Lettie Teague on "Good" versus "Great" Wine with some WB Board Members

[M_A_T_T_H_A_R_T_L_E_Y]

@Faryan Amir-Ghassem¡

Cheers to Scott, Jim and Wilfred for opening up some fantastic wines for a neophyte reporter. I don’t know why people are lambasting them. Blind tasting is a great leveler, but honestly, the ratio or frequency of profound to cheap is far less than the ratio of profound to expensive, as long as one is looking in the right places.

I agree, that anyone can buy first growths. What impresses me about one’s cellar is a diversity of selection that doesn’t adhere to critical ratings, prestige or anything of that like; rather personal stylistic preference and knowledge.

Pretty sure I would not characterize Lettie Teague as a “neophyte”…

[Faryan_Amir-Ghassemi]

@M A T T H A R T L E Y

Pretty sure I would not characterize Lettie Teague as a “neophyte”…

She comes off as one in her article. It may be her speaking to her audience, of course.

[Matt_Latuchie]

interesting. just realized we both went to the same TINY college in rural Ohio. small world i guess.

[Faryan_Amir-Ghassemi]

@Andrew Hall

@Bob Wood

Leroy Chassagne in the risotto may be the ultimate act of the insufferable wine snot.

There are plenty (actually a huge amount) who would view your putting a 10$ bottle of Soave into your risotto just as equally incomprehensible and insufferable. It is all relative.

A.

Agreed. While it may seem wasteful, others may find perceptible differences in taste by using a higher quality wine for cooking. Concurently, one may find you being wasteful for buying a $100 bottle that gets you drunk much the same as a $4 flask of rikalov. All of these judgments are scaled upon personal utility.

[Ray.Tuppa_sch]

Looks like you’ve been pouring some fake champagne into your risotto.

@Serge Birbrair

Absolutely wrong. Me and my friends use only Crystal from special edition bottles and this is the highest respect we can pay to risotto.

[Chris_Freemott]

All I know is my 15 minutes of fame went to someone else.

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

@Chris Freemott

All I know is my 15 minutes of fame went to someone else.

Just another '03 Lafite down the drain.

[Chris_Freemott]

Yes. Never has a description been more apt than " Chris, the amateur".

Sigh.

[Ray.Tuppa_sch]

Those pesky typos.
Krug Clos **d’**Ambonnay
Personally, I prefer a BdB in my risotto, so I only use Krug Clos du Mesnil from top vintages.

@Serge Birbrair

@Ray.Tuppatsch

Looks like you’ve been pouring some fake champagne into your risotto.

@Serge Birbrair

Absolutely wrong. Me and my friends use only Crystal from special edition bottles and this is the highest respect we can pay to risotto.

darn typo! Cristal in risotto is never my favorite, every risotto eating oenophile knows that
1995 Krug “Clos Ambonnay” Brut Champagne is the ONLY proper way to go, but…we had to cut corners due to the prolonged recession.

One guy once brought 10,000 British Pounds gilt notes. We never invited him ever again, the paper was terrible, left scratches and was too big! We had to cut it in half!

[Steve_Ritchie]

With all due respect, that wine tasting and dinner sounds about as enjoyable and relaxing as a candlelight supper hosted by Hyacinth Bucket… Everyone in attendance may indeed be a very nice person, but snubbing a Huet Vouvray as a “cooking wine” is hardly the way I’d welcome a guest’s sincere contribution.

But then again, I am just an enthusiastic, yet unwashed, amateur…

[Jim_Clary]

Insufferable wine snot here. As usual, this board never lets a lack of factual knowledge get in the way of their opinions. The Leroy was opened to drink, and found to be tired and over the hill. We decided that it would be a good wine with the risotto since it wasn’t very enjoyable to drink.

It is unfortunate that the article was written in the manner that it was, because it conveys a far different story than the actual evening. We picked wines that we all liked a great deal, and we took our time and enjoyed them and compared the wines to the others that were open. While your mileage may vary as to style/blind versus non-blind/actual wines themselves, etc., I fail to understand why every one of these types of posts turns into a bashing exercise.

[Ray.Tuppa_sch]

Knowing several of the people in the article as many others do, I think they aren’t being cast in a the best light. If I was a reader of the article and didn’t know some of the players I would definitely have been turned off.
And btw, I wouldn’t consider “every wine on the table unquestionably great”

[G_D_y_e_r]

@M A T T H A R T L E Y

@Faryan Amir-Ghassem¡

Cheers to Scott, Jim and Wilfred for opening up some fantastic wines for a neophyte reporter. I don’t know why people are lambasting them. Blind tasting is a great leveler, but honestly, the ratio or frequency of profound to cheap is far less than the ratio of profound to expensive, as long as one is looking in the right places.

I agree, that anyone can buy first growths. What impresses me about one’s cellar is a diversity of selection that doesn’t adhere to critical ratings, prestige or anything of that like; rather personal stylistic preference and knowledge.

Pretty sure I would not characterize Lettie Teague as a “neophyte”…

Didn’t she pull a fast one on a group of collectors by swapping First Growth juice with high quality Washington juice? Perhaps these are some of the same folks who were in the previous article.

[Ray.Tuppa_sch]

Jim,

Don’t worry - you’ll get used to it after a while.

@Jim Clary

I fail to understand why every one of these types of posts turns into a bashing exercise.

[michelec]

Ugh. This article is gross. And putting that wine into a risotto is f’ing stupid. These people get what they deserve - they overpay, and think they’re being cool for it.

Triple amen to the comment about the fact that finding a great wine at a good price is the trick, not finding a great first growth, which any clown can do.

[G_D_y_e_r]

@Faryan Amir-Ghassem¡

@Andrew Hall

@Bob Wood

Leroy Chassagne in the risotto may be the ultimate act of the insufferable wine snot.

There are plenty (actually a huge amount) who would view your putting a 10$ bottle of Soave into your risotto just as equally incomprehensible and insufferable. It is all relative.

A.

Agreed. While it may seem wasteful, others may find perceptible differences in taste by using a higher quality wine for cooking. Concurently, one may find you being wasteful for buying a $100 bottle that gets you drunk much the same as a $4 flask of rikalov. All of these judgments are scaled upon personal utility.

Well, I have to call shenanigans here. If experienced palates are often fooled in blind tastings of wines with impeccable provenance, how would they fare if the wine is scalded, boiled, diluted and mixed in with other ingredients? A fine wine is carefully protected from extreme heat and oxygen to preserve its character. How much of that is left when it is cooked to 300 degrees?

I can understand not wanting to cook with wine that is overwhelmingly off or flawed. But you really don’t have to pay more than $10 to get a clean, forward white wine.

[Ray.Tuppa_sch]

@michelec

And putting that wine into a risotto is f’ing stupid.

Did you read this??

@Jim Clary

The Leroy was opened to drink, and found to be tired and over the hill. We decided that it would be a good wine with the risotto since it wasn’t very enjoyable to drink.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

@Jim Clary

Insufferable wine snot here. As usual, this board never lets a lack of factual knowledge get in the way of their opinions. The Leroy was opened to drink, and found to be tired and over the hill. We decided that it would be a good wine with the risotto since it wasn’t very enjoyable to drink.

It is unfortunate that the article was written in the manner that it was, because it conveys a far different story than the actual evening. We picked wines that we all liked a great deal, and we took our time and enjoyed them and compared the wines to the others that were open. While your mileage may vary as to style/blind versus non-blind/actual wines themselves, etc., I fail to understand why every one of these types of posts turns into a bashing exercise.

Thank you for the additional information, Jim. Perhaps there is additional information regarding how/why both of Ms. Teague’s offered wines were dismissed as “embarrasing.”?

[Chris_Freemott]

As the attending, though misnamed, amateur in attendance that evening I would like to pipe up and say that while I enjoyed Lettie’s attendance and conversation I do think the article comes across a tad misleading.

To me, it was a very enjoyable evening with fantastic conversation that truly never once bordered on being pretentious.

I brought 3 wines that night. I meant to bring 4. The missing one was to be a Cameron Hughes offering as the tone established by Scott was simple, “bring what YOU like to drink” - there was not a single iota of ‘bring your best’ - I want to make that clear. The '03 Lafite was my first, First Growth, it is imprinted on my brain and I wanted to revisit it with this crowd. The other two I brought were from the Finger Lakes region of NY. One was received well, though not written up in this piece and the other was flawed.

The people at that meal other than Lettie, as this was my first time dining with her, have all been exceptionally generous, informative and gracious in opening their homes, restaurant or wine shop to me. For all of them I have a great deal of respect and think that the ‘tone’ of this article is incorrect in setting a stage.

In fact I said something to Lettie at the end of the dinner that I frankly thought she may use; “It is impossible to drink a great bottle of wine by yourself.”

I mean that and know all at the table agreed.

[Andrew_Hall]

The article didn’t rub me the wrong way, even with the obvious intent to dramatize. I couldn’t help but think that relatively modest evenings I hold would be viewed with the same distaste by others whose had different values on things. That is just the way of the world and I find more fault with those who waste energy resenting such.

A.