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Leading the field are a pair of perennial front-runners: super-premium V. Sattui Winery 2005 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon and premium V. Sattui Winery 2006 Carneros Chardonnay.
Other leading gold-medal premium Chardonnay producers include Navarro, Rodney Strong, ZD, Ventana, and Kendall Jackson. Premium Navarro Vyds. 2006 Anderson Valley Gewuerztraminer led its varietal class. Navarro Vyds. also produced leading premium and super-premium 2006 Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs.
Ventana Vyd. 2006 Arroyo Seco Estate-grown Riesling is the leading premium value in its varietal class, followed by premium Greenwood Ridge Vyds., 2006 Mendocino Ridge Lake-Harvest Riesling and super-premium Navarro Vyds. 2006 Anderson Valley Cluster-Select Riesling.
Premium Kendall Jackson 2005 Sonoma “Grand Reserve” Merlot leads its varietal class, followed by Napa Cellars 2005 Napa Valley Merlot, Folie-A-Deux 2006 Napa County Merlot and super-premium Kendall-Jackson Bennett Valley 2005 Merlot.
Premium Bianchi Winery 2005 Paso Robles Petite Sirah seems to be the only wine still in contention for “sweepstakes” honors, my term to identify wines that win a gold, silver or bronze medals at all the major western wine competitions.
As usual, the popular and well-made, good-value traditional-method sparkling wines of Korbel made a good showing, led by the colorful duo of good-value Korbel Blanc de Noirs and Korbel Brut Rose’ plus elegant Korbel 2005 Russian River Natural, popular Korbel Chardonnay Champagne and ultra-popular Korbel Brut.
Premium Gloria Ferrer 2000 Carneros “Royal Cuvee” Brut is the top-scoring sparkling wine, followed by Mumm Napa Valley Brut Prestige, the leading premium bubbly value. Super-premium Gloria Ferrer 1997 Carneros Cuvee Brut benefits from more than a decade of bottle aging.
Mumm Napa Winery placed six other premium sparkling wines on the 2008 “Interim Report,” including good-values Mumm Napa Blanc de Noir, Cuvee M., Blanc-de-Blanc and Demi-Sec, all with “Napa Valley” appellations.
The leading premium value is 6th Sense 2005 Lodi Syrah, a quintuple gold medalist. Other premium gold-medal Syrah producers include Kendall-Jackson, Earthquake, Maryhill, Ventana and top-value Black Box Wines.
A decade of judging at one of the major California wine competitors convinced me that results from well-run major wine competitions are dependable guides to wines of dependable quality and value.
John Breitlow is a retired Winona State University speech professor who began learning about good wine in the 1950s while serving in Vienna, Austria, with U.S. armed forces.
