I was hoping the world had wised up from the fallacy of wine critic hero worship. Many people here have wines they don’t like, but trusted Parker implicitly. Many wine merchants were also involved and I’m reminded by the Scott Adams comment from his 1st Dilbert book, which went something along the lines of: “Some people incorrectly state that Marketing screw the customers. That’s wrong. Marketing merely hold them down, whilst the Sales team screw them”. Substitute wine merchants for Sales and an over-hyped wine critic for Marketing.
It worries me when I read people saying they “Follow Galloni”, as it reminds me of those sheep / *points whores that followed Parker, trying to convince their palates that “It’s a 98 point wine so it must be good”. Read his work, subscribe to his site, but do not **follow him.
I want to hear of wine enthusiasts exploring their palates, with wine merchants offering ideas for what the customer seeks.
Parker’s words, not mine.
** This feels fitting in the context:
Brian: Please, please, please listen! I’ve got one or two things to say.
The Crowd: Tell us! Tell us both of them!
Brian: Look, you’ve got it all wrong! You don’t NEED to follow ME, You don’t NEED to follow ANYBODY! You’ve got to think for your selves! You’re ALL individuals!
The Crowd: Yes! We’re all individuals!
Brian: You’re all different!
The Crowd: Yes, we ARE all different!
We really need to stop using ‘Right’ and ‘Wrong’. That was the style of Parker, and was designed to be so forthright that less confident people would sense the authority and acquiesce. Wine appreciation is very rarely about right or wrong. Galloni has opinions, as does O’Keefe. They are just that and this is not a mathematics test. They should express what they think and we may agree, disagree, even find their views incredulous, but we didn’t taste that bottle they drank from, and they didn’t taste from ours. Even with long-standing tasting groups, differences of opinion are normal.
Ian, I agree with this in general, and one could never argue about different wine reviewers not drinking from the same barrel or bottle at the same time; it rarely, if ever, happens. Likewise, it is fair to like or dislike a STYLE of wine without the style being dubbed right or wrong. However, it is surely fair to criticize (or agree with) Parker’s palate preferences because of the wide impact that they have had, and it also seems fair to say that giving him the influence to allow such impact was “wrong”. Lastly, regardless of different visits to the barrel or the tasting of different bottles, wine reviewers are accountable for understanding the wines that they taste in the context of not just a single vintage at a frozen moment in time, but also for tasting a given wine on multiple occasions, from barrel and bottle to the maximum extent possible, and also to taste enough vintages of that wine over the years to understand what pitfalls may exist in rendering a judgment at the beginning of the wine’s life cycle. For me, that is where a Steve Tanzer triumphs and a Galloni or O’Keefe falls short TODAY, subject to whatever the younger reviewers may learn in the future. We are being given some (not all) scores and notes without adequate context and the benefit of meaningful experience, and thus, what sometimes qualify as poor or wrong judgments by a consensus of those with more experience. To be sure, that is not true for all wines all of the time, but we have witnessed a few egregious miscalls and no-calls by Galloni, O’Keefe and Larner lately. If it were just an expression of opinion, like yours, mine or Michael S.'s, no harm, no foul. We are all easily enough ignored, and are being paid nothing to render our opinions. It is the fact that subscribers and event attendees pay the freight and support a pretty wonderful lifestyle (for all of the whining that wine reviewers do) for these folks that obligates them to deliver a better informed opinion than most people are capable of. Running around, robo-tasting and slopping together numbers and notes is not conducive to that, and, sadly, gaining in-depth knowledge and perspective of one or two areas would not seem capable of supporting anyone save maybe Allen Meadows. Such is the wine reviewer’s conundrum…
Hi Bill
Yes you are right that I am arguing that the sheep-like following of Parker was ‘wrong’, mainly for those whose palates didn’t match his, but who trusted him so faithfully that they just bought what he told them to. For them it is ‘wrong’ that they ended up with a cellar of wines they don’t like (so wrong does indeed exist in my book, in that context). I’m not saying Parker was ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, but that people were ‘wrong’ to trust his palate rather than their own.
Multiple bottles. Yes this can be a double-edged sword. TWA ‘speed-tastings’ rightly garnered some concern on these pages, when judgements were (and are still) made at breakneck pace. Yet without this it is very challenging for critics to taste widely and ensure multiple bottles of the same wine allow for bottle variation. A bit of a catch 22 then? I would say yes, if the critic aims to cover a very wide spectrum of regions or countries. Not a problem for Galloni when he ran ‘Piemonte Report’, nor perhaps Squires with his smaller ‘portfolio’. Definitely a problem for Neal Martin parachuted into a different region each year (I say this despite him coming across as a decent person). The answer IMO is much finer *specialisation, no wider than (say) Piemonte, and more likely to be the area for the committed enthusiast such as Galloni was originally, Wink Lorch (Jura) or Jim Budd (Loire) is now. Be that via a blog, or specialist site/publication/activity. The conundrum is indeed financing this, but for a committed enthusiast, this would be their hobby, not a business, so they do not need to make it work financially, though a modest income to support that hobby would help keep it going.
Poor/Wrong judgements. Poor fits better for me than wrong, but perhaps misguided/ill-informed/bizarre would be better still. It is our opinion, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a rant or when we see something we think is nonsense.
regards
Ian
I think there is also room for a specialist such as Broadbent, focusing on the top end / auction scene. The wines are limited not by region, but by auction marketability. He managed to taste multiple bottles of many wines, at varying stages of their development, across many disparateregions. I sometimes got frustrated by his ‘old school’ preferences, being quite dismissive of wines I enjoy from outside of the classic English wine trade, but that’s really just evidence of him having an area of expertise, and areas where he had little knowledge to give an informed opinion.
Perhaps if you had focused and quoted the thread title, you would understand, but I doubt it. It wouldn’t fit your gadfly objective. You’re still batting 1000 for lack of a substantive contribution to a thread that I’ve originated.
I will probably buy some 2011’s but will wait until this summer when we are in the region for a week or so. Since I plan on doing some tasting, I imagine I will also buy some bottles. I went fairly long on 2010’s so for space reasons I will buy conservatively. I want to use space on back filling when the opportunities present themselves. I remain hopeful the drop in the Euro will eventually offer some good prices.
You never know for sure, but I am guessing that there will be plenty of 2011 Baroli for you to taste and buy, and unless something changes radically, the dollar should achieve at least parity with the Euro by then, with most other currencies arrayed accordingly. I have also been a backfilling demon here for fun and profit over the past 6 months, as well as trying to keep any of that nasty 2010 G. Rinaldi Brunate from leaving Europe and polluting America’s shores. It could already be too late to save America from the 2010 Cappellano…
A hope we all have. I think that this will hold in a few cases, but I just don’t know that many of the producers have much wine left to move. In fact I think that most don’t have much wine left to move.
My email is off to Vinous. I hope my membership info arrives soon. I am planing my trip to Italy. And I really need Galloni to tell me what region to visit, what wines to drink. And what to think about those wines when/after I drink them. 20 years of travel to Italy and 19 times in Piedmont. Luckily, I have Saint Antonio to guide me.
I absolutely agreew with this. Had I not already decided not to buy much regardless of vintage character, I would not have been able to answer the question in the subject line of this thread. I don’t know how anyone would unless they’re blindly following Galloni. So, to say this thread is not about Galloni when this is the OP:
is just ridiculous. With your vehement responses, Michael, I get the idea that you forgot what you had posted originally. Apologies for not quoting your subject line instead of your actual content.
I do very much look forward to getting people’s opinions on this vintage when they are able to offer those opinions in a few months, even though my buying decisions have pretty much been made already due to cellar space and financial constraints.
(In respect of your post to Markus) I directly quote the OP.
I’m sorry but you did indeed bring AG into this.
Michael
A good friend gave me some hard and direct (but invaluable) advice a few years ago. I said to him “This wine should be good, it got a gold medal in the IWC”. He basically said “That’s a load of rubbish and no guarantee of anything. Taste it for yourself”. He may have been somewhat ruder in how he delivered that advice. It is probably the best advice I ever got related to wine.
As I suggested earlier, I think we’d avoid the discussion moving onto Galloni (and critics in general) if you avoided including the regular references to him. Frankly the forum is a lot better when focused on our own experiences rather than when we get caught up in critiquing the critic… and the one thing guaranteed to incite such criticism, is someone who seems to believe that critic is an infallible authority.
I wonder whether some of the negativity you’re getting, is people wanting to offer that same advice to you now.
I will be opening a 2000 Bricco Manzone 3L tonight. Assuming that Galloni doesn’t tell me to drink something else. Dinner will hit the table around 8:00 pm. If you are in the area please drop by.
Bill, you present a very fair view of the situation, and I agree on many points but there are a few I want to clarify.
I remember when I was in culinary school and someone mentioned having the title chef in front of their name—if they could give themselves that title after graduating. The Chef’s response was, “You are only a chef once the people you work for and cook for decide that the title fits.” This comment made a huge impact on me and I have always thought about it when it came to any title.
When I put my blog out there, it was to write about something I had a lot of passion for. I never said to anyone that they ‘should’ listen to me. I never claimed to have the best palate or decades of experience. What I did was write about wine I tasted and food I was preparing. The audience came to my blog through word of mouth or seeing what I would write on these pages and deciding for themselves if they wanted to read what I wrote and revisit often. There was never any advertising or false claims.
When it comes to my current position, I didn’t set out to move into the trade as a writer and reviewer. Instead, I marketed myself for a profession, which I had successfully maintained for 15 years–that of a regional, and later national operations manager for a large retail organization. I believed that with my knowledge of wine (not my opinion of it), mixed with my operations background, that I would be a tremendous asset to wine retailers, distributors or importers. What surprised me the most was that my inquiries were answered by a number of companies in the trade that were more interested in my writing and opinion, than in my operations skills. Basically, my employer had decided that my opinion mattered, which leaves my readers to decide if they agree or not.
So why did I end up where I am? Most importantly, they promised me that my opinions would be my own. That I would not be restricted to writing about wine they sell. That I would not be held to someone else’s calendar, and not be told what to write about on their blog. And lastly, that I would never be asked to give my personal approval to a wine that I didn’t believe in. In the case of my current employer, they agreed to all of these terms. For me, that built a tremendous respect for the company.
Having said all of this; I make no claim to be an authority on anything. What I do is my best to communicate my opinion on what I taste. When I write about a region, I am doing the due diligence to provide an insightful and educational experience for the reader. I don’t write about wines in barrel or samples that had just been bottled and flown over without time to settle, specifically because I do not claim to have the kind of experience necessary to make a fair judgment in that case. And as for scores, if anything, I’m regularly questioned about how low my scores are in particular. Many times I have agreed with Antonio—and many times I have not. Last year, one of my prospective employers seemed shocked to hear that I had stopped reading professional wine reviews of any wine I expected to taste in the near future. The reason was that I didn’t want to be affected by their opinion. I put a lot care into what I do and a lot of thought into what I say about a wine. I do this because I understand that people are reading it and making buying decision based on it. I do not take this lightly.
I look at every day as a learning experience, striving to become better at what I do, and to understand more about the finer details. I read often here and on many other message boards, especially the views of people like yourself, as well as Gregory dal Piaz, Gary York, Mark Scudiery, Ken V., Alfonso Cevola, and on, and on, and on. I do this because of my tremendous respect for your knowledge and opinions.
I know I didn’t have to go into this kind of detail and I’m sure I bored quite a few people, but I just want to make sure that all of you realize how much I care, not just about wine, but about community. And, of course, about how serious I take my job.
As for my views on Antonio; In the ten years I have been reading about and tasting wine–which I know is not as long as many of the others on these boards—I have always found Antonio to operate with a level of professionalism and earnest desire to give his opinion without ever giving in to what other people think. I respect that a great deal. However, I do not see him as the end all–in any way. My views are my own; not a regurgitation of what others think.
Whoa. I leave for a few hours to save several drowning puppies and then tutor a class of toddlers in the STEM fields (exhausting but rewarding), and this is what I return to.
Charles, I take it you have not been reading the other threads on AG during the past few months. Had you done so, you not only would have realized I was just summarizing the last big blow-up we had on the subject, but you might have even merited a mention had you participated in the way you seem eager to now. See this thread if you are curious: What's Going On With The 2010 Monprivato? - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers. A precis: based on possibly unrepresentative samples, AG’s scores are almost always higher than all of the other reviewers for the same wines and have undergone score inflation of approximately 2 points over the past decade. Also, he seems to have blown his reviews of 2008 Giacosas and possibly 2010 Monprivato, but he certainly generated a lot of attention with those calls. Lots of people on both sides of the argument, including some of the august people you mentioned.
In spite of the OP’s bait, which predictably led to characteristic posts from Bill and Gary on the subject, my intention was actually to avoid a rehash of the same – it would be particularly pointless given the fact that AG is apparently the only major critic to have widely reviewed the 2011 vintage at this point – and to acknowledge that opinions not only differ but are unlikely to change at this point. Hence the very first sentence you quote from me. If you chose to reignite that debate, I propose you do it in that thread to avoid unnecessary repetition. I’d advise against it though. As Bill has already demonstrated, it doesn’t appear that your best shot at winning the debate is likely to hit the target.
Gary, I think I finally understand what you were getting at. You’ve convinced me that excessible balla nights are indeed critical to any triathlon training regime. Thanks.
Ian, as usual, good advice delivered with admirable charity.
Finally, I think Doug has perfectly diagnosed the problem with this thread. Maybe we can all check back in 6 months.
The myopia here both amazes and amuses me. So for those you find it impossible to see past the fog of my intent, let’s take it line by line. The title is the premise of the thread. I then make reference to the fact that I have read A.G’s report on 2011 Barolo. No request for either the agreement or disagreement with his take is requested. I’m simply mentioning that this is the source of information that I have acquired. It was clear to ME, (without asking for agreement or disagreement) that this is not a vintage for every consumer. I then make a tongue in cheek reference to the fact that there was no mention of a paradigm, new or otherwise in the report, but that it does state that many of the wines will be available for earlier drinking. With a little reflection, instead of the too typical diatribes directed at the messenger, it could be understood that because the wines will probably be forward, the appeal may be lessened for some potential buyers. And then again, one more time for those who seem to have a problem focusing on the premise of the thread, the question is asked will you be buying 2011 Barolo? At no time am I seeking or asking for agreement regarding the source or content of the information in the thread.
Bottom line: my thread, my wording. If you don’t like it, don’t play. If you must resort to the same old, same old of shooting the messenger, I won’t be wasting my time with that tired modus operandi any longer.
when we see something we think is nonsense.
![[basic-smile.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/83717c74df9b0ce202453063bc4f11baf0ee6b8a.gif "smile"){kind=small}