Actually,also did the tastings, I don’t know whether this is the samples or what, but I must say on the show, while I think this is a very good vintage and there were some excellent wines, a lot were very good and boring. Of course, the price does not help but I will still be buying…just much less than in previous years.
So we see Tanzer using nuance to get the message out.
Does that mean we should not buy your 12s and 13s, so we can save up? 
Disclosure: I already committed to Andrew’s 12s, which I expect to be charming and accessible.
Looks like we got a bunch of the AC&A in this thread…
Maybe I’m overthinking this, but it seems like there are some folks here that are shocked Meadows wasn’t more bullish on the vintage?
To me it’s not that I’m shocked he wasn’t more bullish it was that I was shocked he was so honest about where he stood with the vintage. You had to read between the lines with Tanzer, but Meadows was very straight forward in his analysis of the vintage.
Isn’t that a good thing though???
The honesty is much appreciated. I personally get tired of hearing how each vintage is a buy or must buy. It’s interesting to note he even went so far as to mention green in one of the notes I read.
But then again, it seems like everyone understands what “early drinking vintage” means. If that’s the case then Tanzer and Meadows seem to be in agreement.
His assessment sounds fair and is the first measured assessment we’ve heard. Up until now it was buy and buy at expected price jump if you can even find it.
When people say it is like a cross between 2010 and 2009 are they implying they like 2012 better than both? That it has more fruit than 10 and more balance than 09? Seems hard to believe considering the growing conditions, mentions of rot and damaged fruit.
So it sounds like Gilman is most positive, followed by Tanzer and then Meadows. I’m guesing Galloni falls in the postive camp.
Will be interesting to track over the next 10-15+ years.
As Im still building my cellar, here’s hoping the lukewarm reviews kill some of the exuberance in the pricing!
100%! I wish all critics did the same.
What if his analysis is off? What if the vintage is actually as good as ten in some cases? He totally missed the 04 as whole and the 06 whites. The issue with the 12 is the price more than anything else.
I think both Meadows and Tanzer are saying the same thing, just Meadows is being more straight forward. That being said, the pricing being asked is higher than 2010 on release, so I’m not exactly in a hurry to grab any other than the small allocations I do have.
Did any one call 2004?
Bill Nanson may have mentioned the issue of ladybug. Bill, I and others have posted that the 11s may also have the same fate. There are some that are already showing the taint. Allen Meadow for now thinks that they are just green. We have been saying the 04 taint being caused by ladybugs and got often laughed at. It seems to me now AM is joining the crowd and adding the term LBT.
Tanzer published this in Issue:131, which was March/April 2007.
“The bottom line: there are some stunning 2004s, and there are also a host of very good, and less good, wines that will soon be let go in the retail marketplace at very attractive prices. Obviously there are plenty of 2004s that do not merit your attention. But keep this in mind: if you chase 2005s simply because of the vintage on the label, you may find yourself paying twice as much as for the same 2004sor moreand you wont be getting two times the wine. When I was in Burgundy in November, most growers were talking about moderate price increases for their 2005 reds, in many instances only back up to the levels of their 2003s. But the longer the estates waited to set their prices, the higher they have turned out to beand thats before their importers, distributors and retailers had a chance to grab their shares of this hot item.”
My first thought, too.
At a London tasting of the 2012 vintage last week one of Britain’s leading merchants remarked that they had sold through their remaining stocks of 2004 mostly to sommeliers as it was widely felt that the wines had lost their ‘green’ aspect and that the vintage was now very attractive for current drinking. The few bottles I’ve had recently support this view though it’s a small sample. I’m not surprised that the problem seems to be receding but I am surprised that it’s happening so soon.
I’m not sure how to answer this. It seems like the equivalent of " Have you stopped beating your wife yet ? " AM is a reviewer. It is his job to taste the wine and give us his honest opinion. If you believe that he has done this then the only question left is do you tend to agree with him or not. If yes then he adds value to your experience. If not then the answer is ignore. I personally like his writing style and feel he gives me a good feel for the wines. The only people so far who have gone gaga over 12 are a bunch of internet “reviewers” who I personally ignore. Yes he missed 04 as everyone else did. 06 whites are another matter. Not my style but I know plenty of people who enjoy the wines. I don’t remember AM proclaiming it the VOTC.
Jamie Goode,
Interesting, I just read a tasting note on Lapassionduvin.com which basically says that the last 4 or 5 bottles of Nuits St Georges 1er Cru Les Vignes Rondes 2004 Domaine CONFURON COTETIDOT were vegetal and the most recent bottle opened was totally clean, ripe, delicious etc. the post also noted that a recent bottle of Fourrier showed the same turn around…
Might be worth taking a stab at a few bottles if the price is right.