I like to name an "official" Wine of the Year every year. They're the wines that move me in the moment or that make me fall in love with wine all over again.
I try to keep a running list of contending bottles in my phone's Notes app, and as I've recently looked back over that list, I've noticed 2021 seemed to be less about the wines themselves than the moments made perfect by them.
Chalk it up to quenching my 2020 social drought, or maybe I'm finally starting to understand the point of wine after all these years. Either way, these are my top four wines of 2021.
4) 2017 Podere ai Valloni Sass Russ ($22)
If you've read this column for any length of time, you've probably picked up that I prefer white wine in the summer months (you know, March through December ...) but, occasionally, I get a craving for red wine in the dog days of summer. This is one of those perfect, rare reds that manages never to seem heavy and, with the slightest chill, was perfect for a late-night backyard dinner in mid-August.
Nebbiolo, Italy's high-tannic, high-acid, wunderkind grape, makes up 50% of this blend, and you can always turn to it when you need a red that will cool you down in the summer.
3) 2018 Domaine des Moirots Givry Rouge ($35)
Here's a little secret about me: I don't like Thanksgiving. The reasons are myriad, but in 2021 I had the best Turkey Day of my life surrounded by my chosen family in a small Washington apartment. It may be an entry-level bottle of Burgundy, but it proved why French pinot noir has been a go-to wine pairing for the Thanksgiving table for decades ... that it was paired with turkey and sides from a Michelin-starred restaurant didn't hurt.
2) 2019 Teutonic Wine Co. Muscat ($17)
I've written about this wine before, and it seems only fitting that it would rank so high at the end of the year — I may or may not have drunk almost an entire case of it over the last 12 months. It has everything I look for in a wine: a beguiling aroma (think jasmine, fresh geraniums and satay spice), a bright, zippy mouth-feel, and it pairs easily with everything from backyard-boiled crawfish to Indian, and tastes shockingly good when mixed with a PBR.
1) 2004 Champagne Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill ($350)
I guess it's really not that surprising that Champagne would take the top spot this past year. This particular bottle was opened at a birthday dinner with a small group of friends at Revel Restaurant and Bar in Fort Smith. The wine was, of course, perfect with its rich and nutty profile. Over the years, it had taken on a nose of white chocolate and reminded me of the Zero candy bars my father would buy at gas stations.
Sublime by every measure.
As always, you can see what I'm drinking on Instagram at @sethebarlow and send your wine questions and quibbles to [email protected]