True, but unfortunately, Galloni went to print with the news before the decision had been made by the owner, and was banished for his trouble. It was a sufficient embarrassment to his former employer, the Wine Advocate, that it redacted the offending sentence (and, unlike Galloni, was allowed to taste at Maybach again). Timing is everything in screwing up, as we are seeing with the Clos du Val, and the 2008 Giacosas and 2010 G. Mascarello Monprivato as well…
This really is a strange story indeed. So did he indeed try this from bottle? Or perhaps a barrel sample?
I can imagine it might be difficult to keep track of all the notes written when you are tasting hundreds of wines, but if you are going to score a wine this high, you would think you would make sure, right?
Or perhaps there are PLENTY of wines scored this high that it’s ‘just another one’? Curious . . .
Doesn’t matter what points it gets if you don’t like it. Now if I can get Saxum to receive some 80’s and drop their prices back to $45, well …back up the truck.
Or perhaps there are PLENTY of wines scored this high that it’s ‘just another one’?
There’s probably more truth in that simple query than in most of the points assigned in a year. Kind of like a Rudy label: “Oh crap. I forgot about this extra 95 point score in the drawer. Here. Let’s put it on this wine.”
But this next one is actually profound. Surely destined to become immortal:
Short version with no rant: Galloni does not have a lot of relevant tasting experience or expertise from cask. Historically, Monprivato has proven one of the most difficult Nebbioli to make any sense of from cask, and also often from bottle at first. Galloni goes (93-95) on the 2009 Monprivato in May, 2013, then after Mauro decides no 2009 Morissio will be made and adds all of that fine Michet clone juice to the blend, Galloni offers up “?” in January, 2014.
Next, pre-Vinous Tanzer offers “(93-96)” on the 2010 Monprivato in November, 2013. Galloni comes along in September, 2014 and offers up “89+”, noting this:
“The 2010 was just bottled in August and Monprivato is notorious for being hard to judge in its youth, so it will be interesting to see what time brings. Bottles I left open overnight did not show any meaningful development.”
In March of this year, after a good deal of “WTF???” head-scratching by Monprivato fans, Galloni offers up an “89” after re-tasting and says that, while the wine is “more fully formed” than last time, it lacks the pedigree of the best Monprivato vintages. In June, 2015, Monica Larner declares the wine to be stunning, and gives it a “97”, with only three 2010 Baroli scoring higher. Days ago, Kerin O’ Keefe of Wine Enthusiast gives the wine a “99”, with only two 2010 Baroli rated higher. (Nobody cares what score Suckling gave it. Not even Suckling.)
We can only hope so. The point, lost on you, it seems, is that a variety of very different palates, of very different qualities, all called this one the same way. Galloni is the Parmigiano Reggiano standing alone. The odds of him being right and all of the others being wrong are nonexistent.
And hey, if your boy is on top of things, why are you warning him to duck and cover his ass on the potential Clos du Val flap over on the Vinous board? His ass and K&L’s are the only two with any potential exposure here, yes?
New releases generally require no decanting because there is no sediment, and indeed, decanting can be counterproductive. Maybe you should read up on the subject before cracking wise (well, cracking mediocre, if not wise in this case)…