Cellar Tracker archetypes

[Brian_Tuite]

Oh I get it. People who leave a score, no tasting note. It’s just that I see more elitism on this website.

Elitism or just plain good knowledge that can be intimidating/overwhelming?

[Rich_Brown]

3. The Loose Cannon: Histrionic guy who drinks a case of comtes in a week and wants to be your friend unless you criticize his patently insane TNs. Notes are as likely to be in Norse or Mandarin as English.

4. The Score Inflator: gives a middle of the road wine six consecutive 100 point scores with no note or justification and statistically changes a vintage of otherwise consistent rioja

5. The Score Deflator: lover of restrained wines that gives any otherwise critically acclaimed BDX 2009 or newer ratings in the 60-80 ballpark. But not just 70, 75, etc. Scores like 74 as though he’d a 73 before but this Rolland popsice was just a little bit better…

6. The Panther/Aesop: modern Napa cab lover who only speaks in sexual metaphors or maybe parables

Ha ha ha! I know exactly what you’re talking about with #3. That was some of the best stuff I’ve ever seen on CT. Hoping he’s better at playing piano than posting tasting notes and listening to reason (06 Comtes is old!?!?)

[Neal.Mollen]

Conclusion: CT ratings are absolutely not reliable, especially mean ratings …
Either you know the taster and his ability - or you are quite lost …

Not sure I agree with this. I often use CT as a decision making tool when shopping (online or otherwise). It’s not foolproof, as there are plenty of good old wines with few ratings, but for me, if there are >20 scores and TNs that are saying roughly the same thing, I value that more highly than a single professional critic’s assessment. It speaks to the question of variability, how likely is the bottle in front of me to be a good one as opposed to the pristine sample poured for a critic? And it also gives an idea of a wine’s performance over time, equally valuable information. And it tells me what wines are of the love it or hate it variety.

I’m guilty of putting too much weight on CT scores when deciding what goes in or out of my cellar, but the handful of odd ducks on CT are far outweighed by the regular Joes that use it appropriately. Though I do wish there were a way to exclude scores from individual users deemed to be unhelpful.

Finally some of those notes with personality (looking at you CSIMM1161) have caused me to buy bottles I wouldn’t have otherwise sought out. Just picturing in toting a opening an erect bottle of has led me click “PLACE ORDER NOW!!” with palms a-sweating. I have yet to be disappointed.

I’m with Gerhard. It’s like using the Billboard Top 100 to pick music, or the internet’s artistic values to pick a painting. By and large, the public doesn’t know what the hell it is talking about, and my tastes most certainly do not line up with the vox populi. If I recognize a handle I can find something useful there but an opinion registered by wolfgang3645 means nothing to me. I don’t like Kanye or most big box office comedy movies either

I admit however, that I do look at the notes when I am trying to decide whether a wine is “ready,” but only because this board and CT are the most comprehensive available sources on older wines.

[J.Vizuete]

Conclusion: CT ratings are absolutely not reliable, especially mean ratings …
Either you know the taster and his ability - or you are quite lost …

Not sure I agree with this. I often use CT as a decision making tool when shopping (online or otherwise). It’s not foolproof, as there are plenty of good old wines with few ratings, but for me, if there are >20 scores and TNs that are saying roughly the same thing, I value that more highly than a single professional critic’s assessment. It speaks to the question of variability, how likely is the bottle in front of me to be a good one as opposed to the pristine sample poured for a critic? And it also gives an idea of a wine’s performance over time, equally valuable information. And it tells me what wines are of the love it or hate it variety.

I’m guilty of putting too much weight on CT scores when deciding what goes in or out of my cellar, but the handful of odd ducks on CT are far outweighed by the regular Joes that use it appropriately. Though I do wish there were a way to exclude scores from individual users deemed to be unhelpful.

Finally some of those notes with personality (looking at you CSIMM1161) have caused me to buy bottles I wouldn’t have otherwise sought out. Just picturing in toting a opening an erect bottle of has led me click “PLACE ORDER NOW!!” with palms a-sweating. I have yet to be disappointed.

I’m with Gerhard. It’s like using the Billboard Top 100 to pick music, or the internet’s artistic values to pick a painting. By and large, the public doesn’t know what the hell it is talking about, and my tastes most certainly do not line up with the vox populi. If I recognize a handle I can find something useful there but an opinion registered by wolfgang3645 means nothing to me. I don’t like Kanye or most big box office comedy movies either

I admit however, that I do look at the notes when I am trying to decide whether a wine is “ready,” but only because this board and CT are the most comprehensive available sources on older wines.

I think that’s fair if you know your preferences well enough. I’m still in a phase of learning where I value any decent information I can get about a wine before I try it. Here’s an example - 2002 La Conseillante. There’s a bottle on Winebid for $60. I think to myself, “that’s a producer I’m eager to try, and with 16 years of age, not a bad price”. I’ve had one or two right banks from the year which showed fine, so why not? But then I quickly check CT and notice that 20 ratings gave the wine an 88.7. Far below any other vintage in the last 25 years. I look at the notes (about half the scores have them) and find a consistent message of a lean, green wine that lacks complexity. The scores cluster around 87-90 with very few outliers. This information makes it an easy pass because I think $60 should be able to garner a wine that I’m likely to enjoy. For comparison’s sake, I searched 2002 La Conseillante on WB and found crickets. I don’t want to dig through a long thread that is generally about 2002 BDX given the alternative.

And it’s a bit different than the Billboard analogy for a few reasons, namely that the ratings are input by individual users that have both the means and interest to do so, thus making up a small proportion of the wine drinking populous. The data source is not remotely like what Bruno Mars song gets the most play by syndicated radio networks.

[T_Fletcher1]

The Stalker - Friends you on CT, then on Delectable, then on Facebook… Comments on all your notes.

Isn’t this what social media is all about!?

{Note to self: delete FB friend request to Brian}

[J.Vizuete]

Sorry for the thread drift
Thought of others:

The Muppet Swedish Chef - SWTISH RNDISH FRT with NICE pucker GRT!
The Zen Master: “This ethereal, otherworldly wine evokes deep visceral sensations and awakens one’s inner being. Its soul crushing energy lifts this spirit to a place of pure nirvana”

[Jason_T]

Oh I get it. People who leave a score, no tasting note. It’s just that I see more elitism on this website.

Elitism or just plain good knowledge that can be intimidating/overwhelming?

I think these archetypes are dead-on and hilarious. I derive the same value that John does in referencing CT notes, however remain exasperated at some of the notes on their - called out by the archetypes mentioned in this thread. I don’t see it as elitism - it’s more like poking a bit of fun and blowing off some steam.

[Charlie_Carnes]

Either you know the taster and his ability - or you are quite lost …

100% agree.

[Viet_Ly]

The Stalker - Friends you on CT, then on Delectable, then on Facebook… Comments on all your notes.

Isn’t this what social media is all about!?

{Note to self: delete FB friend request to Brian}

[Charlie_Carnes]

I think that’s fair if you know your preferences well enough. I’m still in a phase of learning where I value any decent information I can get about a wine before I try it.

Lucky for you, this can be easily “tested”. Buy the wine, try it, your palate will line up rather quickly. Plus, buying a wine with your hard earned dollars, and then drinking it, is a sure way to learn about it rather quickly. The pocketbook experience doesn’t lie…

[Neal.Mollen]

I think that’s fair if you know your preferences well enough. I’m still in a phase of learning where I value any decent information I can get about a wine before I try it. Here’s an example - 2002 La Conseillante. There’s a bottle on Winebid for $60. I think to myself, “that’s a producer I’m eager to try, and with 16 years of age, not a bad price”. I’ve had one or two right banks from the year which showed fine, so why not? But then I quickly check CT and notice that 20 ratings gave the wine an 88.7. Far below any other vintage in the last 25 years. I look at the notes (about half the scores have them) and find a consistent message of a lean, green wine that lacks complexity. The scores cluster around 87-90 with very few outliers. This information makes it an easy pass because I think $60 should be able to garner a wine that I’m likely to enjoy. For comparison’s sake, I searched 2002 La Conseillante on WB and found crickets. I don’t want to dig through a long thread that is generally about 2002 BDX given the alternative.

And it’s a bit different than the Billboard analogy for a few reasons, namely that the ratings are input by individual users that have both the means and interest to do so, thus making up a small proportion of the wine drinking populous. The data source is not remotely like what Bruno Mars song gets the most play by syndicated radio networks.

By all means, use the tool if you find it helpful but I would post a thread here asking for experience with the wine if it were me. I’d also take a chance on a $60 bottle of Conseillante pretty much without further inquiry. The fact that someone on CT got a touch of green or thought it “meager” might mean a lot if I knew who the taster was, but if he or she (or they) were huge CA syrah/Napa cab drinkers I wouldn’t give it a second thought.

I don’t use yelp and don’t rely on crowd sourced reviews on rotten tomatoes so it isn’t a surprise that I don’t find a lot of enlightenment in the scores on CT.

[David_Bu3ker]

The Zen Master: “This ethereal, otherworldly wine evokes deep visceral sensations and awakens one’s inner being. Its soul crushing energy lifts this spirit to a place of pure nirvana”

That’s not Zen, that’s contradiction!

[J.Vizuete]

The Zen Master: “This ethereal, otherworldly wine evokes deep visceral sensations and awakens one’s inner being. Its soul crushing energy lifts this spirit to a place of pure nirvana”

That’s not Zen, that’s contradiction!

It doesn’t have to make sense to be penned! (As we have learned well from the thread on professional critics’ redundancies)
Or to be zenned!

[John_Danza]

Oh I get it. People who leave a score, no tasting note. It’s just that I see more elitism on this website.

Jeez, I hate that too! I don’t care about points. Tell me what the wine tastes like!

I don’t know how to categorize this next type. I had a person want to friend me last week. According to CT, he had been a member for nine years, yet had no wines in inventory nor any tasting notes. I took a pass.

[Mattstolz]

Seriously, this thread shows that SOME of you take yourselves way to seriously. Wine drinking is supposed to be fun.

CT is a guide, just as Winespectator or RP are,

its ironic that you claim the site is taking things way too seriously by completely missing the fact that this thread is lighthearted and taking it too seriously.

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

CT Archetypes- The guy who is tired of all the pencil heads on WB who blow up our tasting notes and derides everyone on CT.

Seriously, this thread shows that SOME of you take yourselves way to seriously. Wine drinking is supposed to be fun.

CT is a guide, just as Winespectator or RP are,

The guy who has nothing better to do than to complain so he complains about other people, complains about wine, complains about wine glasses and most of all complains about social media posts of other people instead of adding anything of value all by himself.

[Eric_Guido]

The “Baby Killer” - Guy who opens bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco way to young and then calls them over the hill, light or too astringent. Followed by a low score.

As for scoring. I’m in the camp of wanting people to score. Half the time I can’t tell if someone really liked a wine by their tasting note. Or, when someone tastes a few bottles next to each other, they may have all be “good”, but which was the best? Scores help, IMHO.

[cjsadler]

The Clueless Technicalist: “LEGS SLOW, COLOR dark, Body: HIGH, 89 Points”

[J.Vizuete]

The “Baby Killer” - Guy who opens bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco way to young and then calls them over the hill, light or too astringent. Followed by a low score.

I’ve been guilty of this before

[Eric_Guido]

The “Baby Killer” - Guy who opens bottles of Barolo and Barbaresco way to young and then calls them over the hill, light or too astringent. Followed by a low score.

I’ve been guilty of this before

I’m sure I’ve been guilty of downing plenty of wines that I didn’t fully understand as well. It’s just a learning process, right?