PaulG’s top 100 Pacific Northwest wines for 2011

2009 Sonría Pinot Noir, Shea Vineyard, Willamette Valley

This is the sixth year I have compiled a personal Top 100 list, based on tastings done over the 12 month period commencing November 1, 2010 and running through October 31, 2011. This time around, I decided to make the competition even tougher than before, by including the wines of Oregon in the mix. During the previous five years, I confess that my focus on Washington, and the research required to write two editions of my Washington wine book, meant that my grip on Oregon considerably slipped. But in 2011 I made four or five separate trips to our neighbor state, tasted many hundreds of wines, visited quite a few wineries, attended several wine festivals, and basically came away with a very positive impression of what is happening throughout the state (not just in the Willamette valley)…

…The 100 wines are ranked in order, first according to their score (on a 100-point scale) and within each scoring category by price (cheaper wines rank higher). Among all 93-point wines, for example, the least expensive will rank highest, and the most expensive lowest. The original suggested retail price is also listed.

All of these wines scored 92 points or higher in my reviews for Wine Enthusiast, and complete reviews are available on the magazine’s free database. This is NOT a Best Buy list, though you’ll find some excellent bargains. But most of these are special occasion wines, and some are already sold out, or have moved on to the next vintage. Enjoy, and let this serve as a shopping list for happy hunting as new vintages are released in the year ahead. – Paul Gregutt

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From article: paulg’s top 100 pacific northwest wines for 2011