With the year drawing to a close, we asked our 2011 TOP|SOMM and Top New Somm finalists to highlight five favorite, impactful new releases from the past year, regardless of price. Selections from each finalist are not listed in any particular order. Price is approximate retail, with importers in parenthesis where appropriate.
Ian Cauble (The Ritz Carlton at Half Moon Bay, CA) TOP|SOMM 2011
Desi Echavarrie (French Laundry, CA) Top New Somm 2011
I think pricing might have to do with a lot of things....Less big rollers are letting us drink their fancy wine for free these days. They are tipping a bit less well. And I think a new generation of honesty is happening in what we may all be able to drink (not just taste).
As for the US selections, I would though in that while european wines are increasingly out of balance, american and even ausi wines seem to be coming more and more in balance. I rekon experience with extreme ripeness seems to go to the new world these days...
Awesome choices all around.