Pacific Northwest wines dominated the top of Wine Spectator magazine’s annual top 100 list, a compilation of the best wines in the world, according to the largest and most influential wine publication in the world.
Wines from Washington and Oregon filled an astonishing 20 percent of the top 50, with five wines from each state.
“Oregon and Washington did well,” said Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator’s editor-at-large.
While a previously obscure California producer nabbed the No. 1 spot on the Wine Spectator top 100 list, one of Washington’s most storied producers landed at No. 2. Quilceda Creek Vintners in Snohomish was rated as the second-best wine in the world.
Steiman said any wine in the top four is in contention for the wine of the year.
“It requires a series of votes,” he said. “It doesn’t happen on the first vote. It’s always close, and that was the case this year.”
In other words, Quilceda Creek’s 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon was a razor’s edge away from being the best wine in the world. The wine used grapes from four vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills and on Red Mountain. It is 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon that was aged in 100 percent new French oak. It sold out almost immediately after being released in the spring.
Quilceda Creek has enjoyed more than a decade of accolades unmatched in Washington wine history. Its 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007 earned perfect 100-point scores from The Wine Advocate newsletter, then owned by wine critic Robert Parker. And in 2006, Wine Spectator ranked the Quilceda Creek 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon as the No. 2 wine in the world.
This is Quilceda Creek’s sixth time on the top 100 list, starting with the 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon on the 1996 list. It’s the third time Quilceda Creek has garnered a top-10 ranking.
Here are the 10 wines from Washington and Oregon that made the Wine Spectator top 100:
2. Quilceda Creek Vintners 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, $140
3. Evening Land Vineyards 2012 Seven Springs Vineyard La Source Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, $70
11. Big Table Farm 2012 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $40
14. Bergström Vineyards 2013 Le Pré Du Col Vineyard Pinot Noir, Ribbon Ridge, $60
22. Gramercy Cellars 2012 The Deuce Syrah, Walla Walla Valley, $52
28. Baer Winery 2012 Ursa, Columbia Valley, $39
31. K Vintners 2012 The Creator, Walla Walla Valley, $55
34. Tenet Wines 2013 The Pundit Syrah, Columbia Valley, $25
38. Soléna 2012 Grande Cuvée Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $25
45. Colene Clemens Vineyards 2012 Margo Pinot Noir, Chehalem Mountains, $36
With all 10 packed in the top 50, this means the Northwest took up 20 percent of the first half of the list. That’s an impressive amount, considering the Northwest produces less than 10 percent of the wine in the United States, and the United States produces about 5 percent of the wine in the world.
Steiman said Washington and Oregon have gone from being up-and-coming regions to true players on the world stage.
“We used to talk about California,” he said. “Now, we talk about California, Washington and Oregon.”
Steiman, who has been with Wine Spectator since 1983, covers Australia, Washington and Oregon. The magazine blind-tasted more than 18,000 wines this year.
When the complete list of Wine Spectator top 100 wines was revealed Monday morning, phones began ringing at wine shops across the nation. This is typical, said Doug Charles, owner of Compass Wines in Anacortes, Wash.
“Oh yeah, it’s been busy,” Charles said. “The phone is going crazy. It’s not just for Washington wines, either. It’s for everything.”
Charles said it’s not just regional customers looking for trophies. He gets calls from all over the country from wine lovers looking to get the No. 1 or No. 2 wines each year.
“They aren’t our normal customers,” he said. “They’re score hunters.”
Since Wine Spectator began its top 100 list in 1988, the Northwest has been represented each year. With the 10 selections this year, Washington and Oregon wines have now held 200 spots on the Wine Spectator top 100 list. Washington has had 125 wines on the list, while Oregon has had 75.
The first Northwest wine to break into the top 10 was Woodward Canyon Winery in Lowden, with its 1987 Cabernet Sauvignon. It was ranked No. 10 in 1990.
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Washington’s oldest and largest winery, has had the most top 100 wines in the Northwest with 17. This doesn’t include Tenet Wines, which is a new international collaboration. Tenet’s inaugural 2013 Syrah weighed in at No. 34 on this year’s list.
Ste. Michelle’s sister winery, Columbia Crest, has been on the Wine Spectator top 100 list 16 times. And it reached the pinnacle of Northwest and international winemaking when its 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was the Wine Spectator Wine of the Year in 2009.
Twice, an Oregon wine has reached as high as No. 3, including this year’s list, when Evening Land’s 2012 Seven Springs Vineyard La Source Pinot Noir came in just behind Quilceda Creek and also vied for the No. 1 position. This is Evening Land’s fifth time on the top 100 list, all for Pinot Noirs from Seven Springs Vineyard.
Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue run Great Northwest Wine, a news and information company. Listen to their weekly podcast on iTunes or at www.greatnorthwestwine.com.
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