How Important Are Professional TNs & Scores To U?

WINE TALK
1

How impt are TNs & Scores To U?

  • 1. I rely on them religiously
  • 2. I’ve got a stocked cellar and rarely need them
  • 3. I have producers I like and rarely need them
  • 4. I have an opportunity to taste many wines firsthand and rarely need them.
  • 5. Don’t trust them, just a snap shot in time
  • 6. Let’s admit we ALL rely on them too much
  • 7. I only use them for super expensive decisions
  • 8. I rely on CT
  • 9. I rely mostly on the board
  • 10. I tust my local merchant opinion most.
  • 11. I use them for about 1/4 of my buying
  • 12. I use them for over 1/2 of my buying
  • 13. I use them for less than 1/4 of my buying
  • 14. I use them for less than a 1/2 of my buying
  • 15. N/A

0 voters

They are becoming less important to me now as I buy largely based on past experience with a producer and I’m starting to buy less highends stuff anyway. I have plenty. I still buy Dauvissat, Mugnier, Le Cadeau and Louis Carillon without worrying about the scores. In the past though TNs & scores were more important because none of the stores in the upper midwest open up anything over $15 to taste for free or purchase. Unline the 2 coast we don’t get to taste a bunch of big name Burgs or BDX on release for free or for a nominal tasting fee. We are forced to trust the critics. It’s too bad too because at an offline of say Barlolos or BDXs you often find out it was the 91pt you prefer to the 96pter at 30% more cost you brought.

2

I voted 8, 9, and 11.

  • I would say about 40% of my purchases come from producers that I know and like.
  • Then I would say about 20% of my purchases come from recommendations from close friends, or me taking a shot on a winery that I have never had, but I like the region & variety.
  • The next 20% would be from wine tasting; gatherings with friends or at wineries themselves.
  • The last 20% of my purchases (which applies to this question) are wines that are brought to my attention from this board, from consistent high scoring in publications; and I verify this sometimes through cellar tracker.
3

This is a flawed poll IMO. I trust my own palate more than anyone else’s. However, it’s nice to have some corroboration on wines I’m interested in, especially when I can’t taste due to limited availability. That said, I never buy a wine solely because a writer raved about it. I couldn’t fit this into any of your listed options and I doubt whether I’m the only one who feels this way.

4

Meant to vote 2, 4 & 5 but somehow clicked 15.

5

There’s not a “I don’t care about them” choice.

6

But there should be.

7

Well, yes. Since that would be MY vote and it’s not a choice, it’s obviously a flawed poll. :slight_smile:

8

What about notes are useful but not points? Usually the flavor profile and style are far more useful in decision making.

9

I no longer read professional reviews. I would rather read notes from people on boards whose preferences are consistently similar to mine and try to find things that sound interesting based on those. By doing that for the last few years, I have honed in on a number of producers and styles that consistently “do it” for me. Since I started using this approach, I have had far fewer disappointments than I used to have when I would purchase a wine based on a 90+ score from some professional critic. I have also made more wine discoveries and broadened my theatre of interest with this approach.

10

I rely on them for finding new producers and helping me explore new/different regions and wine. I’m pretty set with the California wines I buy, so reviewers aren’t much help to me there. But, on occasion they do open my eyes to a new producer to try (although I find boards more helpful for this).

I find them invaluable for research and education on regions I know little about and want to explore.

11

Since I have no access to professional scores any more, I’d say it’s fairly low.

12

Professional TNs & Scores have no relevancy to my purchasing decisions. I subscribe to Burghound just for the enjoymnet of reading it but Im not sure Ive ever used it for a purchasing decision.

13

I use them quite often with unfamilar wines. If I know the critic and have some calibration to his TNs, they are very helpful. There are 1000s of wines out there at all price levels. Many are phlonk. I don’t need to spend the money or face the disgust of drinking more phlonk, especially expensive phlonk.

So yes, I absolutely weed out a lot of wines by looking at ratings. Does that mean I miss a few gems? Absolutely! Does it mean I get to skip a lot of crap wine? Absolutely! So much wine,So little time. Risk and reward. [cheers.gif]

14

You don’t avoid plonk as the major critics don’t review wines below 85 and don’t review every wine above that meaning that you can’t tell why a wine isn’t there.

I used to use critics as guides to new areas, but frankly I’ve tried most areas that even vaguely interest me. And I have a better resource than any critic can be - a trusted merchant that I’ve bought from for years and who knows my palate. If I want to explore an area I can say “Dan, hook me up with a few wines from this region” and be confident that none will suck. Plus, I can go back and tell him what I liked and didn’t like about each so we can refine things. Try that with a PDF…

15

They become less and less important - since I have more and more opportunity to taste myself from casks … and my experience with older vintages is still increasing.
However, if I´m not able to taste a wine myself it is always good to have a TN on hand … the value of it depends on the taster and my experience with his taste … if it matches my own palate … or not.

A good TN is also a good information WHAT maybe to taste next …
but now I would never buy a case of a wine that I haven´t tasted myself or at least have experience with other vintages … ok, maybe a bottle for trying: YES … but no huge quantities …

16

Rick;

If a wine has widespread distribution and it does have professional critics TNs posted, one may assume the reason is because it did get a rating below 85! Not always the case, but for many wines a good rule of thumb.

Also, if the professional critic’s TNs gives descriptors of the wine and 5 of 6 of the descriptors are oak or charred oak induced, that is a strong indication of the style of wine i.e. oak juice. Some people love oak juice, others might choose to pass. If reading a pro TNs can steer me away from more oak juice, I will definitely read the TN. I don’t need to buy a bottle to find out it’s oak juice myself. Guess you prefer the expense and the excitement. Each to his own.

So much wine so little time.

17

But if it doesn’t have notes it’s NOT safe to assume it got under 85. That’s been a repeated discussion on the 85 point cutoff - if people don’t see a wine they want to know if it wasn’t reviewed or reviewed and sub-85. And of course, there’s the issue of scoring itself.

Also, if the professional critic’s TNs gives descriptors of the wine and 5 of 6 of the descriptors are oak or charred oak induced, that is a strong indication of the style of wine i.e. oak juice. Some people love oak juice, others might choose to pass. If reading a pro TNs can steer me away from more oak juice, I will definitely read the TN. I don’t need to buy a bottle to find out it’s oak juice myself. Guess you prefer the expense and the excitement. Each to his own.

So much wine so little time.

No, I actually talk to the people I buy wine from. They know my palate and can steer me to dozens of great bottles. I’m not an idiot who buys randomly or a sheep who follows scores religiously. it’s called thought. More wine geeks should try it versus handing over their critical faculties to someone they’ve never met. And, after 15 years of buying wine, I have a lot of wine and I know a lot of producers who I like very much in different regions so I don’t need to buy new, sight unseen wines. I do occasionally because discovery is fun, but in those cases I either talk to the merchant or, for a $15 everyday wine, take a flyer.

18

Pretty shocked at the lack of votes for the wine merchant recommendations… For wines I’m unfamiliar with, they are #1. They have often tasted the wine more recently than the reviewers TN / score, and I try to shop at spots where the wine merchants have a similar palate to my own.

19

+1. None of the poll options really fit for me. I consider them, just like I consider all of the yahoos here. (I, too, am one of the yahoos!). It’s all information in a field where mystery is a component of the process.

20

I couldn’t quite find a choice that fit with me. I use CT frequently to see what general consensus is, but I’d hardly say that I “rely” on it.

As for professional scores I don’t use them at all. If I see that a wine I am buying has received a very good score that makes me hopeful that I will find agreement, but I never look to professional reviews before or when purchasing.