The misconception about the Top 100

This well-known ranking by the American magazine Wine Spectator uses three parameters: organoleptic quality, the number of bottles produced and price. Not taking these “ground rules” into consideration can lead to a misconception about the magnificent 100.

This year’s ranking of the best 100 wines by the Wine Spectator magazine, the so-called Top 100, has come out and the press – especially the Italian one – is rushing to herald the winner as “the best wine in the word”. The wine is a Brunello di Montalcino 2018 Argiano, and this is certainly good news for Italy. However, it is not the absolute best wine in the world, in fact, the same estate produces another one, the cru Vigna del Suolo, always a 2018 and always a Brunello di Montalcino, which is better in terms of quality, price and prestige.

Not only that, but if we only take into consideration what WS says and the rules it uses for its ranking we can understand a number of things. First, the selection is based only on the wines that the editorial staff tasted over the past year and not all the best wines in the world. Second, the points awarded for the wine’s taste are not the only factor because the final ranking also considers the number of bottles produced (and available in the United States) and the quality/price ratio. So if two wines have the same number of points, the one that comes out in more bottles and has a better price will come out on top. By the same token, a wine that has a higher rating but is produced in fewer numbers and costs more risks not making it on the list.

There is nothing wrong or bad about this approach, because anyone can use the guidelines they choose. However, the WS, even if it does make known the parameters it uses, and the press in general should, I think, present the news for what it is. This means that it should be clear that the Brunello di Montalcino 2018 Argiano is the best wine among those tasted by Wine Spectator over the past year based on its taste rating, price and number of bottles available. The fact that this Italian wine was the number one on the list is something Italy can be proud of, considering the fact that the world’s attention has been drawn to this Italian wine, but this is simply quite different from being the “best wine in the world”.