wellā¦ wow. thanks jeff. clears up 99% of this thread.
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Iām confused. Do the first growths ship wines to you to taste?
That was a stupid comment on my part that reflected my personal irritation at the idea of a for profit publication running roughshod over a wineries preference not to submit wines for review by buying them and reviewing anyway.
In the real world, I have a good lawyer that gives me good legal advice and I do what she says rather than the other way around. But I would be incredibly pissed off if a publication that I didnāt feel had a review protocol I trusted went ahead and reviewed my wines against my request.
Butā¦I also donāt believe that any of the major publications are regularly doing this.
As I noted in a number of other posts, I am not against critical review at all. But real experience has told me that 1) not all methods of review work equally well and 2) the review process is sometimes less well managed than it is oresented as.
This thread is a good example of how we all tend to see things from our own positions. The wineries/production ITBers have almost unilaterally defended the idea that not submitting is a wineries right and why the review process is enough of a minefield that choosing who reviews and their process is important. Iām the only one who over reacted enough to say I would sue, but if a publication went around my desire for them to not review my wines, I would definitely have an issue with that, and while that might be my hard luck it wouldnāt stop me from having an issue with it.
Consumers have mostly felt that they have a right to know and publications should publish reviews regardless. Though as a consumer, in the broader sense, I donāt see why this matters given the number of wines in the world(First Growths I would understand though I still would still support a business having the right to choose itās path. Iām not obligated to buy their wines, and I do think suddenly not participating in a process that was previously ok is not a good look for the winery).
Those aligned with critical review have defended the right to post a review however they want.
Itās an interesting thread, except perhaps for my unfortunate choice in expressing my disapproval by saying I would sue.
In the real world, I prefer cellar work to the court room.
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Now Iām confused - you sell wine?
During Covid, yes, barrel samples and bottled wines. They were all tasted over ZOOM sessions. They all declined to send 2020 in bottle, however 
Meaning more people read WS and buy wine based on their tips, than from us. But we receive a lot of views, which I hope helps consumers find, and buy better wine, for less.
Ah, WS reviews āsell more wineā than YOUR reviews - got it!
Too bad, I was hoping you had some sick ass dealz on First Growths so people like me and @David_Bu3ker could buy it 
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I hear you! And me too!!! I hope over the years Todd, that Iāve helped you, and others, find better wines, young and old to buy. And in all price ranges too. I do taste a lot of wines at all ends of the scale. Even Alfret has found wines I recommended that he liked!!!
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I am not an IP lawyer either, and I definitely posted without thinking, or consulting one.
Iām not going to double down on that in the opposite direction by offering any more of my own opinions on this, but the consensus here seems to be no.
As Iāve mentioned, I do go to your site as it has the best info on Bordeaux Chateau that Iāve found, for sure.
As for Alfertā¦he uses you as a contrarian indicator, which works perfectly for him! 
I think you actually put the best path put there for every winery in your post.
yes, there are literally thousands of people writing reviews these days. The most recent list of people currently seeking samples of willamette Valley wines for publication was over 80 different opportunities. Some wineries submit to many of these and it works for them.
For smaller wineries, not necessarily just Burgundian ones, opening the door to those who will come visit is, IMO, the best way. Once the reviewer has had a chance to absorb both wuality and intention, then sending samples should be a game time decision. itās an expense for reviewers to come to the winery, so if theyāre in town itās the best way but I have no issue shipping wines to Erin Brooks(we had a Covid case in the family right before her appointment this year).
But I wouldnāt want to do it for a blind tasting format, hence my reticence to send samples to WS even though my visit with Tim was excellent.
Most people reading my site for the notes sort by high scores. Youāre probably right, Alfret sorts by low scores and grabs those ā¦ Gems?
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Itās not more flawed than tasting non-blind. My example with Laubeā¦ Well, that same inability to judge classically made Cab from the SCMā¦Iām not sure blind tasting was the problem if it would take label bias to overcome. He did the same to classically styled Napa Cabs. Heād be terrible as a Bordeaux critic. The guy mindfully made the same mistakes in judgement consistently, for decades after the point he should have learned, reinforced by further such should-be wake-up calls. Iām not aware of WS critics for other regions being so flawed. Good writer, terrible critic.
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While I might wish to control options, thatās unrealistic.
Nor do I wish to prevent negative reviews. Thatās part of the critical process.
But itās my job to avoid, and if possible prevent, someone with a Rolland palate from reviewing my wines. Not that their palate is wrong, itās just their palate. But my wines will NOT do well in that situationā¦so if I value and believe in wines that work against that model, then it makes sense to stay away from that reviewer.
I really donāt want to control the review at all because then the review has no value. And above all, no one I have ever dealt with has ever published anything that wasnāt from a submitted sample.
Thatās literally true.
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I would disagree and say that if you have flights of more than about 3 wines, then blind tasting alters the assessment process in basically every situation that I have seen it.
The wines donāt get to stand on their own, and there is no ability for the critic to use their knowledge of the region/winery/vineyard/vintage etc. to refine theor assessment.
Label bias is real, but as someone without a celebrity label, I would still prefer a critic to have all of their ability in play rather than just their tastebuds.
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I thought it was out of hand 10 years ago, clearly itās only getting worse!
Whereās Richard Simmons when you need him???
I regularly read your content about the Chateaus. Itās tremendous work.
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Haha!
Jeffois got all excited last week because I like a Rolland wine, but it actually tasted nothing like a Rolland wine, and only got a Leve 88!
We do have our Venn diagram moments, however.