Top 10 white wine makers

Column by Charles Olken
Inside Bay Area

DECANTER MAGAZINE, a British publication, is without doubt my favorite source of wine words that have been written by someone other than me. 
For one thing, London is the place on earth where every winemaking region comes to sell its wines in competition with one another. The big eastern cities in the United States rank an easy second for range of choice, but London is simply more interesting because it is open to everything and everyone. 
The Brits, more than anyone, have perfected the art of writing about wine. It is true that American writers have become as profound and as accepted as the Brits in many cases, but our ranks are a bit thin compared to what the Brits have to offer in numbers of brilliantly prepared, well-spoken commentators. So, it is Decanter for me, and I read it from cover to cover on the first day it arrives every month. 
It is not a perfect magazine by any means. I disagree with them on all sorts of topics, and that makes them less than the be-all and end-all of wine arbiters. Even I would not wish that title on them or on me or on any one source of wine opinion. Taste preferences are too personal for that. 
Still, when Decanter recently announced its Top 10 white winemakers in the world and they were all from Europe, save for one lone deserving Aussie, my hackles experienced more than a little bit of a rising sensation. So, I have decided to craft my own list modeled after the Decanter decisions, but focusing on wines produced onthis side of the Rockies. 
There is no need to run down all of their choices. Mine are more relevant anyhow. But, I am totally in agreement with their No. 1 choice, Anne-Claude Leflaive of Domaine Leflaive. The Domaine's status as the finest maker of chardonnay in the world and as my personal favorite maker of chardonnay came about decades ago under the leadership of her father, Vincent, and it continues today. 
My No. 1 choice in California is also a chardonnay maker. David Ramey, whose five different chardonnays all score big points and win multiple stars in my tastings, makes wine the way I like it. Full of California's juicy, open fruit and impeccably balanced in every aspect, Ramey Chardonnays may be surpassed in intensity but not in pure beauty and drinkability. 
Paul Hobbs, who seems to succeed with everything he touches, makes chardonnay that goes a step beyond Ramey in boldness. Hobbs' interests extend as far as Argentina, and his efforts to craft great wines down there, when he is not looking after a dozen different beauties up here, rates second for me. 
Decanter places makers of riesling in third and fourth spots with Egon Muller and Ernst Loosen occupying those spots. Who can argue? I drink more Loosen riesling than any other maker from Germany. 
My third place finisher is Gary Farrell. Not many winemakers have made more appearances at the top of my quality lists than Mr. Farrell, and his accomplishments spread across chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and pinot noir. His style has always been firmer, brighter and lower in alcohol than almost all of his quality-level peers. His wines have been chosen by knowledgeable tasters in blind tastings as out-Frenching the French for elegance and longevity. 
Decanter names Dr. Loosen in fourth place and so do I. His efforts with riesling at Chateau Ste. Michelle prove that this wonderful grape can be made in delightfully rewarding styles in this country. If I am not drinking German rieslings, I am drinking Loosen-made riesling from Washington when I am looking for a rounded, juicy quaff or light first course wine. 
Chardonnay- and pinot noir-maker, Bill Hunter of Chasseur winery, whose latest efforts have finished at the very top of my tastings, also rates highly with me. Only the fact that he has just now expanded his line, and many of his wines have only been seen for a couple of vintages, keeps Hunter from rating directly alongside Ramey and Hobbs for top honors. 
Not many California winemakers succeed regularly with any of the aromatic varieties, but Greg Graham's viognier bottlings from the Knights Valley and from Napa are wines that I buy for home enjoyment and in restaurants. He makes fruity, complex wines year in and year out, and not many Viognier producers rival his track record. 
It is no sin to be in seventh place on this august list. That honor goes to the Grgich Hills winery. Mike Grgich is no longer running the place, but his talented hand is everywhere apparent in the solidly fruity, tight and ageworthy chardonnays and sauvignon blancs that continue to be authored in the winery he guided for a couple of decades. In fact, in a tasting of old and very old sauvignon blancs, his 1983 fume not only was the best wine sampled, it was so good that it would have received a standing ovation if such things were given at my tasting table. 
Ed Kurtzman, who made wine at Testarossa for years and is now on his own making wine for a variety of high quality producers including August West, Kurtzman and Fort Ross, has shown the ability to bridge the gap between the tighter styles of the Farrell school and the ripe, open direction of folks such as Paul Hobbs. His wines are amazingly consistent and incredibly good. 
Sparkling wine is not often included in white wine surveys, but Eileen Crane at Domaine Carneros has a real flair for capturing the crisp, rich possibilities of the category, especially in those wines that lean toward the chardonnay end of the blended spectrum (pinot noir being the other major variety in sparkling wine). 
There is no question that Schramsberg, under Hugh Davies, is also a big achiever in this category and deserves special mention, but this is "top 10, not top 11, and Ms. Crane enjoys both my appreciation for what she does and the ninth place spot in this survey. 
The chardonnays from Foley and Lincourt, coming from the practiced hand of winemaker Alan Phillips and inspired by owner/vintner Bill Foley land in 10th place. In putting this list of 10 together, I started with about 30 admirable over-achievers with white wines, and, despite the brilliance seen from makers such as Neyers and Testarossa, DuMol and Peter Michael, I put Phillips in 10th because no one seems to make such a nice array of mid-priced, inviting, fully fruited, briskly balanced white wines. 
There are times when the best wine is not the most intense but the best balanced, and that is a secret for success I wish would be emulated by more California producers.