Apologies Robert Parker | My latest wine tasting experience.
Let me preface this blog entry by saying that I am not a wine expert. I’m not a connoisseur of fine wine. I’m just a guy who knows what he likes when he tastes it.
I’m hoping to at least start a conversation with this posting. Please excuse the long preamble…
I’ve been lucky enough to have been invited to several wine tastings in recent years, thanks to my wife’s Uncle Bob. Bob is a member of a local country club here in North Jersey where they have a top notch restaurant with a great maître d’ & sommelier.
Most recently, my employer setup a wine tasting for us in the office, presented by a local North Jersey wine merchant. We had the opportunity to taste and discuss 6 wonderful wines, loosely paired with some lite fare (fruit, cheese & chocolate). Here’s the list of wines that we tried:
- Donhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Kabinett, $32
- Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, $24
- High Point Pinot Noir, $20
- Greg Graham Syrah, $15
- Rodney Strong Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, $25
- Volpi Moscato, $14
Having been to tastings before, I expected the presenter to provide a brief education for those new to wine, explain the theme of the tasting (geography, varietal, food, etc.) and then setup each wine with a background on the maker, maybe some talk of food pairing and most importantly – what to expect from each wine…
Instead, we first got the presenter’s perspective on good quality vs. good taste. Good info. Then he continued to say that higher priced wines were better wines. This may be true, but is certainly in his best interest, since he’s a wine merchant… I’ve found from my little experience with wine, AND from most wine enthusiasts, that there are many excellent wines across the price spectrum. I haven’t even gotten to the punch line yet…
Someone in the room asked about the validity and value of wine ratings such as from Robert Parker & The Wine Advocate. The presenter went off on a tangent about how Parker’s ratings were bullshit because there’s no way a $1200 bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild can score a lower rating than a “lesser” wine. His case in point was a $15 wine that I can’t remember.
So what do all of you wine enthusiasts think? I really want your perspective on this.
Comment away…
Howard – Interesting experience. Well, one clear thing about North Jersey is that it’s quite an affluent area, and it’s obvious that the wine merchant bases all of his criteria on price above everything else. It’s a bit of a shame to see every wine experience as being a question of dollars and sense, rather than subjective taste.
In fact, he’s preaching to the choir with his attack on Parker, because he has been objectively shown to always rate more expensive wines higher than less expensive ones.
It is precisely this point that comes up often in a revolutionary book, “The Wine Trials,” where 600 wines were rated completely blind, and more experienced wine reviewer’s judgments were rated more highly than less experienced tasters. You can read about it here:
http://blogeatdrink.com/2008/05/22/review-of-the-wine-trials/
I’m sure you saw the recent news that in blind tastings if the tasters knew the price of the wine and it was expensive they liked ti better. Here’s an article from the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/dining/07pour.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=blind+wine+tasting&st=nyt&oref=slogin
But expensive usually means more care went into making the wine. Hand picking, new oak barrels, long aging periods, which means capital is tied up, all cost money. And this is what happens at harvest and after. Tending a vineyard to produce excellent fruit takes time and money.
But it doesn’t mean that someone can spend all that and still not mess it up.
$24 for Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc? That’s ridiculous. While it’s an excellent wine it’s readily available for almost half that price. I think the point that the merchant was trying to make was that he charges far higher prices for better wines.
There is no direct correlation between scores, points and how a wine tastes. For at least 90% of wines there exists a better wine which costs the same price or less.
Just have to agree…some wine merchants are so full off s**t.
The “Wine Trials” is an incredably bunch of crap. At least it proves how statistics can be manipulated to reach predetermined conclusions. I can’t believe anywine pays any attention to it.
Price does not determine wine quality, the consumer does. Most people will hate the $1200 Lafite and prefer a $13 Kendall Jackson Merlot. Does that make the Kendall Jackson an equal of Lafite, of course not. Does that make Lafite a bad wine, of course not. QPR is a relationship based either on your experience or pocketbook, or, if you’re lucky, both.
“there’s no way a $1200 bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild can score a lower rating than a “lesser” wine”
If someone prefers the “lesser” wine than the expensive wine then it might have a (personal) score that is lower than it would receive from a wine critic like Parker. Different people like different wines and it does not help taking a wine critics word for granted.
Of course we can always argue on quality but other than that wine critics are basically telling other people what they should consume.