How do you score a wine that falls apart early?

WINE TALK
1

Do you score it at it’s peak or do you subtract points because of it’s early decline?
I’m talking about a wine of reasonable age like a 90 Pichon Baron. If it fell apart within a hour would you score it lower if it hadn’t?

cheers-

Shane

2

If you’re one to believe certain Monkton attourneys, the wine is scored at it’s peak of maturity, no conditions. You taste it young & tannic and
award it a 96 when it reaches its peak of maturity in (say) 20 yrs. If you taste it at 40 yrs hence and it’s in its decline, you still award it a 96…
what it was at its peak of maturity.
However, if you taste it at 10 yrs hence and it’s already started to decline, you award it a 94 because it’s not gonna reach its peak of maturity
and not gonna make it to that 96 score. It also implies that you made a mistake in estimating its peak of maturity…but you don’t fess up to that.
At least that’s my understanding of the methodology of certain Monkton attourneys.
Tom

3

I will have to make an official inquiry with the Acting Assistant Under-Director of the Department for the Promulgation of Uniform Standards in Wine-Scoring and get back to you.

4

Might take awhile…I hear Jeff is in Bordeaux.

5

Really? [middle-finger.gif] [wink.gif]

6

Depends. A 90 Pichon Baron should not fall part after an hour so it would lose lots of points with me.

7

Call it as you see it. I doubt you are going to hurt the wine’s feelings.

8

That’s what I do. I had a recent discussion on another board with a guy that said you’re supposed to score the wine at it’s height- no matter how long its shows. My response BUUUUUUlllshhheeeitt.

9

And this is why i ignore scores on CT and here . If I can’t see the methodology behind someone’s scores, they don’t mean shit.

For a 90 P-B I’d deduct points for it falling apart because that vintage of that wine shouldn’t. Another wine, something very old and/or fragile, might not get a deduction because I’d only expect it to last that long in the first place.