Again, it’s that time of year when we all begin to look back and take stock of what happened during the previous twelve months, trying to put events and discoveries into perspective. In my work, this also means making a list of the best, great, and/or must-have wines that have been released during the year. I’ve been putting together such a list every year or so since 2004 and I always have a lot of fun: the goal, mygoal at least, is never to list a long list of super expensive wines, usually difficult to find, but rather to draw a picture, hopefully complete, of what Italy’s wine production was like in 2022. Which means a wine list that will include many different wines, different in the grape varieties they are made from and the regions in which they are produced, but also in the style/category of wine they belong to and their respective price ranges. Hopefully, there will be something for everyone, not just the collectors among us.
And that’s how you will find in my 2022 list different wines such as Prosecco and Cabernet Franc, Barolo and Moscato di Pantelleria, Lambrusco di Sorbara and Lambrusco Marani, Tazzelenghe, nascetta and Alicante Bouschet. White, red, rosé, sparkling, sweet and macerated / orange wines. Most of these wines were released in 2022, although some may have gone on sale a little earlier (the year before); However, most should still be available on the market and in fact the wines were so good that I felt the need to tell you a little more. In fact, a couple of the wines listed will only be officially released in 2023, but since they are in the bottle and I have had the opportunity to try them, I might as well tell you about them before they disappear… if you want to accompany the tasting notes and scores, I refer you to the individual articles published this year on the TerroirSense Wine Review; most wines have been covered at one time or another in our various sections, whether it’s Wines of the Week or In the News or Terroir Academy, Producer Insight and/or Regional Reports. Once again, it is worth reiterating that the list is indeed a “wine of the year” list, so much so that the wines of some territories and appellations will be much more prevalent than those of others, simply because some territories have benefited from a much better climate. Those same territories that did so well this year may be underrepresented in other vintages and in the “Best of” lists of those years, simply because in those vintages the conditions did not allow for exciting and excellent wines to be made there. A case in point are Montalcino in 2017 and Barolo in 2018. Last year we had many Brunello 2016s on the list: we do it again this year, but not because 2017 was particularly good for Brunello (it wasn’t); rather, it’s because the 2016 Brunello Riserva wines were released this year and are instead incredibly good. For the same reason you will find some Barolo Riserva 2016 on this year’s Best of 2022 list: given that the 2016 vintage is one of the best Barolo vintages of all time, it would be strange if these wines were not well represented in a year at the end of the “Best of” list. In fact, two of the top three wines of the year are Barolo 2016 Riserva wines. As they should be. and they are instead incredibly good. For the same reason you will find some Barolo Riserva 2016 on this year’s Best of 2022 list: given that the 2016 vintage is one of the best Barolo vintages of all time, it would be strange if these wines were not well represented in a year at the end of the “Best of” list. In fact, two of the top three wines of the year are Barolo 2016 Riserva wines. As they should be. and they are instead incredibly good. For the same reason you will find some Barolo Riserva 2016 on this year’s Best of 2022 list: given that the 2016 vintage is one of the best Barolo vintages of all time, it would be strange if these wines were not well represented in a year at the end of the “Best of” list. In fact, two of the top three wines of the year are Barolo 2016 Riserva wines. As they should be.
This specific wine list was compiled through wine tastings provided by the producers directly to me or through their importers. Some of the wines on this list have been evaluated by two of my longtime collaborators, Emily Huang in Taiwan and Michele Longo in Italy, with whom I have been tasting for years and whom I am proud to say I have trained, at least to the degree to which I feel comfortable knowing how they will think, evaluate and score wines.
I trust that you will enjoy reading the list we have created, with the certainty that some choices you will agree with and others that you will shake your head about. But allow me: here is also one of the many beauties of wine.
