http://www.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=251311
Massive news for sure.
worthless link for those who don’t subscribe.
If true, this is a very big deal.
Just saw that. Looks like Neal will be reviewing en premier and Parker will only review the finished wines being released (Martin reviewing 2014 in barrel and Parker the finished 2012’s). Big change.
Hank gave the perfect summary Brian.
I love Neal and his Bordeaux palate, but folks in Bordeaux have to jumping out windows right now.
I wanted to take this opportunity to share with readers first some exciting news about our Wine Advocate Bordeaux coverage this year. Neal Martin will be working closely with me in 2015 to cover even more of the region’s new releases and older vintages. As just part of the planned coverage for this year, Neal will review the 2014 en primeur releases from Bordeaux. Meanwhile I plan to review the newly bottled 2012 vintage wines and produce a comprehensive 10 year retrospective on the incredible 2005 Bordeaux vintage.
This was actually the ultimate plan way back when Neal was first hired. Neal is a natural and, coincidentally, the best prepared for the job. I think it is important for us to ensure the continued unrivaled coverage of Bordeaux that made The Wine Advocate famous and improve on it. En primeur tastings have been an important and dramatic part of my professional life. I loved the anticipation and challenge of trying to analyze and evaluate a vintage and will undoubtedly miss it. But after 37 years of covering virtually every Bordeaux vintage since 1978, change is inevitable. I have total confidence in Neal’s independence, work ethic, and abilities.
I hope readers will join me in congratulating Neal on his new appointment.
What the above doesn’t say is what is going to happen next year. All Parker seems to be committing to is 2012 in the bottle this year and 2015 next year. I would assume that there has to be a transition for a few years here, probably until 2014 is in the bottle, but if Parker really is taking a step back on Bordeaux, they really must be trembling over there!!!
-Alex
Seriously? That sounds really really odd. What’s the point in having one person review EP and another review the finished wines? Seems Martin should handle it completely, if at all, no?
EDIT: o.k., so that’s the plan for this year … it’ll be interesting to see how quickly RP completely steps away from reviewing Bdx. The sooner the better, imo.
Going to really confuse the wine makers. To spoof or not to spoof. That is the question.
Is the implication at Neal likes more traditional styles? I’m not familiar with his reviews.
Now those of us who actually love Bordeaux (the non-spoofalated stuff) can start buying it again
Curious to see how it plays out.
Isn’t this bad? If non-spoofalated wines got bad reviews from Parker, presumably they were cheaper than the spoofed up stuff, which got good reviews. If the non-spoofilized wines start getting good reviews, won’t that just drive up their prices?
It seems to me that us wine geeks should always hope that the wines we love get torched by reviewers, not crowned.
I think Bordeaux across the board went up after Parker’s pushing it as he did. Obviously the spoofalated wines went up far more rapidly, and to higher prices overall. I’m hoping the general affordability goes up
Although Parker does not say what the ongoing situation will be, this division of labor makes sense (and really only makes sense) if Martin will take over reviewing with the arrivial of the 2014 vintage in bottle. You really wouldn’t want to different tasters one reviewing en primeur and one reviewing in bottle since the predictive value of the first review (for those who care about what the ultimate number will be) would be reduced by the different tastes of the two reviewers. On the other hand, for just that reason, if Martin will be taking over, it makes sense to have him start by reviewing en primeur of the first vintage for which he will be overall reviewer.
This of course assumes that changes like this are designed to make sense, and I’m aware that that assumption may be a very large one.
You were such a staunch Bordeaux buyer pre-Parker, you must be thrilled to get back to laying down cases of traditional Bordeaux.
Epic crates full, you know it.
Jonathan, I think you are right, and this may actually be one of those cases where WA is doing something that makes sense. Indeed, what they are doing is really the only way to make the transition without ever having two reviewers for the same wine. So, as you point out, they will keep the two-headed hydra approach for two years, with Martin taking over completely with 2014 in-bottle reviews.
It also makes sense that WA chose not to be explicit about the plan. It gives them a trial period and an escape hatch if readers/retailers/producers respond particularly negatively.
Apocalypse now! Mistah Parker-he dead…
Parker is pairing down his responsibilities, he’s sick of the grind. Estates that he has visited for decades in Napa have to submit their wines for a massive tasting he does at NVV. I wonder how long he will keep going, even with this attenuated capacity.
Is this the end of Parker’s hegemony?
Is this the end of Bordeaux?