Playing Favorites: Wine.com Expert Buyers’ Selections From the Top 100
Our Expert Buyers spend much of the year on the road, talking with producers, walking vineyards and tasting hundreds of wines. They also hear from you every day: what you loved, what surprised you and what you came back for.
So we asked them to do something they’re not always supposed to do: play favorites.
Here are seven bottles from this year’s Wine.com Top 100 they’d happily recommend to a friend, and the reasons they made the cut.
Giscours has been part of Margaux for centuries, but the story lately is what’s happening now. Over the past decade, the estate has invested seriously in its vineyards and cellar, and the wines have become increasingly precise. Megan’s take: “Margaux of this caliber at around $100 is getting harder to find.”
Louis Latour Château Corton Grancey Grand Cru 2023 · Tim Marson MW, France & Italy Buyer
Louis Latour owns more of Corton than anyone else, along with more Grand Cru vineyard land in the Côte d’Or than any other producer. Château Corton Grancey is its flagship red, made from a selection of the best barrels from four Grand Cru sites. It’s full and layered, with polished tannins, and named for the 18th-century château the Latour family purchased from the Comtes de Grancey. Which is about as Burgundian a backstory as you could ask for.
Aloxe-Corton, Cote de Beaune, Cote d'Or, Burgundy, France ● Pinot Noir
97 James Suckling
94 Wine Spectator
93 Robert Parker
$224
$202.99
The red that doesn’t care what’s for dinner
Ridge Lytton Springs · Kelley McCartney, California Associate Buyer
Ridge built its reputation by bottling individual vineyards and letting the sites do the talking. Lytton Springs, its Zinfandel-led blend from Dry Creek Valley, has been a fixture for decades, with raspberry, blackberry and warm spice backed by plenty of structure. Kelley puts it best: it’s “as perfect a pairing at a backyard barbecue as it is with Mom’s Sunday pasta.”
Made by Argentine wine pioneer Susana Balbo, Brioso takes its cues from Bordeaux, with dark fruit, cedar and spice, polished tannins and enough freshness to keep everything moving. Sophia calls it “a steal and a perfect next step for Bordeaux lovers ready to explore.”
From Alto Adige in Italy’s far north, Terlaner has the freshness you want from a white wine, but enough texture and depth to hold its own once fall cooking takes over. Maggie calls it “a great transitional wine for fall.”
Domaine Roy & Fils · Chimo Boehm, Domestic Wine Buyer
The Frescobaldi family has made wine in Tuscany for some seven centuries. In Oregon’s Willamette Valley, it now guides Domaine Roy & Fils, founded by Marc-André Roy and Jared Etzel of the Beaux Frères family. Estate-grown and aged mostly in neutral oak, it’s silky and bright, with red cherry, raspberry, a lift of violet, soft tannins and lively acidity. Chimo’s take: “Estate fruit and a world-class winemaking team, for a price rarely seen on Pinot Noir of this quality.”
Ruinart has been making Champagne since 1729, the oldest established house, and Chardonnay has become its signature grape. This Blanc de Blancs is all Chardonnay, mostly from the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims, aged in chalk cellars deep beneath Reims. It’s bright and citrusy, with a floral note and fine, persistent bubbles. Carin’s take: “It turns any night into an occasion, and it’s the first bottle to disappear at every party.”
