Mid Year Summary 2009

I’ve reviewed my blogs from January through July attempting to identify wineries and wines that may have popped up as best values so far this year. Reviewing stats once in awhile helps altho’ it means grinding through the numbers. Most often the same wines by now have disappeared from the shelves but it gives me an idea of what to look for in future Releases. I shop the General aisles if I know what I’m looking for even tho' I know the odds are often against me. All of the wines are listed in accompanying blogs.

General statistics:

• At the end of July and from eleven countries there were 91 reds, 86 whites and 11 rosés totalling 188 wines tasted.
• All but six were at or below my target of $25 and of the 188, 110 or ~58% were rated Ww86 or better, Ww86 being the number at which a wine has a special character deserving a nod.  Ww83 being 'fringe enjoyable'.
• Ten wines were under $10.
• Seventy-nine (~72%) of the 110 wines were purchased from Vintages, thirteen (~12%) from General listings and eighteen (~16%) from wineries or other sources.

Red specifics: 91 Total, 72 Ww83+

• A third were Australian and eighteen of these were rated Ww86+.
• Fourteen of the fifteen from Argentina were rated Ww86+.The rest, 55, were spread somewhat evenly among the remaining countries and generally were evenly divided above and below Ww86.
• The highest rated red at Ww97 was Wolf Blass Black Label Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 ($89.95, a gift). Kaiken Ultra Malbec 2006 ($19.95) came close at Ww95.
• The average price for reds rated Ww86+ was ~$20, skewed by the Wolf Blass, and below Ww86, ~$15.
• Of the 62 reds rated Ww86+, seven or ~11% were from the General shelves and forty-eight or ~77% were from Vintages. The rest being from other sources.

White specifics: 86 Total, 61 Ww83+

• Seventeen of twenty-three were rated Ww86+ and were from Canada. Top whites were Rosewood Estates ‘Renaceau Vineyard’ Chardonnay Reserve and their Riesling Reserve both priced at $25 and rated Ww94.
• For the remaining 63 whites there was about a 50/50 chance of Ww86 or better from NZ, Italy, Chile or USA.
• The average price for whites rated Ww86+ was ~$18 and below Ww86, ~$16.
• Six of the 45 Ww86+ and eighteen below Ww86 were from the General listing.

Conclusions:

• For Ww86+ wines, reds and whites, I’m batting just over 7 in 10 if I purchase from Vintages Releases.
• Selecting from the General shelves resulted in a 1 in 4 pick for an above average bottle of red or white.

Paraphrasing historians 'Knowing the past can help you see the future'... something like that… Happy imbibing! Ww