I cannot believe that 2019 is almost finished! The end of a decade is almost here! 2019 has been an incredible year, but boy was it over in a blink of an eye. It feels like just yesterday that it was January, and now we are almost full circle into 2020! But with the end of another year, the time has come to award the top wines for 2019! It’s something I started last year as a bit of fun, so I thought I’d do it again!
I realised when going back through a year’s worth of wine reviews just how much incredible wine I’ve drunk this year! I’ve been very lucky to explore wine so much more this year with the Cheeky Vino, and I cannot believe just how many wines I had to choose between! There were so many contenders, so it was very hard to decide on one winner! But in the interest of not making this article a novel detailing all the amazing wines I’ve drunk, I’ve just focused on one per category!
These winners are based purely on my personal preference – so you may certainly not agree! I just wanted to share my favourite wines for the year and why. As I said it was almost impossible to decide between them, so even if a wine hasn’t made the list it doesn’t mean I didn’t love it any less. I had to ask myself: what would I go back to the most? And here are your answers!
So without further ado, here are the Cheeky Vino top wines for 2019!
Best budget buy: The Hare and the Tortoise Pinot Noir
We’re all looking for great wine that doesn’t break the bank, so in this list of top wines for 2019 I wanted to share my favourite budget buy of the year. There was no question that is had to be the The Hare and the Tortoise Pinot Noir! It can be hard to find great wine under $20, but even hard to find Pinot Noir. But this wine from the Yarra Valley is one I keep going back to because it is so delicious!
We discovered this wine at our local bottle shop at a tasting of Pinot Noir from around the world. Despite being the cheapest this was our favourite, and from there we just kept going back. This has to be one of the wines I bought the most this year, often picking it up to have with friends over dinner or simply as a great wine to enjoy with Pizza and Netflix.
If you are after a great Pinot Noir at an even better price, you can normally nab this wine for under $20, and I’ve often found it around $16 a bottle. For a wine that is just plain delicious, fragrant and fruity, look no further! You can grab a couple of bottles while you’re at it!
Read more about this wine using the link below:
https://thecheekyvino.comthe-hare-the-tortoise-pinot-noir-seriously-good-value/
Best splurge purchase: Veuve Fourney & Fils Champagne
Based on my wine reviews for the year it would appear I’ve really tried to focus on affordable wines. I like to share wines with you that are delicious but don’t break the bank, as, let’s be honest, none of us have an endless wine budget. Even if we wish we could drink Bollinger with breakfast, it isn’t feasible. So I try to focus on wines which give you bang for your buck. But there was a particular wine I had this year which was a bit special and offered something different, so I decided that it had to win the Best Splurge Purchase!
There are plenty of Champagnes on the market, but it can be hard to find smaller producers that export to Australia. But for our anniversary this year, my partner brought home the Veuve Fourney & Fils Champagne because he thought I’d rather try something different. He was right, and the wine was absolutely delicious! It retails for around $50-$60, which is similar to some of the other Champagne on the market, but is a bit more unique!
I absolutely loved this wine! The bottle itself was beautifully decorated, but the wine was the real highlight. It was complex with citrus, nutty and toasty flavours, and very easy to drink. This Champagne was absolutely delicious, and perfect for a special celebration! If you are looking for something different when you are next in the market for Champagne, I highly recommend you look out for this one!
Read the full review at the link below:
https://thecheekyvino.comveuve-fourny-and-fils-champagne/
Best Red Wine: Silver Palm Zinfandel 2012
It was near impossible to award one wine with the Best Red Wine in the Cheeky Vino top wines for 2019. I drink a lot of red, and I love a lot of the red that I drink. So to award just one was very difficult and required a lot of deliberation. Deliberation that I wish I had made with glasses of each of the wines so I could try them again for research.
I decided to award the Best Red Wine to the Silver Palm Zinfandel for a few reasons. Firstly, it was a wine I’ve come back to a few year’s after trying it because I enjoyed it so much. It is also a wine from one of my favourite red wine varieties which is hard to find in Australia: Zinfandel! I tried Zinfandel first in Napa Valley and it was on my first wine tour. I feel it was my gateway to loving wine. So drinking good Zinfandel always takes me back!
You can normally find this wine at boutique bottle stores – I picked it up once from the Dan Murphy’s Cellar in South Yarra too. This wine certainly packs a punch with flavours of fruit and spice, making it the perfect food wine. However, the age on this one was what I really enjoyed, bringing out smokey flavours. This wine is deep, dark and delicious.
https://thecheekyvino.comsilver-palm-zinfandel/
Best White Wine: Unico Zelo Jade & Jasper 2018 Fiano
I’ve definitely been drinking a lot of Unico Zelo this year – both reds and whites. I really love their funky labelling, their corks and their interesting wines. So when I was making the hard decision of what white wine was my favourite for the top wines of 2019, it had to go to their Jade & Jasper 2018 Fiano.
I’ve really been enjoying Fiano this year, and this was definitely the highlight of the bunch. This Italian wine is complex, full of fruity aroma and green apple and lemon. It’s fruity to taste, like summer in a bottle, but rounded off by a crisp acidity that makes it all too easy to drink!
If you are in the market for something different to sip on this summer, this would be my pick! The team at Unico Zelo are always bringing out interesting wines, and this is just one of many that I love! Find out more on the link below:
https://thecheekyvino.comunico-zelo-jade-jasper-is-truly-unique/
Best Rosé: Brini 2017 Rosé
Rosé was one of the hardest categories to choose in my top wines for 2019 because I drink so much of it! Rosé is one of my favourite drops, and it shows in my posts from the last year! It’s made me think I really need to branch out next year, but let’s be honest, it may not happen. So when trying to decide on my favourite, I had a lot of wines that I really enjoyed to choose from. Like, really enjoyed! How did I pick just one?
The one I chose was the Brini 2017 Rosé. We first bought this Rosé at the Good Food and Wine Show 2018 because we absolutely loved it when we tried it, along with many of their other McLaren Vale wines. I held on to it for the most part of 2019 because I remembered how good it was and wanted to drink it with something special. But I finally caved and gave it a whirl, and was reminded just why I loved it so much. The reason it wins the award is that it’s so delicious and affordable that I had to go back for more at the Good Food and Wine Show 2019!
This wine is a bit fruitier than a Provence style Rosé but has a great dryness that offers length and complexity in the palate. It is perfect for sipping before dinner and even better in Summer! The best part is it’s under $20!
Read more about this fabulous wine here:
https://thecheekyvino.combrini-2017-rose-all-too-easy-to-finish/
Best sparkling wine: La Boheme Cuvee Blanc
And finally, we reach the Best Sparkling Wine on the best wines of 2019 list. This one was a little tricky too because I tend to drink a lot of Sparkling Wine between Prosecco, Australian Sparkling and Champagne (If I’m lucky!). But the answer to what wine I would definitely drink again surprised me. Being a Prosecco lover, I thought one of those would definitely win. But it was the La Boheme Cuvee Blanc from De Bortoli that truly blew me away!
This wine was fruity and fresh with little dryness, making it very easy to drink. Our bottle was polished off all too quickly, leaving me wishing I bought a few more bottles! It also is a beautifully designed bottle which looks quite fancy, which I always love! And because you can pick it up at around $20 a bottle, it is super affordable too! Easy drinking, pretty, delicious and doesn’t break the bank? That’s the making of a perfect Sparkling Wine!
To learn more about this wine, read my review below:
https://thecheekyvino.comla-boheme-cuvee-blanc-is-easy-drinking-goodness/
The final word on the top wines for 2019
So there you have my list of top wines for 2019! It was very hard to decide because I’ve drunk some seriously good vino this year. But to pick one isn’t just about flavour. It’s about those memorable wines that I’d go back to. The ones that I remember telling people about because they were affordable, delicious or just damn beautiful!
All the wines I reviewed this year were incredible, and I would have loved to have included them all in this list. I’m so grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to write about wine this year. I can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store!