http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2015/02/big-names-question-validity-of-rioja-doc
Interesting situation developing. The geek in me can appreciate the desire to create 1er Cru and Grand Cru vineyard designations, but would prefer the status quo where we can ascertain quality and make purchase decisions at the winery level. Your thoughts?
They’ve been talking about that for a long time. I hope it never happens because for the most part, those kinds of classifications are ridiculous.
Think about it. Three people make wine from their own vineyards. One of the wines, say wine C, is really good. People like it and will pay more for it because it is so good. Along comes some regulatory body and “classifies” the vineyards, giving vineyard C the highest status.
Now suddenly people are going to pay more for the wine because it got a better classification? Like they didn’t know before? And better yet, say vineyard B sells to someone else. The new buyer replants and in so doing changes the row orientations, canopy management, varietal mix, etc. Suddenly those wines are really really good. But their vineyard wasn’t classified as highly.
So what does that mean? That they can’t charge as much as wine C? Even if the world is willing to pay more for their wine than it was paying for wine C? Or will the world simply ignore the classification and pay whatever the market thinks the wine is worth? In which case, what was the point of classifying in the first place?
Classification works when marketing to people who don’t know wine from a region. It gives them something to go on. It is precisely what is ignored in blind tasting, which is why Parker’s contribution to the wine world was so profound at the time. Now of course, many people reject the idea of blind tasting so they can confidently announce that the wine they know is “supposed” to be better is in fact better.
I don’t want to get into a blind v non-blind tasting argument, but it’s the only way to validate a classification system and to do it right, you also have to remove all the other variables, including the wine making. Otherwise it’s completely about politics.
More importantly, there is absolutely nothing whatsoever that mandates superiority of a single vineyard wine vs a blend. Many of the old line Rioja producers blend Tempranillo from Rioja Alta with a bit of Garnacha from Rioja Baja. Why? Well, maybe the grapes do better in those respective regions. Some of the resulting wines are delicious 60 years later. Exactly what is the problem with that?
I think the existing classification system is a little odd - as I’ve said before, the crianza category is stupid, but so is the fetish for single-vineyard wines and vintage-specific wines. I would far rather drink a delicious wine than drink a crappy wine just because it’s from a particular vineyard from a sorry vintage.