Exactly. Nuff said.
WK is brilliant and seems like a fun guy to hang with.
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I find Erin Larkinās work for the WA to be excellent. Especially, given her videos on Youtube. Personally, she is doing a fascinating job covering Australia; highlighting more wines than just the big muscular Barossa Shiraz like so many before her did.
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I remember when I first read that from Parker I thought he was saying that the wine was poorly shipped from France to the US - not uncommon, esp. in those days. It was only later that I learned that others thought the comment was more disparaging than that.
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I really like William Kelley writing and also resubscribed to the Wine Advocate after not doing so for many years because of him.
Two questions about the OPās comment. I donāt like the word ātheā. As others have said, while William is fabulous, there are today a number of excellent wine writers and it would be more accurate to say that William is a worthy successor to Robert Parker.
Second, also as others have said, I donāt believe there is such a thing as an objective tasting note, nor should there be. When a wine writer says his tasting notes are objective, I think they are being arrogant and saying their palate is the right one and everyone elseās is wrong. I donāt remember William ever making such an arrogant suggestion.
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Agree, but he shouldnāt let his mother post here under a pseudonym.
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Thanks, Marco, for pointing out Erin Larkinās Youtube videos. Great viewing, especially enjoyed herās with Wiliam Kelly in Burgundy, taped in the rain. The two together make for a nice pairing.
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Perhaps, but if you spread him too thinly then the excellent depth of his coverage would be sadly diluted.
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I agree. He has such penetrating observations on the areas he covers - itās hard to do that in more places without losing the depth of knowledge that lets you make those observations in the first place.
Can we clone him?
The true successors of Parker are Dunnuck, LPB and Jeff Leve. This is the legacy of Parker taken to its logical conclusion.
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Maybe mentioned already, but I think John Gilman is also great overall. He doesnāt review a lot of wines I look for, but when he does heās notes are both informative and unfailing for my palate especially for whites and bubbly. When I see scores listed with a wine, itās Kelley and Gilman that I look for (I do use Dunnuck as a reverse indicator sometimes).
I always thought the problem with parker and burgs was that he didnāt understand that red burgundy shuts down and couldnāt believe that good pinot-based wines could have tannins and yet be great wines that just needed to age.
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I agree with Maureen.
In my humble opinion, Robert Parker did not understand red Burgundy as William Kā¦
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Yes - specially with a glass of red burgundy in our hands !!
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Yep. Agree 100%
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And I will add to that that there will never be another Robert Parker. I remember being pretty young and watching him on 60 Minutes with my family.
No other wine critic will ever make there way into the American household like that. He was the Ralph Nader of wine. And heās a beautiful human being to boot.
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I still like to go back and read Parkerās original Bordeaux and Rhone books. It got weird after a while, though. Parkerization was open-loop feedback. I like Williamās notes and articles, and itās great that heās really exploring the impact of farming on the wines. Amazing to have his interaction here as well.
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Iām a fan of Williamās and got to hang out with him a bit when he was in Santa Barbara. Very talented young man with a great palate.
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I have been taking a break, my mental health 
. I love William Kelley the wine geek, I hate what he does with prices, with champagne he is too partisan and does not cover enough to be a great independent critic.
I also feel like all critics these days, he is too much in love with the luxury side and for this reason there will only ever be one Robert Parker. Also,no other critic could convey the gist of wine in simple language like Parker could. Agree with his taste or disagree with his taste, that is another matter.
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Comparing critics from different eras is like comparing athletes it is impossible. Today there are so many more wines, critics, technology, amateur reviewers, etc. that no one will ever have the singular influence Parker had.
Having said that William is the only reviewer who can move markets in a way that was similar to Parker. I just got back from a quick trip to Burgundy and there was much talk about his influence. Let me be clear there is universal respect for his knowledge and passion and even praise for his personal wine project. What is troubling is his impact on prices. I think of all current critics he has the best combination of in-depth knowledge, work ethic, tech savvy, unrelenting drive and its obvious he is a true wine geek. I have zero idea why he is still at the Wine Advocate. ZERO. He could easily have his own publication and my quess is he will at some point.
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