LIVE Opportunities: The best value 100-point wines of 2021

fine wine & rare whisky
  • The number of 100-point scores (not including in-barrel ranges) has been rising since 2005. 
  • California and Bordeaux have received the most “perfect” scores so far this year. 
  • Argentina, Germany, Chile and Tuscany offer the best value prices for 100-point wines. 

“There have been a large number of 100-point wines awarded so far in 2021. Excluding barrel ranges, 0.4% of all scores given across all regions have been “perfect” 100s.”

The number of 100-point reviews rose steadily from 2005 – when the 2003 vintage was reviewed in-bottle – to a peak in 2014. “Perfect” scores then became scarcer until 2018, when the 2016 vintage was reviewed (very highly) by critics. 

What regions are receiving the most 100-point scores?  

California and Bordeaux, as seen in the chart below, make up most of the 100-point scores awarded in 2021. For California it was the 2018 vintage that impressed critics. For Bordeaux it was the 2018 vintage as well, but also a re-scoring of the 2005 vintage by Antonio Galloni.  

The average Market Prices of these scores differ greatly (and are ordered from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below). 

 

Argentina offers the lowest entry point into “perfect” wines. Cheval Blanc and Terrazas de Los Andes’s 2017 “Cheval des Andes”, was awarded 100-points by James Suckling and has a Market Price of £648 a case. 

Germany, Chile, and Tuscany all offer 100-point wines for an average Market Price of under £1,000 per 12×75. 

The most expensive 100-pointers are from Piedmont, as four vintages of Giacomo Conterno, Barolo Monfortino Riserva, re-scored to 100 by Galloni, drive up the Market Price average. 

If you’re interested in the list of all wines that have scored 100-points in 2021, get in touch with your account manager and they will be happy to provide it.