2023 Wines of The Year | Wine Buyer Will 12 Btl.Case

There are a team of us at Wineonline.ie responsible for the wines we taste and choose to stock. Will works mostly in the sourcing of international wines from Europe and often further afield. Below are his Wines of the Year 2023. He explains the reasons for the inclusion of each wine and why it merits a place in his Wines Of The Year Mixed Case. 

Iona Chardonnay
ElgIn, South Africa
2 x 75cl Bottles
This elegant wine is close in style to a really good white Burgundy from St Aubin, Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint-Véran or Auzey-Duresses. For less than the price of an everyday wine in a restaurant, treat yourself to this stunning and delicious Chardonnay. Year on year this wine consistently wins acclaim and this year it has won the coveted Decanter Best in Show Award. Only wines that have scored 97 Points (Platinum Award) are tasted blind and the Top 50 are awarded Best in Show medal. A mere .27% of the total 18,250 wines tasted in this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards – a testament to the brilliance of Iona and their winemaker Werner Muller.

Cami del Drac Carignan Blanc
Roussillion, France
2 x 75cl Bottles
Older Bush vines produce a fraction of the grapes that young vines do, but the quality is incredible. This single vineyard was about to be ripped up until it was saved, and bought by an Irish Winemaker. With tiny production, the Cami del Drac pays homage to the Dragon that protects the vineyard. A really serious wine, that we tasted in the vineyard in September on a visit to the French/ Spanish Border. Whilst the grape variety Carignan Blanc is all but lost, this wine proves there's life in the old dog yet and it's worth saving every single vine of this variety! 

Chateau Argadens
Bordeaux Superieur, France
2 x 75cl Bottles
Owned by the Sichel Family, who have invested heavily over the last 10 years in Chateau Argadens. THe family are owners a=of some of. themost prestigeous estates in all of Bordeaux, Chateau Palmer for example, so they know about outstanding Bordeaux. We imported this wine 10 years ago and somehow lost it over the years. We recently rediscovered it, and it features in my wines of the year purely because of how brilliant the quality is and how inexpensive it is as well. it is well made, structured and floral giving so much more wine in the bottle than its €20 pricetag would suggest. 

Arizcuren Solo Mazuelo
Rioja Oriental, Spain
2 x 75cl Bottles
I tasted this wine for the first time in May of this year, and instantly recall my first thought: this is one of the nicest wines i have ever tasted. The vines here are pre phylloxera, and Javier Arizcuren makes incredibly pure expressions of single varieties here. 'I want you to be able to taste the fruit he says' when asked about his wines. He uses amphora to age the wines, eschewing traditional barrels, in order to enhance the fruit purity of the wines. i am ecstatic that these wines are in Ireland now, and since that first tasting, almost all articles in wine magazines that mention Rioja, seem to mention Javier Arizcuren and the things he is doing to revolutionise how we percieve Rioja wine. 

Petra Hebo
Tuscany, Italy
2 x 75cl Bottles
One of the great Tuscan wine estates. This is a classic Super Tuscan wine. When we hear Super Tuscan, we think Tignanello at over €150 per bottle. Well at just €25 per bottle this is a blend of Cabernet sauvignon and Merlot and it has everthing a great wine should have - it is structured and robust, with a wonderful velvet mouthfeel and lots of beautiful blackberry fruits. I have chosen it as one of my wines of the year because not many know about it, but when they do, it becomes a household favourite. 

Montsablé Reserve Pinot Noir 
Haute Valée de Laude, France  
2 x 75cl Bottles
Everything has got so much more expensive in the last 24 months, and wine is no different. It has forced us to look for alternatives. Good quality Burgundy can now cost over €50 per bottle very easily so we needed to find some alternatives. This wine is made at the foothills of the Pyrenees, the coolest of all French wine growing regions. It is made using Burgundian winemaking techniques ad aged in new French oak barrels for 6 months. The result is exceptional, and It is one of my wines of the year because it is an outatsnding Pinot Noir for less than €20, something very rare these days. 

Total RRP: €310.00    
Mixed Case Price: €280.00                                                                                    
Save €30.00 on this case!

*From time to time vintages/wines may become unavailable, it is rare but in this instance we will replace the wine with a similar wine of equal or greater value.