
Wine of the
Year
Baileyana 2009 Chardonnay
Firepeak Vineyard,
Edna Valley, $28
Winery of the
Year
V. Sattui Winery, Napa Valley,
CA
Best of Show Red
V. Sattui 2009
Paradiso
Napa Valley, $75
Best of Show White
Baileyana
2009 Chardonnay
Firepeak Vineyard, Edna Valley, $28
Best of Show Sparkling
Domaine
Ste. Michelle 2006 Luxe
Columbia Valley, $23
Best of Show Rose
Milagro Farm
2012 Rose of Sangiovese
Estate Vineyard, Ramona Valley, $23
Best of Show Dessert
Renwood
Winery 2011 Amador Ice Zinfandel
Amador County, $34.99
COMPLETE
2013 RESULTS

Creators Syndicate
Chardonnay is America’s
favorite white wine. Nothing else is even close. Yet this popular wine has
notoriously underperformed on the wine competition circuit in recent years
despite its far-reaching appeal.
As Director of four
important international wine competitions, and a judge at numerous wine
competitions around the globe, I’ve seen judges go through their sauvignon blanc
stage, their riesling stage, their viognier stage, and the occasional flirtation
with steely white wines such as albarino and gruner veltliner.
It’s been some
time, longer than I can remember, since I’ve seen a significant number of
professional wine judges embrace a chardonnay for their top award. Strange
considering the chardonnay grape produces wines of profound character in many
parts of the world. I have concluded the reluctance to show any love for
chardonnay was merely a backlash to its popularity and widespread availability.
Wine judges seemed to be under the spell of the ABC (“anything but chardonnay”)
crowd.
As a fan of the grape, especially when it reaches its potential in
the right hands, I was pleasantly surprised over a recent weekend in San Diego,
where the fourth annual Winemaker Challenge International Wine Competition
brought together 21 respected winemakers to evaluate more than 700 wines, with
the 2009 Baileyana Firepeak Vineyard Chardonnay ($28) from
California’s Edna Valley emerging as Winemaker Challenge Wine of the
Year.
The Baileyand chardonnay nudged V. Sattui’s 2009 Paradiso ($75), a
red Bordeaux-style blend from the Napa Valley, on the final vote. The Paradiso
had to settle for Best of Show red wine at the competition.
Baileyana’s
chardonnay is crafted by the French-born winemaker Christian Roguenant, who came
to this country nearly 30 years ago to make sparkling wines near San Luis Obispo
for the Champagne house Deutz. Though Maison Deutz won considerable critical
acclaim, the project was abandoned after mounting financial losses made it no
longer viable. Roguenant remained in the area.
A native of
Burgundy, he settled in as winemaker at Baileyana, where he focused on
Burgundian-style chardonnay and pinot noir. In recent years the Baileyana
ownership, Niven Family Wines, has added other brands – Tanget, Zocker, Cadre
and Trenza – and Roguenant, who headed up all of the projects, became widely
known for his success with aromatic whites such as gruner veltliner, albarino
and grenache blanc.
While those grape varieties have been popular in
Europe for years, they haven’t been widely planted here in the United States.
They’ve thrived, however, in the cool Edna Valley where Niven’s well-regarded
Paragon vineyard is situated just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. The days
are warm and the nights are cool.
It is that same
proximity to the ocean that elevates the Baileyana chardonnay, allowing
Roguenant to make a wine that combines crisp acidity with rich, sun-kissed
flavor. It is an easy wine to love. And for a change, a room full of
professional wine judges did.
In other inspired Winemaker Challenge
performances:
V. Sattui Winery, with 30 medals overall,
was named Winery of the Year. The Napa Valley winery won Best of Show Red Wine
with its 2009 Paradiso, and also took a platinum award with its 2009 Preston
Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($49). In addition, V. Sattui won nine gold
medals.
Gloria
Ferrer, a Carneros-based sparkling wine house, placed four of its wines
in the sparkling wine finals. All wines that reach the finals are given a
platinum award, and it is a significant achievement to have four platinum
awards. None of those won Best of Show Sparkling, however, as that honor went to
the 2006 Domaine Ste. Michelle Luxe, Columbia Valley ($23).
Another
Washington winery, Maryhill, had an impressive weekend with 19
medals won, including platinum awards for its 2010 Tavola Rosso ($32) and 2010
Cabernet Franc ($16.95). Maryhill also picked up four gold
medals.
Milagro Farm Vineyards & Winery brought a
little local flavor to the winners’ circle with the Best of Show Rose Wine, a
2012 Rose of Sangiovese, Ramona Valley ($22) and Best Sauvignon Blanc, a 2012
Estate Sauvignon Blanc ($23). Ramona is located in the rolling hills 40 miles
east of San Diego.
Napa Valley being famous for cabernet sauvignon, it
came as no surprise that Best Cabernet Sauvignon went to the Cakebread
Cellars 2009 Dancing Bear Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
($110). Cakebread also won gold for its 2010 Chardonnay Reserve, Carneros
($55).
And, finally, the judges also had considerable love for a
well-made wine from the bargain aisle, awarding platinum to the non-vintage
Barefoot Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, California
($6.99).
Said Napa Valley winemaker David Stevens: “You have to respect
it when someone can make a delicious cabernet for under $10.”