I’m looking for a new broad based wine publication. I used to enjoy the detail in Parker’s News Letter, but do not trust it any longer. Is there something like Burghound that critiques multiple varietals? I would love to find something like that.
Thanks in advance for the info!
Jim
Try
I’m not a subscriber, but Vinous has a lot of reviewers and covers multiple different regions, similar to the WA model.
Thanks! Will check both
Vinous is pretty much the broadest scope in town with a great set of reviewers who even cross over areas. Just wish Jeb would end up there. TWA is a distant 2nd, William Kelley and Luis Gutierrez are very good.
View from the Cellar is, along with Burghound, my most trusted resource. John Gilman is a one man operation- so he does not cover everything, but have a look at his site and if he covering areas of interest to you, then I highly recommend his newsletter.
+1. The only region missing is the Loire - no surprise there! In an ideal world, WK, LG and JD would be there too. Vinous is well-organized and well presented, with articles every week, rather than the monthly arrivals at TWA. Reviewers interact with subscribers and reply promptly to any queries. There are also regular videos - interviews of producers, tutorials and discussions. Basically, it’s an improved and updated version of TWA circa 2006, without the latter’s agenda. The only thing lacking is the TWA database, which is useful when backfilling.
I really like Vinous. I also find that my palate lines up the most closely with Galloni and d’agata of all the major reviewers.
Vinous is good. Used to to very good - great. Recently it has been turned into the Neal Martin show. Which is not to my liking. So I have asked for a refund for 2019-2020. But I would still recommend it.
Burghound is my main jam. I was using Vinous for back up when Tanzer was reviewing Burgundy. Not sure how much I align with Martin. I really like what I read from William Kelly so I’m considering going back to WA. Not sure how the other writers are there. Any thoughts ?
For broad-based region and vintage info, I’ve come to rely on Vinous. Some of their material on less frequently covered regions is unique and extremely helpful if your interests go there. While I’m not that interested in some of the more discursive elements of NM’s writing, he reviews regions extremely deeply. But I’ll be sad if Tanner dials back his reviews. For Burgundy I still think Burghound is the best resource.
Otherwise I use Cellar Tracker for back vintage info (all standard disclaimers apply). How do people think CT compares to the TWA database (which I’ve never seen)?
I have not read the WA in many years. I would read the Wine Spectator before WA. At least there are pretty pictures.
Honestly, reading Wine Berserkers is best.
A strange definition of “best”.
I’m looking for 1 publication to get reviews on new vintages from around the world. As burgundy is my favorite region I like 2 reviewers from that region. Who reviews Rhones now for the WA.
No unpleasantness intended but the question really says it all - in the past, everyone knew.
It’s Joe Czerwinski. Seems like a good man but since I’m not a Rhone drinker, I can’t comment on his reviews.
As for Vinous - whether or not one likes Neal Martin’s work, he’s just as prolific as before, so you get your money’s worth. Just concerning Bordeaux, he has published over twice as many articles as LPB since he arrived a year ago.
Wineberserkers.
Seriously, I haven’t seen vintage charts from anyone that are consistently accurate. Jancis is probably the best, but even there, sometimes I can’t tell what they really think of a vintage (too much weather info with too little on how the wines actually taste) or their views contradict most other well-informed opinions.
As for reviews, I’m surprised to see so many Vinous recommendations. Like everyone in the ratings game, they have to stay relevant by awarding high scores. I’ve seen SO many reviews from them that make no sense at all to me when I taste the wines. Maybe they’re good for certain regions. Even Decanter publishes a lot of nonsense now that they use the 100 point scale.
If I were in the market, I would surely go Vinous. Unlike some, apparently, I like Neal Martin’s writing and our palates are pretty close – close enough for me to make educated guesses. They also come closest to covering the waterfront. I am just not buying recent-vintage reds enough to make the purchase worthwhile.
I admire John Gilman a lot but find his reviews inscrutable. That is, he writes clearly and is unafraid to say what he thinks, but his views don’t seem to be consistent with mine or plot on any continuum that would allow me to make sense of them (in the way, say, Jeff Leve’s reviews do – whether you agree with his notes or not, you know precisely where he is coming from and can extrapolate from there). Gilman is so often at odds with everyone (from Jancis to Leve) that I can’t get a useful fix on him.
Burghound is too narrowly focused for my uses. And as much as I like William’s notes and perspective here, I am not giving a penny to Lisa, whose go-to customer service move is the middle finger.
I do subscribe to Brad’s Champagne Warrior but have seriously considered canceling. Just not enough content to make the purchase sensible any longer
Tanzer still does Burgundy, just did a big retrospective on Chateau de la Tour.
TWA has too many regions covered by LPB for me, reviews aren’t helpful, other than as pure score reference for her regions to present to Costco or others, but William, Luis and Stephan all have ++ content.
Some updates to the staff at the WA. Anthony Mueller, I am not saying anything but you know I wanted to, will bring his expertise to focus on the wines from the dynamic and under served areas of Washington State and South Africa. And the inestimable Erin Brooks will take over coverage of PN, Chard and Zin in Sonoma County and the Central Coast. Leaving LPB more time to focus on some of the area depending on grape and all of Napa and Bordeaux. Can’t wait.