My Top 15 Wines of 2025: Narrowing Down 649 Tasting Notes Was Nearly Impossible!
As I sit down to write my third annual "Top 15 Wines" post (check out my 2023 and 2024 lists), I'm overwhelmed by just how remarkable 2025 has been. This year brought 649 logged tasting notes—each one representing a moment, a story, a connection. Before diving into this year's selections, I should mention that narrowing this list down to just fifteen wines was nearly impossible. Four wines from this year now rank among my top 10 wines of all time, and the journey to discovering them has been nothing short of extraordinary.
STILL NOT DOING DRY JANUARY
Oh, and just to get this out of the way early - I'm not doing "Dry January." That ship sailed years ago and isn't coming back to port. January 1st is a day for celebration and reflection, not deprivation, and I've got far too many interesting bottles calling my name to even consider it.
JUST HOW HARD WAS IT TO NARROW THIS DOWN?
Want to know just how challenging it was to narrow down this year's selections? Consider this: my first taste of DRC - a 2001 Echezeaux scoring 96 points - didn't make the cut. Neither did my first Pétrus, a 1989 that I tasted alongside Christian Moueix's 1989 Dominus Estate in a fascinating side-by-side comparison. A stellar 2000 Château La Mission Haut-Brion at 96 points? Also left behind. And here's the real kicker: 2012 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut at 97 points was the best Champagne I'd ever experienced... until later in the year when it got topped. Even 2008 Krug Vintage Brut at 95 points - from one of the best Champagne vintages in two decades - couldn't crack the top 15. That's the kind of year 2025 turned out to be.
FROM ATLANTA TO POMEROL: A YEAR OF UNFORGETTABLE WINE MOMENTS
This year was particularly meaningful as my wife Dio served as co-chair for the 2025 High Museum Wine Auction, allowing us to curate extraordinary experiences like an intimate winemaker dinner featuring Benoit Touquette and Jasmine Hirsch. February brought a personal milestone when I passed the WSET Level II exam, furthering my wine education journey. That same month, I attended Littorai's 30th anniversary celebration at Miller Union in Atlanta, where Ted Lemon himself guided us through a remarkable lineup spanning vintages from 1997 through 2023. The evening showcased how magnificently these wines develop with proper aging, demonstrating why Ted Lemon's thoughtful, terroir-driven approach continues to produce some of America's most compelling wines. In August, we took advantage of NYC Restaurant Week for a whirlwind weekend that included my second meal at Le Bernardin and a surprising discovery at Cafe D'Alsace that opened my eyes to the potential of Alsatian reds.
The crown jewel of 2025 was undoubtedly our week in Pomerol with the American Friends of Cité du Vin—the best wine region trip I've ever experienced. Every château visit exceeded expectations: Vieux Château Certan, Château Le Pin, Château Séraphine, Château Clinet, Château Petit-Village, Château Beauregard, Château La Fleur-Pétrus, Château Belair-Monange, Château La Conseillante, Château L'Évangile, Château Gazin, and Château de Sales. The week also included a private dinner at La Cité du Vin with legendary oenologist Michel Rolland and culminated in an evening at Le Jardin in Saint-Émilion that featured the finest wine I have ever tasted. I even managed to squeeze in a solo Left Bank visit to Château Haut-Bailly, reconnecting with Véronique Sanders whom I'd first met at Vinous Icons.
Our group with Édouard Moueix at Château Belair-Monange
Tasting at Château Haut-Bailly with Véronique Sanders
October brought Arrow&Branch's companion label Coronet's inaugural release, where I introduced friends Ken and Tina to the new wines and facility during a private tasting with Michael Ploetz. The debut vintages showcased the exceptional quality that winemaker Jennifer Williams and the team are achieving at their new Oak Knoll facility. We also experienced our first three-Michelin-starred meal in Paris at Épicure, where perfectly matched wine and food pairings created memorable moments throughout the afternoon.
Our European adventures continued with a first-time visit to Italy's Lake Como region, where we stayed at Villa d'Este and ventured into Milan for an exceptional lunch at the Green Star restaurant Horto. The spontaneous decision to dine there resulted in one of those trip highlights you never plan for, complete with a chef's table view of the kitchen and a table overlooking the Duomo for dessert. We closed out the year celebrating with friends at the 13th annual New Year's Eve Wino Fest in Atlanta. Throughout it all, we were reminded that the best wine experiences are about the people we share them with—a poignant lesson reinforced by honoring the memories of friends Fred and Howie who we lost this year. All of these experiences featured amazing wines that in most years would have easily made my top 15, but 2025 set an impossibly high bar.
Now, onto the list.
THE LIST
#15 - 1974 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo (96 points)
The most memorable bottles are often the ones you stumble upon halfway around the world. I sourced this wine at Enoteca Cotti in Milan—the owner had acquired it directly from Rinaldi upon release and it had been sitting in the store's cellar all these years. Sharing it with my good friend Bob at Lincoln Ristorante in New York during my Vinous Icons weekend felt like the perfect ending to several days of exceptional wines. After an hour of air, this 51-year-old Barolo was singing—still ruby red and youthful with at least another decade ahead of it. Paired with duck pasta, it was an amazing conclusion to a wonderful wine-filled weekend in NYC.
#14 - 2021 Fairest Creature "Sine Fine" Cabernet Sauvignon (97 points)
For the 2025 High Museum Wine Auction, Dio and I had the privilege of organizing a winemaker dinner in a stunning Buckhead residence, featuring Benoit Touquette of Fait-Main (my favorite US-based winemaker) and Jasmine Hirsch. This wine represents a fascinating collaboration called Fairest Creature—what Benoit's wife Nikita jokingly called a "Boy Band" of legendary winemakers (Touquette, Philippe Melka, and Thomas Rivers Brown) each creating their own expressions from the same vineyards. This particular bottling, Sine Fine, is Benoit's creation that earned him his first 100-point score outside of Realm. The wine's label features bluebirds and redbirds joined at the tail—a Chinese symbol representing inseparable love, reflecting Benoit and Nikita's relationship. After an hour and a half open, it showed amazing balance with soft dark fruits, subtle cedar, integrated tannins, and remarkable complexity. Chef Farough Vakili of Le Bon Nosh paired it with strawberry and rhubarb pavlova, creating an unexpectedly brilliant marriage. My clear wine of the night, reinforcing why I maintain that Benoit is creating some of the most compelling wines in Napa today.
#13 - NV Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único Reserva Especial 2010, 2011, 2012 (2024 Release) (97 points)
During our weeklong stay in Madrid, Dio and I experienced what would become one of our top 5 meals ever at the 2-Michelin starred Coque. I had selected this restaurant specifically for their renowned wine program, and the evening delivered spectacularly as we journeyed through six distinct locations within the restaurant, each offering unique courses paired with exceptional wines, cocktails, and spirits. The sommelier provided extensive education about this special bottling, explaining that Reserva Especial follows ancient Spanish aging models using multiple vintages. This 2024 release combines 2010, 2011, and 2012 vintages, with 2010 considered one of the greatest Ribera del Duero vintages. Made from 95% Tempranillo (called Tinto Fino locally) and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, it spent 13 years aging—10 years for the Único base plus 3 additional years for Reserva Especial. Limited to 80,518 bottles from 64 selected barrels, opened the previous day, it proved the perfect pairing with juicy suckling pig with crispy skin and Sichuan pepper. This was both the best wine and best dish of the entire meal, with absolutely stunning balance and complexity that will remain one of the greatest wine and food pairings we've ever experienced.
#12 - 2011 Château Le Pin (97 points)
My first visit to the ultra-exclusive Château Le Pin in Pomerol—and my first time tasting a wine from this legendary estate—came immediately after touring Vieux Château Certan with Alexandre Thienpont, Jacques Thienpont's cousin who owns Le Pin. Diana Berrouet-Garcia hosted us, with Jacques joining at the end. Jacques acquired Le Pin in 1979 from Madame Loubie for 1 million francs after his uncle recognized the plot's potential from buying grapes there in the 1960s. Tasting these two estates back-to-back revealed fascinating contrasts—Diana explained Le Pin's unique positioning on deep gravel soil creates wines she described as "a perfume" with floral and mineral notes, while VCC's clay at one meter depth creates more body and structure. Production averages just 4,000 bottles from 2.7 hectares. She chose the 2011 specifically to demonstrate Le Pin's unique aromatics with age—the vintage is known for tight structured tannins similar to 2008, though both are now opening beautifully. Decanted for 2.5 hours, it delivered red and floral notes with violet aromatics, integrated tannins, luscious red fruit, and an incredible finish that lingered for about a minute. The balance was perfect with polished, soft, supple tannins that are Le Pin's signature.
#11 - 1970 Château de Sales (97 points)
Château de Sales is the largest property in Pomerol at 90 hectares and one of the few with an actual château building. We were warmly welcomed by Bruno de Lambert and his son Gonzague, along with Marie-Laure Latorre, who had just taken over as Managing Director. The tour encompassed their unique vineyard sites, historic winemaking facilities, and the stunning 16th-century château before culminating in an unforgettable lunch in the family dining room. This magnum was produced by Gonzague's grandfather Henri de Lambert during a pivotal time for the estate—the 1970s marked the beginning of financial stability after decades of struggle following World War II. The 1970 vintage represents one of the best wines Henri produced during that era, and the bottle had never left the château's cellar. Double decanted just before pouring after being opened two hours earlier, it showed a fresh nose that still displayed fruit with a bit of mint. The brown color revealed its age, with some alcohol on the finish. Beyond the remarkable wines—which included multiple magnums spanning 40 years that Marie-Laure generously poured throughout our lunch—we were privileged to experience the château's living history, from tapestries discovered in the attic 150 years after being hidden during the French Revolution to lunch in the very dining room where Gonzague spent holidays with his grandfather. We were so appreciative to enjoy such amazing wines alongside perfectly paired courses and the warmth of their hospitality.
The label had fallen off the bottle years ago…
#10 - 2008 Cardinale (97 points)
Our friends Dain and Lauren orchestrated what proved to be a legendary evening—an intimate 12-person wine pairing dinner at Arbitrage Room at Warhorse in Atlanta, featuring the wines of Christopher Carpenter. Anne Cawley with Cardinale hosted the event, pouring an exceptional lineup from Carpenter's portfolio including Intrada, Caladan, Cardinale, and Lokoya. As Dain promised when extending the invitation, this was indeed an epic night showcasing why Carpenter is considered a legend in Napa Valley, with his wines achieving near-cult status. The highlight came when Anne surprised us with this mature 2008 Cardinale—showing tertiary notes with decent sediment, it smelled like an old Bordeaux with a decent amount of fruit remaining, resolved tannin, and perfect balance. Paired with a selection of farmstead cheeses, it matched the 97-point 2022 Lokoya Mount Veeder for sheer pleasure. As Dain texted the next day: the wine was great, but the company was exceptional—a sentiment that perfectly captured what made the evening truly legendary.
#9 - 2009 Château Pontet-Canet (97 points)
Speaking of Dain... Saturday evening called for opening some special bottles with him here in Atlanta, creating an impromptu tasting that would span continents and styles. The evening featured powerhouse Bordeaux and Super Tuscan expressions, along with discovering OVID Napa Valley's "Experiment" series—limited-production wines that explore various winemaking techniques beyond their flagship wines. Dain shared his experiences visiting OVID and I told stories from my 2023 visit to Pontet-Canet, cementing it as one of my favorite Left Bank estates. Wine is all about the stories, getting to know the producers, and experiencing the terroir—where the wine is from. I brought this Pontet-Canet from my cellar and gave it a one-hour decant before our first sip. The wine delivered ripe red cherry aromatics that were simply stunning, creating a magical marriage with the Tomahawk ribeye and spinach that Dain expertly grilled. This was my clear wine of the night, demonstrating why aged Bordeaux remains such a benchmark for fine wine.
#8 - 1985 Oddero Barolo (97 points)
The 13th annual New Year's Eve Wino Fest brought together dozens of wine enthusiasts for our traditional celebration. This year's gathering carried particular weight as we honored the memories of Fred and Howie, two wonderful people I'd had the privilege to know over the past few years. Throughout the evening, attendees shared touching stories about both of them, reminding us all to live life fully and spend as much time as possible with the people we care about. I brought this wine, having picked it up at Enoteca La Cantina di Gariboldi—a wine shop in Cernobbio right outside the gate of Villa d'Este where we stayed in Lake Como. It was challenging but ultimately successful trying to explain to the only Italian-speaking owners that I needed a vintage ending in "5" - Google Translate to the rescue! Opened with an Ah-So (though I realized the cork was in great shape and didn't need it), then double decanted back into the bottle to give it air and remove sediment. It really opened up after that, delivering dried cherry on both nose and palate. Just singing! I was very pleased with this bottle and how well it showed for such a special evening.
#7 - 1995 Joseph Phelps Insignia (97 points)
At that same 13th annual New Year's Eve Wino Fest, Gary (President of the Somm Guild of Atlanta) brought this gem. I got the last pour out of the bottle which had been open for several hours. The wine was remarkably fresh with chocolate on the nose and very complex aromatics that carried through to the palate—just sublime with an amazing nose. I scored it the same 97 points as my '85 Barolo, but this edged ahead as my wine of the night. The evening delivered an extraordinary range of wines spanning four decades, but beyond the exceptional bottles, what made it truly special were the stories shared about Fred and Howie—reminders that these gatherings are about so much more than the wines in our glasses. They're about the connections we make, the memories we create, and the time we spend with people who matter.
#6 - 1996 Krug Champagne Clos du Mesnil (97 points)
After winning two lots at the 2024 Austin Rare & Fine Wine Auction, Dio and I returned to Austin for this exclusive "Seat at the Table" dinner we'd purchased. This intimate evening for sixteen, hosted by Holly and Caleb Noel at their home, brought together the eight wine donors who had contributed bottles to earn their seats alongside the eight auction winners who had purchased seats. Chef Darren Noel prepared expertly crafted courses while talented Texas sommeliers Steve Alley and Evan Davis provided professional wine presentations. The original auction lot promised nine amazing wines from private collections, and the evening delivered spectacularly—including several additional bottles brought by fellow guests. This legendary Champagne, served from magnum with Chef Darren's first course of chicken with Chardonnay sabayon, lived up to its 100-point Parker rating and reputation as one of the greatest Clos du Mesnil vintages ever produced. The wine displayed perfect acidity balanced with sweet yellow fruit and complex mineral notes, with enormous complexity and vibrant balance showcasing superbly integrated yeast, mousse, fruit, and acidity that evolved throughout the course. A truly transcendent pairing that exceeded every expectation of what the Austin Wine & Food Foundation has created with these intimate dinners—combining philanthropy with the highest levels of wine and culinary experiences.
#5 - 2022 MACDONALD Cabernet Sauvignon (98 points)
My second visit to MACDONALD in Oakville (the 2020 vintage made my 2023 list at #3), this time with friends Ken and Tina from Austin. Alex MacDonald led us on an extensive vineyard tour, explaining how the family's relationship with Robert Mondavi began in 1954 and was built on a handshake agreement that lasted over 50 years through 2021. When Tina asked why "To Kalon" doesn't appear on their label despite their vineyard being part of this legendary site, Alex shared the story: after Constellation purchased Mondavi, they claimed ownership of the trademarked "To Kalon" name. In a meeting where Constellation offered to license the name back in exchange for the MacDonald family rescinding all their historical research and admitting To Kalon wasn't a place, winemaker Graeme MacDonald stood up, declared "Our integrity is not for sale," and walked out. They stopped selling grapes to Constellation after 2021, ending 68 years of family partnership. Alex explained the 2022 vintage's unprecedented Labor Day heat spike that caused sugar levels to jump from 20 to 25.5 Brix in one week—accumulation normally taking five weeks. The old dry-farmed vines with roots reaching 25-30 feet weathered this extreme heat while many surrounding vineyards turned to raisins. After a two-hour open decant, the wine showed remarkable expressiveness with red fruit, amazing acid structure, well-integrated tannins, and elegant, silky texture on the palate. Alex compared this to their 2012 and 2014—both still exceptional over a decade later and likely drinking beautifully for 15-20 years. The wine's lush elegance in a difficult vintage showcases both historic vine resilience and skilled winemaking decisions.
#4 - 2007 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut (97 points)
Dio and I joined fellow Bordeaux enthusiasts for an extraordinary BYOB wine dinner at noreetuh in New York's East Village. The group of ten included five of us who had recently traveled together on the American Friends of Cité du Vin journey to Pomerol, and when they discovered we'd be in New York to see Hamilton, they quickly organized this reunion dinner. The generosity was remarkable—everyone brought stunning bottles from their cellars, creating a journey through champagne, classic Napa, legendary Bordeaux, grand cru Burgundy, and finishing with Sauternes. This Salon stood out as the best showing of the four Champagnes by far, displaying outstanding balance with medium weight that paired perfectly with mochiko fried chicken. Having experienced the 2012 Salon earlier in the year (which at that point was the best Champagne I'd ever tried), tasting this 2007 vintage later proved equally remarkable. The intimate setting with fellow Pomerol travelers made this reunion in New York's East Village exceed all expectations.
#3 - 1989 Château Beauregard (99 points)
At that same BYOB dinner at noreetuh, I brought this wine specifically because I'd met Vincent Priou—the person who made it—at Château Beauregard during our Pomerol trip just weeks earlier. Vincent mentioned it's drinking at peak right now, so I brought this bottle from my cellar to share with the group. And boy was he right! Double decanted, it showed so fresh, light, and delicious with medium tannin and cassis on the nose. The perfect balance between a young and an old wine revealed so many different notes and flavors on both nose and palate. It was so much fun to share this with the group, and it became my wine of the night. It completely blew my mind that this wine was my favorite that evening especially given all the amazing bottles on the table—the best kind of surprise! This Pomerol reunion showcased exactly why I love this wine community: the generosity of spirit in sharing extraordinary bottles and the connections forged through our shared passion for Bordeaux.
#2 - 1953 Château Latour Grand Vin (99 points)
On the one free evening during our Pomerol trip when our group had no formal programming scheduled, eight of us gathered for what would become the most memorable wine tasting of my life at Le Jardin, the restaurant at Château Petit Faurie de Soutard in Saint-Émilion. Max from Vignobles et Châteaux spent two months meticulously sourcing extraordinary bottles of Bordeaux spanning from 1952 to 1998. This vintage came during the Ségur family's final decade of ownership before the estate would be sold in 1963. The 1953 is considered the first top vintage of the 1950s, produced from the legendary L'Enclos vineyard, and noted for being unusually elegant and delicate for Latour—a departure from the estate's typical powerful tannic structure. Served with cucumber tartare, it showed herbaceous character on the nose, still fresh with no fruit aromatics. The brown color revealed no fruit remaining, with no tannin but an elegant leather character. My second pour improved my score from 98 to 99 points. The 2008 Château Latour appeared in my 2024 list at #9, and tasting this 1953 vintage revealed how Latour's character can vary dramatically across decades—from the powerful tannic structure in the '08 to this vintage's unusual elegance. Max's meticulous sourcing brought together an extraordinary collection, and Chef Stéphane Casset's locally-sourced cuisine perfectly complemented these legendary wines throughout an unforgettable evening.
#1 - 1952 Château Mouton Rothschild (100 points)
At that same extraordinary evening at Le Jardin in Saint-Émilion, the 1952 Château Mouton Rothschild proved to be the finest wine I have ever tasted—the first and only wine I have ever scored 100 points. This legendary vintage was produced when Mouton was still classified as a Second Growth, two decades before Baron Philippe de Rothschild's passionate campaign would finally achieve First Growth status in 1973—the only change ever made to the 1855 Classification. I knew nothing about the 1952 vintage, so I later consulted Neal Martin's The Complete Bordeaux Vintage Guide. Martin described a challenging Left Bank growing season with frost damage and a June hailstorm, though summer heat produced satisfactory sugar levels and the well-drained gravel soils of estates like Mouton in Pauillac were particularly favored. The wine showed chocolate and fresh mint on the nose with lovely perfect balance and elegance. I had an emotional experience—almost came to tears. A small amount of fruit remained but the wine just lit up everything in my mouth with a long finish that went on for minutes. This was my wine of the night and the best wine I have ever tried. Having tasted the remarkable 1953 Château Latour just moments before, experiencing these two legendary vintages from consecutive years—the challenging 1952 versus the celebrated 1953—revealed how vintage character and winemaking combine to create something truly transcendent. This evening at Le Jardin stands as one of the most remarkable wine experiences of my life, and this 1952 Mouton Rothschild remains the pinnacle—a wine so perfectly balanced and moving that I'll never forget that emotional moment of discovering what remains the finest wine I have ever experienced.
Looking back at this list, I'm struck by how many of these wines connect to extraordinary experiences and the people who made them possible. Intimate winemaker dinners in Atlanta, vineyard walks in Oakville, reunion dinners in New York, and that unforgettable evening in Saint-Émilion—each bottle tells a story bigger than what was in the glass. The Pomerol trip stands as the best wine region experience I've ever had, but it's the friendships forged and memories created throughout 2025 that make these wines truly special. Here's to another year of wine discoveries, meaningful connections, and stories worth sharing!
If you're interested in detailed tasting notes for any of these wines, you can find them on my CellarTracker profile. Cheers!
