Each year since 1988, Wine Spectator has released its Top 100 list, where our editors select the most exciting wines from the thousands we reviewed during the course of the year. The 2015 Top 100 emphasizes how much the wine world has changed since Wine Spectator put together its inaugural honor roll, in 1988. That year, the Top 10 counted three Bordeauxs, four Burgundies, two Italian reds and one California Cabernet. Now, less than three decades later, outstanding wines from almost every corner of the globe compete with these historic leaders for attention. Put simply, it’s a great time to be a wine lover. The wines our editors found among the most interesting in 2015 are a diverse group—ranging from emerging labels and regions to traditional estates exploring new directions—and all generated the excitement we call the “X-factor.” In addition, our selection also prioritizes quality (based on score), value (based on price) and availability (based on the number of cases either made or imported into the United States).

These criteria were applied to the more than 5,700 wines that rated outstanding (90 points or higher on Wine Spectator’s 100-point scale) this year to determine our Top 100 of 2015. Overall, the average score and average price are the same as in 2014’s Top 100: 93 points and $47—an excellent quality-to-price ratio. Many wines on the list are made in limited quantities, a reflection of the greater wine world. As such, our Top 100 is not a “shopping list,” but rather a guide to wineries to watch in the coming months and years. The selections reflect the producers and wines our editors were particularly passionate about in 2015. We hope you enjoy the exciting list of fine values, rising stars and historic producers that populate Wine Spectator’s 2015 Top 100.A week ago, I elbowed my way through crowded New York tastings of 2015 Burgundies, touted as the best in decades. The city is a hotbed of Burgundy lovers who swoon over the world’s most famous pinot noirs, so sommeliers, retailers and journalists were sipping, spitting, and, I have to admit, shoving, to sample as many as possible.

The goal: to decide whether or not the hyperbole was just hype.The reputation of this vintage is deserved, especially for the reds. Rich, ripe, hedonistic, succulent, and mouth filling, they have cashmere-like texture and that juicy acidity that makes you want to take another sip, and then another. You’re really going to want them. best flavor of red wineMost are so good they even make you forget current politics, at least while you’re drinking.best red wine for red meat As Anne Parent of Domaine Parent said with a big smile while splashing one of her spicy, earthy, plush Pommards into my glass, “It’s a yum-yum vintage.”best wine bars dc areaSadly, there’s one big problem for all us Burgundy aficionados: constantly rising prices. wine ice cream where can you buy

Star reds, such as Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze and Comte Louis-Michel Liger-Belair La Romanée now cost (weep!) $1,500 to $3,000 a bottle and up. So I was on the prowl for seriously seductive but far more reasonably priced whites and reds at the tastings.Budding collectors take note: This is a good time to start stocking up; best brand of red wine available in indiaeven though most reds won’t be available till later this year, you can lock in a supply by buying futures.best books for wine lovers Most famous producers have a volume problem. It’s the sad wine story of limited supply and insatiable demand, and wineries are putting up their 2015 prices to compensate for the disastrous vintage of 2016, in which many lost 50 percent of the crop.What made the wines so good in 2015 was an unusually dry, warm, low-stress growing season with rain at mostly the right times.

It’s what growers call a "solar" vintage because of the number of hours of sunshine. At a tasting at the Modern restaurant, Frederic Barnier, winemaker at Maison Louis Jadot, told me, “ There was no reason for anyone to make bad reds. The challenge was picking at the right time.” Paul Zinetti of Domaine Comte Armand has produced a silky and smoky Burgundy with sensual aromas and black cherry flavors. Yes, a couple of spots got hit by hail, but the most amazing thing about 2015, many vignerons said, was that the grapes were so perfect. Parent sorted out only .05 percent.  Overall, reds are better than whites, which shone in 2014. The whites from 2015 are sunnier, with smooth opulent textures, and will be ready to drink much faster than those from 2014, with more acidity, structure, and mineral tang.“You’ll be able to keep the reds 20 years or more,” said soft-spoken Frederic Mugnier of Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier, widely known as "the master of Chambolle-Musigny."

Because the vintage is consistently successful, even basic Bourgogne rouge and village-level wines are delicious, especially those labeled vieilles vignes (old vines). In Burgundy’s pyramid of quality, regional Bourgogne is the lowest level, wines from dozens of village appellations are the next step up, wines from premiers crus vineyards above them, and grands crus at the top. In 2015, values lurk in village level wines from top producers, such low-buzz appellations as Auxey Duresses and Marsannay, and, for whites, in undervalued Chablis.Samuel Billaud Chablis Les Vaillons Vieilles Vignes  ($37)This pure, crystalline white has aromas of white flowers and precise, minerally flavors. Billaud, whose family owned Domaine Billaud-Simon, went out on his own in 2014.Patrick Piuze Chablis Les Forêts ($55)Long, intense, and rich, this premier cru is savory and salty. Piuze, a native of Canada, now has a well-deserved cult reputation. (Look also for his less expensive Terroir series.)Louis Jadot Domaine Gagey Bourgogne Le Chapitre ($30)With bright red fruit flavors, this lush wine from a vineyard in Chenove, in the northern Côte de Nuits, is positively gulpable.

Domaine Faiveley Mercurey Rouge ($33)This village-level wine from a negociant over-performs for the price. It has surprising structure, typical Burgundy earth and mineral aromas, and a bright cherry deliciousness.Domaine Lamarche Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits ($37)Real pinot character, vibrant earth and cherry flavors, and a silky texture mark this modestly priced wine from an estate in Vosne-Romanée.Domaine Parent Bourgogne Pinot Noir Selection Pomone ($37)This domaine in Pommard made superb premier cru reds in 2015. This less expensive special Bourgogne rouge cuvée is generous and vivid, with concentrated red berry fruit flavors.Domaine Lignier-Michelot Morey St. Denis Vieille Vignes ($67)Concentrated and fleshy, this intriguing village wine from old vines has aromas of rose petals and combines freshness and depth. It’s spicy and concentrated, with a lush seductive quality.Domaine du Comte Armand Auxey Duresses Rouge 1er cru ($68)Noted for its sophisticated Pommard from its Clos des Epeneaux vineyard, this domaine also produces other reds.