Order a Wine Spectatormagazine subscriptionand you'll receive theWine Spectator PocketGuide FREE Each year, Wine Spectator editors survey the wines we’ve reviewed over the past 12 months and select the most exciting for our Top 100. This annual list, which debuted in 1988, reflects significant trends, spotlights successful regions and recognizes outstanding producers. In 2010, we reviewed more than 15,800 new releases from around the world in blind tastings. More than 3,900 of these wines earned outstanding or classic ratings (90 points or higher on our 100-point scale). We narrowed the list down based on four criteria: quality (represented by score); value (reflected by release price); availability (measured by cases made or imported); and an X-factor we call excitement. But no equation determines the final selections: These choices reflect our editors’ judgment and passion about the wines we tasted. The major trend in 2010 was an increase in expensive, limited-production wines at one end of the spectrum and in large-volume, value brands at the other.

Looking for values, wine lovers sought out less-familiar regions and grape varieties. In this year’s list, 14 countries are represented, and quality remains high, with an average score of 93 points. The average price per bottle is $48. We hope that you enjoy this list of exciting values, emerging stars and time-honored stalwarts and that our Top 100 of 2010 leads you to more deeply explore the world of wine.Our award-winning wine writers, Victoria Moore and Susy Atkins, unveil the richest reds for you to sip this Christmas. Red wines under £10 Côtes du Rhône Villages 2015, France Boasting a cerulean blue and scarlet label that’s strangely similar to another popular Côtes du Rhône you may know, this is my new favourite sub-£5 red. It does really well for the price, evocative of stewed plums and the gently stony taste that is so typical of wines from this part of France.  Orbitali Squinzano 2012, Italy If you have never heard of Squinzano, a DOC in Puglia in Italy’s heel, you’re in good company;

neither had I until I tasted this red. The wine is made from 90 per cent negroamaro and 10 per cent sangiovese and is reminiscent of a rich valpolicella – it has a spicy oak taste, is slightly sweet-sour, and tastes of both fresh and dried fruit at once.  Ulmen Carmenere-Merlot 2016, Central Valley, Chile Here’s a juicy, vivacious red: a duet of grapes that delivers an appealing cassis and blackberry compote. Just fine on its own, or pair with pork belly  or roast squash dishes. top wine shops in london (13.5%, Marks & Spencer, £7)red wine drinking effects Villa Vincini Il Gran Rosso 2014, Veneto, Italybest wine storage nyc A really useful red and a bargain. best wine bar city of london

Red berries, especially raspberry, shine out in a medium-bodied style that will complement a wide range of savoury party food. ♦ STAR BUY ♦ Les Hauts de Saint-Martin St Chinian 2014, France There’s plenty of personality in this southern French blend of syrah, grenache, carignan and mourvèdre, which is made by the Cave de Roquebrun (you might already know and love the cuvée it makes for Majestic). Redolent of garrigue herbs (thyme, bay and rosemary) – and the crackle of roasting chestnuts. best grade wine Vetriano Sangiovese di Puglia 2015, Italybest way to store vintage wine Sangiovese is of course the main chianti grape but this modern-styled sangiovese from Italy’s heel has none of chianti’s dustiness. pictures of wine glasses and food

It’s bright and juicy, and tastes of ripe cherries. It’s soft enough to use as a party wine but refreshing too, with a real bounce in its step.  (Haynes, Hanson & Clark, £7) Château Tour des Gendres Bergerac Rouge 2015, France A red that has something for everyone. A blend of merlot and malbec, made not too far from Bordeaux – you can think of it as a rustic claret but with extra oomph, or as a black-fruited malbec that combines structure with approachability. what's the best way to age wineSunny and warm, with hints of clove, fine tannins and deep black berries mingling with earth. pictures of wine glasses and food (13.5%, The Wine Society, £7.95) Famille Perrin Vinsobres Les Cornuds 2014, France Sometimes there’s nothing cosier than a sweetly ripe red from the southern Rhône.

The Perrin style is always reminiscent of deep crimson crushed velvet; even and sumptuous, with a taste of red berries. This one’s been aged in oak so it’s slightly spicy, too.  ♦ STAR BUY ♦ Domaine Clavel Le Mas 2015, Languedoc, France A gorgeously atmospheric southern French blend of carignan, grenache and syrah that smells of dried herbs sun-baked earth, dried figs and damsons. There’s no oak here – ageing is in concrete. A wine to cosy up with. Haynes, Hanson & Clark, £9.45; Clos de los Siete 2013, Mendoza, Argentina One of my favourite reds for a fine Christmas feast, made with four varieties, including malbec by Argentina’s renowned winemaker Michel Rolland. Smooth and rich with ripe black cherries, it’s terrific with goose, duck or steak. (14.5 %, Sainsbury’s, £15 down to £13.50 from Wednesday 14 December until 1 January) Les Closiers Lirac 2015, France Lirac is next door to Châteauneuf du Pape, right down in the southern Rhône close to Avignon.

This red is a beautiful supermarket find: a rich but also herbal blend of grenache, syrah, mourvèdre and cinsault that tastes of dark fruits.  (14%, Marks & Spencer, £10.50) L&S Bordeaux 2014, France I know how well Charles Lea knows Bordeaux because I’ve been the beneficiary of his deep fund of wisdom on countless trips there to taste the wines en primeur, so it’s no surprise that his own-label claret is a cracker. Juicy and approachable, it’s made from 80 per cent merlot with a little cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon to add a redcurrant leaf and blackcurrant scent.  (14%, Lea & Sandeman, £10.95 or £9.95 as part of a mixed case) ♦ STAR BUY ♦ Château les Reuilles Bordeaux Supérieur 2014, France A wine from a family-owned château in the south east of the Bordeaux region that makes you smile the moment you stick your nose in the glass. “VG Bordeaux nose” was my first note. There’s a lovely elderberry scent, and the 15 per cent wallop of cabernet franc brings a glorious perfume and uplift. 

Haynes, Hanson & Clark, £9.10; Berry Bros & Rudd Argentinian Malbec by Pulenta Estate 2015, Argentina Such a lovely generous wine, seriously juicy, all blueberries, damsons, brambles and violets with a big sweep of perfume that wraps you up as cosily as a cashmere scarf. I used this malbec in the Telegraph’s new World of Wine video series – and it went down handsomely with the crew.  (14.5%, Berry Bros & Rudd, £11.95) Skillogalee Shiraz 2013, Australia A beautiful basket-pressed shiraz that is lusciously reminiscent of mulberries so ripe they drench you with juice. It’s been aged in both French and American oak and is deliciously spicy and textured. Think about this one if you like big wines on Christmas Day.  Villa Antinori Rosso Toscana 2013, Italy This rich and spicy Tuscan red wine has a very Christmassy feel. It’s based on sangiovese (which makes up 55 per cent of the blend) and also contains cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah. A really successful collaboration between the very Italian sour cherry-ness of the sangiovese and the structure and flesh of the bordeaux grapes.

(13.5%, Telegraph Wine from Waitrose, £15) Cillar de Silos Ribera del Duero Crianza 2012, Spain This succulent tempranillo from Ribera del Duero tastes of autumnal red fruits and leaves, mace, mocha, vanilla (but only a bit of vanilla) and a dash of Lea & Perrins. Aged in French oak, it is a buoyant big hug of a wine. Buy it now and use it to cheer up a cottage pie, or have it with a slow-roast shoulder of lamb. Majestic £16.99 or £14.99 on mix six deal; Berry Bros & Rudd, £19.50) Warwick Estate Trilogy 2012, South Africa If you like your wines big and saturated with flavour then you will love Warwick Estate’s trilogy, made from the three main red bordeaux grapes. The 30 per cent of cabernet franc gives the wine a succulent feel. Fareham Wine Cellar, £19.50; SH Jones in Banbury and Leamington Spa, £18.15; Seresin Estate Rachel Pinot Noir 2012,  Marlborough, New Zealand Deep in sauvignon blanc territory in Marlborough, the biodynamic estate of film-maker Michael Seresin specialises in pinot noir.

This smells of baked raspberries and dried cranberries (it would be an absolute winner with turkey and the trimmings) and so much more besides.  (13.5%, Booths, Planet of the Grapes, £28) Château Haut-Corbin St Emilion Grand Cru 2010, Bordeaux, France Rich fruit cake, black tea, ceps, redcurrant leaves – these are some of the flavours in this dense and nicely delineated St Emilion. The blend is 80 per cent merlot, 15 per cent cabernet sauvignon and 5 per cent of that magical ingredient, cabernet franc. Benefits from a light decant.  (14%, Marks & Spencer, £35) Barolo Vigneto Rocche Andrea Oberto 2009, Italy If you only buy one wine this Christmas… make it a good one. There is a generosity to the 2009 barolos that makes it possible to drink them now but when they smell as good as this you could spend a long time with your nose in the glass. There are wafts of rosewood, mace, red cherries, balsamic and dried roses, and the tannins are beginning to melt.