My 12 wines of the year

"A harmony not heard since the disappearance of the Flying Pickets..... Just one of the reasons why these are the top dozen of 1998"

If the contents of bottle banks were used as indicators of socio-economic trends in a neighbourhood,
Camden Town's Delancy Street container would cause serious confusion.
Every week I fill it with a monthly collection of empties.
The recycling depot must think:
a) there is a serious alcohol problem in the area
b) the people of London NW1 have extremely eclectic taste.

Over the past year I have tasted thousends of samples with the aim of preventing the dross from reaching your tables.
The following wines are not so much the "best" dozen as the ones that made the most permanent mark on my memory.

Most of these wines are on small allocation and you may have to be content with adding your name to a waiting list for the next vintage.
But your patience and investment will be worth it.

Weinert Malbec  1992
Alas, traditional Argentine wines such this Malbec are becoming marginalised.
But there is a lot of rich ripe fruit here and, having tasted the 1979, this will age for a long time.

Richard Neill
Wine writer of the year 1998