A Week In The Life Of RP...

Thought this post from Parker rather interesting:

"Want this job?..Just got back from France…while I never have given
specific info out(no one ever asked), here is a taste of what I do, and have
done for over 30 years, keeping in mind some very simple rules:

  1. it is obligatory to taste every possible style from modern to
    traditional(most are a combination of both)
  2. taste as much as possible in a 12 hour day( rarely except any
    dinners-too tired basically)
  3. structure a trip that tries to visit most reference point properties
    supplemented by large peer group tastings with syndicates-taste light
    vintages before richer vintages
  4. pay your own way-stay and pay for a hotel, rent your own car, and have
    a state-of-the-art blood /alcohol device as close to you as your
    notebook-never drive after a big tasting if you are .05 or higher
  5. drink 2-4 liters of water per day
    6.get at least 8-9 hours of sleep per night-have no more than a salad or
    fruit for dinner-my biggest meal(only meal usually) is a hefty breafast at
    6h30 AM-lots of eggs!
  6. one rule is fundamental-if you can’t focus 100% of your energy on the
    wines in front of you, you don’t have sufficient passion to be a serious
    wine critic
    8.listen,be polite(it is a priviledge to taste),but make your own mind
    up…which is actually quite easy if you taste several thousand wines from a
    given vintage over two+ weeks…
    Day one-land in Paris-take tram at DeGaulle to terminal 2-the TGV station
    to catch the train to Avignon-delayed by two hours-have to reschedule the
    afternoon apt…get there…pop an ambien at 19h00-sleep to 6h00
    Day two-wake up refreshed, super-charged up…appt #1 at La Nerthe
    8h00-then a tasting with the big federation in Chateauneuf-go through 155
    wines,leave for appts at Vieille Julienne and Vieux Telegraphe…get back to the
    hotel at 19h30…eat an apple,read for approx 90 minutes…sleep
    Day three-up at 6h00…go back to the Federation at 8h30…finish another
    170 wines and leave for appts. at Beaucastel and Pierre Usseglio…get
    back at 20h00…eat two apples,go to bed by 21h30
    Day four- up at 6h00…tasting with the other Chateauneuf syndicate at
    8h30…finish about 165 wines at 16h00,receive lots of bad news-Luc Perrin (of
    Domaine Roger Perrin) is on his death bed-45 years old,great guy, love his
    wines(he dies two days later…also Philippe Cambie is in the hospital…go
    to Brotte for a 16H15 appt, then to Pegau to finish the day…back at
    19h30…eat nothing…asleep by 21h00
    Day five-appt at 8h30 at Yves Gras(Santa Duc in Gigondas) with 5-6 other
    producers, then to Ste Cosme for another large tasting…at 15h00 have a
    tasting with the Vacqueyras syndicate(94 wines)…then rush back to CNDP to
    taste at Henri Bonneau…he invites me to dinner–I tell him I can’t
    -already late…insists I have a bowl of his famous “boeuf aux carottes”…what
    the hell…haven’t had a warm meal other than scrambled eggs and I love this
    stuff…eat quickly…apologize for bad manners in skipping out, but get
    back at 22h00…pop an ambien and sleep like a baby
    Day six- early morning tasting with the syndicate of Gigondas…taste 100
    or so wines,then drive to Philippe Cambie’s office to taste all his
    clients’ wines…he is still in the hospital,but doing well…has a who’s who of
    estates loaded with great values in the Cotes du Rhones…leave at 16h30
    for Marcoux back in CNDP…am told Luc Perrin has died…taste and then
    finish the day at Clos St. Jean…get back to the hotel late…around
    20h30…to bed
    Day seven-up very early as I head north to Hermitage to taste at
    Chapoutier,and later in the day several estates…about 125 wines tasted
    Saturday…hotel is right in Tain l’Hermitage…the AC actually works, but weather has
    cooled off…fall asleep at 21h00
    Day eight-drive 35 minutes north to Ampuis to taste most of the day at
    Guigal and Vidal Fleury…hope to finish by 17h00…and recharge the dwindling
    battery…great day of tasting,especially 2009s…get to the hotel at
    18h00…no meal…read for 2-3 hours and feel renewed the next morning
    Day nine-start at 9h30(latest start of the trip…spend all day in
    Hermitage visiting small producers like Sorrel, Chave and the ressurrected Paul
    Jaboulet…finish at 18h00…my wife has arrived…we drive to Anne Sophie
    Pic’s three star restaurant in Valence…I rarely find 3 star eateries all
    that special these days…but she is incredible…
    Day ten-leave my wife to putz around Tournon and Tain, and I return to
    Cote Rotie to see some of my favorites, most notably Ogier and
    Rostaing…return to Tain, pick-her up, and we stop for lunch at Beaugraviere in
    Mondragon…then she accompanies me on visits to Janasse and Clos des
    Papes…dinner at Alonzo in Sorgues…so so
    Day eleven- I have a three small appointments in CNDP, Rayas, Xavier Vins,
    and then off to Lourmarin,one of the prettiest villages in France to see
    Michel Tardieu…eat and stay at La Feniere in the same village-great
    meal…get amazing news from my office back in the states that the King of Spain
    is giving me Spain’s highest honor-a trifecta(France in 1992, 1999, 2005,
    Italy in 2002, and now Spain)…very humbling…and just a sense of
    unreality…
    Day twelve- some small Luberon tastings in the morning, 25 or so
    wines…then catch the TGV to Paris for three days of vacation…dinner…where
    else?..L’Ami Louis…about the only half-way affordable wines on the list that
    don’t cost a king’s randsom are Rhones and I see 8-9 of my favorite 2007
    CNDPs on the list, but without prices…I call Louis and ask what’s up?..the
    bad news…all sold out…they do have a 2007 magnum Cuvee Reservee from
    Pegau…too much wine for two…but what the hell…I have been sober for
    nearly 13 days…it is glorious…and yes…2007 is the greatest vintage EVER
    for the southern Rhone…readers will love 2009, but it is NO 2007…not
    even close…short story…we don’t finish the magnum…but leave in a
    blur…
    Day thirteen…sleep in…much needed…off to our favorite seafood
    joint…the mythical Le Dome…life is great…spend time looking at shops after
    lunch then to Chez L’Ami Jean for dinner…very warm folks…good bistro
    food
    Day fourteen…I am not a formal religious person per se,but I am a person
    of very strong faith…don’t know if that makes sense…but I never fail to
    go to Notre Dame in Paris, and I have been there…at least 100+ times in
    my life…something about this cathedral just reinforces the beauty of
    life…the good fortune to actually be alive and have the ability to appreciate
    my good luck as well as the scary fragility of it all… in short, Notre
    Dame reinforces all of this with such vivid clarity…I rarely can leave
    that place without a tear or two…and I am not catholic
    Day fifteen…sleep in again…go to a salon of decorative arts…skip
    lunch…and get charged up for a finale at L’Ami Louis…my favorite
    restaurant in the world…have awesome cepes,snails(the best in the world, confit
    of duck, their pommes bearnaise(the best potato dish in the world)…all
    washed down with Deutz rose Champagne and a perfect bottle of 1982
    Latour…so that is it…as for the Rhone’s two most recent vintages…lots of
    details in the next TWAs…but 2009 in the North is easily the best since
    1999, and probably since 1990…2008 is OK for the whites…but at
    best…mediocre for the reds…in the south…2008 is adequate, but no
    better…2009 is at least excellent…somewhat a blend of a very forward fleshy year
    such as 2000 and a more structured and tannic vintage as 2005…2009 shines
    very brightly in the Cotes du Rhones and villages such as
    Vacqueyras…over and out!..2010 looks potentially superb…but the harvest is
    late…and there is a long,long way to go…they need rain …"

I couldn’t do it. I need variety in life and get extremely cranky when I can’t get it.

I couldn’t read it.

Too bad. I thought it was a really interesting recount of what a critic does. Plus some infos in there too. We at least have one thing in common: hard to go to Paris without paying a visit to N-D, and I’m not a religious person either.

In Parker’s defense, Matt Kramer is on record that it is possible to taste 100 wines a day…if the only evaluation made is thumbs up or thumbs down. On the other hand, research suggests that palate fatigue sets in after around a dozen wines. Somebody calculated that on his biggest day, Parker tasted a wine every 2.5 minutes, which would include discussion with the winemaker and taking notes. Again, in Parker’s defense, one could make the argument that the jibberish in his tasting notes and his scores are nothing more than a thumbs up or a thumbs down…

No one can taste that much wine in that short a period and do the wine justice. No wonder he loves the big monster wines these days. Probably the only thing that stands out on his abused palate.

I was thinking the same exact thing, Paul.

Makes it seem like work.

It’s not about doing justice, it’s about allocating points.

No one can possibly run a sub 4 minute mile, but they do! “No one” can surely not do a lot of things but a few people can and do. I would be very careful saying that no one can do this or that because you or your friends can’t. There are always people of extensive training, experience, and extreme motivation that can do a lot of things we mere mortals find impossible. neener

I personally won’t want his schedule, but I’m glad someone does the heavy lifting!

I would be dead tired after just the first day! Don’t think it is impossible for RP since he’s been doing it for so long, but why not just take a few extra days to ease the schedule and not have to rush around or rush tastings…

2009 in the North is easily the best since 1999, and probably since 1990

I’m wondering what exactly this means in terms of alc levels and just how crazy pricing will be?

It is work. Hard work.

In my old days in the business, I’d often taste 75 - 125 wines a day on buying trips. Totally fatiguing and a bit loopy from sublingual absorbtion of alcohol even if you spit - hard to make financial decisions in that context and I can’t imagine writing detailed descriptions and reviews.

Not for RP

they do have a 2007 magnum Cuvee Reservee from Pegau…too much wine for two…but what the hell…> I have been sober for nearly 13 days…

No Roman orgies? grouphug

Yes, that does sound like work. I would probably be drunk by noon, have a huge lunch, then take an afternoon nap, have some more tastings, get drunk again, followed up by a huge dinner and grouphug

The best part of a siesta is the ability to get drunk twice in a day.

I’m with Fleming. WTF is it with the ellipsis and RP?

you win.

[rofl.gif] [rofl.gif] [rofl.gif]

Let’s suppose this is true, that RP is the world’s greatest power taster, the tasting equivalent of Adrian Peterson, Lebron James and Adrian Bolt inside of a tongue. Then how relevant are his perceptions to mere mortals who are consuming wines in a completely different context? Think about it–his palate does not fatigue after hundreds of pours of big wines, whereas most people tire of a ponderous wine after half a glass. Either way you look at it, I see it as a no-win situation for prolific critics. They will fatigue, or if they don’t they aren’t representative of their buyers, that is unless the points are what people are buying, which is true to some extent.

Even if RP has a photographic palate, though, each taste is only a snapshot in time. There’s pretty broad agreement that perception of a wine changes as it’s allowed to open. Whether that’s the wine or the taster is open to debate. A photograph only tells you one moment in time, even if it’s perfectly rendered. RP may do what he does at a very high level, but the methodology has inherent limitations.

To return to the 4 minute mile analogy, that runner is trained for a specific distance. As a sprinter or marathoner, he is probably ill equipped. As an athlete in a more complicated sport like soccer, he is probably terrible even if he has speed and stamina. Indeed, RP may be a ultra-marathoner as tasters go, but that is a very narrow skill set with narrow applications. If you drink many wines in a sitting in small pours, then RP notes are well-suited for you in my opinion. Otherwise, not so much.

RP’s schedule isn’t that different from most top US critics. Tanzer maintains a similar schedule for one. How do people THINK they get issues with tasting notes from hundreds of wines from a single region?

To Greg’s point, critical tasting doesn’t have much at all to do with how most of us drink wine. Aside from the sheer number of wines, they don’t taste a wine over time so it needs to show well when poured. It needs to show well from a small sample. It’s not tasted with food.

If you know what wines you like from various regions, critics aren’t really needed - they’re just a crutch. Apparently there are a lot of injured folks out there…