I’ve noted that recently my enjoyment of wine has changed drastically over the course of 20 years or so (which is when I first started enjoying wine), and thought it might be an interesting discussion.
As with many, once I became hooked, my goal was always to come up with as many aroma/flavor descriptions and adjectives as possible - the more creative and unique, the better, as was the trend at the time (many will remember the legends like Brad Coelho in that regard). ‘Bittersweet covered winter Montumorency cherries’, ‘multi-vitamin dust’, ‘fresh-sawn Alpine evergreens’, you get the point…
I’ve long since abandoned that practice, bringing it back only when a wine truly surprises me, which definitely happens from time to time, and during that time, I’m unencumbered in letting the descriptives flow, and delighted to experience it at that time.
For the most part, I’ve gone ‘lazy’ in my notes, instead concentrating only on non-academic pursuits of wine - simply enjoying it, with no pretense or specificity in mind. Do I like it? Do I love it? Am I not really impressed but I’ll drink it? Most often, the extent of my thought processes with wine are simply that, and, if it falls in the ‘do I love it?’ category (which could be an overwhelmingly positive response to the wine itself, or even just a moderately high level of enjoyment compounded with a fantastically low price tag, thus tagging it as ‘get more!’ in my mind, and often on CT or my iPhone Notes), I make a mental or written note of it. A few wines inspire me to write a formal tasting note, but perhaps only 10% of wines I consume. Perhaps I’ve gone lazy?
I have the great fortune of tasting wines in a more formalized setting, over a meal, organized into verticals or horizontals, often blind. These I enter with a more academic intent, of course, as the event is designed, and I so often learn how little I know in these tastings - perhaps from lack of ‘academic pursuits’ (memorizing a winemaker’s style, correctly targeting a vineyard or producer double-blind, convincingly proclaiming a vintage, etc) in the consumption of wine, perhaps because I’m an idiot. Either way, I don’t concern myself with those results, even if I’ve had some great success in the past, and possibly will find success in the future, principally because that’s not my ‘goal’ in the enjoyment of wine anymore - it’s simply that, ‘the enjoyment of wine’ to me now. Once the event has completed, I reflect briefly on what I’ve learned (hopefully!) and go back to the current norm. Many of my best ‘wine friends’ approach wine consumption in an academic, thoughtful manner all the time, and I gleefully learn from them (hence having Wine Berserkers, if you haven’t yet figured that part out - I can seep knowledge and opinion from thousands of wine lovers worldwide!)
As with many things, if not everything, it could be cyclical. I still love a perfect pairing when it happens, intentionally or accidentally, and often strive to match a wine with food, but my goal at present is more about finding wines and producers and vintages I love (and, if a combination of two or three, how fortuitous!) and re-upping the cellar with only those, whilst always looking for new (to me) producers or wines, recommended by Berserkers (all too often, thanks, jerks!) or fellow wine lovers during wine events.
Wondering if anyone else has reflected on how their enjoyment of wine has evolved through the years…if not, I guess this could constitute an ‘open letter’ 
(apologies for the rambling, I wrote this in a stream of consciousness - fortunately, we’ve reached ‘the end of wine writing’ and I may have just proven that)
I will say my thoroughness to take notes is also not really fun for me since I sell wine as a profession and do such types of things for work. I kind of just “vibe check” wines at home. Is this wine bringing me happiness? Does this wine feel like a chore to finish?