In 2011, Wine Enthusiast's tasting panel reviewed more than 16,000 wines. We’ve recently published our Top 100 Best Buys (wines for $15 or less), our Top 100 Cellar Selections (cellar-worthy and highly rated collectibles) and our popular list of The Enthusiast 100 (weekend wines, restaurant purchases and special occasion wines) – now we’re releasing lists from the world’s most popular wine regions, including France, Italy, South America and the United States.
This list covers the top 100 French wines reviewed by our team. France is known for producing all styles of wine, from the cool wines of the Loire Valley, to the more powerful, muscular offerings of the Rhône Valley, making this list one of our most diverse this year. For more on French wine, be sure to check out our country profile and our full list of French wine ratings here in the Buying Guide.
Salvestrin 2007 3D Cabernet Sauvignon (St. Helena)
- Cellar Selection
- $125
Sweet new oak stands out, giving this Cabernet caramel aromas and flavors. But the oak is perfectly in keeping with the wine’s massive power. Underneath the wood char is a dry, tannic wine with rich blackberry and currant flavors. It’s a bit disjointed now, needing time for everything to mesh together. Could be really something around 2015.
— S.H.
(6/1/2011)
Rubicon Estate 2008 Red (Rutherford)
- Online Exclusive
- $175
Even though 2008 was not the greatest Cabernet vintage, Rubicon has produced one of the most delicious bottlings of the year. Mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, with a little Cab Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot for complexity, it’s so delicious now, you might want to finish off the bottle. Soft and velvety, it appeals with blackberry and cherry pie filling flavors, and the…
— S.H.
(12/31/2011)
Ravenswood 2008 Old Hill Zinfandel (Sonoma Valley)
- $60
A tremendous Zinfandel, Ravenswood’s most expensive, and while you might quiver at the price, it’s easily a very great wine. This is Zinfandel on steroids, a monster of wild summer berry, tobacco, currant and spice flavors, wrapped into significantly thick tannins. Yet despite the power, it never quite loses elegance and balance. The winery’s 2007 was their…
— S.H.
(12/15/2011)
Ponzi 2008 Reserve Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley)
- Editors' Choice
- Online Exclusive
- $60
A gorgeous wine, lush and refined from the first sniff to the last swallow. Rose petals, cotton candy, chocolate-covered cherries—it’s a date in a bottle. As the wine rolls across the palate it seems to gain depth and detail, while keeping the exceptionally pretty fruit flavors front and center. Silky and lightly spicy, with cinnamon, toast, mocha and tobacco…
— P.G.
(3/1/2011)
Nicolaysen Family Vineyards 2001 Late Harvest Alisos Vineyard Gewürztraminer (Santa Barbara County)
- Editors' Choice
- $50
At nearly 10 years of age, this beautiful Gewürz shows how well a good California dessert wine can age. It’s still brisk in clean acidity, but is honeyed and sweet, with nearly 19% residual sugar. Shows rich, exotic pineapple, tangerine marmalade, gingerbread, apricot jam, buttered toast, crème brûlée, vanilla cream and spice flavors, leading to a long, deliriously…
— S.H.
(10/1/2011)
Monticello 2008 Corley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
- $72
A terrific Napa Cabernet, dry and smooth and tremendously layered in flavors. Blackberries, blueberries, currants, crême de cassis, anise, dark chocolate and cedar flood the palate and are just delicious. Best of all is the structure, so rich in firm tannins and acidity. Wonderful now, and should develop for at least a decade.
— S.H.
(12/31/2011)
Miner 2007 The Oracle Red (Napa Valley)
- $90
A wonderful wine, delicious and satisfying, and another great example of the ’07 vintage in Napa. Made of the five classic Bordeaux varieties, it’s full-bodied, dry and richly tannic. The flavors are enormously complex, suggesting blackberries, cassis, olive tapenade and cedar, with a long, sweet finish. Already throwing some sediment, it should age well for the…
— S.H.
(4/1/2011)
Migration 2009 Charles Heintz Vineyard Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast)
- Online Exclusive
- $55
Spectactular Chardonnay, so pure, clean and delicious. Defines the cool coastal climate of the Sonoma Coast, with brilliant, citrusy acidity brightening long hangtime flavors of tropical fruits, green apples and succulent peaches and pears. A stunningly good, upscale Chard to drink with very rich fare, such as ricotta cheese-filled gnocchi with grilled rock shrimp…
— S.H.
(5/1/2011)
Melville 2009 Carrie's Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills)
- Online Exclusive
- $46
Extraordinarily rich and ripe, if a little high in alcohol. Shows great extract, with masses of squashed, gooey cherries, raspberries and oodles of spices. Feels opulent and dramatic, with smoky oak adding to the complex, almost feral layers. So much going on in the glass. Just gorgeous now, and should hold and develop over the next 4–5 years.
— S.H.
(2/1/2011)
Maybach 2008 Weitz Vineyard Materium Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville)
- $125
A powerful, concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon. Impressive for the sheer density of fruit, namely blackberries, cherries and chocolate, accented with buttery, caramelized new oak perfectly in keeping with the wine’s volume. The tannins are soft, sweet and intricate. Despite the richness, There’s a firm minerality that adds to the structure and grounds it. So opulently…
— S.H.
(11/1/2011)
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