Who do you trust most

WINE TALK
81

I believe that number is 50.

82

Poll max is 20 choices

83

I live in Norway, so things are a bit different here, but we still get access to the same critics in addition to our own (I like Steen Öhman, JLL, Jancis Robinson, Neal Martin and Arne Ronold (the first Norwegian MW who also is the editor of a wine magazine here).

However, for me this often works differently and these are my main reasons for buying:

  • Never tried the grape/region/producer etc. (i.e. it appeals to my curiosity), it’s reasonably priced (less than $35 or so) and does not have a very tacky label (they tend to mean something very oaky, overprocessed etc).

  • It’s Burgundy, the price is not absurd, it’s not 2011/2004, someone says it’s worth trying and I’ve never tried it before.

  • It’s nebbiolo from Italy and it’s not from Barolo or Barbaresco.

  • It’s been recommended by a friend whos palate I trust.

84

No Gilman or Meadows to choose from? [scratch.gif] [scratch.gif]

85

I don’t find critics particularly useful, at least not in isolation. I look to CT notes, not scores, particularly for trusted tasters. Typically between this board and a general understanding of regional vintage variations it’s hard to imagine that many wines are really complete unknowns any more. If a wine is completely unknown, for whatever reason, I find a professional score of extremely limited value. Even knowing someone’s palate, with just one data point I have little confidence any more. I do find some value in triangulating with critic scores and other data such as CT and this board.

86

Serious question? If so, I typically make someone a favorite taster if there is a high degree of overlap between their findings and my own, if they write notes that convey the information I want on a wine, and particularly if they also drink many of the wines I’m drinking and/or looking to purchase.

87

It was a serious question, and thanks for the answer. There are 502,000 registered CT users. I assume, as in most things that the vast majority rarely or never actually use the s/w, but still there are many, many thousands of users who do. How do you develop the posting history necessary to determine “a high degree of overlap?” There are a handful of posters I see recurring (Leve, for one. K Shin for another. R Jennings also) but it would take a lot of work to determine whether I should make Mr Doofus a favored taster, wouldn’t it? Do you have a spreadsheet that plots points of agreement with scores/hundreds/thousands of CT users to allow the cream to rise to the top?

If I were to isolate a dozen or so people I recognize and with whom I usually agree, then CT notes become very much like the TNs on this board, which I do find useful. But the signal to noise ratio on CT has always seemed so dramatically out of whack that I would never bother to do what apparently would be necessary to compile such a list, and this board more or less does it for me.

88

Neal,
I do the same as Michael. If I see a note in CT by a random author, and that note seems to be particularly insightful/accurate, imo, I will sometimes look at that author’s other notes to see if their other notes are similarly useful to me. I will also sometimes look at their cellar holdings to see if their interests overlap mine. These inquiries (which can take as little as one minute) often help me identify a person to mark as a “favorite taster.” Other “favorite tasters” are folks I know either from online or from meeting them in person.

89

You can also go to My Reports → Tasting Notes → About My Wine and get a listing of tasting notes others have made on wines in your cellar. Then, peruse these notes and you’ll possibly find some notes you agree with on bottles you’ve consumed recently.

90

There is still time for my fan club to rally and vote for me!

How can this cruel world only give one vote to a man who has given so very many points to others?

91

Ha! OK, thanks very much for posting (you too Michael). I am glad it works for you, but I just tried this, starting with the wine I have on deck for tonight, and I saw notes from the last 4 months that said it was gorgeous right now, 5 years to early, drink-now warnings, ratings from the mid-80s (with a positive note) to 97. It’s at its best and would never get any better or needs at least 5 years before it can be enjoyed. It is either elegant or huge and fruit forward. Following some of these notes back to their authors led only to more confusion.

Again, if it works for you that is fantastic. Maybe I am just not patient enough to follow the rabbit trails to find consistency from individual tasters.

92

OMG! He probably has no idea how ridiculous he looks in that photo. [rofl.gif]

93

Really, my method only works for wines I’ve already tasted; otherwise, how am I to know who’s “right” and who’s “wrong”?

I will admit, I don’t go through this process nearly as often as I used to, as I now have a pretty substantial (and helpful) base of “favorite tasters” built up.

… and, if, over time, I find a “favorite taster’s” notes to be “wrong,” or not helpful, I will simply remove them as a “favorite taster.”

94

Agreed. That picture should be in the dictionary next to the word “fop.”

fop
fäp/Submit
noun
a man who is concerned with his clothes and appearance in an affected and excessive way; a dandy.
synonyms: dandy, man about town, poseur;

I can’t even believe he got the one vote. Perhaps he’s a member? [wow.gif]

95

Scoff if you must, but this is, in fact, the finest photograph ever taken.

96

I think the big difference is that I don’t go looking for people to add to this list by looking at a particular wine and hoping to find correlation. Rather, I tend to see a note I like and agree with, particularly for a wine I’ve tasted and found similar results, and add someone that way. I’d also say that often (if not always) I remember that the same poster has had multiple notes that I’ve found informative before adding them to the list.

97

I said CT community consensus. For one thing more current than critics notes most of the time. I don’t subscribe to any of the critics.