The Enthusiast 100 of 2016
As the year winds down, we can’t help but reflect on our favorite wine tastings of 2016. We reviewed nearly 22,000 wines this year, so there’s certainly a lot to recall. But after compiling our Top 100 Best Buy list of the ultimate affordable sippers and then helping to invest in a stellar-cellar future with our list of Top 100 Cellar Selections, it’s time for the big one—The Enthusiast 100: our list of standout wines to buy and drink over the next few years.
The best of the best in more ways than one, this veritable shopping list illustrates the fantastic variety and diversity available to consumers today. With wines from 15 countries and across all styles—from punchy reds to delicate whites, brilliant rosés to sweeties and bubblies—it is an all-encompassing ranking that offers something for every palate and occasion.
#2 Wine of the Year
Wayfarer 2014 Wayfarer Vineyard Chardonnay 98 points
This is yet another stunning wine from this site, guided by the capable hands of Winemaker and Viticulturalist Bibiana González Rave, who has coaxed from it beguiling layers of complex concentration and sublime notions of tang and salt. The only white from a sea of Pinot Noir grown here, it speaks to what the extreme Sonoma Coast can bring to the variety—a celebration of lemon zest, crisp apple and brioche delicately wrapped in minerality.
