Tempranillo grape, the Tinta del Toro has certainly got the red wine world all of a fluster.
With Spain and Chile increasingly regarded as producers of dependably good red wine, other countries are starting to shake things up with some quality wines that have taken critics by surprise. New Zealand, for example, has been producing some top-notch bottles that look set to be regarded as classics in years to come.
Critics and sommeliers are particularly excited about the happenings at Gimblett Gravels, which is a sub-region of Hawke’s Bay, North Island; and more specifically, they are excited about Craggy Range. This wine producer’s appelation of 800 hectares boasts a climate and soil so exceptional that the terroir has been compared to that of Bordeaux in terms of quality.
Another country that has taken critics and tasters by surprise recently is Germany. Although German wines have suffered from something of a poor reputation in the past, a new red wine grape variety is radically changing public perception. The grape, Dornfelder, is a hybrid of two German grapes that has proven to be wonderfully hardy and result in some very fine wines. From just 250 hectares in 1979 to 8,500 hectares, the Dornfelder is now really starting to come into its own. Keep an eye out for bottles from the Weingut Janz family if you want to get your hands on a wine that could well be a classic in years to come.
Renowned wine writer, wine judge and Lapeer Chapter of Tasters Guild International director Dave Etheridge specifically recommends the Weingut Janz Silvaner and Weingut Janz Pinot Blanc, both a snip at US$12.
With so much happening in the world of wine, it’s impossible to say with certainty which of today’s top ranking wines will be considered bone-fide classics in years to come. One thing is for sure, however, today’s wine makers are producing some of the most exciting wines we have seen in some time and that surely deserves a toast!
