No impact. I’ve always been a contrarian, so I have no problem disregarding label, price and others’ opinions.
Ryan :
Next time you come in Europe, keep a moment for me : you will taste a beaujolais who is able to beat easily many grand cru from côte de nuits.
It will be, BTW, the topic of the next GJE session in february : 6 beaujolais and 6 burgundy grands crus or premiers crus, in 2 vintages each : 2005 and 1990.
Just 2 names : Jean Marc Burgaud Côte du Py Morgon where his 1992 is simply outstanding and the very classic wine from Jadot : Clos du Grand Carquelin (Moulin à Vent) who is probably, actually, the beaujolais whic is the closest to any great Burgundy.
Label is rather meaningless, but for price point, does it matter:
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In terms of scoring: No.
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In terms of how I describe how the wine smells, tastes, etc…: No.
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In terms of what I have to say about the wine in terms of whether I would recommend it, find it to be a good value, or feel ripped off: Yes.
I may recommend (within context) a lower scoring $8 sparkler that performs like a $25 wine, but really give it to a $200 Champagne that doesn’t perform better than an average $70 bottle.
the sooner we realize that price, vintage, label, pedigree, and critic scores are less important than what is inside the bottle the sooner we can just all get along
Exactly. Score should be a measure of quality, independent of price. If I drink a $130 Cab and rate it 90 points, I will rip it to shreds in the note because it doesn’t remotely compare to the dozen other Cabs for $130 I can buy that will give me 94+ point quality.
Good question. I think I am unbiased to price but cannot say for certain. I would say I expect more from more expensive wines and am therefore more disappointed when they do not performed than when a QPR does not deliver the goods but I don’t change change my “score”…actually, thinking of it. I rarely score wines anymore. I never used to score wines but started when posting notes elsewhere and I stopped that.
Where price does matter to me is how quickly I will dump a cheap bottle down the drain versus giving a more expensive bottle time to open or blow off unpleasant aromas.
I truly try and I think I’m pretty successful at judging a wine purely by whats in the glass and do not give any bias towards what’s on the label or the cost of the wine.