TOP 100 VALUE WINES
2022 was another challenging year at JamesSuckling.com, especially when it came to finding reasonably priced quality wines when prices were going up fast everywhere. But the tasting team still found more than a few excellent bottles that fit comfortably w
2022 was a challenging year in many ways. Especially important for the JamesSuckling.com team was the economic toll of inflation and the impact it had on some wine prices, underlining the importance of doing as much research as possible in trying to find the best value bottles.
We managed to taste a record 33,000-plus wines during the year, hitting the road and touching base with scores of wine producers in multiple countries and regions in our quest to find the very best of the best, as well as the greatest values in a sector that often touts premium prices over great budget buys. And we found a lot of the latter.
We did up the ante this year by setting our price limit at US$40 rather than $35, adding more than a few 98- and 99-pointers
to the overall list as a result. As a value reference, we used Wine Searcher, but the price-score metric wasn’t the only one we used; production volume and global availability were also considered.
White wines dominated our value list this year, with 56 in the top 100, and there were 43 reds and one dessert wine. As far as standout countries for great-value offerings is concerned, Australia was the big winner. And it wasn’t just the quality of Australian wines that impressed us: their overall purity, finesse and drinkability are clear, but with 19 Aussie wines in this Top 100 list and seven in the top 25, Australia showed its strength in the quality-plus-value game, with Claire Valley and Eden Valley especially notable for turning out rieslings that push the boundaries of possibility on the spectrum. Two of them
were the 2022 vintage of our No 1 value wine from last year, the breathtakingly joyful Pewsey Vale Riesling Eden Valley, which finished at No 6 this year, and the elegant Mitchell Riesling Clare Valley Watervale 2022, which came in at No 11.
Chile and Austria each placed a dozen wines among the Top 100. Most of the Chilean offerings were reds, including a few great syrahs priced at less than $20, from producers like Casas del Bosque, Emiliana and Lapostolle. The Austrian offerings were dominated by riesling and grüner veltliner, including the ripe and rich Emmerich Knoll Riesling Wachau Ried Loibenberg Smaragd 2021 at No 9. This wine also finished at No 2 on our Top 100 Wines of Austria 2022 list and No 7 among our Top 100 World Wines.
There were 11 wines each from
Argentina, New Zealand and Germany. Argentina has always been well represented in our Top 100 Value list with its diversity of varietals and blends, and this year was no different, with some striking chardonnays – like our No 5 value wine, the El Enemigo Chardonnay Mendoza 2020, and, of course, intriguing malbecs like the firm and structured Wapisa Malbec Patagonia 2020 (No 19) rising to the top echelon. New Zealand, like neighbouring Australia, also contributed some great-value rieslings and syrahs to our list, including our No 8 wine, the juicy and succulent Mission Estate Syrah Hawkes Bay Gimblett Gravels Reserve 2020.
Germany had its usual array of highscoring whites in our Top 100 Value list, predominantly rieslings, but it was Gunter Kunstler’s masterpiece, which we’ve praised many times in our reporting throughout the year, that rose to No 1 overall: the Künstler Riesling Rheingau Hölle GG 2021.
This organically grown stunner from the Rheingau, which was also our No 1 Wine of Germany for 2022 and No 2 on our world list, wowed us with its power and complexity. It’s fully charged with electrifying energy and brightness, pushing the limits of what a dry riesling can offer. And it’s just $17 a bottle, according to the average price on Wine Searcher. It was an easy choice for our No. 1 pick.
As always, of the seven French wines in the Top 100 a number of Beaujolais also made it on to our list, led by Les Héritiers Saint-Genys Morgon En Ruyère 2020 at No 3. This is a serious Morgon that shows it can stand shoulder to shoulder with great reds from Côtes de Nuits in neighbouring upper
Burgundy. It’s so complex, concentrated and powerful, with super-fine tannins and endless depth – all this for an average price of about $25, according to Wine Searcher. Incredible – and it’s why we love Beaujolais!
Spain also contributed seven wines, all reds, while Italy landed just four wines
– a definite off-year, though one of these was our No 4 value wine, the staggeringly deep and complex Manicor Pinot Nero Alto Adige Mason di Mason 2019. There were also three wines from the United States, two from South Africa and one from Portugal.
Despite the paucity of US wines on the list, the country still delivered our No 2 value wine, the K Vintners Syrah Yakima Valley Motor City Kitty 2019. This singleblock syrah from Washington State clocked in at 98 points and $40 a bottle. It’s as serious a syrah as you’re going to find anywhere in the world, offering plums, black cherries, bark and iron with chocolatey undertones, and is so layered and complex with depth and meaty character. This wine offers you the rare opportunity of snagging a 98-point red that you don’t have to lay out a couple hundred dollars for.
We’re grateful to see the global wine market offering more wines that combine quality with value. With globalisation and the implementation of more modern winemaking techniques, we’ve witnessed an enormous rise in quality throughout the world as we travelled and tasted throughout the past year. And with affordability ever-present at the top of our checklist for what makes for an outstanding wine, we’ll continue to taste and discover the best of what the world has to offer in 2023.