Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s Top Italian Wine Cellar Selections for 2010
Wine Enthusiast Magazine recently published their top 100 wines from around the world for 2010 that they consider the most cellar-worthy – i.e., the highest quality collectible wines that will require time in the cellar in order to achieve peak satisfaction. These wines were selected from all the wines reviewed by Wine Spectator in 2010.
Seventeen of the wines in this list are Italian wines, the largest number for any imported wines on the list. France was a close second with 16 wines and Spain third with 12 wines. American wines, of course, were the clear favorites and dominated the listing with 41 wines.
Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino wines dominate the list of the most cellar-worthy Italian wines, accounting for 11 of the 17 Italian wines. The majority of the remaining Italian wines on the list consisted of super-Tuscans.
Since many of these wines are highly sought after and oftentimes limited in production they tend to be expensive. The least-expensive Italian wine in this list, for example, is the '06 “Solengo” from Argiano, a super-Tuscan wine whose suggested retail price is $70. Also priced at $70 is an '06 "Costa Grimaldi" Barolo from Luigi Einaudi. The most expensive Italian wine is an '07 Vin Santo di Montepulciano, “Occhio di Pernice” from Avignonesi that retails for $237 - and that’s for a small (375 ml) bottle! The average price of the 17 Italian wines included in this listing is $118.
As with any subjectively determined “best-of” listing, one can take issue with why certain wines were included and others excluded. But that’s a fool’s game so I simply culled their list of the 100 top cellar-worthy wines for Italian wines and present them without comment for your review.
Wine Enthusiast Magazine's Top Italian Wine Cellar Selections | |||||||
The Most Ageable Wines of 2010 | |||||||
Rank | Score | Year | Producer | Wine Name | Wine Type | Price | |
2 | 97 | 2006 | Marchesi Antinori | Guardo al Tasso | Bolgheri Superiore | $95 | |
5 | 96 | 2006 | Poderi Luigi Einaudi | Costa Grimaldi | Barolo | $70 | |
17 | 97 | 2006 | Vietti | Brunate | Barolo | $130 | |
18 | 94 | 2006 | Tua Rita | Giusto di Notri | Toscana | $75 | |
24 | 96 | 2004 | Altesino | Riserva | Brunello di Montalcino | $80 | |
33 | 96 | 2005 | Eugenio Bocchino | La Serra | Barolo | $99 | |
43 | 96 | 2005 | Gianni Voerzio | La Serra | Barolo | $125 | |
45 | 96 | 2006 | Tenuta dell'Ornellaia | Ornellaia | Bolgheri Superiore | $200 | |
46 | 95 | 2004 | Corte Pavone | Riserva | Brunello di Montalcino | $75 | |
52 | 96 | 2006 | Luciano Sandrone | Cannubi Boschis | Barolo | $150 | |
55 | 99 | 1997 | Avignonesi | Occhio di Pernice | Vin Santo di Montepulciano | $237 | * |
59 | 95 | 2004 | San Polino | Riserva | Brunello di Montalcino | $90 | |
71 | 95 | 2004 | Uccelliera | Riserva | Brunello di Montalcino | $112 | |
79 | 95 | 2004 | Le Chiuse | Riserva | Brunello di Montalcino | $120 | |
80 | 95 | 2006 | Fattoria Petrolo | Galatrona | Toscana | $120 | |
87 | 94 | 2006 | Argiano | Solengo | Toscana | $70 | |
92 | 95 | 2004 | Castello Banfi | Poggio all'Oro Riserva | Brunello di Montalcino | $150 | |
* 375 ml |
Source: "Top 100 Cellar Selections", Wine Enthusiast Magazine (December 1, 2010), pages 37-50.
Richard Marcis
November 17, 2010
Read other selections from About Italian Wines.