WINE SPECTATOR, THE WORLD’S WINE “BIBLE”, CHOOSES THE “WINE OF THE YEAR” FOR 2008: THE CHILEAN CLOS APALTA COLCHAGUA VALLEY 2005 BY LAPOSTOLLE. ONLY ONE ITALIAN ON THE TOP TEN LIST: BAROLO 2004 BY PIO CESARE

The Chilean Clos Apalta Colchagua Valley 2005 by winemakers Lapostolle is the “Wine of the Year” for 2008. The American magazine Wine Spectator gave the wine 96/100 points, thus making it the number one wine on the much anticipated annual Top 100 list. As for Italian wines, only one was able to make onto the most sought after Top 10 list: Barolo 2004 by Pio Cesare took 6th place.
The winning wine (which appeared on the market for the first time in 1997) is a blend of Carmènere, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot grown in a very promising region of Chile and produces 72,000 bottles per year.
The “Top 100” list by Wine Spectator debuted in 1988 (thus celebrating its 20th anniversary this year) and has become, over the years, a classification that is truly capable of orienting the global wine market. Experts from the American magazine (among which are James Suckling, who manages the tasting of Italian and European wines) tasted 19,500 wines from all over the world for the 2008 classification. There were four criteria for the classification: quality (represented by assigned points, minimum 93), value (price), availability (production), and the “X-factor”, which the journalists at Wine Spectator define as “excitement”.



Wine Spectator’s Top 10 wines for 2008

1) Casa Lapostolle, Clos Apalta Colchagua Valley 2005

2) Château Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux 2005

3) Quinta do Crasto, Douro Reserva Old Vines 2005

4) Château Guiraud, Sauternes 2005
5) Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe, Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 2005

6) Pio Cesare, Barolo 2004

7) Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac 2005

8) Château de Beaucastel, Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2005

9) Mollydooker, Shiraz McLaren Vale Carnival of Love 2007

10) Seghesio, Zinfandel Sonoma County 2007



Wine Spectator’s Italian Picks in Recent Years
2000 - Marchesi Antinori, Solaia 1997

2001 - Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia 1998

2002 - E. Guigal, Chateauneuf-du-Pape 1999

2003 - Paloma, Merlot Spring Mountain District 2001

2004 - Château Rieussec, Sauternes 2001

2005 - Joseph Phelps, Insignia Napa Valley 2002

2006 - Casanova di Neri, Brunello di Montalcino “Tenuta Nuova” 2001

2007 - Clos des Papes, Chateneuf-du-Pape 2005