Introduction

By Jon Bonné

In a year when expensive wines were all but voted off the island, less can indeed be more.

That turned out to be a theme for this year's Top 100 Wines. This isn't to say that extraordinary wines from extraordinary sites don't deserve credit, no matter the cost. They do, and they're well represented.

But it was also a year when modesty became winemakers. There are more wines this year at $30 or less, a price that's not easy to hit when you're looking for the West Coast's top wines.

Challenges came from unexpected corners. Trying to find world-class Sauvignon Blanc for less than $20, for instance. Even above $30, it was a difficult task.

Chardonnay's identity crisis continues. The final handful reflects some very successful efforts, and at the very top, Chardonnay can be extraordinary. But its middle ground was dispiriting, a barrage of excessive oak, alcohol and sugar. Flavors and styles were so inconsistent that at times I wondered whether the wines actually came from the same grape.

Rosé has finally caught traction, and yet its charms are harder to locate — for many of the same shortfalls as Chardonnay, actually. The one bright pink spot is in the sparkling realm; more than half this year's selections came with a tint.

If traditional white wines were tough going this year, more experimental white wine lovers could find much pleasure in less obvious choices. Riesling, especially from Washington, has rarely been better, both from established names — look to the 2008 Poet's Leap, made in conjunction with German Riesling maestro Armin Diel — and from newcomers like Efeste, the Woodinville, Wash., label whose 2008 Evergreen deservedly joins the great Riesling ranks.

But the universe of white wines is successfully diversifying in other ways, with more space being made outside the usual grapes. Rhone-style whites are better than ever, from shimmering Roussannes, like Qupé's 2006 Bien Nacido Hillside Estate, that provide weight for a Chardonnay drinker to love but with far more intrigue, to Viognier that gives me hope for that usually misinterpreted grape.

Even Semillon is making a modest rebound, both on its own and in blends. Look to the Klipsun Vineyard release from tiny O'Shea Scarborough in Tukwila, Wash., or to the 2008 Napa white from Steve Matthiasson. Matthiasson's second standout vintage of this homage to Italy's Friuli (and Bordeaux) harnesses obscurities like Ribolla Gialla to create what could be a template for California's new great whites.

Can we go further without mentioning Pinot Noir? It again composed more than one-fifth of the list, and though great affordable Pinot has become a rarity (only two were $20 or less), California's spectacular 2007 vintage provided standouts all along the coast. Whether you prefer the restraint of a bottle like Jason Drew's 2007 Fog Eater or the bold tones of the Black Kite wines, the year gave something for everyone to like.

The belief has long been that what many seek in Pinot, they can find in Syrah. Doubly so this year, when so many Rhone-style reds were fantastic. Though these wines too often gather dust, it's worth evangelizing. Some of the best West Coast winemaking, hands down, is currently focused on Rhone grapes. That goes both for veterans like David Ramey and Bob Betz, and for a talented new generation like Duncan Meyers and Nathan Roberts of Arnot-Roberts.

Cabernet delivered with a bit more restraint this year. The issues of excess ripeness are still lingering, but subtlety is starting to reappear. More are landing shy of $50, too, perhaps because a less-flashy style of winemaking (specifically, less new oak) allows bright, complex fruit to shine through. It's worth encouraging more wines like the 2007 Broadside, grown outside Paso Robles. At $20, that wine rejects the definition-less style of weeknight Cabernet and lets the grape live in its own tannic skin.

One way to keep prices in line? Blending. Several wines in the Top 100 show that savvy winemakers not only aim for the rafters but also want to make something to drink with dinner. This should be applauded. It allows a wine like the 2007 Copain Tous Ensemble Pinot Noir, sourced from several sites, to offer affordable access to Wells Guthrie's talents without casting a shadow on his single-vineyard bottles.

But don't discount the special virtues of place. It would be impossible to taste the Varner Bee Block Chardonnay from the Santa Cruz Mountains or the Peay La Bruma Syrah from the remote Sonoma Coast and not think that their creators had found locations perfectly attuned to those varieties.

So credit is due to West Coast winemakers for both aiming high and embracing the modest. Because if there's one lesson to take away from this year's Top 100, it's that sometimes there is more to be accomplished by aiming for less.

Find Jon Bonné at jbonne@sfchronicle.com or twitter.com/jbonne.

Top 100 Wines 2009 » Top 100 Wines 2008 » Top 100 Wines 2007 »