Each of our regular WRO contributors has selected a Wine of the Year and a Wine Producer of the Year for 2007. We will feature one of their write-ups each day in this space through the end of the year, and if you’d like to nominate a wine or winery , email your choices to [email protected] –Ed.
Producer of the Year: Penfolds, Barossa Valley, Australia. No doubt to the surprise of my friends and colleagues here at WRO, my choice for producer of the year comes, not from France or Italy, but from Australia. I admire Penfolds 
because it produces an extraordinary range of high quality wines in addition to its legendary Grange, thought by many, including myself, to be Australia’s best wine. (The 2002 Grange was certainly one the ‘best’ wines I tasted in 2007).
Penfolds never rests on its laurels. They have a never-ending quest to make better wines and a willingness to experiment to achieve that goal. Penfolds has been performing trials with screw 
cap closures for its top wines, Bin 389 and even Grange, for a decade or more. Peter Gago, Penfolds’ head winemaker, is not afraid to admit, ‘We are finding our way’ when referring to new projects. Judging from a 2005 and 1997 Penfolds Pinot Noir tasted this year, I think they have found their way with that varietal and are on the way to making one of Australia’s finest examples of that wine. The 1997 showed the capacity for development of the all too illusive earthy complexity that makes Pinot Noir unique.
Not a one-horse show, Penfolds has an extraordinary range of wines that includes a bright, vibrant 2006 Eden Valley Riesling and a 2005 Cellar Reserve Gewurztraminer, also from Eden Valley, that exhibits delicacy and finesse shows they can 
produce stylish white wines in addition to their much-acclaimed Yattarna Chardonnay. In addition to Grange, Penfolds produces several other distinctive Shiraz-based wines as well as extraordinary Cabernet Sauvignon from what are the oldest Cabernet vines in the world. Their Bin 707 is always one of Australia’s top Cabernets. With their ‘Rawson’s Retreat,’ ‘Koonunga Hill’ and ‘Thomas Hyland’ labels they have introduced millions of consumers to affordable, yet distinctive, everyday wine.
Wine of the Year: The criteria for ‘wine of the year’ are as varied as the reviewers who propose them. Just look at the choices proposed by my WRO colleagues. For some, it is the ‘best’ wine they’ve encountered all year. For others, it could be the most notable wine released that year. For me, it’s the wine that stands out because it taught me something new or 
reinforced previous knowledge, no matter how basic. My choice this year has the added benefit that it represents an excellent buy–at least judged by the others in a horrifically expensive category–2005 Burgundies. My wine of the year for 2007 is one that I recommended for Thanksgiving, Louis Latour 2005 Volnay En Chevret ($45 imported by Louis Latour USA).
This wine reinforced a lot of what I’ve learned about Burgundy over the years. For one, it dispels the myth that Latour makes only wonderful white Burgundies. They do of course make wonderful whites, but they also make age-worthy reds wines, which have gotten even better since the 1999 vintage.
This Volnay also dispels the myth that only estate-bottled 
Burgundy can be grand. Latour does not own any part of the roughly 15 acres that comprises En Chevret, a premier cru vineyard. To make this wine, they purchased the grapes from a grower. Nonetheless, Latour has created a wine that is rich and expansive without being heavy. True to its origins, it displays the quintessential elements of Volnay–alluring perfume and silkiness.
This wine also dispels the myth that only small growers make notable Burgundy. Négociants, or shippers, still make superb, distinctive Burgundies that accurately reflect the origin of the grapes. They often have the advantage of greater distribution and availability in the United States. With prices of the 2005 Burgundies, especially premier crus, easily topping $75 a bottle, this one is a bargain and deserves to be in everyone’s cellar.
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