I am not anti-critic like some. I read and appreciate the opinions of the pros and of the more experienced drinkers here. But I have to remind myself over and over again that their opinions are just that.
Parker gave this wine 83 points and said it was in or about to decline. In 1984, he said that. More than 30 years ago it was in decline.
Nope.
The bottle I had last night was absolutely delicious. Not earth-shattering, mind, but really deeply pleasurable. Shockingly so. My wife’s first word was “strawberries!,” and while I didn’t get those, I did get lots of what I want from my left bank bdx: leather and earth and all sorts of tertiary goodness. And a depth that really was stunning considering the wine, the vintage and the rep.
Anyway, if you have any of these, don’t despair; drink. It is a lovely, lovely bottle of wine. Wish I had more.
Parker did´t have much experience in 1984. He said he became a better taster over the years and certainly more experienced. A decent Bordeaux that was or is in decline after 4 years in bottle does´t exist IMO.
I disagree with this. Parker’s notes from his early career are fabulous. He has plenty of misses - but who doesn’t? look at all the Burg critics that missed the green in 2004 - but if you take his early BDX notes and suggestions as to what chateaus were making the best wine, and buy off them in 2016, you will do a hellofalot better than if you bought off of his contemporaries’ notes or, god help you, off of the 1855 classification. He was an amazingly skilled taster before he got old; he just had preferences for a different kind of wine than most of us who post on this forum. In an era where the differences weren’t between two competently-made wines of different styles, but between competence and incompetence, Parker rarely would steer you wrong.
I mentioned PARKER HIMSELF said he became a better taster with time. He started his professional career in 1978 so he was 6 years in the business in 1984 when he thought the 1978 La Louviere is in decline. I guess he would´t have said this with more experience because not decent Bordeaux is in decline that early. Maybe you think I am in the camp of the many Parker bashers. I am not. He was just a very successful critic and a very good taster. Not more, not less.
Sounds lovely, Neal. Love these surprises, as I just had with an 82 Lanessan, but in truth these old Bordeaux generally tend to offer surprises. DZ had it right IMHO, Parker was pretty strong up until around the 2000 vintage, by 2003 his notes had to be discounted for me. I wonder if this bottle he tried back then was in fact compromised. A four year old Bordeaux from a decent estate should not be in decline. And by the way, I love this estate, a complete over-achiever.
It could also be that wines that might earn a ‘crushing’ 83 pts are in actuality still very good, delicious wines in the real world. And that’s even assuming a snippet mentioned decades ago is really valid.
I’m sure I’m not the only WB who’s actually happy when an estate we enjoy doesn’t win high praise, so that we can acquire it for a fair price.
Neal,
I am not altogether surprised; his hit record in the early days was pretty good, but he did make errors. We also have to allow for the fact that when in those days, when wine was shipped, it was not necessarily in reefers, so it may have been spoiled in transit.
It’s funny how, on these websites, one gets to know people they don’t really know.
As soon as I read Neal’s note my immediate thought was that it sounds like a wine for him to drink with Alfert.
It is not only about errors. There is personal taste involved. When it comes to older vintages, many people often value what I find think are overly mature wines more than I do. That is not to say I find myself in his league, it is just to point out the wide range of views, especially when it comes to older wines.
I have not tasted 1978 La Louviere, but I think 78 La Mission & 78 Haut Brion are not nearly what they used to be. I’m willing to take a wild guess that 78 LMHB & 78 HB are probably better than 78 La Louviere. Meaning, all wine tasting is just a personal point of view.
Jurgen,
The 82 Bordeaux review is what really helped his career so he was doing quite well. Bob was in his mid 30s so his palate was definite at the peak.
I agree, 83pts back then is more like 91 pts now. Also even an average bordeaux with medium concentration can be drinking beautifully with a couple decades of cellaring if kept properly.
I have not had the 1978 Haut Brion recently, but I drank a beautiful bottle of La Mission 3 weeks ago. No decline noted and the wine was at peak. I also had a crappy half bottle of 1990 Haut Brion on Friday which was in decline. Last fall, I tasted a spectacular bottle. The point the OP was making was that Parker claimed the Louviere was over the hill over a decade ago, OP found it just fine. You tell me La Mission is “not nearly what they used to be” I thought it was profound. Blanket statements on longevity make little sense, as it’s all about the individual bottle. And yes, you are right, I don’t think you and I taste older vintages the same.
Mark… Read my post again. It actually discusses “Person Taste.” You and I like very different things in wine. For example, you enjoy tart, lighter weight, bright fruit characteristics in wine much more than I do.
Actually, Bob declared the wine in decline 30 years ago, not 10.
As Jeff said, it is all a matter of taste: mine (which we can refer to hereafter as “correct”) and the taste of all others (which, when it departs from what is “correct,” as defined above, should be referred to as “mistaken”).
Parkers notes were always great but his drinking windows for ne always lousy. I had lots of great wines he judged over the hill. And btw. still have 2 La Louviere looking forward toafter having a great one along Neal’s note about a year ago.
But as Jeff said it’s often down to personal taste: I still remember an old Ausone ( 1981 I believe in Munich ) he found lousy and myself good or at least decent .
Cheers
Rainer
I largely agree with how David articulates this, especially the last point. That was his real service early on…say from 1983-1986-7…and I mean his writing, not the vintages. You could tell a lot by what he wrote, even if you didn’t want to drink wines as big as he obviously loved (e.g., big, ripe CNPapes)
![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
.