What if ?

WINE TALK
1

It was some buzz around here and there about a blind tasting of an honorable organisation where Robert Parker fails to recognize some outstanding wines while some guests at this tasting did recognize some. I do not care too much about that since you have more chance playing in Vegas than finding the name of a cru in such a group.

(Well : maybe we have to finance Kevin Shin for a week-end in Vegas ?)

What bothers me a lot (well, I over do it) is that the Organizers of such tastings stay quietly inside the big names. I never saw such a tasting in USA or elsewhere, as in the GJE, where some very modest names, but known as well done, are not included in these tastings. So, here are my questions :

a : is that a fact because due to the cost they charge, the guests expect to drink only big names ?

b : is that they do not want to embarass such honorary guest as Robert Parker or who ever else ?

c : is that they do not find these “unknown” wines (Sociando-Mallet, Haut-Carles, Rollan de By, Haut-Condissas, Reignac, Haut-Mazéris, Fleur Cardinale, Poujeaux, Branas-Grand-Poujeaux) and so are unable to put them inside the tastings ?

d : or simply, they are a pure example of the “political correct” and do not want to trouble their relations with the big guns or appear as the Che Guevarra of Bordeaux tastings ?

One day, we have to understand that, if any amateur is eager to have informations about the classified or equivalent, most of them do not have simply the money to buy Latour, Petrus, Lafite or, worse, to drink them. If this is also the case in the USA as it is in Europe, then, it is time to be convinced that those who will mix in the same tastings the top and some others will certainly gain some interest.

I just dream one day of some “sleepers” in the 80’ or 90’ to be tasted blind with the top scores of the same vintages. That will be a fascinating subject to discuss, no ?

2

My observation as an outsider ove the past few years is that people who earn their
money with wine get very delicate when it comes to taking “risk”, i.e. something
challenging their “infallible” status.

So, based on the fact that blind tasting implicitly have a large potential to be wrong
with ones opinion I vote for your theory b (with a bit of d thrown in).

Cheers
Christian

3

People can be VERY conservative when it comes to Bordeaux.

It’s not just that it is comfortable to stay with the tried-and-true labels, but that the selection in Bordeaux is simply so huge that many people don’t even attempt to discover rising stars, or call their preferences into question.

Many foreigers equate Bordeaux with the great growths (when, taken together, they only amount to about 5% of total production…) and do not have the time or inclination to go any further than that.

In other words, to the extent that many consumers equate tasting competitions with horse races or the Olympic games, the dice are loaded BECAUSE, as you rightly say, entry is restricted!

Unfortunately, I really don’t see this changing. Heck, even getting into the Grand Jury tastings must not be easy, with many worthy candidates left by the wayside…

The answer to this? How to make things more fair? I think the only solution at present is for consumers to experiment on their own UNTIL such time as a new generation of wine writers/wine critics specializing in Bordeaux really does their homework and shares their results with us.

Best regards,
Alex R.

4

My guess is ‘A’. Because of the price charged and in order to attract people they stick to the big names. They do offer other tastings at lower prices with more moderate wines but these are usually US wines like a tasting of Zinfandels.

I’ve never been to an EWS tasting. I prefer to do similar tastings over dinner with friends. I’m less interested in evaluating and scoring the wines than I am in just having fun. We try to bring the more highly rated wines but many also bring a second bottle of lower stature.

5

I have been to EWS and they run a very fine organization. A friend of mine attended this session and placed the left and right bank wines correctly on each bank, except for one wine. I don’t think Bob did well even on his estimate of which wines were from the left versus right banks.

It would be great for EWS to include one or two “lesser” wines for purposes of evaluation. But rather than emphasize the blind tasting aspect, they emphasize simply evaluating wines of a certain category–such as the top wines from the acclaimed 2005 Bordeaux. This forms their mission, and “lesser” wines would not fit into the topic.

All that said, I think they should consider putting in one or two wines from the region outside the category, to see how the tasters evaluate them and where they place the wines.

6

Any tasting note on a young, classified growth Bordeaux, which doesn’t involve following the wine for at least a WEEK, is simply worthless.

You learn NOTHING about a wine from taking isolated, singleton, five-minute snapshots of it.

7

I think there’s a combination of factors. First is that for the price they kind of have to serve name wines. Second, the theme will attract some people (taste the top 15 Parker rated 2005s). Third, most of the people who will drop several hundred dollars on a tasting can buy the wines you refer to and pop them at will - but they might balk at opening one if their top end wines. Fourth, there’s ego and prestige involved… going to a tasting of elite wines is special. And lastly, the tastings that we hear about are the high end ones esp those that involve a name like Parker. A large group tasting of lesser known Bordeaux in Seattle isn’t going to get the press that the recent EWS tasting gets. People remark on the exception, not the common.

8

Interesting, especially in view of the fact that Parker started out (30 years ago) lambasting the great crus for under performing and also suggesting that one could often do as well by buying lesser wines.]

9

I have never been to EWS, but it seems their purpose is different from GJE (which I have also never been to). They are arranging for a fun evening of serious wine tasting. They are not necessarily trying to find the best wines, only to compare the wines that would generate attendance vis-a-vis the price they charge. I am not sure people would as readily pay that kind of money to find out they like a wine at a third (or less) the cost than the wines in their own cellar. Moreover, I am not sure it sounds like as much “fun” as trying the top 15 wines.

There is room for both, and many more ways, to organize a wine tasting.

10

For the Parker event, Parker chooses the wines.

In this tasting, the only wine not suggested by him, was the 2005 Le Gay, chosen by Bob Millman.

I have spoken to Millman about the wine selection.

11

Wow… the attendees will be pissed off when they hear they wasted their money.

12

This is just not true.