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Top 100 Wines of 2003 & Best Values

by Marc Dornan, dornan@tastings.com

Pulling up the best wines we tasted of the 3000 sipped and sniffed throughout the year is a fairly meritocratic process--there is not much editorial hand wringing involved. I simply ask our database for the top-scoring wines of 2003 and out comes a list of wines scoring 90 points and upwards.

This year we are heavily indebted to domestic efforts in our top wines and such heavyweight names like Woodward Canyon and Cayuse of Washington State produced the benchmark Merlot and Syrah for the year. Napa Valley and its subzones contributed Bordeaux grape variety gems from Jarvis, Grgich and the astonishingly consistent boutique winery, Rudd Cellars in Oakville. While the blue chip are to be expected in such a gathering, there are plenty of less obvious wines that are equally suited to the upcoming cold winter months, such as delicious efforts as the great vintage ports from Ficklin of Madeira County, California.

Click on the following link to see our Top 100 wines from 2003. May we find many more like them in 2004.

Top 100 Wines of 2003

Best Values of 2003: The Chicago Value Challenge

Each year we seek the best values for under $15 and of the 400 wines submitted this year we are delighted to propose the Top 10 Value Challenge Winners (actually there are 11, as we could not break a tie) as worthy of consideration for any shopping basket.

1 - Quady 2002 Red Electra, Muscat, California $9. (91points)
2 - Elk Cove 2002 Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley $15. (90 points)
3 - Maryhill 2001 Fort Rock Red, Columbia Valley $13. (90 points)
4 - Waterbrook 2002 Mélange Red, Columbia Valley $13. (90 points)
5 - Bogle 2001 Old Vine, Zinfandel, California $11. (90 points)
6 - Everett Ridge 2002 Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino County $14. (90 points)
7 - Everett Ridge 2000 Syrah, Sonoma Valley $14.99. (90 points)
8 - Raymond Estates 2000 Merlot, California $13. (90 points)
9 - King Estate 2001 Pinot Gris, Oregon $15. (89 points)
10- Peachy Canyon 2001 Incredible Red Bin 113, Zinfandel, Paso Robles $12. (89 points)
11 - Little Stone Vineyards 2002 Pinot Noir, Napa Valley $12.99. (89 points)

Of course good value is not limited to these 11, why not check out the Top 50 wines from the 2003 Chicago Value Challenge

Top 50 2003 Chicago Value Challenge Winners