Wine ratings
- Thread starter JoshA
- Start date
Dennis
Senior Insider
We're certainly guilty of "score shopping". There are so many choices on the shelves that a 90+ rating nudges our hand towards that bottle. Here in Chicago, we buy most of our juice at a fairly large place that has thousands of bottles. What they do that I like is have specialists for each region. If I want Italian, I seek out the Italian "guy". French, California, etc. have their own experts. We know, for example, that the Australian guy and our tastes are on similar wavelengths. So anything he recommends, we feel comfortable buying regardless of score or shelf talker.
Island Visitor
Senior Insider
I am not a huge fan of numeric ratings as an absolute though I do think it makes a nice starting point.
If you are comparing within varietals and one wine is a 95 while the other is a 78, pick the 95.
However, there is a bit of bias in any system that reflects the yearnings of the judges or authors of that system. While I am not an expert in wine, I know what I like. And one situation particularly shows me a lot. That is the issue of oaked chardonnays. When a chardonnay is produced in the small area of Chablis, France, or even in the larger area of the Maconnais, it usually spends a very short time (perhaps as little as three months) in oak casks. Because of this, such chardonnays come off svelte, crisp and refreshing.
California also produces fantastic chardonnays - with its climate making very dependable wines. Alas, about fifteen years ago there arose an arms race in Calchards to see who could produce the fullest, most complex chardonnays. This led, naturally, to oaking such that a Calchard may spend up to a year in oak casks with the oak imparting various flavors and textures to the resulting wine.
Eventually, oenophiles started describing Calchards in terms previously reserved for red grapes, and heavy ones at that. Terms like fullbodied, substantial, chewy, big in the mouth, lush, earthy came to describe what - in my view - can be and should be one of the most nimble and subtle of grapes.
And, egads, eventually claims went out that Calchards are "better" than French Chardonnay. I have never accepted this idea, though I do enjoy many Calchards. Even so, to me they should be given their own varietal due to the non-chardonnay manner in which they are treated.
A California chardonnay is like a busomy, boisterous fun woman that can both delight and overwelm with her lack of subtelty. A true French Chablis can be like a lithe French woman, polished, chic and appealing with her trim beauty.
So, to my unsophisticated palatte, the ratings are a ROUGH guide at best. I probably cant tell the difference between at 94 and an 89 when comparing varietals. On the other hand, I know what I like.
If you are comparing within varietals and one wine is a 95 while the other is a 78, pick the 95.
However, there is a bit of bias in any system that reflects the yearnings of the judges or authors of that system. While I am not an expert in wine, I know what I like. And one situation particularly shows me a lot. That is the issue of oaked chardonnays. When a chardonnay is produced in the small area of Chablis, France, or even in the larger area of the Maconnais, it usually spends a very short time (perhaps as little as three months) in oak casks. Because of this, such chardonnays come off svelte, crisp and refreshing.
California also produces fantastic chardonnays - with its climate making very dependable wines. Alas, about fifteen years ago there arose an arms race in Calchards to see who could produce the fullest, most complex chardonnays. This led, naturally, to oaking such that a Calchard may spend up to a year in oak casks with the oak imparting various flavors and textures to the resulting wine.
Eventually, oenophiles started describing Calchards in terms previously reserved for red grapes, and heavy ones at that. Terms like fullbodied, substantial, chewy, big in the mouth, lush, earthy came to describe what - in my view - can be and should be one of the most nimble and subtle of grapes.
And, egads, eventually claims went out that Calchards are "better" than French Chardonnay. I have never accepted this idea, though I do enjoy many Calchards. Even so, to me they should be given their own varietal due to the non-chardonnay manner in which they are treated.
A California chardonnay is like a busomy, boisterous fun woman that can both delight and overwelm with her lack of subtelty. A true French Chablis can be like a lithe French woman, polished, chic and appealing with her trim beauty.
So, to my unsophisticated palatte, the ratings are a ROUGH guide at best. I probably cant tell the difference between at 94 and an 89 when comparing varietals. On the other hand, I know what I like.
Ratings can be helpful but knowing what you like is better. The California - France controversy is a good illustration. To my palate, California wines come off as assertive whereas French wines are softer with an understated character. I like both. There used to be no mistaking a California chardonnay which shouted 'I spent a good bit of time in oak and developed this complex, buttery character' unlike the French equivalent. Nowadays, there seems to be a bit of a backlash, with some California chardonnays not leaving the stainless tanks. This leads to a simpler, more accessible wine which has the side benefit that it is also cheaper to produce.
Another style trend is making Marlborough-style sauvignon blancs with fragrant, citrus notes. Some of the Calfornia vintners have picked up on this and produced similar wines. I recently tasted a terrific and inexpensive fume blanc at Ferrari-Carano, for example.
To my taste, for Pinot Noirs, it is hard to beat some of the ones from coastal California (Sonoma, Mendocino). Maybe 'Sideways' has affected my palate. However, I still see the point of merlot especially in the Bordeaux-style blends, unlike the character in the film.
Another style trend is making Marlborough-style sauvignon blancs with fragrant, citrus notes. Some of the Calfornia vintners have picked up on this and produced similar wines. I recently tasted a terrific and inexpensive fume blanc at Ferrari-Carano, for example.
To my taste, for Pinot Noirs, it is hard to beat some of the ones from coastal California (Sonoma, Mendocino). Maybe 'Sideways' has affected my palate. However, I still see the point of merlot especially in the Bordeaux-style blends, unlike the character in the film.
Island Visitor
Senior Insider
I agree JoshA and have been quite gratified by the backlash against overoaked chardonnays in California. I have long maintained that while it may be more difficult to produce a world-class fullbodied wine than a world-class lightbodied wine, it is much easier to screw up a lightbodied wine. Where a fuller wine will have tannins and complexity to perhaps masquerade flaws, a lighter wine does not and any serious flaw assaults the palatte, unadorned with other virtues that may exist.
There does indeed seem to be a move back to basics when it comes to chardonnays and Californians beginning to realize the merits of simple, mouthpuckering crisp chardonnays. Even so, the judges at competions still seem to favor the complex chards over the simple ones. To each his own.
As to Sauvignon Blanc, I have waxed and waned in my (under)appreciation of that grape, having not had the good fortune of trying better bottles in my youth. Many of my early forays into that realm convinced me that SBs produce smokey oaky type wines. Only later tastings have shown me the error of that view and I now enjoy the more citrus spirit of a good SB.
I never saw the movie Sideways, though I am familiar that there was a wine discussion in it. While I like Merlots and Pinoit Noirs from California (with places such as the Russian River Valley particularly suited to reds, most notably Zins and Cabsavs) I have found especially attractively priced Merlots and Pinot Noirs from Oregon and Washington state. The lower summer temperatures and higher rainfall seem to produce fat, juicy grapes that lend themselves to fruity and lush wines. And the prices are modest.
I have also sipped my way through Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Spain and multiple other countries. One that has jumped dead-center on the radar in recent years is Italy. For years, Italy had no real system of standards such as the French system. The various naming schemes for Italian wines were little more than product IDs and had nothing to do with cases produced, varietals planted, etc. In the last twenty years, Italy has corrected much of this and now produces outstanding wines covering a spectrum of varietals not usually found in france, or, curiously, not found in abundance in california yet either.
I initially gravitated toward the Pinot Grigio as a protest against oaky Calchards, seeking a light and crisp summer refreshment. And while my love of the PG continues, the true genius of Italian wines is often found in their reds, from the sangiovese, to nebbiolo to barbera and beyond.
Next time you have a perfect "Merlot Night" (chill in the air, perhaps a cold rain falling, warm toasty fire in the fireplace) reach for a lush Italian red as a substitute.
Your tastebuds will thank you.
There does indeed seem to be a move back to basics when it comes to chardonnays and Californians beginning to realize the merits of simple, mouthpuckering crisp chardonnays. Even so, the judges at competions still seem to favor the complex chards over the simple ones. To each his own.
As to Sauvignon Blanc, I have waxed and waned in my (under)appreciation of that grape, having not had the good fortune of trying better bottles in my youth. Many of my early forays into that realm convinced me that SBs produce smokey oaky type wines. Only later tastings have shown me the error of that view and I now enjoy the more citrus spirit of a good SB.
I never saw the movie Sideways, though I am familiar that there was a wine discussion in it. While I like Merlots and Pinoit Noirs from California (with places such as the Russian River Valley particularly suited to reds, most notably Zins and Cabsavs) I have found especially attractively priced Merlots and Pinot Noirs from Oregon and Washington state. The lower summer temperatures and higher rainfall seem to produce fat, juicy grapes that lend themselves to fruity and lush wines. And the prices are modest.
I have also sipped my way through Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Spain and multiple other countries. One that has jumped dead-center on the radar in recent years is Italy. For years, Italy had no real system of standards such as the French system. The various naming schemes for Italian wines were little more than product IDs and had nothing to do with cases produced, varietals planted, etc. In the last twenty years, Italy has corrected much of this and now produces outstanding wines covering a spectrum of varietals not usually found in france, or, curiously, not found in abundance in california yet either.
I initially gravitated toward the Pinot Grigio as a protest against oaky Calchards, seeking a light and crisp summer refreshment. And while my love of the PG continues, the true genius of Italian wines is often found in their reds, from the sangiovese, to nebbiolo to barbera and beyond.
Next time you have a perfect "Merlot Night" (chill in the air, perhaps a cold rain falling, warm toasty fire in the fireplace) reach for a lush Italian red as a substitute.
Your tastebuds will thank you.
JEK
Senior Insider
I had another bottle of Mike Grgich's anniversary wine last night. If you love whites, you must find one.
Grgich Hills
Grgich Hills
Island Visitor
Senior Insider
JEK et Denis: Yum and yum.
