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This is a list of interesting wines. No more, no less. By no means is this a “best of,” which can easily be found from all the usual wine-critic suspects. Some wines are cheap quaffers, others are expensive and meant to age, and a few you’ve seen before. I’ve made no attempt to be balanced or fair; Bordeaux, Burgundy, South Africa and Spain (among others) are grossly underrepresented, while South America is entirely absent. Vintages are not included by intention, but if possible avoid 2003s from Europe and 2002s from the Rhône Valley, as they’re the products of bizarre weather and won’t necessarily provide a typical experience.

On to the list, which is broken down by country, state, or region as appropriate:

Alsace
1) Sparr “One” (a fun blend)
Three different expressions of liquefied minerals:
2) Trimbach Riesling
3) Trimbach Riesling “Cuvée Frédéric Émile”
4) Boxler Riesling Brand
5) Weinbach Gewurztraminer Altenbourg “Cuvée Laurence” (a spice explosion that’s impossible to ignore)

Eastern/Southeastern France and Corsica
6) Renardat-Fache Bugey-Cerdon (pink, frothy, fun)
7) Raymond Quénard Chignin Mondeuse (a stern Alpine red)
8) Arena Muscat du Cap Corse (the maquis in dessert form)
9) Château d’Arlay Vin de Paille (an utterly unique digestif wine)

Rhône Valley
13) Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc (nuts and stone fruit)
And a lineup of big, leathery, meaty reds:
14) Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge
15) Domaine du Cayron Gigondas
16) Allemand Cornas
17) Graillot Crozes-Hermitage
18) Jamet Côte-Rôtie
19) Texier Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret “Vieilles Vignes”
Plus, the succulently sweet:
20) Domaine de Durban Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise

Languedoc-Roussillon
21) Hugues Beaulieu Picpoul de Pinet (a better bargain white you’ll rarely find — except in the next section)
22) BeauThorey Vin de Table “Bogus” (a light, elusive red)
And another procession of brawny, muscular, slightly un-tamed reds:
23) Domaine de La Rectorie Collioure “Coume Pascole”
24) Château d’Oupia Minervois
25) Château La Roque Pic Saint-Loup “Cuvée les Vieilles Vignes de Mourvèdre”
26) Domaine de Fontsainte Corbières
27) Piquemal Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes “Pierre Cuvée Audonnet”
28) Domaine de La Rectorie Banyuls “Cuvée Léon Parcé” (this last one’s slightly sweet and almost chocolate-y)

Southwest France
29) Les Vignes Retrouvées Côtes de Saint-Mont (white and silly cheap)
30) Château Courtiade Bergerac Sec (a more refined white)
31) Château Lamartine Cahors (big and red)
32) Château de Perron Madiran “Coeur de Tannat” (big and black)
33) Domaine Etxegaraya Irouleguy (a Basque treasure)
34) Domaine Cauhapé Jurançon “Symphonie de Novembre” (elegantly sweet and beautiful)

Bordeaux
35) Château Graville-Lacoste Graves (white and summery)
36) Château Léoville-Barton St. Julien (a classic Bordeaux built for decades of aging)

Loire Valley
37) Huet Vouvray Pétillant (the most ethereal bubbly you’ll ever meet)
38) Ollivier Muscadet Sèvre & Maine “Sur Lie” Clos des Briords “Cuvée Vieilles Vignes” (oysters beware, though this is much more versatile and ageable than most Muscadet)
39) Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Clos du Bourg (one of the world’s great wines, with many decades of development in its future; it’s very shy in its callow youth, but have faith)
40) Cazin “Le Petit Chambord” Cour-Cheverny (utterly unique)
41) P. Cotat Sancerre La Grande Côte (not always dry, but always delicious)
42) Clos Roche Blanche Touraine “Cuvée Gamay” (age-able but irresistible now)
43) Breton Bourgueil Les Galichets (combining Bordeaux-like structure and a cool, earthy elegance)
44) Château Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon Chaume (decadently sweet)
45) Huet Vouvray Moelleux “Cuvée Constance” (deathless ambrosia, though not cheap)

Beaujolais
46) Brun “Terres Dorées” Beaujolais Blanc (definitely not your average chardonnay)
And a trio of light(ish) reds that distill the pure essence of joy:
47) Brun “Terres Dorées” Beaujolais “l’Ancien Vieilles Vignes”
48) Coudert “Clos de la Roilette” Fleurie
49) Foillard Morgon Côte du Py

Burgundy, Mâcon, and Chablis
50) R&V Dauvissat Chablis Les Clos (crushed-seashell chardonnay, with powerful aging potential)
51) Guillemot-Michel Mâcon-Villages (a kooky village crank masquerading as chardonnay)
52) Maréchal Bourgogne “Cuvée Gravel” (pure essence of pinot noir)
53) Chevillon Nuits St. Georges Les Vaucrains “1er Cru” (a more masculine interpretation of the same grape; needs age)

Champagne
54) Pierre Peters Blanc de Blancs (clean, lemony, and sharp)
55) Bollinger “Special Cuvée” Brut (rich and redolent)
56) Jacquesson Avize “Grand Cru” (the vintage version, which is beautiful now but can age)
57) Lassalle Chigny-les-Roses “1er Cru” Brut Rosé “Réserve des Grandes Années” (rose-tinted seduction)

Spain
58) Ameztoi Txakolina (one of the most vivacious whites you’ll ever taste)
59) José Pariente Rueda Verdejo (more subdued but delicious)
60) Muga Rioja Rosado (a rosé for a dry and dusty afternoon)
61) Piñol Terra Alta “Ludovicus” (balanced and evocative red)
62) Clos Mogador Priorat (beautifully structured and straddling the line between tradition and modernity)
63) El Grifo Malvasia Dulce (a sweet Canary Islands stunner)
64) Toro Albalá “Don PX” Pédro Ximénez “Gran Reserva” (the most overpoweringly sweet wine you’ll ever taste — dates, figs, dried plums, and molasses — with a finish that lasts for months)

Portugal
65) Auratus Alvarinho/Trajadura (crisp and pure)
66) Herdade Grande Alentejano (like an ultra-ripe Burgundy, but much cheaper)
67) Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port (sweetly berry goodness)

Germany
A trio of appealingly off-dry whites, of ascending intensity:
68) St. Urbans-Hof Riesling QbA
69) Dönnhoff Oberhauser Brücke Riesling Spätlese
70) JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
71) Kesseler Spätburgunder “Cuvée Max” (pinot noir from Germany — and an appealing one)

Austria
72) Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Kamptaler Terassen (green-hued minerality)
73) Jamek Ried Klaus Riesling Spätlese Smaragd (piercing, strong, and highly ageable)

Italy
74) Tenuta Pederzana Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro (a red froth)
75) Gravner Ribolla Gialla “Amfora” (the producer just might be insane, but this fascinating white is utterly convincing, and there’s nothing else like it on the planet)
76) Lageder “Tòr Löwengang” Pinot Bianco Haberlehof (mountainous and mineral-driven)
77) Fèlsina Chianti Classico Riserva “Rancia” (better than almost any other Chianti on the market, though it’s more powerful than most)
78) Sella & Mosca Cannonau di Sardegna “Riserva” (a red for the seashore)
79) Tenuta Migliavacca Monferatto Freisa (if one could ferment the color purple ... )
80) COS Cerasuolo di Vittoria (strong Sicilian flavors lend a certain sun-baked elegance)
81) Poderi Sanguineto I e II Rosso di Montepulciano (quirky and delicious)
82) Maculan Breganze “Torcolato” (one of the best sweet wines in the world)

California
83) Edmunds St. John “Shell & Bone” White (flowers, stone fruit, and minerals, with a balance that’s rare in California)
84) Edmunds St. John “Bone-Jolly” Gamay (Beaujolais given a shot of manifest destiny)
85) Ridge Geyserville (the California classic; let it age)
86) Dashe Zinfandel Todd Brothers Ranch (for those who think the Geyserville could be a little bigger)
87) Tablas Creek “Côtes de Tablas” Rouge (one of the most compelling Rhône-style wines anywhere outside France, and still grossly undervalued)

Other USA
88) Westport Rivers Brut “Cuvée RJR” (home-grown bubbly of unquestioned quality)
89) Domaine Drouhin Oregon Chardonnay “Arthur” (quite possibly the best domestic chardonnay)
90) Scott Paul Pinot Noir “Audrey” ( ... and from just down the road, one of the best domestic pinots)

New Zealand
91) Pegasus Bay Riesling (German-styled, though perhaps a little fruitier and heavier)
92) Montana Patutahi “P” Gewürztraminer (fiery spiced lychees)
93) Felton Road Pinot Noir (or the world-class Block 3 & Block 5)
94) Fromm “La Strada” Pinot Noir (a heavier expression of this always fickle grape, with a Kiwi twist)

Australia
95) Grosset Riesling Polish Hill (shockingly severe and age-able)
96) Tyrrell’s Semillon “Vat 1” (one of the most under-appreciated whites in the world, but it must age)
97) Voyager Estate Shiraz (big, fruity fun)
98) Torbreck “Cuvée Juveniles” (see previous comment, yet it’s different)

South Africa
99) Onyx “Noble Late Harvest” (a dead ringer for Sauternes)

Lebanon
100) Château Musar red (given that this wine’s harvest sometimes falls victim to matters of life and death, it has no right to be as good as it is; it’s very individualistic but frequently brilliant, and there’s a story in every bottle)

(First published in stuff@night, 2007.)