VINTAGE CHARTS FRANCE 00 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 91 Alsace 7p 7p 9p 10p 8p 8p 5l 6l 7l 5l Champagne (vintage) 6p 7p 8p 6p 9p 8p 5m 6p 5l 6m Bordeaux Margaux 9p 8p 7p 6l 8p 8p 7p 6l 4l 4l St.-Jul., Pauillac, St-Est. 9p 7p 7p 6l 9p 8p 7p 6l 4l 4l Graves/Pessac-L. (R) 9p 7p 8p 6l 8p 8p 6p 6l 4l 4l Graves/Pessac-L. (W) 9p 7p 9p 5l 8p 8p 8l 6l 4l 4l St-Émilion, Pomerol 9p 7p 9p 6l 7p 9p 8l 6l 4l 2l Sauternes 6p 8p 7p 9l 9l 7l 5l 4l 3l 3l Burgundy Chablis 9p 7p 7p 9p 10p8l 7l 7l 7l 6p Côte de Beaune (W) 9p 8p 5p 8l 8p 9l 7l 6l 9l 6k Côte de Nuits (R) 7p 9p 8p 8p 9p 8p 5l 9l 6l 8l Beaujolais Cru 9p 9p 8p 7l 7l 8l 5k 7k 5k 9l Loire Bourgueil, Chinon 6p 7p 7l 8l 10l8l 5l 6l 5l 4l Sancerre (W) 9p 7p 7l 9l 8l 8l 6l 6l 5k 7k Loire Sweet 6p 7p 7l 9l 9l 9l 6l 6l 5l 4l Rhône Hermitage (W) 8p 8p 9p 7p 9p 8p 7l 5k 6l 7l Hermitage (R) 8p 8p 9p 8p 8p 9p 7p 3l 6l 8l Côte-Rôtie 9p 9p 9p 6p 7p 9p 7l 4l 6l 9l Châteauneuf (R) 8p 8p 9p 6p 7l 8l 8l 6l 5l 5l GERMANY Mosel Riesling 7p 8p 8p 8l 7l 9l 7l 9l 6l 5l Rheingau Riesling 6p 7p 8p 8p 8p 7l 7l 8l 8l 5l Pfalz Riesling 5p 8p 9p 8p 9p 5l 7l 8l 8l 5l For selected older vintages, refer to the charts on the inside back cover. ITALY 00 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 91 Barolo, Barbaresco 9p 9p 9p 9p 9p 8p 6l 7l 4l 5l Chianti Classico Ris. 8p 9p 8p 10p 8l 9l 7l 8l 5l 6l Brunello 8p 9p 9p 10p 6p 9p 7l 8l 5l 7l Amarone 9p 7p 7p 10p 7p10p 7l 8l 5l 5l SPAIN Ribera del Duero 7p 8p 7l 6l 9l 8l 9l 4k 6l 8l Rioja (R) 7p 6p 6l 7l 8l 8l 9l 5k 6l 7l PORTUGAL Alentejo 8p 8p 6p 8l 6l 8l 7l 5k 6l 7l Dão 8p 7p 6p 8l 8l 7l 7l 4k 7l 7l Port (vintage) 9p 7p 6m 8p 7m 8m 10p 2m 9p 8p USA California Cabernet 8p 8p 8p 9p 7p 8p 9p 7l 8l 9l California Chardonnay 8p 8p 7p 7p 6l 8l 8l 7l 7l 9l Oregon Pinot Noir 9p 9p 8l 5l 7l 5l 9l 7l 9k 8l Wash. State Cabernet 9p 8p 9p 8p 9p 8p 9l 7l 9l 8l AUSTRALIA Coonawarra Cabernet 8p 8p 9p 7p 8p 5l 8l 7l 7l 9l Hunter Semillon 9p 8p 9p 6p 8p 8p 7p 7l 5l 9p Barossa Shiraz 8p 7p 10p 8p 9p 8l 9l 7l 6l 8l Marg. River Cabernet 8p 8p 6p 9p 9p 8p 8l 8l 6l 9l NEW ZEALAND M’lborough Sauvignon 9l 8l 6l 8k 9k 5k 9k 7k 6k10k Hawke’s Bay Cabernet 8p 8p 9p 7l 7l 8l 8l 5l 4k 9l SOUTH AFRICA Stellenbosch Cabernet 8 p 7p 8p 9p 6l 9l 8l 5k 8l 7k Numerals (1–10) represent an overall rating for each year. pNot ready lJust ready lAt peak kPast best m Not generally declared Oz Clarke’s Pocket Wine Guide 2002 WEBSTE(cid:2)S LONDON This eBook edition published by arrangement with Harcourt, Inc. by Websters International Publishers Limited Axe and Bottle Court 70 Newcomen Street London SE1 1YT www.websters.co.uk www.ozclarke.com Copyright © 2001 Websters International Publishers Text copyright © 2001 Oz Clarke All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request eISBN 1-870604-34-2 This ebook developed by OverDrive, Inc. www.OverDrive.com Print version published by Harcourt, Inc. PWB2002 002-3 contents 10/23/01 5:19 PM Page 3 CONTENTS How to Use the A–Z 4 Introduction 5 Wines of the Year 8 Some of My Favourites 9 Modern Wine Styles 12 Matching Food and Wine 14 Matching Wine and Food 16 Making the Most of Wine 20 The World of Wine France 22 Italy 26 Germany 28 Spain 30 Portugal 31 USA 32 Australia 34 New Zealand 35 South America 36 South Africa 37 Other Wine Countries 37 A–Z OF WINES, PRODUCERS, GRAPES & WINE REGIONS 42–290 Special Features Barossa 56 Bordeaux Red Wines 68 Bordeaux White Wines 70 Burgundy Red Wines 76 Burgundy White Wines 78 Cabernet Sauvignon 82 Champagne 94 Chardonnay 98 Jerez y Manzanilla/Sherry 158 Merlot 186 Muscat 198 Napa Valley 202 Pinot Noir 218 Port 224 Riesling 234 Sauvignon Blanc 252 Sparkling Wines of the World 260 Super-Tuscans 264 Syrah/Shiraz 268 Glossary of Wine Terms 291 Index of Producers 298 Acknowledgements/Weblinks 321 004-7 How…intro…web PWB 02 7/20/01 2:15 PM Page 4 HOW TO USE THE A–Z The A–Zsection starts on page 42 and includes over 1600 entries on wines, producers, grapes and wine regions from all over the world. It is followed on page 291 by a Glossaryof some of the more common winemaking terms that are often seen on labels. Detailed Vintage Chartswith information on which of the world’s top wines are ready for drinking in 2002 can be found on the inside front and back covers; the front chart features vintages back to 1991; the back chart covers a selection of older vintages for premium wines. Glass Symbols These indicate the wines produced. R Red wine O Rosé wine W White wine The order of the glasses reflects the importance of the wines in terms of volume produced. For example: w White followed by rosé wine s Red followed by white wine d Red followed by rosé, then white wine Grape Symbols These identify entries on grape varieties. G Red grape g White grape Star Symbols These indicate wines and producers that are highly rated by the author. (cid:2) A particularly good wine or producer in its category (cid:2)(cid:2) An excellent wine or producer in its category – one especially worth seeking out (cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2) An exceptional, world-class wine or producer Best Years Recommended vintages are listed for many producer and appellation entries. Those listed in bold, e.g. 2000,99, indicate wines that are ready for drinking now, although they may not necessarily be at their best; those appearing in brackets, e.g. (2000), (99), are pre- liminary assessments of wines that are not yet ready for drinking. Cross References To help you find your way round the A–Z, wine names, producers and regions that have their own entries elsewhere in the A–Z are indicated by SMALLCAPITALS. Grape varieties are not cross-referred in this way, but more than 70 varieties are included. Special Features The A–Z section includes special 2-page features on the world’s most important wine styles, regions and grape varieties. These features include recommended vintages and producers, as well as lists of related entries elsewhere in the A–Z. Index The Index on page 298 will help you find over 3700 recom- mended producers, including all of those that don’t have their own entry in the A–Z. 4 004-7 How…intro…web PWB 02 7/20/01 2:15 PM Page 5 INTRODUCTION I was most offended this week. I was reading a report from the International Office of Vines and Wine, and it accused me of not drinking enough. Well, not just me. Every one of us wine lovers. I must admit I thought I’d been doing my share, and I’m sure most of you did too, but it’s not enough. We must all try harder! Because it seems that there is a global surplus of between 6.7 billion and 8.7 billion bottles of wine. Yes, that’s billion, not million. Which will take some shifting. After all, there are only 6 billion people – most of them not wine drinkers – on the whole planet. And by the time this guide is published, the surplus will be even bigger, because the surpluses seem to be rising by 30% a year – and that’s the conservative estimate! The thing is, all over Northern Europe wine drinking is boom- ing. In North America it’s booming. It’s even begun a cautious increase in the traditional countries like Portugal and Spain and other European stalwarts whose vast thirst for wine had been in decline for about 30 years or more. But it’s not enough. And for once it isn’t just the European wine lake to blame. The biggest cul- prits in the increase in production are the New World producers who were planting like fury during the 1990s and who are still covering land with vines in this new century. It shows the amaz- ing self-belief of these guys that they all think they won’t have a surplus problem because everyone wants theirwine at the expense of their competitors, especially their competitors in Europe. But they will have a problem. A big one, since their governments won’t bail them out the way governments do in Europe. And when that happens – welcome to Wine Wars. Until then – and it won’t be in the too distant future – here’s how I’m going to try to help out this year. I might as well start with the New World and its most aggressive performer, Australia. Well, there’s no doubt I’ll be drinking Australian – like just about everyone else. The world in general seems to have gone batty for Aussie Shiraz, which is lucky, really, as their plantings of Shiraz are projected to have risen sevenfold in the decade up to 2003. So I’ll drink some of that – not always the beautiful brawny beasts of Barossa and McLaren Vale; the dark-hearted peppery and damson delights of the Clare Valley, Coonawarraand central Victoria(par- ticularly the areas of Bendigo, Grampiansand Pyrenees) will slake some of my thirst too. Talking of thirst, have you ever tried an Aus- tralian Riesling? An amazing number of wine enthusiasts haven’t. Well, join me in enjoying the fabulous 1999s and 2000s from Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Victoria and Tasmania. Whenever the sun is high in the sky, these refreshing, lime-fruited lovelies are what I’ll be reaching for. Unless it’s a New Zealand white. I was a bit worried that the Kiwis had lost the plot on whites, but the typically cool 2000 vintage showed that they can still make Sauvignon Blanc with gorgeous crunchy attack, as well as fragrant Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris 5 004-7 How…intro…web PWB 02 7/20/01 2:15 PM Page 6 Introduction and lush Chardonnay. They’re starting to say Pinot Noir is their best wine. Not yet it isn’t, but I’ll be merrily checking out progress during the year. South Africa’s most individual wine is Pinotage – which doesn’t usually taste one bit like Pinot Noir, even though it’s related. But it’s a true original and I’ll have some of that, as well as trying their increasingly good Shiraz and surprisingly tangy Sauvignon Blanc. I also thought I’d be drinking loads of new-wave wine from Argentina, but now I’m not so sure. The 1999 vintage was sup- posed to be a triumphant recovery from the uncharacteristically poor 1998 crop, but there seem to be a rather large number of dull wines. So I’ll have to wait for the 2000s, which so far seem to be far more full of fruit and tango rhythms. And I’ll drink Chilean instead. Chile’s had its hiccups too, trying to maintain the price–quality relationship that made it so irre- sistible a few years ago. I’m still not a fan of the overpriced ‘mega- premium’ wines, but there’s lovely Carmenère, Merlot, Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc around at fair prices. There’s lots of good juicy stuff to be had in California, too, and with vast vintages to soak up, prices are becoming less daunting – if you get away from the best-known areas like Napa Valley, and from overpopular varieties like Merlot and Cabernet. I’m getting particularly excited by the number of wines using Rhône Valley and Italian grape varieties. But stay away from the cheap branded wines, which seem to be getting sweeter and more dumbed down. Stick to the good guys, who are making some of California’s best ever wines. Given the tremendous hype I’ve been hearing from the Pacific North West, I thought I’d be drinking lots of Oregon Pinot Noir from 1998, 99 and 2000, but I’ve been a little disappointed by them, as I have been by recent Washingtonefforts, too many of which seem rather flat and unfocused. Maybe the best stuff is being snapped up at the cellar door before I can get there. Ah well, I’ll drown my sorrows in Canadian icewine, a lovely, high-class, indi- vidualistic, intensely sweet wine – which the EU has finally decided is no threat to the livelihood of European winegrowers. And Canada has more to offer than icewine. I’m getting increasingly keen on the delightful, cool, refreshing whites coming out of British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. When it comes to Europe, I’ll certainly be drinking French, but not uncritically. I do still occasionally pick out a bottle of mature red Bordeaux from my dwindling hoard, to remind me how lovely Bordeaux can be, but I rarely reach for wine from a recent vintage. I virtually stopped drinking Champagnelast year in reaction to ris- ing prices and a slump in quality post-Millennium. The rest of the world obviously agreed with me and Champagne sales abroad dropped by 22% in 2000. Which means stocks of older, softer Champagne will have risen, so perhaps this Christmas I’ll cau- tiously give them another go. BurgundyI shall drink – there’s lots 6