Spain ---> Great News ----> Jay Miller = Don't open !!!

WINE TALK
1

Jay says another great vintage. http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=216152

Can’t wait for his reviews!!

I just has to have me the new Sierra Carche! [winner.gif]

2

Steve:

The best part is a few posts below when David Dain Smith writes:

“Thank you Dr. Miller.
Forgive my ignorance, but what variety are the whites from Galicia you mention? I am enamored by albarino of late and would like to learn more about Spanish white wine…do tell.”

and Miller replies:

“Hello David
Primarily Albarino, Verdejo, and Godello. Wines made from these grapes (most of them unoaked) have become increasingly popular in the past few years both for quallity and value”.

Verdejo is not an authorized white grape in Galicia or any of it surrounding DO’s. Miller can not even state correctly which are the white grapes for a region in Spain, so why should we seriously take his recommendations on the next “superb” vintage in Spain?

SALUDos,
José

3

And, according to Victor de la Serna, half of the country is not such a good vintage.

I am just curious which wines Jay Miller has tasted to determine 2009 is such a great vintage.

Many of us thought that Jeff Leve fist pumping about 2009 BDX, without having tasted any wine, was extremely careless. Now, a wine critic, is doing the same thing?

Aren’t these the types that Robert Parker called “irresponsible blobbers?”

Quite the double standard, I suppose.

Jose,

Is Verdejo grown in Galicia, and just not recognized? Or, does it not even exist?

FYI, I have been consuming 2008 Shaya since T Bone’s recommendation. Great QPR.

4

Dan:

I also wondered which wines Miller tried to make such a statement. Especially which reds.

Not sure which red wines Miller has tasted this early in the game but his statement of a “superb” vintage is worst than Leve’s 2009 Bordeaux fist pumping. Leve is not a critic but at least he was there, talked to the winemakers and tried some of the grapes at the estates.

I was in Spain the last two weeks in October and while I had my share of wines of 2009 reds from the fermentation tanks in some of Ribera del Duero and Rioja top estates and I would not venture to state it is a “superb” vintage in those areas. Some of them were very good to excellent but it is still very early to tell. Even though some winemakers were happy with the grapes they were fermenting, none of them stated it was as good as 2004 or even 2005 at that stage.

There is an interesting article from a blogger that interviewed a few winemakers from Ribera del Duero and Rioja just before harvest and everyone was already calling it a difficult vintage due to excessive heat and drought conditions.

Regarding Verdejo in Galicia, I can not vouch there is zero Verdejo vines there. There might be a few vines mixed in with the local varietals in old vineyards there. What I know is that Verdejo is not an authorized grape in Monterrei, Rías Baixas, Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro or Valdeorras so you will not see anything labeled Verdejo from Galicia. I also do not think the wet and cool climate of Galicia is ideal for Verdejo.

What I know is that on two posts on that thread, Greg Tatar provided more useful and detailed information about Spanish white grapes and wines than Miller has in his three plus years as the WA Spanish wine “expert”. For free. No need to pay for a WA subscription if you are looking for Spanish wine advice.

SALUDos,
José

5

It is just funny to me, how quickly, we can refer to someone as an expert, but a deeper look, actually shows that these people are no different than us.

Thanks for the link to the blog, apparently, Peter Sisseck (Pingus) was less enthused about the vintage than Jay Miller.

6

Jose and Dan: I was laughing like hell when I read the thread, and the replies from some. [rofl.gif]

7

Just painful. Honestly, I can’t laugh at this.

This just has the beginnings of an ugly end. If someone posts that Verdejo is not authorized, I see that spinning out of control very quickly.

8

Ian,

Greg T. did post it, but in a very “nice” way.

Why show how stupid Jay is, when he shows it, all by himself, everyday, right?

9

parker should hire greg tatar to cover spain. he clearly knows more than jay miller.

10

Ditto that. It is funny to talk about “Spain” being great, as if every place that grows grapes in the entire country is going to have the same fabulous year.

11

Or Jose…Jose taught Greg! [welldone.gif]

12

What a doofus.

13

Joe

You call me that again…

14

lol. I think you know what direction that was aimed.

15

Joe, you call me that again…

16

Youse guys are a real riot. [suicide.gif]

17

Yeah! Daniel may be a schlub, but he’s no doofus!!!

18

Was this too unkind, given the season?

http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showpost.php?p=2823971&postcount=33" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

19

OF course it wasn’t. The guy is wacky for writing what he did in that thread. Of course, some “supportive” whacko will come here or post over there saying the opposite. blahblah

20

I don’t think that technical details like grape variety really fits into the WA schema of wine reviewing though.

In other words, it doesn’t really matter what grape goes into the wines but what it tastes like. Uniqueness or specialness doesn’t really show up in the guide to the numbers, does it? I honestly think that knowing what is in the wine is, at best, filler for the review. As a proxy for RP, Jay’s knowledge is wholly and completely irrelevant.

A.