Wow, 2018 is almost over. What a year it has been! I have been wanting to launch a wine blog for so long now, and to have finally done it, and get such a positive response just cements my passion. Thank you all for supporting the Cheeky Vino in its launch, and I look forward to an even bigger 2019! But as the last post, as we say goodbye to this huge year, I thought I would share my top wines for 2018!

There have been so many wines I’ve enjoyed this year (I don’t have a problem I swear, I just really love trying wine). It’s hard to decide which ones were my favourite, particularly as there are so many that I’ve tried that I never reviewed. However, I thought it would be a good wrap up to pick my favourites from those I have reviewed! There have been some great wines that have really surprised me and kept me coming back. So I thought it was as good a time as any to highlight those ones that really knocked my socks off!

So without further ado, here are the Cheeky Vino Top Wines of 2018!

Best budget buy: The Elephant in the Room Palatial Pinot Noir 2017

To find a Pinot Noir in a Best Budget Buy category is usually unheard of. Pinot Noir has a tendency to be on the more expensive side, so it can be near impossible to find one for under $20. But I did, and it was fantastic! The Elephant in the Room Palatial Pinot Noir was a wine I enjoyed earlier in the year, but it stuck out as one of the best wines I’ve had under $20. The best news is that you can find this wine in most bottle stores, and you don’t need a membership to get this great value!

Besides having one of the cutest labels I’ve ever seen, this wine was really delicious. It is very easy to drink because of its smooth flavours and lack of tannins. It is a perfect red wine for those occasions where you want something light. This also means it doesn’t need to be paired with food necessarily, and due to the subtle flavours, I would encourage enjoying it before a meal.

This wine is perfect for a midweek drop that doesn’t break the bank. It’s amazing that you can find a great tasting Pinot for such a great price! Because of this, it has made the list of the Top Wines for 2018.

Best splurge purchase: Levrier Meslier Sparkling Rosé

A latecomer to my reviews for the year, I had to put in the Levrier Meslier Sparkling Rose for the Best Splurge Purchase. Coming in at around $50 a bottle, you would perhaps question why you’re buying this over a Champagne, given that it is from Adelaide Hills, not France. However, this wine completely surprised me, and this is why I would be inclined to buy a few more bottles regardless of the high price point.

The first thing I loved about this wine was the colour. A typical Sparkling Rosé will usually have a pink tone to it, often quite pink in fact. The Levrier sparkling is different. It has the most beautiful shade of rose gold. The next best thing about it is the flavour. Rather than being on the sweet size like other Sparkling Rosé can be, this wine was crisp, light and refreshing. It was perfectly balanced in its flavour.

The simple fact that I would buy a $50 bottle of sparkling wine over Champagne is a testament to how good this wine was. This is why it has made the list for the Top Wines of 2018.

Best Red Wine: Moonrise Estate 2013 Tempranillo

The Moonrise Estate 2013 Tempranillo makes the list as the Best Red Wine. It was one that we opened on Valentine’s Day, knowing that we were going back to the Granite Belt. We had held on to it for a few years and decided to open it for a special occasion. When we went back, we found out this wine had won multiple awards. The saddest part about our trip though was that we found out this incredible wine was completely sold out!

You can see why this wine is award-winning. Despite having a few years of age on it, the wine was quite light and fruity in its flavours. It had a slight punch of tannins, but nothing that overpowered the wine. For something that had 5 years of cellaring, it was a wine that was very drinkable,and maintained the characteristics of a great Tempranillo. I only wish we’d bought a case!

If you are ever in the Granite Belt, definitely stop by Moonrise Estate. There are many fantastic wineries around Stanthorpe, and Moonrise Estate is constantly producing incredible wines. Just don’t make the same mistake we did. Buy the case if you love it. You never know, it could be another award winner!

Best White Wine: Pizzini Verduzzo 2001

For the Best White Wine of 2018, it was a bit of a clear winner in my mind. The Pizzini Verduzzo from 2001 was one of the highlights of the year for me when it came to wine in general. Unfortunately, this isn’t a bottle you can pick up now, but what you can do is check out all the other great wines Pizzini has to offer including some cracking whites.

I enjoyed this wine with my parents who introduced me to Pizzini wines, so it seems fitting that I enjoyed it with them. For such an old white wine, it could have gone terribly wrong. Often white wines are not good for aging and will spoil if kept too long. However, this wine was different. It was quite sweet from the age, but the complexity of flavour made it a really refreshing wine. A rich start really complemented the sweetness and made it really balanced. And you can’t miss the vibrancy of the colour!

Although this was an old white wine, the Verduzzo from Pizzini Wines I believe would still hold its own as a cracking drop. It’s for this reason that it made the list for Top Wines of 2018.

Best Rosé: Gerard Bertrand Côte des Roses Rosé

There were so many amazing Rosés that I had this year, you could almost say it was a bit of a theme! It was quite hard to choose a clear winner with so many incredible wines that I’d reviewed. But the Gerard Bertrand Côte des Roses Rosé was the one that took the prize! I mean, with a trip to France this year, it seems fitting that I chose a Rosé that reminded me of my holiday! 

The colour of this Rosé is typically French: salmon, light and far from fluoro pink. Although it came from a different region to the one we explored, drinking this Rosé reminds me of summer afternoons people watching in Nice. This is because of the colour but also the flavour. It’s refreshing and well-balanced without too much acidity, so it doesn’t become overwhelming as you drink it. This makes it incredibly easy to drink. 

The best part about this wine is that it comes with a wine bottle that has a beautiful design and a glass stopper, so you can reuse it as a water bottle once you’ve polished off the bottle! You should feel good about drinking this wine, and you will!

Best Sparkling wine: Primo Estate Primo Secco

Finally, the award for Best Sparkling Wine. This category was also hard to decide on, as I have also had a lot of great Sparkling Wine and Prosecco this year! But I decided the award needed to go to the Primo Estate Primo Secco. I enjoyed it on my birthday, so I guess I have fond memories of it. But it is also a great Prosecco! It shows you can get incredible Prosecco in Australia, and don’t always need to venture to the Italian section.

What I loved most about this Prosecco was that it was full of zingy flavour. It had a lot of citrus acidity in its flavour, which made it the perfect drink before dinner. However, it wasn’t too dry either, like some Proseccos can be. It had a great balance, and was all too easy to drink!

This Prosecco was definitely a highlight for the year and was even one I recommended for Christmas. Fingers crossed I’ll be enjoying it over the silly season.

Final word

I told my partner I was writing this list and he said he wouldn’t even be able to remember the wines we’ve drunk this year. I guess if I didn’t have this blog I might have a bit of trouble too because we’ve enjoyed so many! It’s nice to have something that I can look back on and reflect. It’s been quite a big year, and I’m appreciative that I have finally launched the Cheeky Vino so I can share my love of wine with you all!

Thanks so much for all your support this year, and hope you all have a great New Years. Here’s to an even better 2019!