Top 10 Wines From $1,000 Mouton Rothschild to $19 Italian

(Bloomberg) - My 10 most memorable wines, in no particular order, range from a Rhone classic to a reborn California label to a bargain white from a grape few have ever heard of.

All signal what’s hot in today’s wine world -- and where it’s going in 2014.

2009 E. Guigal Cote-Rotie La Turque ($500)

Northern Rhone negociant E. Guigal is famous for three rare single vineyard wines from the Cote Rotie appellation, the so-called “La-La” wines.

I grabbed the chance to compare the great 2009 vintage of La Turque, La Mouline, and La Landonne in New York with enologist Philippe Guigal.

All are stellar. My favorite was the exotic, powerful La Turque. A blend of syrah with seven percent viognier, it’s the red wine equivalent of a svelte, sophisticated bodybuilder. It comes with serious investment muscle. In the past six months, prices rose 11.6 percent.

1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild ($1,000)

While Burgundy is hot, Bordeaux first growths still provide undeniable taste thrills.

The 1986 Mouton, which I sipped -- and swallowed -- at a press dinner at the chateau, was everything great mature claret should be, with aromas of tobacco and black olives, sumptuous texture, and a haunting aftertaste.

Worldwide thirst for the very latest big deal vintage means the 1986, like top older vintages of other first growths, costs less than the vaunted 2009 and 2010, which won’t be ready to drink for decades.