Since 1988, the industry’s biggest wine magazine – Wine Spectator – has released a top 100 list every December, and for the past few years I have tried to highlight wines available in Jamaica that are on this list. Due to the fact that many of the specific wines selected are not always widely available and some are made in limited quantities, the Wine Spectator Top 100 is not a “shopping list”, but it should be used as a guide for which wineries to watch. As our wine market is still small, we might actually get the opportunity to purchase a bottle or two of the very same wines that made it on the list, since the local importer might have had a small allocation and the market is not beating a path to his doorstep.

How the top 100 list is selected

After 3,600 hours of tasting wines from 63 wine regions, the process begins with the selection of over 5,000 of the highest-scoring of some 18,000 wines tasted during the year, then very high-priced and very low-production wines are eliminated. All wines are tasted blind, meaning the tasters have no idea which wines they are tasting – only the vintage and region are revealed. For a wine to be shortlisted and ultimately selected, the taster has to be really impressed with it.

Sadly, this year a mere seven are available locally, so I will list those. I will also list wines whose brand is sold here, but not the actual wine. Any of these wines will make excellent Christmas gifts for wine lovers.

Here is the short list. Each starts with its place on the Top 100:

8 – Antinori Toscana Tignanello, 2013 – This wine is available in Jamaica.

28 – Domaine Carneros Brut Carneros Ultra 2011

33 – Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Don Melchor 2012 – This wine is available in Jamaica.

42 РVi̱a Montes Cabernet Sauvignon Colchagua Valley Classic Series 2014 РThis wine is available in Jamaica.

44 – Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Special Selection 2013 – This wine is available in Jamaica.

45 – Charles Smith Riesling Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley Kung Fu Girl Evergreen 2015

51 РM Chapoutier C̫tes du Roussillon-Villages Les Vignes de Bila-Haut 2014

67 – Hahn Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands SLH 2014 – This wine is available in very limited quantities in Jamaica.

73 – Korbel Brut California Organic Grapes

83 – Mud House Pinot Noir Central Otago 2014 – This wine is available in very limited quantities in Jamaica.

94 РWilliam F̬vre Chablis Domaine 2014 РThis wine is available in Jamaica.

100 – Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne

“Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.” – Paulo Coelho

Christopher Reckord – Information Technology Entrepreneur & Wine Enthusiast. Send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com.

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