What happened to Robert Parker? State of Wine Criticism in 2018

After a work-induced hiatus from wine that lasted several years, I’m back. I went nearly a decade without subscribing to eBob, Tanzer (now Vinous with Anthony Galloni who, when I checked out was part of eBob, if I remember right), Jancis, or anything else. So, I’ve checked back in, updated my subscription to eBob and to Vinous and have been catching up on vintages and such.

So – I was looking at vintage charts, comparing eBob and Vinous for Piemonte. Here’s what I see:

eBob rates 2014 Barbaresco at 79 points – second only to 2002 as worst vintage in forever.
Vinous rates 2014 Barbaresco at 95 points, describing it as, ‘A cold, late-ripening season with ideal Fall weather produced taut, mid-weight Barbarescos endowed with striking aromatic presence, finely sculpted fruit and lively acidity, all of which give the wines considerable energy. Barbaresco did not suffer the hail that was so problematic in Barolo. Two thousand fourteen is shaping up to be an exciting vintage for Barbaresco. It is a vintage that will especially appeal to classically leaning palates.’

Help me understand how this is remotely possible. I’ve listened to a over a half dozen interviews Levi Dalton has done with Barolo and Barbaresco producers and their comments mirror Vinous – that Barbaresco produced good wines in 2014 and that it was a comparatively tough year in Barolo.

I’m genuinely out of the loop the last decade… totally checked out. Who are the voices you can trust these days? I really like Ian d’Agata and generally find our tastes aligned in Italy. I always trusted Tanzer and similarly could always relate to his reviews. Vinous’ website is much more engaging than eBob. Is Bob just checking out?

And, while I am at it – what is Wine Enthusiast? What’s their approach? Are their reviews independent? And Wine Spectator? Are they as inconsistent/unreliable as they were 10 - 20 years ago? What about Suckling? I have a general feeling there and don’t want to say it for fear of writing something libelous. I don’t drink Burgundy unless someone else is bringing it – so I don’t pay much attention to Meadows.

I’m just a little bewildered with what has happened in the wine critic space over the past decade. I’ve been drinking my wine and paying no attention whatsoever to the world of wine. Who do you trust and why?

And, what happened to eBob and who is right on 2014 Barbaresco? How does one professional critic think a recent Barbaresco vintage is one of the worst in the past 30 years and another think it’s a classic vintage? Is Vinous shilling? Has Parker lost it?

I don’t think Parker has ever understood Piedmont, even if the alcohol levels are up his alley. Can’t really help too much with the critics, as I look and listen but tend to ignore them mostly. Galloni tends to overinflate by 3-4 points or so imo.

Bob Parker sold the business a while ago and doesnt review wines anymore.
2014 is a really good vintage in Barbaresco in a classic sense of a vintage, if big bold and ripe is your thing then hang on for 2015.

I agree RE: Galloni. Felsina and Ridge are good examples. I like both producers, but he’s awfully generous there…

Wine Spectator is a “life style” magazine. Wine Enthusiast is a trade publication fueled by advertising and selling of wine accoutrements. Have not trusted the Wine Advocate since Bob checked out and started shilling “wine candy” like Shamus and Silver Joke. I do read Vinous, but with a grain of salt about the size of Lot’s Wife. Trust your palate and test everything you read. It’s your money…and there’s a lot of over-priced labels on shelves. Drink what you like…even if all the critics toss your “darlings” under the bus.

I think you’ll find most critics are awfully generous with points these days. The competition means whoever gives the highest score gets their name hung beneath the wine, which means consumers see them hung there as an authority, which means they get more potential subscribers.

(See: James Suckling)

I was laughing with a sales rep about a Wine Enthusiast review for an Oregon Pinot where the text makes it sound virtually undrinkable, but the reviewer still threw it 87 points.

I think you’ll find they don’t have the same influence they did a decade ago. I work with a guy who was out of the business for about 12 years, and he was perplexed that no one wanted Australia and that hanging 90-point shelf talkers wasn’t a magic way to sell wine any more.

That said, I like the same critics you like.

I also have to acknowledge that being in the trade gives me access to wine firsthand more than most.

Regarding 2014 Barbaresco, was just in the area earlier this month. While many producers are onto 2015s, there are plenty of 2014s still out there. I would rate this a very good vintage (91-92) based on my experience with what I’ve tasted so far. There was roughly 30-40% less rain in Barbaresco in 2014 than Barolo. Also the troubling hail that occurred in this growing season seems to have been confined to Barolo. The wines are classic in style with good acidity, plenty of structure and more elegant and lifted.

The above comments about critics are spot on in my opinion. Vinous has an all star line up of critics and I feel is the most respected voice out there. That being said 95 point ratings are thrown around pretty regularly these days by everyone. Ian D’Agata seems to be the most conservative reviewer there.

Welcome back

The WA 79 points is embarrassingly ignorant – appalling, really.

The Vinous 95 points is inflated, even by the standards of Vinous.

I suspect the WA 79 is an error (or some odd disconnect from the reviews) as Monica Larner says in several articles that 2014 was very good in Barbaresco, and her reviews of the wines reflects that.

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Remember that we represent about 0.00% of the wine buying public. Why else would you see 19 Crimes Wine and Notorious Pink at every corner, with Rombauer Chardonnay and The Prisoner being the super premium ultra luxury cuvees. The critics won’t bite the hand that ultimately feeds them.

If i have to pick a publication to trust at this point, its typically Vinous. As mentioned above though, most publications over inflate scores. The only one I would say is not over inflated is Burghound. But d’Agata is at Vinous now, and I think that my palate lines up well with Galoni on most things.

As for 2014 Piedmont, I also tend to agree with vinous. it’ll be a pretty classically styled vintage, which I tend to like, and which vinous tends to reward with higher scores, which is part of the reason i put more stock in their reviews.

also any score you see from Suckling you can pretty safely subtract 6-9 points from for a realistic score.

Allen Meadows is indeed pretty good for information about Burgundy. The most common complaint about him is that he never seems to find a premier cru that will outperform a grand cru, or a village wine that rises to the level of a premier cru. Now I know about terroir and all that jazz, but come on, there are some years that cooler sites and warmer sites will overdeliver on a “classic” vineyard. His research is tremendous, and he gives a fair degree of detail. More off the beaten track is Steen Ohman at Winehog. This guy has a serious Burgundy obsession. He tracks down the cadastre plots for producers and produces incredible detail about certain wines. Not in any way comprehensive, (after all this is Burgundy) but i don’t mind that because with his information you can out geek the geekiest of Burgundy snobs in conversation. His palate aligns pretty closely with mine and he is kind of a hoot to read, if you like hanging with the most obsessive of your buddies.

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This picture has nothing to do with the comments, just wanted to see if the pic migrated from IMGUR.

Cheers

Jim-Great topic. Think about this a lot. We were sitting at different tables in a restaurant in St Estephe back about 10 years ago btw. Welcome back. You were a very knowledgable poster back on the Parker board. Why did you take such a long break?

To your topic: Has RP officially stopped tasting or is he on a hiatus from illness? The board never makes it clear. But what has happened on the board and with the reviewers is kind of tragic. I wonder if LPB and whoever invested regret their decision. Mighty have fallen. Also they killed what was once a vey informational board. The place is just dead. I have no idea why they let this happen. Pure stubborness. Losing Jeb after Antonio and then having RP go down left me lost with the reviewers. I don’t know what to think of LPB and the California tastings. Too little info to know if palates align. Also Joe C on Rhone styles…I just don’t know. The one person I really like is Monica Larner and if she and Antonio give a good review on an Italian wine I’m going to likely purchase it. Also while AG and JD have linked to CT, WA has refused despite pleas from members.

I still trust Jeb for Rhone but he seems to be reviewing everything now and handing out 99 and 100s like they are tic tacs. I have supported his site since inception but the content is seemingly less and unpredictable. I do really like him but don’t know how feasible it is to continue to subscribe to 3 review sites.

As far AG. His website crushes it for content. Frequent postings, active on Twitter (as is Jeb), restaurant reviews (which was invaluable on my Piemonte trip). I’m not sure how my palate aligns on CA with his. He is a great writer. ST I feel pushes scores down as others have recently inflated them. And now they have NM. Clearly they are in the lead. Downside is I cant assess the forum I think because I have a lower tier membership.

So a theme. If I see high praise from 2 of the 3 or more site reviewers on a wine chances are its good. The one caveat is JS. I would never take his review in isolation and it enrages me when sellers put his big score and his alone up there. Not as worried about libel but I think his notes are motivated by anything except what’s in the glass. WS has become an afterthought but I still receive it and it does provide some entertainment and I do look at the ratings.

I agree with what John M says about the 2014 Piemonte vintage having just got back from there. No doubt a step off but many good wines were made. John love the new avatar btw. I was lucky enough to purchase an artist label from B Mascarello when I was there. They are beautiful labels by the man himself.

Peter, I’ve been on Vinous from inception and am unaware of a lower tier membership that would deny you Your Say forum access. I find that forum very rewarding. You might alert Vinous to your problem. Hope to see you posting soon,

Jonathan

I haven’t subscribed to any wine review periodical (other than Champagne Warrior) for a couple of years now. The ascension of Lisa Perrotti (sp?) Brown marked the last straw for me at TWA, and when Neal left, it simply erased any last vestige of curiosity. I have given momentary and recurring consideration to Vinous, but it isn’t cheap, I am not really buying enough wine (and certainly not enough recent-vintage cellar-worthy wine) to make it worthwhile. If I did buy, it would be solely for the “other” content and info about back vintages. I do like Neal Martin’s writing and we share a love of bordeaux.

A tool like TWA was extremely valuable – indispensable really – for me what I started. At my current age/stage, I know what I like, and have enough sources of information (like this board) for discovering more wine than I can hope to buy.

Not to pry, but I am curious about your work-induced absence from wine, Jim. Were you working in a Muslim country?

For that 79 on 2014 Barbaresco, I feel that while consumers are more and more educated about Piedmont than ever these days, it is still the MO of the lazy critics to just assume Barolo and Barbaresco have the same vintage characteristics; sad but common, I feel like I’ve read Jancis Robinson make that mistake too.

My favorite is Vinous, but for the articles not so much scores. Most critics seem to inflate their scores a la Suckling because, as a previous poster mentioned, it gets their name on the retail shelf. Seems like it has fully evolved into a racket in cahoots with the retail side of things.

I do believe that 79 rating at eBob is a mistake. I just checked, and 40 Barbareschi have been reviewed there, with scores from 97 to 87. Barolo has many more wines reviewed, with a lot more in the 90s, and a similar range. If that’s the definition of a vintage rated 79 I would be astonished.

A vintage rating as a single number, is a very stupid concept, pandering to laziness of all involved, from critic to reader. Yes such a low score seems at odds with other opinion, but after all it’s a broad-brush opinion (albeit from a source I have no respect for).

A good point though Larry - it seems sensible for such an organisation, should they feel the need for such a lazy headline, to make that number a moving average of all the Barbaresco wines that they taste in that vintage. Perhaps they do that already, and the low number is heavily weighted down by their policy of not publishing scores below (80) points?

The WA is finished, it is just a matter of time. I don’t see how any person that is serious about wine follows anything they write. Vinous is very good. But I am not a fan of NM. Something is wrong with your interface, they do not have a lower level membership that would exclude you from “Your Say”. If you like Italian, Vinous is the place to be.

It’s been 15+ years (2000?) since I subscribed to TWA and even longer to WS. Those were my two prime sources, but really at a time that pre-dated the masses of quality information that you can find on the internet, these wines boards, or other sources. I flirted for a short spell with Wine Doctor (Chris Kissack), mostly because of his unique focus on Loire. At a certain point, I developed a core stable of producers that formed the bulk of my buying, and which I bought in most vintages regardless of ratings. Heck, some of these producers have only recently starting getting coverage from the rags, and before that, the ratings if any were all over the map or not even very impressive. Worked for me, I loved these wines and prices stayed down accordingly.

Some may suggest that critics often introduce you to new wines and regions, but I have to say, I’ve learned more or as much from the knowledgeable folks on this board. I learned about Bedrock here, not through critics. I learned about Juge here, before the craze. Champet. Levet. Roilette. Metras. I learned about Gonon while surfing TWA pre-firewall. These are major holdings in my little collection. I have no clue how critics have reviewed these wines, and frankly, it matters not to me. I actually used to buy a lot more Clape Cornas until Parker finally anointed the 2009 and 2010 vintages with super lofty scores, and now the prices are 50%+ more.