I listened to the I’ll drink to that podcast with john gilman and became interested in his newsletter but the expense gives some pause without seeing it. I read in the 2022 bordeaux thread that Gilman no longer samples Bordeaux. Most of my bottles are in the $25-75 range with the very occasional $100 bottle. A periodical that more or less reviews bottlings that are over this range does not interest me. Would this publication be useful to me or is it more aristocratic $300+ burgundy?
He will send you a sample issue on request
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Depends on what regions you’re interested in. Burgundy likely skews things (as does Champagne probably), but plenty of coverage on wines under $100. And as Joe mentioned, John will send you a sample issue on request
They’re right, he’ll send a sample.
He doesn’t cover recent release Bordeaux, but can be a good guide for overachievers in older claret. But he does do regular features on new release Italian, Spanish, German, Cali/Or , etc etc including lots (mostly actually) under $100.
Of course a lot depends on whether your palate tends to align (mine does). I’d also say that I get as much if not more out of the articles than tasting notes. I love the in depth looks at estates.
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Yeah that is what attracts me to him–looking for more elegant than the “massive” wines and vintages that seem to attract the 100 points. I will reach out for an issue thanks gang
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Not only does he send a sample, but if you have a specific area of interest he’ll send a couple issues with that area on request. I got a couple on his German wine coverage before subscribing.
I would re subscribe in a minute if he promised to bring back the Roadkill feature…
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Yeah that is part of my reluctance. John remarked that he removed the Roadkill feature pretty much because it offended the winemaker. I don’t want another publication where the desire to get free wine corrupts the piece to not be terrible useful.
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I’m a subscriber and a big fan of John’s work.
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That’s an overly cynical reading. As someone who both makes wine and reviews wines, I see both sides. John’s Roadkill feature hit a lot of legitimate targets, but there was also collateral damage. It’s awfully hard to tear up someone’s work of three+ years, especially when that work was sincere and heartfelt. I don’t think having qualms about that has anything to do with the desire to receive samples, especially as I doubt John would have any interest in samples from roadkill producers.
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Not only overly cynical, but I think untrue. As a subscriber, I don’t worry for a moment about JG’s ethics and have never had reason to believe he serves any masters other than his consumer subscribers.
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Fair enough. I don’t actually think that since I’ve never read any of his materials but just crossed my mind as something worth thinking about and I do agree with a lot said in the Bordeaux 2022 thread about extreme excess in 100 point scores and best ever vintages so maybe not that cynical. Yeah I definitely got the sense from this episode at least that he puts a lot of effort into the piece and he has a more elegant than “huge” focus which aligns with what I am looking for. I reached out to him for a complementary issue.
Disclaimer: I consider John a close friend, and have tasted and traveled with him extensively.
Samples are just that; if you write about wine you get boxes of the stuff, some solicited some not. It is a tool of the job and not a perk, especially when you are tasting many many wines a day.
I like John’s palate. I find greater alignment with mine than any other. If you like more traditional wines, he is an excellent source, and not just the Uber rare and expensive.
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That’s right.
Certainly, he pinpoints new American producers and producers in places like Bierzo that in the overall context of what we’re talking about rather quite affordable.
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Count me among his fans as well, though I, too, offer the disclaimer that we are friends and have done a bit of traveling and tasting together.
John’s tastes are consistent, his palate is sensitive, his knowledge extensive and his writing is top notch. He certainly has strong opinions, with which I don’t always agree, but I respect him for expressing them.
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I’ve known John 30 years, well before View, though only met and tasted w him once—Rhone wines, actually. But he set up an amazing Burg trip for me that he missed due to a health issue. He’s great!
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I would really love to see Gilman review modern Bordeaux vintages again. He’s such an aficionado of classic Bordeaux that I’d be very interested to see his take on the way things are going.
His Bordeaux reviews were one of the most valuable thing about VFTC to me because he was willing to differentiate wines and have a strong viewpoint on good and bad producers. When it comes to Burgundy he falls more into the “universal praise differentiated only by the score and number of adjectives” camp.
I guess it’s hard to be a critic and actively not like stuff. But give me a critic with a strong point of view. For all his faults Parker had that.
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My understanding from John, probably discussed by others up thread, is he stopped the en primeur Bordeaux feature based on user feedback about what to cut given bandwidth constraints (one person shop) and his desire to maintain certain features like themed tastings of older wines and in-depth winery reports. In other words readers wanted the young Burg reports more than the young Bordeaux reports. He can’t cover it all alone.
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That’s my understanding as well. Knowing John’s palate, I wouldn’t expect his readers would derive a lot of benefit from his reviews of modern Bordeaux, other than maybe some schaudenfreude.
Like others on this thread, I enjoy drinking with John quite a bit, even if we have very different opinions on certain regions (like burgundy).
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Personally I feel I would get value from his view of modern Bordeaux. It would be a signal of what wines remain trustworthy
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