Best Italian Wines of 2013 from Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast Magazines
Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast magazines recently released their picks for the 100 best wines from around the world released in 2013. These are two of the world’s most prestigious wine-centric magazines. Both magazines are highly regarded and they, along with the Wine Advocate, are influential in establishing a wine’s - and the winery’s - reputation and popularity.
Their selections of the world’s best wine offerings for 2013 include a number of Italian wines and it is interesting to look at exactly which Italian wines made the lists. But first, let’s take a look at the overall selection of wines by the two magazines.
The Wine Spectator Magazine reviewed over 20,000 new releases in blind tastings in 2013. Their selection of the top 100 includes wines from 13 foreign countries in additon to the U.S. Not surprisingly, the U.S. has the largest number of wines in the top 100 for any country. Thirty U.S. wines made the list with the majority of these from California. But Oregon, Washington and New York State are also well represented and together account for 10 wines in the top 100 listing.
With 17 wines listed in Wine Spectator’s top 100, France is the most popular foreign country followed closely by Italy which has 16 wines in the top 100. The Wine Spectator’s top wine overall is the 2004 Rioja Imperial Riserva from the Rioja Alta region in Spain. The list price for this wine is $63.
Wines from the Tuscany and Piedmont regions accounted for 13 of the 16 Italian wines in Wine Spectator’s top 100. Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino and Super-Tuscan wines are well represented and together account for half of the Italian wines in the top 100. The highest-rated Italian wine (ranked number 6 in the overall rating) is the 2008 Barolo “Monprivato” from the Giuseppe Mascarello & Figlio estate. The list price for this wine is $110.
The Italian wines included in Wine Spectator’s top 100 wines of 2013 are as follows:
| Rank | Score | Producer | Wine | Vintage | Price | ||
| 6 | 95 | Giuseppe Mascarello & Figlio | Barolo "Monprivato" | 2008 | $110 | ||
| 16 | 94 | G. D. Vajra | Barolo "Albe" | 2008 | $42 | ||
| 18 | 93 | Poggerino | Chianti Classico | 2010 | $25 | ||
| 21 | 93 | Le Macchiole | Bolgheri | 2011 | $30 | ||
| 24 | 94 | Livio Sassetti | Brunello di Montalcino "Pertimali" | 2008 | $55 | ||
| 50 | 92 | COS | Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico | 2010 | $35 | ||
| 58 | 91 | Avignonesi | Vino Nobile di Montepulciano | 2010 | $29 | ||
| 61 | 92 | Produttori del Barbaresco | Barbaresco | 2007 | $38 | ||
| 66 | 92 | Macarico | Aglianico del Vulture "Macari" | 2007 | $25 | ||
| 80 | 90 | Querciabella | Maremma Toscana "Mongrana" | 2010 | $22 | ||
| 82 | 91 | Mamete Prevostini | Valtellina Superiore "Sassella" | 2009 | $30 | ||
| 86 | 95 | Fontanafredda | Barolo "La Rosa" | 2008 | $96 | ||
| 91 | 94 | Mastroberardino | Taurasi "Radici" Riserva | 2006 | $75 | ||
| 94 | 94 | Schiavenza | Barolo "Prapò" | 2009 | $60 | ||
| 96 | 95 | Altesino | Brunello di Montalcino "Montosoli" | 2008 | $120 | ||
| 100 | 90 | Badia a Coltibuono | Toscana "Cancelli" | 2011 | $53 | ||
| Average Price | $54 | ||||||
| Source: Wine Spectator Magazine, December 31, 2013 | |||||||
Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s list of the top 100 wines also includes 30 U.S. wines in the top 100. All the U.S. wines are from west coast wineries with 18 from California followed by Washington State with 9 and Oregon with 3 wines. In fact, the top-rated wine of the 100 selected is a sparkling wine from California’s Anderson Valley, a 2008 L’Ermitage Brut from the Roederer Estate that retails for $47.
As with the Wine Spectator’s listing of the top 100 wines, wines from France are the most popular imported wines in Wine Enthusiast’s top 100. Nineteen French wines are included in the top 100 followed by Italy with 17 and Spain with 8 wines.
With one exception all of the Italian wines listed in Wine Enthusiast’s top 100 listing are from Tuscany and Piedmont. That one exception is a sparkling wine from the Lombardia region, a 2009 Franciacorta “Pas Dose Vintage 2009” from the Fratelli Berlucchi estate. Otherwise, the listing of Italian wines is heavily weighted with various Barbaresco, Chianti Classico and Super-Tuscan wines. The top-rated Italian wine in the top 100 is a 2009 Chianti Classico from the Villa Cafaggio estate that retails for $30. It is ranked number 5 in the Wine Enthusiast’s listing of the top 100 wines of 2013.
Because of differences in the populations from which the wines are selected by the two rating organizations, there is no overlay in their individual selections for the best Italian wines for 2013. Both organizations make their selections exclusively from wines voluntarily submitted for review over the course of the year. The lack of symmetry in selections is most likely attributable to the large number of wines, numbering in the thousands, submitted to both organizations and to the fact that there is no certainty that the same wines will submitted for review to both organizations.
Indicated below are the Italian wines included in Wine Enthusiast’s top 100 wines of 2013.
Italian Wines in Wine Enthusiast's Best Wines of 2013
|
||||||
| Rank | Score | Producer | Wine | Vintage | Price | |
| 5 | 94 | Villa Cafaggio | Chianti Classico Riserva | 2009 | $30 | |
| 9 | 93 | Castellinuzza e Piuca | Chianti Classico | 2010 | $16 | |
| 16 | 94 | Contucci | Vino Nobile di Montalpulciano | 2009 | $29 | |
| 19 | 94 | Adriano Marco & Vittorio | Barbaresco "Sanadaive" | 2010 | $28 | |
| 24 | 95 | Gigi Rosso | Barolo "Arione" | 2009 | $49 | |
| 28 | 93 | Antico Colle | Vino Nobile di Montalpuciano | 2010 | $22 | |
| 36 | 94 | Ala Vecchia | Bolgheri Superiore "Sorugo" | 2009 | $35 | |
| 41 | 97 | Cavallotto | Barbaresco Riserva "Vignolo" | 2007 | $98 | |
| 46 | 95 | Cascina delle Rose | Barbaresco "Tre Stelle" | 2010 | $60 | |
| 51 | 93 | Le Macchiole | Bolgheri Superiore "Sorugo" | 2010 | $30 | |
| 57 | 93 | Rocca di Montemassi | Maremma Toscana | 2010 | $30 | |
| 61 | 93 | Tua Rita | "Perlato del Bosco" Toscana | 2010 | $30 | |
| 65 | 94 | Molino di Sant'Antimo | Brunello di Montalcino Riserva | 2007 | $55 | |
| 73 | 93 | Tenuta dei Pianali | Bolgheri "Coronato" | 2008 | $45 | |
| 80 | 93 | Fratelli Berlucchi | Franciacorta "Pas Dose Vintage 2009" | 2009 | $40 | |
| 90 | 92 | Castello di Verrazzano | Chianti Classico | 2010 | $24 | |
| 97 | 94 | La Poderina | Brunello di Montalcino Riserva "Poggio Abate" | 2007 | $79 | |
| Average Price | $41 | |||||
| Source: Wine Enthusiast Magazine, December 31, 2013 | ||||||
©Richard Marcis
December 2, 2013
Read other selections from About Italian Wines.