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Senior Editor Zekun Shuai highlights the top wines from our latest Weekly Tasting Report which features a bonanza from Barbaresco, a 'generational' vintage from Napa, diverse gems from Germany and more. Senior Editor Aldo Fiordelli found some top 2021 crus from Produttori del Barbaresco, while Associate Editor Ryan Montgomery was in California, where he tasted Jean Hoefliger's 2023s, calling the AXR Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon almost perfect in every sense. Senior Editor Stuart Pigott found a few top German wines, including the juicy Von Oetinger Riesling and a pinot noir supernova from Dautel. Read the full report with 342 tasting notes here: https://lnkd.in/gBw_wszF #JamesSuckling #WineTasting #Barbaresco #NapaValley #GermanWine #ItalianWine #CaliforniaWine #ProduttoridelBarbaresco #AXRwine #Riesling #Nebbiolo #CabernetSauvignon

This week, Staff Writer & Critic Claire Nesbitt highlights the Sadie Family Piekenierskloof Soldaat 2024 as her Wine Crush, which she describes as possibly one of the best wines made from grenache in South Africa. Crafted by celebrated winemaker Eben Sadie, this elegant red comes from high-altitude bush vines in the Piekenierskloof region. Sadie, who honed his expertise with the grape during a decade in Spain, ferments and ages this wine entirely in concrete to preserve its purity and character. It’s a medium-bodied red that is fresh and silky on the palate with seamless, very fine tannins.

Our Top 100 Wines of New Zealand 2025 list is out now, exploring a “new horizon” of quality from this island nation. Kiwi winemakers are producing wines of precision and refinement from pristine vineyards farmed organically and regeneratively, amplified by the benchmark 2024 vintage. We prioritized quality, value, production size, and the “wow factor” in our selections. Our New Zealand Wine of the Year – Terra Sancta Pinot Noir Central Otago Bannockburn Mysterious Diggings 2024 – captures this spirit. This fresh and characterful wine energizes the palate with its crisp texture and ultra-fine tannins. See the top five wines below and read the full report (free for all) here: https://lnkd.in/gu95sHdq No. 1: Terra Sancta Pinot Noir Central Otago Bannockburn Mysterious Diggings 2024 From a beautiful regenerative vineyard, our Wine of the Year is refreshing, vivid and vibrant. It offers a crisp, crunchy palate and ultra-fine tannins, delivering energy and focus – a tribute to pristine terroir and modern winemaking. No. 2: Felton Road Pinot Noir Central Otago Cornish Point 2024 A benchmark pinot noir from an iconic Bannockburn producer, showcasing the pure, ripe and beautiful fruit of the 2024 vintage. No. 3: Kumeu River Chardonnay Kumeu Mate’s Vineyard 2024 From arguably the country’s finest white-wine producer (the 2020 vintage was our Wine of the Year in 2021), this is a great chardonnay: medium-bodied, with a tight, phenolic texture and a long, focused finish. No. 4: Bilancia Syrah Hawke’s Bay La Collina 2024 Showing impressive complexity and tension, this comes from Bilancia’s tiny, hand-worked vineyards in Hawke’s Bay – they are considered one of New Zealand’s best Syrah producers. No. 5: Kusuda Syrah Martinborough 2022 This fresh, handcrafted, medium-bodied syrah recalls the complexity and focus of France’s great Hermitage wines from the classic 1980s and 1990s. Beautifully curated fine tannins, agility and bright acidity complete the picture.

Our Top 100 Wines of New Zealand 2025 report is live now on JamesSuckling.com! This year's list explores a "new horizon" for Kiwi wine, highlighting the excellent 2024 vintage and the rise of small, hands-on producers dedicated to regenerative viticulture, crafting wines of striking precision and refinement. Our New Zealand Wine of the Year, the Terra Sancta Pinot Noir Central Otago Bannockburn Mysterious Diggings 2024, perfectly captures this spirit. It’s a fresh and characterful wine with a crisp, crunchy palate and ultra-fine tannins, delivering energy and focus. Sourced from a beautiful, regeneratively farmed vineyard in Bannockburn, this pinot noir is a tribute to pristine terroir and modern winemaking. To explore the complete Top 100 Wines of New Zealand 2025 list for free, click here: https://lnkd.in/gu95sHdq #NZWine #PinotNoir #WineOfTheYear #NewZealandWine #RegenerativeViticulture #2024Vintage #WineLovers #Viticulture #NewZealand @TerraSanctaWine #PinotNoir

Our Top 100 Wines of South Africa 2025 list is live now, highlighting how the country's winemakers are redefining terroir by merging historical depth with a new-wave style of tension and salinity, all while delivering remarkable value. We prioritized quality, value, production size and the "wow factor" in our selections. Our South African Wine of the Year, the Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2022, is a legendary dessert wine that continues to define excellence. This fragrant and luscious wine shows exceptional quality with apricot jam and orange fruit aromas balanced by bright acidity and a stunningly long finish. See the top 5 bottles below and read the full list here: https://lnkd.in/gP7iS7WT No. 1: Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2022 - A legendary dessert wine, this is fragrant, luscious and concentrated with apricot jam and orange rind, balanced by bright acidity and a long finish. No. 2: Porseleinberg Swartland 2023 - This year’s highest-rated pure syrah is deliciously peppery, savory and salty, showing incredible concentration and focus from its schistous hilltop site in the Swartland. No. 3: Sadie Family Swartland Columella 2023 - Our top-rated wine of the report. A beautifully polished and complex red blend that is firm and fine-grained. It’s built for aging and shows incredible potential. No. 4: Storm Pinot Noir Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Ignis 2023 - A stunningly elegant and nervy pinot noir with beautiful purity of red fruit, red tea and floral notes. An excellent value from a cool, granitic site. No. 5: David & Nadia Swartland Elpidios 2023 - A standout value, this Rhone-style red blend is brimming with savory, peppery elegance and structure for an incredible price.

Our No. 7 World Wine for 2025 is the Errázuriz Chardonnay Aconcagua Costa Las Pizarras 2023, an intense and complete white from Chile. This chardonnay shows aromas of chalk, seashells and lemon zest, leading to a medium- to full-bodied palate with a richer mouthfeel than previous vintages. The finish is saline and mouthwatering, with zesty citrus and seashell notes. Born from the schist-rich soils of Aconcagua Costa in La Pizarra, this wine is a perfect example of modern chardonnay that moves away from excessive oak to express the unique character of its vineyard. It's a stunning, less austere and more complete vintage that showcases a beautiful balance of fruit and minerality. Stay tuned for more profiles of our Top 10 wines and check out the other 99 wines in the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gZxe7JJb @errazurizwines #ChileanWine #Chardonnay #jamessucklingTopWines2025 #WineLovers #Aconcagua #jamessucklingtop100 #LasPizarras #WhiteWine

The JamesSuckling.com Wine of the Year for 2025 is the Château d’Issan Margaux 2022. This glorious Bordeaux is the epitome of the exceptional 2022 vintage, a wine that is luxurious and complex yet wonderfully approachable even in its youth. It was chosen not only for its stunning quality, opulent fruit and velvety tannins but also for its excellent value and global availability. During the Wine of the Year 2025 Awards Dinner at The Dynasty Club Hong Kong held on October 31, James asked Emmanuel Cruse, the co-owner of Chateau d’Issan, how they made such a stunning wine. Watch the video for more and read the full Top 100 World Wines 2025 Report for free here: https://lnkd.in/gZxe7JJb @ChateauDissan #JamesSucklingTop100 #Top100Wines #WineRatings #WineLovers #bordeauxwine #WineTasting #2025TopWines #wineoftheyear #BestWines

Our Top 100 Wines of South Africa 2025 is out now on JamesSuckling.com! This year’s report highlights how the country’s winemakers are redefining terroir expression, merging historical depth with a new-wave style of tension and salinity, all while delivering remarkable value. Our South African Wine of the Year, the Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2022, is a legendary dessert wine that stands out amid this new generation, continuing to define excellence in the 21st century. This fragrant and luscious wine from the historic Constantia region was a favorite of former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. The 2022 vintage shows exceptional quality with apricot jam and orange fruit aromas balanced by bright acidity and an astoundingly long finish. To explore the complete Top 100 Wines of South Africa 2025 list for free, click here: https://lnkd.in/gP7iS7WT #SouthAfricanWine #SouthAfrica #WineoftheYear #VindeConstance #KleinConstantia #Top100 #Ja

Our No. 6 World Wine for 2025 is the Pieropan Soave Classico La Rocca 2023, a classy and sophisticated white. This wine highlights the unique character of Soave, showing toasty and stony aromas with lemon peel, oranges and quince, leading to a medium-bodied yet weighty palate. Vibrant acidity balances the strength, finishing with long, silky notes of toast and white chocolate. The Pieropan family put vineyard-driven Soave on the map, and this distinctive white comes from chalky limestone soils - unusual in a region known for volcanic terrain. It’s a benchmark in the world of Italian wine and a bottle you should be able to find wherever you are. Stay tuned for more profiles of our Top 10 wines and check out the other 99 wines in the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gZxe7JJb

Our latest California Wine Crush is the compelling Bien Nacido Syrah Santa Maria Valley 2023. Staff Writer & Taster Brian Freedman calls this estate-bottled gem from the iconic Bien Nacido vineyard a wine of both power and detail. He highlights the peppery aromas of cured game and bacon fat, which lead to a crunchy, minerally palate with flavors of star anise, brambleberries and blueberries. Structured by what Brian calls "steeped tea tannins" and a fresh acidity, this is a wine that is hard to resist right now, but he promises that with patience, the pleasure will grow even greater. @biennacidoestate #BienNacido #Syrah #SantaMariaValley #CaliforniaWine #WineCrush #CentralCoastWine @freedmanreports