TOP TEN WINE SHORT LIST FOR WOULD-BE SNOBS

The Epiphany-wine short list: a top ten for would-be snobs.

There’s no Snob exercise more fraught than the compilation (and declamation) of one’s “all-time” list of life-changing wines—especially when you’re put on the spot by your father-in-law, your boss, or a collection of dandruffy wine writers gathered in some woody Napa juice joint. How best to convey one’s oeno-cultural supremacy in a mere ten selections, without resorting (entirely) to cliché and flagrant label whoredom? Herewith, a ten-pack of irrefutable Snob greats that will pass muster
with connoisseurs and poseurs alike.

Case Basse di Soldera Brunello di Montalcino
Riserva 1990

Château Cheval-Blanc
1947 or the ’82)

Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape
1990

Domaine de la Romanée–Conti La Tâche
1971

Giacomo Conterno Barolo Monfortino
1978

Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
1974

Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle
1978 (or the ’61 or the ’90)

Jayer Cros Parantoux
1985

Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia
1985

Vega Sicilia “Unico”
1970

By David Kamp & David Lynch in "The Wine Snob's Dictionary", Broadway Books, New York, 2008. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.