The 2012 [Barolo Pira Vecchie Viti] is dense and layered, > with striking translucency that plays off the more overt elements. > … 96+ points Antonio Galloni (Vinous Media)
Interactive translucency? ![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}
They are probably asking,“Where is my mind?”, as they are trying to come up with new and fantastic ways to describe wine…
You are so opaque!
Great example of how critic bullshit buzzword bingo isn’t helpful to consumers… We can’t even understand what it is supposed to mean.
As for transparency vs translucency, since we’ve already established that Galloni uses words he doesn’t understand, should we assume he mean the former but used the latter under the false assumption they mean the same thing?
So if “transparency” is what he meant, I wonder how Mr. Galloni thinks it “play(s) off the more overt elements”?
Either he is secretly using a deep learning program to auto-generate wine reviews for him, or he’s trained himself to write like one, but in either case there is very little actual information there. It’s like the inverse of the Turing Test, where a human demonstrates they are indistinguishable from a machine
Winemakers everywhere are scrambling to get that cast iron skillet note in their wines now to produce that “wow” factor.
"100 out of 100…Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Pontet-Canet is a little shut down to begin, but with coaxing this baby is soon firing on all cylinders with a full-throttle nose of chocolate-covered cherries, crème de cassis, boysenberries and spice cake plus tons of kirsch and cranberry sauce sparks and a beautiful undercurrent of emerging tertiary characters: cigar box, sandalwood, chargrill, truffles and > cast iron pan> . Full-bodied, rich, multilayered and completely seductive, the palate is charged with incredible energy, with a firm backbone of velvety tannins and seamless freshness providing solid grounding and promising a very long life ahead. It finishes with an incredible display of epically long-lasting flavor fireworks. > Wow!> " - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate
Agree… I made this very comment (that many of his notes read like they were generated by an AI) earlier in this thread.
And, yes, it still doesn’t really make sense.
Either he is secretly using a deep learning program to auto-generate wine reviews for him, or he’s trained himself to write like one
This is funny. Particularly the second alternative. As LPB would say - “wow!”
So I did a search and here are some more cast iron pans for John:
2016 Hartford Court Far Coast Pinot Noir 96 POINTS
“Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2016 Hartford Court Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard reveals a beautifully fruity nose of warm raspberries, preserved cherries and mulberries with hints of red roses, underbrush, wild blueberries and cast iron pan with a touch of truffles. Medium-bodied with a solid frame of very fine-grained tannins, the palate delivers vibrant red and blue fruit layers and a long, perfumed finish.”- Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, October 2018
And this:
2017 Chateau Ausone St. Emilion WA97-99Wine Advocate
Blended of 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Ausone offers up slowly emerging notes of crushed black plums, blackberries and mulberries with nuances of anise, violets, new leather and unsmoked cigars plus suggestions of black olives and truffles and a touch of cast iron pan. Medium to full-bodied with firm, very finely grained, super ripe tannins and an uplifting backbone of freshness perfectly supporting the profoundly layered, tightly wound yet incredibly intense fruit, it finishes very long with mineral accents and compelling tension.
Here’s a bonus just for John, who loves this:
“The 2017 Ausone is a total stunner. That’s all there is to it. 95-98 points” Antonio Galloni
Château Margaux 2016
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Château Margaux (blended of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot) sashays out of the glass with glamorous red currants, candied violets, kirsch and crushed blackcurrants scents followed by notions of tilled black soil, forest floor, cast iron pan and cigar box with subtle wafts of lavender and oolong tea. Medium-bodied, mineral laced accents hover over the palate with an ethereal sensation of weightlessness, yet it is super intense with layers of red and black flavors supported by a firm texture of silt-fine tannins, finishing wonderfully fragrant and incredibly long." - Lisa Perotti-Brown, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (11/30/2018, Interim Issue), Ratings: 99
Leoville Las Cases 2016 100 WA
Very deep purple-black colored, the 2016 Léoville Las Cases (composed of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc) is quite closed to begin, yet with patient coaxing it unfurls beautifully to reveal suggestions of ripe blackcurrants, black raspberries, warm redcurrants and wild blueberries, followed by touches of unsmoked cigars, tilled red soil, cast iron pan, fallen leaves and lavender plus wonderfully fragrant wafts of lilacs and baking spices. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with tightly knit, very subtle layers of minerals, floral notions and black and red berries, all framed by exquisitely ripe, silt-like tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. Simply captivating even in its youth, give it at least a decade in the cellar and then enjoy it over the next 50+ years. - Lisa Perotti-Brown, Wine Advocate
So apparently cast iron pan means something specific for LPB. I cook with them every few days and can’t imagine what it is - I’ve never actually tried to eat the pan itself.
OMG, where to start?!
That’s an epic [sic] harvest, Greg.
“Sashays out of the glass”? ![[rofl.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/a/a7452fcd8e675af869f8da01174474a545b03944.gif "rofl"){kind=small}
What’s with the warm raspberries and redcurrants? And how is a warm red currant different from a glamorous one?
“Silt-like tannin” doesn’t sound very appealing.
“Wow” seems to be contagious:
2015 Guigal Cote Rotie Ch D’Ampuis
JD 96-98
(T)he 2015 Côte Rôtie Château D’Ampuis reveals a deep ruby/purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of smoked black fruits, caramelized blackcurrants, leady herbs, ground pepper, and earth. It’s deep, rich, massively concentrated, and a powerhouse of a wine that’s going to need bottle age, but > wow> , what a wine!"-Jeb Dunnuck
…at a loss for words? This might honestly be his best note to date! He didn’t wade too deep into the miry lexicon.
and, by covering 4 of the possible 12 points, he blanketed a lot of territory. But really, folks, isn’t Ausone 95-98 every year? Who needs this clown?
Just read a tasting note in the Spectator that used “durian” in the description.
I could see it; durians are distinctly sulfurous. At least there’s a real thing that the taste can be compared to (unlike say ‘beams of tannin’)
I have to pick on my friend Leve for using two terms that I have never seen before in a note - caliginous and mellifluous!
2018 Les Carmes Haut Brion – Caliginous in hue, the wine exudes tobacco, smoke, blackberry, pepper, flowers, and spearmint. On the palate, you’ll find density with lift, intensity with complexity, sweetness with verve. The fruit shows a sublime sense of purity, similar to picking grapes off the vine during harvest and eating them right there. The finish matches power with elegance and length. The deep, opulent, mellifluous, mineral accented fruits just don’t want to quit and they remain with you for at least 60 seconds. From a blend of 37% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 29% Merlot and reaching 13.75% alcohol with a pH of 3.61, the wine was made using 55% whole bunches during fermentation. Currently aging in 75% new, French oak barrels, 15% in foudre and 10% in amphora for 18-24 months before bottling. The harvest took place September 13 to September 28. 98–100
Caliginous > in hue
Excellent work Robert!
Question - are there bonus points for finding new words like this? If so, Robert gets them. I’ve never seen it used in a TN before either.
Not quite sure I get it though - doesn’t hue mean color or more specifically, the intensity or saturation of the color? And caliginous means murky or maybe even gloomy, so it’s murky wine? Muddy?
Still, it’s a nice find. Kind of like finding a delicious mushroom as you walk by the drainage ditch.
I recall using the words “pellucid” and “mellifluous” in an appeal brief that I wrote for a senior partner when I was in my first year. I was trying to impress with my Editor in Chief bona fides, thinking I was hot sh*t. And the words actually worked well in the context. Then he sat me down and said, “Mr. Alfert, people around here just don’t speak like this.” We had more country folk on our benches back then . . . .
He didn’t like the words “clear” or “clearly,” either. Telling me, “Mr. Alfert, if it were so clear, they wouldn’t need us lawyers, would they?”
I stood corrected . . . .
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I love the word mellifluous. I had to look up caliginous: misty, dim, dark, obscure. It’s a little glib for a wine reference, but, it’s a cool word, and might work well if the author were waxing poetically, or some other form of “gushing”, if you will. I’ll give that one to Leve!
Well, Jeffois has been known to wax off poetically with this “liquid sex” reference. I think once even smothered in chocolate. ![[wow.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/7/7d450e9830889c8943b674446a21b7254cad657e.gif "wow"){kind=small}
He is so Hollywood! 
Well then the new word will have to be caligulated!