December 2022 Wine Promotion at Straits Wine: Our Top 8 Picks!

To mark the end of a year full of firsts, we’ve curated a selection of top-rated wines which are winners in every category, including the Robert Parker 100-point system. From wallet-friendly wines such as the Craven Cinsault 2020 (South Africa) to fancy dinner party reds like the Marqués de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Rioja Gran Reserva Especial 2011 (Spain), there’s a highly-rated bottle for everyone. Check out our Best of the Best December promotion here, and discover more by following us on @straitswinecompany.

Wine Ratings Explained

To clarify, wine ratings don’t always indicate how delicious a wine is. Instead, wines are scored based on production quality and typicity. Typicity is how much the traits of a particular wine ‘typify’ the style and region it’s from. Wine scores can help guide wine buyers, producers, consumers on which wines to select and purchase.

A wine critic and founder of The Wine Advocate, one of the most influential wine critic publications globally since 1978, Robert Parker’s 100-point system is generally considered the standard scale by which critics rate wine. According to the rating system, wines with these scores share the following characteristics:

96-100 - Extraordinary: a wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this calibre are worth a special effort to find, purchase and consume.

90-95 - Outstanding: a wine of exceptional complexity and character. Terrific wines well worth purchasing.

80-89 - Above average to very good: a wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavor as well as character with no noticeable flaws.

Keeping it Classy: Top White Wines

1.Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz Riesling Ganzhorn Großes Gewächs 2019 (96 points)

On the nose, it has a tart citrus fruit note and along with its crystal-clear saltiness and cool minerality, it is one of the most vibrant and fresh white wines that you can ever come across with a nice balance and enormous future potential.

2.Deep Down Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022 (91 points)

Winemaker Clive Dougall wanted to turn the volume down on the classic fruit driven style of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and he’s done that using organically certified grapes as his starting point, which he fermented with wild yeasts with 35% of the fermentation in old puncheons. The result is a fresh, soft, floral scented Sauvignon with the  floral, elderflower and citrus flavours supported by a backbone of fresh acidity.

3.Schloss Gobelsburg Ried Grub Kamptal Grüner Veltliner (91 points)

The 2018 Kammern Ried Grub opens with a clear and flinty, bright and aromatic bouquet with great elegance. The palate is pure, fresh and elegant, refined and balanced but with tension and finesse. A remarkably good, fine and elegant Veltliner for this difficult vintage.

Silky, Smooth, Big and Bold Red Wines

1.Marqués de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Rioja Gran Reserva Especial 2011 (97 points)

An infinite and complex range of aromas define this Castillo Ygay 2011 that evokes aromas of ripe cherry, blueberries and cassis with refined touches of scrubland, Mediterranean herbs, black pepper, clove and mocha. Balance defines this wine vintage after vintage; lively on the palate as well as enveloping and harmonious. With silky tannins and a long, elegant finish.

2.De Martino Alto de Piedras Carmenere 2018 (94 points) 

This is one of the best and most elegant red wines in the market. It has aromatic layers of black fruit, spices, tobacco and a light mineral note of graphite. On the palate, fine, silky-smooth and broad tannins and ripe fruit are perfectly balanced with the fresh acidity.

3.G.D. Vajra Barolo Albe 2018 (93 points)

An expressive red wine with floral notes, bright red fruits, mint and ground berries. With all of these combined, it creates a lively and distinctive Barolo endowed with pure energy and class. 

4.Matthieu Barret Cornas Brise Cailloux Rouge 2019 (92 points)

An all time favourite of our customers, Cornas Brise Cailloux Rouge 2019 is an extremely vibrant and fresh red wine made from biodynamically grown grapes with very clean and precise wet-stone finish.