Sign In | Register | Feedback?
Score Chasers: USA 2011

With a climate that ranges vastly from coast to coast, distinct grape varieties can thrive in the various American wine regions – making this year’s Top 100 list one of our most interesting. From California to Virginia, our list covers the best offerings from the 4th largest wine-producing region in the world.

This list of the Top 100 wines from the United States was created in the same way our recent Top 100 Best Buys (wines for $15 or less), Top 100 Cellar Selections (cellar-worthy and highly rated collectibles) and The Enthusiast 100 (weekend wines, restaurant purchases and special occasion wines) lists were created.

95
points

Salvestrin 2007 3D Cabernet Sauvignon (St. Helena)

  • Cellar Selection
  1. $125
Score Chasers: USA 2011
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)
95
points

Rubicon Estate 2008 Red (Rutherford)

  • Online Exclusive
  1. $175
Score Chasers: USA 2011
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)
95
points

Ravenswood 2008 Old Hill Zinfandel (Sonoma Valley)

  1. $60
Score Chasers: USA 2011
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)
95
points

Ponzi 2008 Reserve Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley)

  • Editors' Choice
  • Online Exclusive
  1. $60
Score Chasers: USA 2011
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)
95
points

Nicolaysen Family Vineyards 2001 Late Harvest Alisos Vineyard Gewürztraminer (Santa Barbara County)

  • Editors' Choice
  1. $50
Score Chasers: USA 2011
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)
95
points

Monticello 2008 Corley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)

  1. $72
Score Chasers: USA 2011
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)
95
points

Miner 2007 The Oracle Red (Napa Valley)

  1. $90
Score Chasers: USA 2011
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)
95
points

Migration 2009 Charles Heintz Vineyard Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast)

  • Online Exclusive
  1. $55
Score Chasers: USA 2011
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)
95
points

Melville 2009 Carrie's Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills)

  • Online Exclusive
  1. $46
Enthusiast 100 2011 Score Chasers: USA 2011
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)
95
points

Maybach 2008 Weitz Vineyard Materium Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville)

  1. $125
Score Chasers: USA 2011
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)
What We're Tasting
96

2007 Corte Pavone

This dark Brunello opens with thick concentration and balsam notes of…
(Sponsored)
Facebook Activity
Twitter Activity
About Us| Subscribe| Subscribe Digitally| Advertise| Contact Us| Submissions| Tasting Panel| Classifieds| Career Opportunities| Privacy Policy | © 2012 Wine Enthusiast Magazine. All rights reserved.