2024’s Top White Wines Are a Globe-Trotting Line-Up
To quote the great 20th-century American poet Billy Joel, “A bottle of red, a bottle of white. It all depends upon your appetite.” There’s much hubbub about just-right pairings and the ideal wine for any given moment, but maybe it’s just as Joel says—to everything there is a season. (Edit: That last part was probably someone else.)
This is a roundabout way of saying that sometimes, one wants a white wine. But we at Wine Enthusiast don’t want just any white wine, but the best wine. “Best” is a tricky descriptor, of course. It can mean many different things: Is it the top scoring? A good value? The most expensive? One answer can be found via The Enthusiast 100: The Best Wines of 2024. This list comprises not simply the highest-scoring or priciest wines, but those that captured our reviewers’ imaginations and stimulated their palates.
The wines on this list represent a wide range of different white wine styles, from elegant Burgundies to fresh California Albariño. There is Oregon Chardonnay, old-vine Chenin Blanc from South Africa and some incredible Italian selections that were among our reviewers’ favorites.
One of these, a cellar-worthy Soave by Pieropan “shows the beauty of Italian white wine,” says Writer at Large Jeff Porter. “While many overlook wines labeled Soave, La Rocca is a reason to pay attention. It is a serious wine with a structure built upon the region’s volcanic soil, giving the wine a finesse and depth that can withstand years in the cellar. Good now, but an entirely different experience with age, this is a great wine.”
Another one of his top picks of the year, Cantina Terlano’s 2021 Vorberg Riserva Pinot Bianco, he says, “is a multidimensional and emotional wine that comes at you in waves, both on the nose and the palate that grabs the attention.”
Though these two picks both hail from Northern Italy, they are wholly different from one another. “The wines are similar in that they are great,” says Porter. Yet “they do not smell nor taste anything alike, they are unique to themselves and their home but they both show what great growing, good terroir and classic grapes can do in Italy.”
It’s a similar theme for the rest of the bottles selected for this list—all impressive, yet incredibly diverse in terms of aroma, body and terroir. It’s a tremendous variety from which to choose, which all depends on your appetite.
And when your mood shifts? The best red wines of 2024 are waiting for you.
Splurge Worthy
Bouchard Père & Fils 2020 Grand Cru (Chevalier-Montrachet)
Defined by purity and elegance, this wine opens with a symphony of fresh citrus and white-floral aromas. It exemplifies boundless verve, with its luxurious and luminous palate that maintains a yellow floral vein that persists into a gentle finish of flaky salt on almond paste. Hold through 2035+ before revisiting. Cellar Selection. 97 Points — Anna-Christina Cabrales
$650
Vint Marketplace
Louis Latour 2020 Clos Poirier Grand Cru (Bâtard-Montrachet)
Ethereal bright citrus and earth lead to fresh aromas of yellow and white flowers lingering over perfectly ripe lemon skins and wet stone. The palate is quilted with an intricate layer of delicate fresh almonds and whispers of vanilla. Powerful and should deliver plenty of complexities after cellaring well through 2030+. Cellar Selection. 95 Points — A.C.
$729
Rye Brooke Wine & Spirits
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Cellar Selections
Pieropan 2022 La Rocca Garganega (Soave)
Opening with aromas of ripe golden apples, fragrant jasmine, toasted almonds, and delicate acacia honey with a profound minerality that emerges as the wine opens. The textured, layered palate is a work of art, with apricots, baked pear, and hints of cinnamon and nutmeg leading to a stunning mineral finish. Cellar Selection. 98 Points — Jeff Porter
$49
Wine.com
Holocene 2023 Aureolin Chardonnay (Eola-Amity Hills)
The brilliant yellow hue of Aureolin is a bat signal to alert the world to the existence of another fantastic Eola-Amity Hills Chardonnay. The wine feels lithe and nimble as it dances across the palate, spurred on by brisk acidity. Aromas and flavors of tart lemon, marzipan, honeysuckle wet stones and green tea make a lasting impression. Enjoy for the next 15 years. Cellar Selection. 97 Points — Michael Alberty
$100
Tacoma Wine Merchants
Budget Picks
Amalie Robert 2022 Book Club White Wine White (Willamette Valley)
What a stunning wine for such a reasonable price. Its sweet floral note suggests sweet pea flowers, honeysuckle and white clover, with additional aromas of lemon tea and wet stones. The flavors suggest bergamot and lemonade, with a hint of mint. Blazing acidity lights the path to white wine satori. Best Buy. 93 Points — M.A.
$22
The Vintage Wine Shoppe
Klinker Brick 2023 Albariño (Lodi)
This wine is fresh, with aromas of citrus, yellow apple, white peach, dried herbs and white flowers on the nose. The flavors on the palate are white nectarine, Meyer lemon and orange-blossom honey interlaced with sedimentary rock, spice and a dry, long finish. Pair with salted codfish. Best Buy. 93 Points— Tonya Pitts
$17
Wine.com
New World
Sadie Family 2021 Mev. Kirsten Chenin Blanc (Stellenbosch)
Coming from old vines planted in 1905-1920, this Chenin is layered and structured. There is a rich bouquet of white flowers, dried fruit and spices on the nose. The textured palate shows depth, offering lime, ginger, apricot and chamomile flavors that extend the delightful finish. It’s vibrant and has a long life ahead. 94 Points — Jesica Vargas
$230
Wainscott Main Wine & Spirits
Xanadu 2021 Reserve Chardonnay (Margaret River)
A margarita-style Chardonnay if ever there was one, this feels like you’re standing at the edge of the Indian Ocean (less than four miles from where these grapes are grown) on a brisk day, the salty sea air whipping, the sand between your toes, a lemon twist martini in hand. As delicious as it is evocative, it pings in the mouth with a lightly creamy texture and mouthwatering, laser-like, lemon zest acidity that lingers long on the finish, making it impossible to put down. Editor’s Choice. 97 Points — Christina Pickard
$ Varies
Wine-searcher
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Old World
Château Carbonnieux 2021 Pessac-Léognan
This estate, particularly well known for its white wines, has lived up to its reputation in this new release. The wine is rich while also taut, young and textured. Spice from wood aging comes in at the end. Drink from 2026. Cellar Selection. 95 Points — Roger Voss
$45
Wine.com
Cantina Terlano 2021 Vorberg Pinot Bianco Riserva Pinot Bianco (Alto Adige)
Vorberg is one of the world’s great Pinot Bianco (Pinot Blancs) and opens with a fragrant aroma of ripe pear, green apple, and hints of almond. On the palate, it is vibrant with an interplay of citrus and stone fruit, carried by a refreshing acidity. The wine culminates in a textured finish that spans across cuisines. Drink now–2040. Cellar Selection. 95 Points — J.P.
$60
Wine.com
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- Buy these cellar selections before they sell out.
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