Everyone
experiences wine differently; we don’t all like the same wines; we often remember
the same wine differently. The personal nature of wine is the main reason why I’m
always so perplexed as I read the various annual “top wines” lists put forward
by the leading wine publications. I’m not convinced
that there’s an absolute scale of quality by which all wines can be
ranked. That's not to say that there aren’t good wines and there
aren’t bad wines; there are definitely both. My fundamental belief about wine is: “A good wine is a wine that
is true to the grape from which it is made and true to the region from which it
comes.” However, just because it’s
possible to distinguish a good wine from a bad wine does not mean it’s possible
to put all the good wines in a specific, numeric order of quality!My prejudices about lists aside, I’m willing to offer my own for 2012 with a disclaimer: Although all of the wines I’ve chosen are “good” wines, the list isn’t an assembly of the very best wines I had in order of quality. Rather, these are simply the wines that have made the biggest impression on me in the past year--impressions formed not just by quality, but also by the experience that came with the wine (at a special event or with the winemaker) or because a particularly great wine was so shockingly affordable. Other times, it was because the wine came alive in a perfect food and wine pairing. But whatever the reason, the wines on this list are the ones I remembered and loved from the year. Try them. You may like them, too.
