I have been treated to enjoy so many good wines this year. Some have been just great quality, some have been just what my palate was craving at the time. Some wines have I enjoyed just for the buzz, two glasses in (Daddy’s Little Helper Cru).

As other wine bloggers have written, it is too difficult to be able to say with any precision which was the Best. Wine. Ever. In. 2013. Too many factors etc etc. But these are the wines I have particularly liked this year:

Millton Clos Ste. Anne Naboth’s Vineyard Chardonnay 2007

Haha Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011

Woven Stone Ohau Gravels Pinot Noir 2012

TerraVin Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Escarpment Pahi Pinot Noir 2010

Kumeu River Coddington Chardonnay 2010

Sacred Hill Riflemans Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2007

Wild Earth Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008

Palliser Estate Martinborough Pinot Noir 2005

Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Dry Riesling 2012

Villa Maria Cellar Selection Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Trinity Hill The Gimblett Hawkes Bay Merlot/Cabernets 2010

Ata Rangi Chardonnay Craighall 2008

Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2008

Cloudy Bay Te Koko Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Elephant Hill Hawkes Bay Syrah 2012

Spy Valley Chardonnay 2011

Some of the wines have been really outstanding like the Clos Ste Anne, Riflemans and Coddington chardonnays; the Pahi and Wild Earth pinots; and the Te Koko sav, but as Sean Connery told Christopher Lambert, there can be only one:

WOTY 2013: Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Dry Riesling 2012

My notes sez: This is my third-go-round with this beauty. I just can’t get enough. The wine just keeps getting better. Acidic and fruity, and fresh and enlivening. Bursting with limes and pears. Delicious.

I’m voting for an underdog in this Summer Of Riesling!