(published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on December 8, 2011)
The
significance of being featured in a publication like Wine Spectator Magazine is
not lost on winemaker John Falcone.
“It’s
the most read wine magazine in the entire country,” he says, “and probably even
internationally.”
With
an estimated readership of 2.6 million, and a global reach, Wine Spectator is
readily known as the magazine of record among wine enthusiasts. Its reviews and endorsements can help sell
wine in large numbers. Its writers are
industry celebs.
Perhaps
it most anticipated release is its yearly roundup of the 100 most exciting
wines, which it first published in 1988.
According to a company press release, the top 100 wines “reflect
significant trends, recognize outstanding producers and spotlight successful
regions and vintages around the world.”
The magazine’s editors revisit wines they’ve already reviewed throughout
the year and list them based on four criteria: quality (reflected in scores
earned from a 100-point scale), value, availability and an overall “X-factor,”
or general excitement generated by a particular wine. Paring down more than 16,000 selections, the list of the best 100 from 2011 was released a few days
ago.
This is the
first time a Rusack wine’s made it on this high-profile lineup and Mr. Falcone
admits “it’s quite an honor.” The wine,
itself, is sold out now; the 2009 syrah is on store shelves now. But the buzz from the honor goes beyond the
bottle. “This kind of publicity brings
recognition to the brand, period,” he says.
“People start to ask, ‘what other wines do you have?’ And a lot of them will look at Rusack a lot
more closely the next time they’re buying wine.”
Mr.,
Falcone remembers 2008 as a reduced vintage for syrah, though “the wines tended
to be fruity and forward, and very aromatic and easy to drink.” About 60% of the wine’s fruit came from the
Rusack estate off Ballard Canyon Road; the rest came from multiple syrah
sources throughout the county.
Two other
Santa Barbara County wines made the list, too.
The 2008 Rhone blend “The Offering” on the Sans Liege label -- a $25
wine that also was awarded 93 points – was 34th on the list. And Doug Margerum’s Sybarite Sauvignon Blanc
from Happy Canyon, a $21 bottle and 91-point winner, took slot #82.
Winemaker
Brian Loring makes wine in Lompoc, and makes mostly vineyard-designate pinot
noirs; the pinot he makes annually with Santa Rita Hills fruit is always a
best-seller. But Loring made this year’s
list with a wine he made using fruit from Sonoma County’s Russian River
Valley. The $29 wine from 2009, which
scored 93 points when it was first reviewed in February, ranked 75th.
“Being on the Top 100 list is really
cool because it's worldwide,” says Mr. Loring.
“It's also nice that the selections are based on price and availability,
as well as score. That means that the wines are often more consumer
friendly than just a list of $1000 bottles of wine that very few people can
afford.”
Since the list’s publication, Loring
Wine Company has been an increase in phone calls, emails and mailing list
sign-ups. “That hasn’t resulted in
increased sales per se,” Mr. Loring adds, “but it's always nice to get new
people exposed to your brand, which should translate into future sales.”
The wine, itself, which saw a
production of about 600 cases, has been sold out since early this year. The winemaker recalls 2009 as “a fantastic
year for California pinot noir” and “as perfect as you could wish for. His Russian River Valley wine, specifically, “was
probably the lightest, most elegant pinot we made from 2009.
Our wines tend to get bigger as you head south, with our Sta. Rita Hills pinots
being some of the boldest we make. While many of our wines received
equally as good scores, I think it was the combination of the lower price point
and relatively higher production of the Russian River Valley pinot caused the
senior editors at Wine Spectator to choose that wine for their Top 100,” says
Mr. Loring.
California Central Coast was further
represented on the coveted list with three wines – and all red Rhone blends –
from Paso Robles. The 2008 “The Dirt
Whisperer” from Denner Winery was #11, with 97 points and a $45 price tag. Tablas Creek’s 2009 Cotes de Tablas was 37th,
with 93 points and a $30 price point.
And with 97 points and a retail price of $75, Saxum’s James Berry
Vineyard came in 52nd place; the winery’s ’07 blend by the same name
got the top spot in the magazine’s list for 2010.
In all, Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines
list for 2011 represented 12 countries.
The number one slot went to a Northern California Burgundian: Kosta
Browne’s 2009 Sonoma Coast pinot noir, a $52 bottle. You can find the complete list here: http://assets.winespectator.com/wso/pdf/WS123111_Top100AtAGlance.pdf.
