It's critic bingo! (energetic, vertical, explosive beams of tannin)

[Charlie_Carnes]

Well, Jeffois has been known to wax off poetically with this “liquid sex” reference. I think once even smothered in chocolate.

[Jeff_Leve]

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

I’ve made the big time! My first note is ready for its beating. I can take it. John Morris, anytime you’re ready. FWIW, Caliginous is used as dark or black in this case.

[John_Morris]

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?”

Reminds me of using “blunderbuss” in a draft of a brief only to be told by the partner to take it out because our judge would have to look it up.

Some years later, I finally got to employ it, referring to some discovery requests in securities fraud litigation with 20 consolidated cases and countless firms, all before a judge who was fully literate.

To my horror, when the other defendants’ replies arrived in the mail a few days later, it turned out that one of them had also used “blunderbuss.” I checked the signature on the brief and saw that it was an associate who was a friend of a friend of mine. We’d never met or spoken, but I called him up to complain. I explained that I’d been waiting years to use that word and he had no right to use it on the same day. He responded that he’d been waiting years to use it, too.

Thirty years later, we remain fast friends.

[Robert.A.Jr]

Well then the new word will have to be caligulated!

Jeff, you will become Urban Dictionary cult classic if you use this one!!!

Easily adds 2 points! And 2 inches.

[Jonathan_Loesberg]

Surely caligulated means to be turned into a Caligula like person. Is this a good thing for a wine? Or for a person for that matter?

[Marcu_Stanley]

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

Jeff’s critical metaphors are always helpful in motivating me to save money. For example, this review motivates me to just buy some fresh grapes and eat them rather than spending $150+ on Carmes Haut Brion. Other reviews have inspired me to just spend five bucks on chocolate covered cherries rather than $200 on high end Pomerol

[Robert.A.Jr]

Surely caligulated means to be turned into a Caligula like person. Is this a good thing for a wine? Or for a person for that matter?

Knowing Charlie, there was a sexual connotation here - two words merged, think about it - but with your interpretation, would be the same as me calling some of Rolland’s creatures, Frankenwines.

[Charlie_Carnes]

Hey, Robert is right. I was just funnin’ with words that were already in play. I mean, wax off, liquid sex, and smothered in chocolate… plus new word that rhymes… it was an easy segue. Plus notice my love for Leve in bold on my first quote. I do like the word caliginous.

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!

[Jonathan_Loesberg]

I thought it was pretty clear I was playing around and not criticizing Charlie or anyone else. But given Caligula, I’m fine with all the connections with sex and chocolate.

[John_Morris]

All class, but slightly repetitive.

The > 2016 Prieuré-Lichine > is > all class> . Floral, silky and > nuanced to the core> , the 2016 is a wine of pure and total seduction. Freshly cut flowers, vibrant red fruit and creamy tannins all add to the wine’s undeniable allure. In 2016, Prieuré-Lichine is > all class> , not to mention one of the sleepers of the vintage. > Don’t miss it! > Tasted two times. - Galloni, 96 points

“Nuanced to the core.”

[John_Morris]

Note the “Don’t miss it!” there, too. That’s become almost reflexive:

The 2015 Chianti Colli Fiorentini is a gorgeous wine and an absolutely screaming value. Plump, juicy and yet very classic in its mid-weight structure, the 2015 is terrific. Hints of tobacco, leather and spice round out this pliant, super-delicious Chianti from the Colli Fiorentini district. > Don’t miss it. > The 2015 was fermented and aged in concrete. 90 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous Media)

2015 Ch La Conseillante Pomerol
Newly-arrived Technical Director Marielle Cazaux turned out a jewel of a wine at La Conseillante in 2015, her debut vintage. A polished and super-sophisticated Pomerol, La Conseillante is > all class> . Precise, lifted aromatics make a strong first impression, but it is the wine’s overall feel and sense of harmony that truly dazzle. Over the last two years, the 2015 seems to have gained in freshness, precision and nuance. What a wine! The blend is 81% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc. > Don’t miss it. > -Antonio Galloni

The 2015 Ducru-Beaucaillou is phenomenally great. Inky, powerful and explosive, the 2015 > pulses with energy in all of its dimensions> . Creme de cassis, blackberry jam, graphite, smoke, leather and incense, along with the wine’s muscular tannins, convey an impression of brooding intensity. The 2015 has been nothing short of sensational on the two occasions I have tasted it so far. Readers should be prepared to be patient. > Don’t miss it! > -Antonio Galloni

“Pulses with energy in all of its dimensions.”

[Robert.A.Jr]

That’s funny, I was reading a note of his on a retailer email, I think for 2018 futures, and it also said, “Don’t miss it!”

I’ll track it down.

[John_Morris]

If someone can tell me what “built on texture, power and resonance” or “vertical in feel” mean, I’ll … tell them they’re full of BS.

Moccagatta Barbaresco Bric Balin 2016
“The 2016 Barbaresco Bric Balin is a prototypical Moccagatta wine > built on texture, power and resonance> . Black cherry and plum fruit show the interplay of ripeness and bright acids that is such a signature of the vintage. > Vertical in feel and yet also incredibly persistent> , the Bric Balin is a wonderfully complete wine. This rich, super-concentrated Barbaresco is going to need time to shed some of its baby fat, but it is super impressive, even in the early going.” 95 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous Media)

And why the “yet”? How is “vertical in feel” in contrast or opposition to “persistence”?

[crickey]

If someone can tell me what “built on texture, power and resonance” or “vertical in feel” mean, I’ll … tell them they’re full of BS.

Moccagatta Barbaresco Bric Balin 2016
“The 2016 Barbaresco Bric Balin is a prototypical Moccagatta wine > built on texture, power and resonance> . Black cherry and plum fruit show the interplay of ripeness and bright acids that is such a signature of the vintage. > Vertical in feel and yet also incredibly persistent> , the Bric Balin is a wonderfully complete wine. This rich, super-concentrated Barbaresco is going to need time to shed some of its baby fat, but it is super impressive, even in the early going.” 95 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous Media)

And why the “yet”? How is “vertical in feel” in contrast or opposition to “persistence”?

I’m guessing “resonance” is meant to be a synonym for length or persistence (it can mean a powerful, lasting effect).

As for the other, persistence is a time-related word, and I think of time horizontally (i.e., stretching out). So the “yet” of time horizon opposed to vertical is a reasonable connector.

What “vertical in feel” means, I have no idea, but then I’ve never understood Parker’s metaphor of a skyscraper either. Curiously, I think I understand depth in wine, which is the same spatial dimension, but height doesn’t make sense to me. Whatever.

[David_Glasser]

If someone can tell me what “built on texture, power and resonance” or “vertical in feel” mean, I’ll … tell them they’re full of BS.

Moccagatta Barbaresco Bric Balin 2016
“The 2016 Barbaresco Bric Balin is a prototypical Moccagatta wine > built on texture, power and resonance> . Black cherry and plum fruit show the interplay of ripeness and bright acids that is such a signature of the vintage. > Vertical in feel and yet also incredibly persistent> , the Bric Balin is a wonderfully complete wine. This rich, super-concentrated Barbaresco is going to need time to shed some of its baby fat, but it is super impressive, even in the early going.” 95 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous Media)

And why the “yet”? How is “vertical in feel” in contrast or opposition to “persistence”?

Who knows what any of these made-up, unique-to-the-writer terms mean? Maybe “vertical in feel” suggests falling off a cliff and “persistence” suggests hanging on? Not that that makes the meaning any clearer.

[PeterH]

Either he was drinking from a tall stem, or he was deep in the bottle.

[John_Morris]

I’m guessing “resonance” is meant to be a synonym for length or persistence (it can mean a powerful, lasting effect).

As for the other, persistence is a time-related word, and I think of time horizontally (i.e., stretching out). So the “yet” of time horizon opposed to vertical is a reasonable connector.

What “vertical in feel” means, I have no idea, but then I’ve never understood Parker’s metaphor of a skyscraper either. Curiously, I think I understand depth in wine, which is the same spatial dimension, but height doesn’t make sense to me. Whatever.

You are a very generous person.

[RichardFlack]

All class, but slightly repetitive.

The > 2016 Prieuré-Lichine > is > all class> . Floral, silky and > nuanced to the core> , the 2016 is a wine of > pure and total seduction. > Freshly cut flowers, vibrant red fruit and creamy tannins all add to the wine’s undeniable allure. In 2016, Prieuré-Lichine is > all class> , not to mention one of the sleepers of the vintage. > Don’t miss it! > Tasted two times. - Galloni, 96 points

“Nuanced to the core.”

Impure seduction would get my attention more…

[GregT]

If someone can tell me what “built on texture, power and resonance” or “vertical in feel” mean, I’ll … tell them they’re full of BS.

Moccagatta Barbaresco Bric Balin 2016
“The 2016 Barbaresco Bric Balin is a prototypical Moccagatta wine > built on texture, power and resonance> . Black cherry and plum fruit show the interplay of ripeness and bright acids that is such a signature of the vintage. > Vertical in feel and yet also incredibly persistent> , the Bric Balin is a wonderfully complete wine. This rich, super-concentrated Barbaresco is going to need time to shed some of its baby fat, but it is super impressive, even in the early going.” 95 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous Media)

And why the “yet”? How is “vertical in feel” in contrast or opposition to “persistence”?

I’m guessing “resonance” is meant to be a synonym for length or persistence (it can mean a powerful, lasting effect).

As for the other, persistence is a time-related word, and I think of time horizontally (i.e., stretching out). So the “yet” of time horizon opposed to vertical is a reasonable connector.

What “vertical in feel” means, I have no idea, but then I’ve never understood Parker’s metaphor of a skyscraper either. Curiously, I think I understand depth in wine, which is the same spatial dimension, but height doesn’t make sense to me. Whatever.

But then the “yet” makes less sense. It would mean (leaving out a few of the other descriptors) - “Built on persistence yet incredibly persistent.”

!!

Only in wine writing can you say less with more words than you can with no words.

The day is quite hot, yet extremely warm.

The synapses worked intermittently, yet fired sporadically.

[S_Rash]

If someone can tell me what “built on texture, power and resonance” or “vertical in feel” mean, I’ll … tell them they’re full of BS.

Moccagatta Barbaresco Bric Balin 2016
“The 2016 Barbaresco Bric Balin is a prototypical Moccagatta wine > built on texture, power and resonance> . Black cherry and plum fruit show the interplay of ripeness and bright acids that is such a signature of the vintage. > Vertical in feel and yet also incredibly persistent> , the Bric Balin is a wonderfully complete wine. This rich, super-concentrated Barbaresco is going to need time to shed some of its baby fat, but it is super impressive, even in the early going.” 95 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous Media)

And why the “yet”? How is “vertical in feel” in contrast or opposition to “persistence”?

A little Top Gun reference, “We’re going vertical Maceric!”