Stephen Brook’s top wines of 2019

It’s tempting for critics and producers alike to assess a vintage too soon and too simplistically. It’s either ‘the vintage of the century’ – or a disaster.

That was the case with 2014 in Piedmont: yes, a write-off in some places drenched in rain, but good to excellent in other areas with different microclimates and varying harvest dates. So it was a pleasure to be able to acclaim two 2014 wines of impeccable quality. Barbaresco was largely spared the downpours that afflicted Barolo, so it was not surprising that Bruno Giacosa produced an outstanding Asili Riserva, and the superb little Produttori cooperative excelled with its Riservas too.2015 in Barolo was a far easier vintage, but often too warm, giving conditions that robbed some wines of acidity and persistence. Not so Aldo Conterno’s majestic Romirasco, sufficiently structured for a very long life ahead, and Vietti’s imposing Lazzarito, from a top vineyard in Serralunga.At Decanter’s Fine Wine Encounter in November, I attended the fully-subscribed Gaja masterclass, where the star for me was the single-vineyard Sori Tildin Barbaresco from the great 1990 vintage, a rarity still in its prime.

Away from the superstar appellations of Barolo and Barbaresco is Nizza, the fairly new DOCG for full-throttle Barbera. It often produces overblown wines, but a welcome exception is the gorgeous 2015 from the family-run Olim Bauda estate.

Many fabulous Burgundies came my way in 2019, an increasingly rare privilege now that prices for top wines are in the stratosphere. Domaine Leflaive made a sensational Puligny-Montrachet Combottes in 2010, from one of the village’s finest premiers crus. And the father-and-son team at Arnoux-Lachaux excelled in 2017 with a lavish Romanée St Vivant.

At their best, Californian Cabernets can be ravishing wines – but all too often they are spoiled by overripeness. However, Spottswoode in St Helena proved yet again with its 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon that it’s possible to make wines of poise and elegance in Napa Valley.

It was a particular pleasure to encounter a wine completely new to me, the scarce 2001 Clos Joliette ‘C39’ Jurancon, from a small estate that hardly ever releases any of its very limited production. This is a sweet wine of amazing complexity and generosity, freshness and length.

These are among the best wines I tasted this year, but there have been so many others: Chardonnay and Shiraz from Australia, mature Bordeaux both white and red, venerable Madeiras, seductive Tuscans and ethereal Sicilians. Decades ago the world of great wine was reduced to a few classic regions. Today the choice is almost infinite.

Stephen Brook’s top wines of 2019:

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