The Full Top 100 of 2016 List 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. These wines are a diverse group—ranging from emerging labels and regions to traditional estates exploring new directions—and all generate 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 are applied to the wines that rated outstanding (90 points or higher on Wine Spectator’s 100-point scale) each year to determine our Top 100. As many wines are made in limited quantities and not available in every market, our Top 100 is not a “shopping list,” but rather a guide to wineries to watch in the future—a reflection of the producers and wines our editors become particularly passionate about in each new year.

The style of French wine echoes that of the French themselves—elegant, well-dressed, showing an appreciation for the good things of life but never to excess. French wines go best with food, never overpowering either in flavor or in alcohol, always well-mannered, often beautiful.top 10 selling wine in india The fact that, today, the quality of even the least expensive French wine has improved impressively, means that there is a whole new range of wines open to wine drinkers.top 50 wine labels All these qualities make it worthwhile to spend some time to get to know French wine and to appreciate its many facets. the best wine list in londonThe country produces all styles of wine, from the cool wines of the Loire Valley, the stylish whites of Alsace, through the classics of Bordeaux and Burgundy, to the more powerful, muscular offerings of the Rhone, to the warm wines of Languedoc and Roussillon, suffused with sun. best wine pairing for fish and chips

And unique in their northern fastnesses are the great Champagnes. In a world of international brands, where origin doesn’t matter, France offers an alternative ethos. There is much talk of terroir, of the place and the culture from which a wine comes. glass of wine transparentIt makes every wine different, makes many of them special. best light red italian wineThere is no homogeneity here.best bottle of australian red wine France is an ordered country, and despite the seeming chaos of French wine, there is order in the system. wine on tap waterWines come from places, and these places are designated appellations. how much does a glass of wine cost at a restaurant

An appellation—appellation contrôlée on a wine label—is not a guarantee of quality. It is a guarantee of origin, and a guarantee that the wine has been made following certain rules specifying grape varieties, soil, planting, yields, and winemaking. The wine has also passed a sensory test, which approves its style and its typicity for the appellation. There are nearly 280 appellations in France, ranging from the huge—Bordeaux appellation, or Champagne—to the tiny, single-vineyard appellations of Coulée de Serrant in the Loire and Romanée-Conti in Burgundy. There are regional appellations, there are district appellations, and there are appellations which cover only one commune. A good example of this hierarchy is in Burgundy. The main appellation of the region is plain and simple: red and white, Bourgogne Rouge or Bourgogne Blanc. Climbing up the hierarchy are district appellations, such as Chablis, for white wines, Mâcon for white and red wines, Côte de Beaune for reds, and so on.

Rising again in quality while the area of the appellation gets smaller are village appellations: Vougeot, Auxey-Duresse, Pommard, Nuits-St-Georges. In these villages, certain superior vineyards are designated premier cru—and you will find the name of the vineyard on the label. At the top of the quality heap are the single vineyard appellations, the Grand Cru: Clos de Vougeot being perhaps the most famous. There is one other category of wine which is in some ways the most interesting and exciting: Vin de Pays. These are the everyday, ready-to-drink wines that offer some of the best values in the world. The labels, unlike appellation wines, will show grape varieties. Coming generally from the warm south of France, the wines will be warm, ripe, and fruity. The best known example is Vin de Pays d’Oc. Learn how to decode Bordeaux’s notorious wine labels >>> Having established some of the ground rules for French wine, let’s examine the fascinations of the different regions in more detail.

By far the largest, the most important, and one of the best, both for great wines and for bargains, is Bordeaux. Great reds from the great chateaux are what make the headlines, but Bordeaux is so big, that there is plenty of choice. Appellation with the name Côtes in the title are always worth seeking out, as are the white wines (yes, Bordeaux makes whites, both dry and sweet). And the general level of quality has improved dramatically. The reds are fruity, but never over-alcoholic, always with a layer of tannin which makes them great food wines. The whites are fresh, the best with wood flavors to give complexity. They may all be called “chateau this,” “chateau that,” but that’s simply a way of saying that many Bordeaux wines come from one individual property. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc are the main red grapes; Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon for the whites. But most Bordeaux is not a single varietal wine—it is more often a blend, which makes these wines more than the sum of their individual parts.

Burgundy is the other big French wine. It is a fifth the size of the Bordeaux region, and produces correspondingly more expensive wines, with fewer bargains, and more disappointments. The best way to buy Burgundy is to follow the best producers, and reliable reviews from buying guides or wine magazines. If you take that advice, the most seductive wines (red from Pinot Noir, white from Chardonnay, always 100 percent) are in your glass. It’s not just chance that the Burgundy bottle has rounded sides, the Bordeaux bottle has straight: Burgundy appeals to the senses, Bordeaux to the intellect. Much larger in scale than Burgundy is the Rhône Valley. From the alcoholic and powerful highs of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, through the dense elegance of the Syrah wines of appellations like Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage, this is red wine country. Rich and generous, these wines appeal to wine drinkers used to California reds. And, just like Bordeaux, there is also great value to be found in this region: wines labeled Côtes du Rhône.

If they have a village name attached (Rasteau and Seguret are among the best), they will be that much better even if more expensive. Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhône are the best known wine regions of France except for Champagne. This sparkling wine from the chalk slopes east of Paris is France’s best answer to a global brand. It is the drink of celebration, of success, and the best way to drown sorrows. And, unlike the still French wines, which have been successfully copied around the world, Champagne remains inimitable, despite thousands of attempts. The combination of cool climate, chalk soil and—there’s no other word for it—terroir are just so special. As a complete contrast, there are the hot, sun-drenched vineyards of the south. Languedoc and Roussillon don’t just produce tanker loads of inexpensive wine. Some areas such as Corbières, Minervois, Coteaux du Languedoc, Côtes de Roussillon offer a magic mix of great value, history, and some fascinating herbal and fruity flavors.

We pop the cork on wine’s 12 most esoteric terms >>> After these greats, come the Loire and Alsace regions, which produce some of the greatest and most fascinating wines in France. Bordeaux and the Rhône are known for reds, Burgundy for reds and whites. The two cool climate areas of Loire and Alsace are where the whites shine. Discover more about the Loire in our piece, Decode the Wines of the Loire Valley. Alsace is unique in France in that producers are allowed to put the grape variety on the label of an appellation wine. It is also unique in that the grapes are a mix of German and French: Riesling and Gewürztraminer, Muscat and Pinot Gris. These are not light wines, but they have a fruitiness and a richness that is quite different from the German models just across the Rhine river. At the top of this list are the Alsace Grand Cru vineyards, single vineyards which can produce astonishing quality and longevity. The Loire is a complete mix. Every style of wine can be found along its six hundred mile length.