By Matthew DeBord
HQ 127 | AUTUMN 2024
By any measure, publishing a magazine for 35 years is a remarkable achievement. In fact, one might want to celebrate 35 years of Huntington Quarterly by pulling a cork on a great bottle of wine. I’ve been writing about wine for nearly 35 years and have amassed a list of my favorites. So, in honor of HQ’s 35 years, here are my top 35 bottlings, ranked in no particular order. Enjoy!
1. Flora Springs Trilogy: My personal favorite Napa Valley red wine is produced in a Bordeaux style, but mostly contains Cabernet Sauvignon. Balanced and powerful.
2. Château Cheval Blanc: I was once gifted a bottle of this stupendous red Bordeaux at a restaurant but couldn’t finish it by myself. So, I shared it with the waitstaff. It was from a 1980s vintage and was unforgettable.
3. Château Lafite Rothschild: If you have a few hundred (or a few thousand) dollars burning a hole in your pocket, run out and purchase a bottle of this mega-famous “first growth” Bordeaux. Austere and hard to drink when young, it’s a symphony on the palate after 20 years.
4. Château d’Issan and …
5. Château Lagrange: A pair of lesser-ranked red Bordeaux wines that I love because I have fond memories of getting to know the owners of the former and the winemaker of the latter when I was working at Wine Spectator. The Château D’Issan was my first experience of the old Bordeaux aristocracy while the beauty of the estate at Château Lagrange was unforgettable.
6. Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Chateauneuf-du-Pape: Bordeaux and Burgundy get all the props, but for my money this is the wine I always consider when at a great restaurant with a great wine list. At around $100, it’s also a steal for its quality.
7. Kermit Lynch Côtes du Rhône: This affordable, lush, simple red has been my house wine for decades.
8. Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon: The 1985 vintage was the first good wine I ever enjoyed — and I gladly helped the lady who filched it from her father’s cellar to drink two bottles.
9. Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port: Luscious and complex, this is Taylor’s flagship offering, bottled only in vintage years that make the grade.
10. Benton-Lane Willamette Valley Pinot Noir: Look for the “red label” from this reliable producer. Oregon Pinot Noir is exceptional, the closest the United States has come to competing with French Burgundy.
11. Phelps Insignia: A pricy Bordeaux-style blend from California that has always been my go-to gift wine for friends celebrating personal milestones. It’s mostly Cabernet but balanced with other red grape varietals.
12. Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: A famous Napa “cult wine,” impossible to get when released but available on the secondary markets for silly-high prices. Still, I drank a bottle with some cigar enthusiasts many years ago and was made a believer.
13. Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé: The greatest Valentine’s Day wine in the world, this pink Champagne is also wonderful every other day of the year.
14. Gaja Barolo Sperss: A cerebral example of the Italian answer to red Burgundy, this wine is hypnotically aromatic showing both power and delicacy.
15. Beringer White Zinfandel: A dirt-cheap and rather tacky wine that I used to love drinking with fresh mozzarella sandwiches.
16. Vinho Verde: This inexpensive and slightly sparking Portuguese wine was my first comeuppance as a wine snob. When an Italian friend suggested we try this wine with pizza I jeered, thinking red was the way to go. Turns out sparklers are favored in Naples, the birthplace of pizza.
17. Opus One: A collaboration between the Rothschild and Mondavi families, this is Napa’s “first growth”-level red, produced at an innovative winery. Absolutely incredible, but also $400 a bottle.
18. Wölffer Estate Rosé: A beloved Long Island rosé, guzzled copiously every summer in the Hamptons. I was lucky to meet winemaker Roman Roth early in my career and learned to appreciate his approach to this simple yet enjoyable style.
19. Chateau Musar: A mythical wine produced in Lebanon that almost no one except the nerdiest wine lovers have heard of, much less tried. I obtained one bottle back in the 1990s and felt like I had joined an exclusive club.
20. Penfolds Grange: The greatest wine of Australia, this powerhouse red is always worth hunting down on wine lists as it tends to be drastically underpriced.
21. Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc: This is the wine that put New Zealand on the map. The wine burst onto the scene at about $10 a bottle in the 1990s; it now costs triple that.
22. Caymus Conundrum: My preferred house white, a blend of several white grape varieties from all over California. It’s democracy in a bottle!
23. Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post Pinot Noir: Made famous by the film Sideways, this robust California Pinot showcases the state’s bold style.
24. Ridge Monte Bello: The original “Bordeaux-style” California red was designed to deliver elegance and balance rather than raw power. I recommend it as a starter California wine for Europeans.
25. Au Bon Climat Chardonnay: This Santa Barbara Chardonnay is my favorite example of this often-misunderstood wine type. Rich and delicious, but not overdone.
26. Coppola Rosso & Bianco Rosso: Remember my story about a red pizza wine? This is my go-to, as well as a great burger wine.
27. Antinori Tignanello: This “Super Tuscan” was among the first that appeared, changing the game from Italy and placing its best reds on par with some of the more spectacular cult wines of the Napa Valley.
28. Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon: A low-key but legendary Cali Cab that never disappoints, even if it doesn’t knock your socks off. It was also the first winery I visited in Napa.
29. Château d’Yquem Sauternes: “Noble rot,” a beneficial grape disease, gives this wine its sophisticated sweetness, which has been coveted literally for centuries. Not cheap, but worth a try at least once.
30. Bedell Cellars Merlot: One of the oldest Long Island Merlots, and a personal favorite as this was the first winery I ever visited in the region. Not an overwhelmingly heavy wine, but quite complex.
31. MAWBY Blanc: Sparkling wine from … Michigan? You’d better believe it, and it’s one of the best the United States has to offer.
32. Louis Jadot Meursault: A gorgeous white Burgundy that’s ideal for special occasions, as it can be purchased for just under $100. Crisp, elegant and loaded with rich pear and apple flavors, plus a long finish.
33. Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau: A fun wine that is fermented for just a few weeks before being released for sale in late November. This was my gateway to wine appreciation in my 20s, even if it’s not that great by fine wine standards.
34. Red Newt Cellars Riesling: The best white wines in America aren’t in California — they’re in New York’s Finger Lakes region. This Riesling is affordable at $12 and impeccable, worth at least two or three times more.
35. Bas-Armagnac Delord: Armagnac is to Bourbon what Cognac is to Scotch: a bit rougher and more husky. I first sampled this brandy in the 1990s and have always been a fan. An ideal way to end dinner — and end this list!
