I hope this thread has not already started on our beloved VC, as I did do a search and couldn't find it.

My prediction 'For Now':

03 Kosta Browne 'Sonoma Coast PN would be what is obvious to me.
1. Back to Cali with WOTY, 2. Pinot Noir is hotter than ever right now (That is obvious to me since DavidN is drinking it now ), 3. WS Never had a PN as #1, 4. The stupid SIDEWAYS factor, 5. 95 points, 6. $28, 7. how many cases? as the tech sheets don't show. And I am sitting on 6 cases with fingers crossed. Don't ask because they are all mine to drink over the next 8 years.

Could it be W.H. Smith 'Maritime' at 97 points, $45, and 581 cases produced? Not in my book, but I am not Spectator.

what sayest yee?

This is fluid and minds can change with more research.

how many cases are produced of the kosta? dosen't wine spectator have a minimum availability?

that was my only ?

There were 750 cases of the KB Sonoma Coast produced.

They are good at distribution then. I thought it would have been north of 1.5k with the amount I saw everywhere this past summer. Is 750 a big enough number to be #1?

No 750 is not enough imo for WS.

That's the number Mike Browne gave me and is what I published in OF4/1. I agree I've seen it more places then I would expect given the 750 number.

Dan and Michael deserve the success they're having, but selfishly I wish WS would ignore KB.

'02 Insignia probably won't be #1, but I'd expect to see it in the top 10. Large production and JL gave it 95 or 96 points iirc.

'02 Quilceda Creek, perhaps?

i know there is a minimum availabilty. when the spectator picked the 2001 paloma merlot, i remember them mentioning the availability was on the low side for a wine of the year. anyone remember the paloma merlot case count?

i do think they might try to go with a reasonably priced excellent pinot that has good availability. are there any?

Good Lord! The auction prices of the K-B Sonoma Coast bottling are in the $70+ range, with one person bidding $90 for a bottle and one guy trying to sell 3 bottles for $300!

Back on topic, expect to see it in the top 10, maybe even top 5. But it is not a big enough production to get the top spot. WS has a recent history of releasing the rating of the #1 wine in the very same issue as the Top 100. So we may not have even seen the #1 wine yet.

my early money is on 03 clos des papes

Really? Did I tell you that your case of it has somehow gotten lost?

remember i know where your daughter lives

Does the '01 Yquem count as a 2005 release? I know that basically all of the other sauternes were released last year, with Rieussec as wine of the year, Suduairaut getting #9 and a bunch getting very high ratings.

By all accounts, the '01 Yquem is better than all of those, with Suckling saying that he'd give the wine more than 100 points if he could.

It would be back-to-back sauternes so that's working against it, but I don't think Yquem was among the wines considered last year. So, if the '01 is considered an '05 release, I think that's got to be the winner.

On a personal note, I'd love to see the '02 Insignia get the nod. Since I first tasted it I've believed that it is the best Insignia I've ever had; also I stocked up but I'm not planning to sell any of it.

Also, could the wine of the year be a Champagne? How do they classify the release dates on those? The '90 Krug just got 97 points (the clos du mesnil was higher but I think production is probably too low). '95 Salon also got a very high rating.

I very much doubt that Yquem would do it. The price is just too high. The WOTY is supposed to be something that is actually accessible (at least until the score comes out). Leoville Las Cases and Ornellaia are good examples of 100 point wines that missed the top because they were too expensive.

The average price of a wine on the top 100 is under $40. I doubt that the WOTY would be much over $100

The minimum production appears to be around 1000 cases. 01 Paloma Merlot was apparently 2500 cases. There haven't been that many wines rated 95+ with a production so high. IIRC most of them were Italian, so the number of cases imported will be significantly less than 1000 - don't know how much that affects the score. There were also a bunch of high scoring Germans but the same rules apply.

A lot of people are rooting for 01 Don Melchor, but I'm still not convinced. Insignia - 96 points with a $125+ price tag? Top 10 maybe, but probably not #1 - Lewis Cab and Elderton Command Shiraz both got 96 at a lower price tag. However availability is low.

For my money the WOTY hasn't been reviewed yet.

I just found this link to a wine shop that's willing to gamble what the wine of the year will be. Whatever it is, you can pre-buy one for $99.99 per bottle. If they can't get a bottle for you, you get $199.99 back.

Doesn't seem like such a deal if David Tong is correct, but it seems even modestly priced ones go up to well over $100 if they are named wine of the year.

Here's the link:web page

Anyone ever bought from them before?

i could of swore someone did this before.

I'm 99% sure my WOTY will be the Four Barrel. That one won't qualify for WS for sure on amount produced.

I have a very difficult time choosing my #2 between the Sonoma Coast and the Kaenzler.

I'd like to see the WS WOTY be a California Chardonnay. Maybe a Peter Michael , Aubert, or a Kongsgaard. This would shake up the troops!

Chard has already been done in the past with Beringer.

In a srious way it would suck if it were a PN we all love, because that would make it hard to get for the next 2 vintages.

I'm guessing its 02 QC.

WD