tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post1326772021268886210..comments2024-02-25T02:50:53.858-08:00Comments on HoseMaster of Wine™: A League of Their Rhône Rangers--Part TwoRon Washam, HMWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-31059688775231604812015-04-28T01:54:12.841-07:002015-04-28T01:54:12.841-07:00BREAKING NEWS . . .
From STEVE!
"An appreci...BREAKING NEWS . . .<br /><br />From STEVE!<br /><br />"An appreciation of rosé and a call for changing the rules of wine criticism"<br /><br />http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2015/04/28/an-appreciation-of-rose-and-a-call-for-changing-the-rules-of-wine-criticism/Bob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02089688073031173053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-32691485339072143642015-04-25T07:49:26.134-07:002015-04-25T07:49:26.134-07:00Hey Gabe,
Oh, it's kind of nice to get a comme...Hey Gabe,<br />Oh, it's kind of nice to get a comment so long after I've posted. Blog posts are so fleeting.<br /><br />It kills me that the defense of the 100 Point Scale is that people like it, and wine reviewing is so dull you need it. Both valid points, by the way. But do people need to know that Margaux is a 100 Point Wine? The ones who can afford it don't care, and those people who "like" the 100 Point Scale can only see that score and weep.<br /><br />Thanks for being a common tater, Gabe. See you in a few weeks... Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-5980593398728594622015-04-24T23:04:37.001-07:002015-04-24T23:04:37.001-07:00Sorry to be late to the party, but this was a grea...Sorry to be late to the party, but this was a great blog piece. My favorite was the Rose tasting, but I also enjoyed the "Einstein and Van Gough both get 98 points." You're good, Jose Miestro.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13849290999060380035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-38544195735587303052015-04-21T20:40:31.069-07:002015-04-21T20:40:31.069-07:00"I like the Rhone Rangers event. Next year, t..."I like the Rhone Rangers event. Next year, though, I'm not wearing a name tag."<br /><br />Purportedly, leading restaurants post headshots of the city's prominent food critic on the kitchen wall for all the staff the memorize -- and "out."<br /><br />In Ron's case, his headshot comes inside the winery's exhibitor kit.<br /><br />Ron can always affect a disguise the way Los Angeles Times restaurant critics Ruth Reichl and S. Irene Virbila did during their tenure.<br /><br />Today, their successor feels no compunction to go undercover.<br /><br />He "outed" himself on the front page of the Los Angeles Times (January 24, 2015).<br /><br />Link: http://www.latimes.com/food/jonathan-gold/la-fo-food-critic-outing-20150124-story.html#page=1Bob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02089688073031173053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-84202573951250411112015-04-21T19:03:38.258-07:002015-04-21T19:03:38.258-07:00Charlie,
You know, I am an advocate of my Million ...Charlie,<br />You know, I am an advocate of my Million Point Scale. Stagflation Gone Wild!<br /><br />Dave,<br />I know Jason, used to by wine from him many moons ago. Funny guy. I recently added a category to wine judging:<br /><br />Double Gold<br />Gold<br />Silver<br />Bronze<br />No Award<br />DEATH PENALTY<br /><br />Thanks for chiming in, Dave. I like the Craneway Pavilion for wine tasting, and I like the Rhone Rangers event. Next year, though, I'm not wearing a name tag.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-35061799168657055412015-04-21T17:28:59.469-07:002015-04-21T17:28:59.469-07:00In case anyone has missed it, here is a system fro...In case anyone has missed it, here is a system from a most knowledgeable source, frequently posting on the Chowhound.com wine board:<br /><br />Jason Brandt Lewis aka zin1953<br />http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/902082<br /><br /><br />IFC = in-f***ing-credible! (If anything was a "must buy," this was it!)<br /><br />GSM = Good $#|+, Maynard! (My homage to The Dobie Gillis Show, and Maynard G. Krebs; worthy of purchase, if we needed wine in this specific category)<br /><br />PGS = Pretty Good $#|+ (good, but had to exhibit great QPR [quality-price ration] to be considered for purchase)<br /><br />DNS = Does Not Suck (no faults, commercially acceptable, but nothing to get excited about)<br /><br />DNPIM = Danger! Danger! Warning, Will Robinson DO NOT PUT IN MOUTH! (applicable to bad bottles)<br /><br />Then I realized that this didn't cover a wine that obviously started off with great potential but were horrible due to a winemaking mistake, and so was added<br /><br />STW = Shoot The Winemaker!<br /><br />Cheers, Dave (sorry for being MIA for so long)<br /><br />PS Like you Ron, I mourned the passing of the Paso HdR, and quit going to WOPN after its move to Bacarra in SB. My wife and I had a wonderful time at the Craneway and came away with the sediments that you express so well.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03643183710039287175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-17931014895729212392015-04-21T16:32:44.835-07:002015-04-21T16:32:44.835-07:00Ron writes:
". . . awarding 100 points to 20...Ron writes:<br /><br />". . . awarding 100 points to 2000 Margaux, but 99 points to 2001 Margaux when you've tasted them a year apart, creating a 'perfect' wine and a wine that is almost 'perfect,' and then saying you liked the 2000 just a little more is stupid on the face of it."<br /><br />Excerpts from Robert Parker on how he “rates” wines:<br /><br />“The 1990 Le Pin [red Bordeaux, rated 98 points] is a point or two superior to the 1989 [Le Pin, rated 96 points], but at this level of quality, comparisons are indeed tedious. Both are exceptional vintages, and the scores could easily be reversed at other tastings.”<br /><br />Source: Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate (issue 109, dated 6-27-97)<br /><br />-- AND --<br /><br />“ . . . Readers often wonder what a 100-point score means, and the best answer is that it is pure emotion that makes me give a wine 100 instead of 96, 97, 98 or 99. ” <br /><br />Source: Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate (unknown issue from 2002)<br /><br />Too often the awarding of high scores is subject to whim and caprice.<br /><br />Where's the rigor to the methodology?<br /><br />Where's the ability to replicate the results?<br /><br />And finally there is this: Where is the "vote of one's wallet"?<br /><br />Did the wine reviewer enjoy the drinking experience so much that s/he would eagerly buy the wine and add it to her/her wine cellar?<br /><br />That's not an inconsequential consideration.<br /><br />There is the intellectual appreciation of a wine. Then there is the hedonistic appreciation of the wine.<br /><br />Reviewers: Show us more of the latter enthusiasm, s'il vous plaît.Bob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02089688073031173053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-22627973196394509042015-04-21T11:37:20.464-07:002015-04-21T11:37:20.464-07:00I rather like the notion that Stagflation will kil...I rather like the notion that Stagflation will kill the 100-point system because point scores really cannot go much higher unless we start giving 100 points to the top twenty roses and 105 to the top Bdx, Burgs, Chards et al.Charlie Olkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02513782687786106137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-43303846343373047042015-04-21T11:30:37.864-07:002015-04-21T11:30:37.864-07:00Charlie,
You and I agree on most of this. I'd ...Charlie,<br />You and I agree on most of this. I'd say 98. As I said on your blog, I am not trying to get rid of the 100 Point Scale, the wine world would collapse and die without it. But it's also a crutch for a large number of wine reviewers (most of them clueless) so that they don't actually have to speak about wine and the context of wine. You're not one of those, but the Intergnats are loaded with bozos like that.<br /><br />Cris,<br />Just be grateful Thomas is in one of his Intergnats avoidance phases, or this would have been much worse.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-37531941918743549102015-04-21T09:40:28.380-07:002015-04-21T09:40:28.380-07:00In the words of the great Ron Burgundy, "Boy,...In the words of the great Ron Burgundy, "Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast."Cris Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00975170865735104956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-52809126699261513172015-04-21T09:22:26.722-07:002015-04-21T09:22:26.722-07:00Ron, thanks for showing up on my blog at the ridic...Ron, thanks for showing up on my blog at the ridiculous hour of 735. I did not know that today's blog was up that early--or that anyone was either.<br /><br />Point scores, whether 20 or 100 or 200 or one million will always be suspect. And today's 100 was yesterday's 95, and on the subject of grade inflation and the coming stagflation, we are in complete agreement.<br /><br />But that, and the misuse and abuse of ratings in some quarters, does not obviate their value as adjuncts to thoughtful descriptions when those shorthand ratings are put in context.<br /><br />Wine appreciation is not wine criticism. You write reviews that are "appreciations" and they are very useful. But they are not full-on examinations of the range of possibilities facing consumers when they go to the store.<br /><br />So, enough of this. I don't see how to do what I do, which is wine criticism of large numbers of wines, without some sort of rating system also in attendance. Charlie Olkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02513782687786106137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-2222282265498300702015-04-21T07:35:46.447-07:002015-04-21T07:35:46.447-07:00Charlie,
Again, I'm not advocating to get rid ...Charlie,<br />Again, I'm not advocating to get rid of the 100 Point Scale any more than I'd advocate getting rid of money and going back to the barter system. My point in this stupid article was simply that at the higher end of the scale, the scale gets ridiculous. <br /><br />Prial's comment is specious. In the unusual event that you have two wines next to each other and are rating them, then, yes, I like this one a little better is reasonable. But, say, awarding 100 points to 2000 Margaux, but 99 points to 2001 Margaux when you've tasted them a year apart, creating a "perfect" wine and a wine that is almost "perfect," and then saying you liked the 2000 just a little more is stupid on the face of it.<br /><br />I didn't intend to start a tired old 100 Point argument. I tried to say something new about the scale, but failed apparently. I cannot remember the last time I opened a bottle of wine and tried to remember what score it received. Scores might sell wine, but they do not promise pleasure or meaning. Same as money. Scores are wine money. And it's the love of money that is the root of all, well, you know.<br /><br />But at least I got you to write a post about it on your blog.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-32012702402567973362015-04-21T00:32:13.395-07:002015-04-21T00:32:13.395-07:00AND NOW A BRIEF (sic) HISTORY LESSON . . .
Quotin...AND NOW A BRIEF (sic) HISTORY LESSON . . .<br /><br />Quoting from Wine Spectator (March 16-31, 1982, page 12):<br /><br />"SCORING<br /><br />"The Wine Spectator Tasting Panel uses a nine-point tasting scale, first introduced in 1974 by the Oenological and Viticultural Research Institute of South Africa, and modified by researchers at the University of California-Davis.<br /><br />"Panelists are required to grade a wine against five sections (unacceptable to superior) and to provide written comments about each wine tasted. The section division is:<br /><br />• Unacceptable = 1 point<br />• Average quality with some defects = 2 to 3 points<br />• Average quality = 4 to 6 points<br />• Above average quality with some superior qualities = 7 to 8 points<br />• Superior = 9 points<br /><br />"Space is provided on the tasting sheet for panelists to describe appearance, aroma, taste, and to list general comments. Following the scoring, a panel discussion is held on each flight of wines.<br /><br />"Total points given for each wine are tallied and an average score calculated. Only the top four wines (or more if ties occur at any or all of the four levels) are reviewed in detail. All other wines are listed only as having been tasted in the flight."<br /><br />Further quoting from Wine Spectator (March 16-31, 1982, page 12):<br /><br />"CRITERIA<br /><br />"In selecting the wines to be evaluated by The Wine Spectator Tasting Panel, care is taken to be as fair and equitable as possible.<br /><br />"We believe that Wine Spectator Tasting Panel is the most significant series of wine tasting reports available to the consumer. This is why:<br /><br />• All flights contain no more than 12 wines. From each flight of wines tasted, only the top four wines are fully rated with scores and condensed tasting notes from the full panel. When ties occur, all wines in the first four places are reviewed fully.<br />• All judging panels will normally consist of five or six members, most of whom are selected for their reputations as winemakers, wine merchants, educators, or wine-interested consumers with acknowledged palates. Further, every effort is made to select panel members to taste and rate wine for which they have established a particular knowledge and expertise.<br />• All wines are tasted blind against others of like type. No 'ringer,' or European-American comparisons are permitted. When a selected wine is available in more than one vintage, a mixing of vintages is allowed.<br />• All wines are poured in each flight, then each panelist tastes and rates each wine individually. A panel discussion of each flight of wines is held following the tasting and rating.<br />• All wines are rated on a modified UC-Davis nine-point scale, recommended for The Wine Spectator Tasting Panel by Emeritus Professor Maynard Amerine.<br />• All wines are purchased at Southern California retail prices and are selected for their general availability in most major U.S. markets. However, because of distribution and pricing variables, availability will vary throughout the country."<br /><br />[Bob's footnote: In 1985, Wine Spectator dropped its 9-point scale and adopted a 100-point scale. One consequence of this change can be found in the absence of printed 9-point scale wine reviews dating from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s in the Wine Spectator's early softcover “Buyer’s Guide” biannual review books.]Bob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02089688073031173053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-63904058010047823572015-04-21T00:21:02.095-07:002015-04-21T00:21:02.095-07:00From the San Francisco Chronicle "Food & ...From the San Francisco Chronicle "Food & Wine" Section "Letters to the Editor" Subsection<br />(June 22, 2007, Page Unknown):<br /><br />"Keeping Score on Ratings"<br /><br />Link: http://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/LETTERS-TO-WINE-Keeping-score-on-ratings-2572416.php<br /><br />"Editor:<br /><br />"Re "Are ratings pointless?" (June 15): Well, gee, all this fuss (yet again) about the 100-point scale. So it doesn't tell everything you need to know about a wine. Do four stars? Twenty points? No, you have to read the critic's words.<br /><br />"Does it reward subtle wines? That's up to the critic using the scale. Do subtle wines that lack drama ever get four-star ratings from the Chronicle's team? No, they get two or 2 1/2 stars, which pretty much corresponds to a 100-point score in the 80s.<br /><br />"The main reason I like to use the 100-point scale is that it lets me communicate more to my readers. They can tell that I liked a 90-point wine just a little better than an 89-point wine, but a 94-point wine a lot more than one rated 86. Doesn't that say more than giving both the 90-and 94-point wines three stars and both the 89- and 86-point wines 2½?<br /><br />(signed)<br /><br />HARVEY STEIMAN<br />Editor at Large, Wine Spectator"<br /><br />The article Harvey alludes to:<br /><br />"Are Ratings Pointless?;<br />The highs -- and lows -- of the 100-point scale"<br /><br />Link: http://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/Are-ratings-pointless-The-highs-and-lows-2586771.phpBob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02089688073031173053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-51685156027811470872015-04-20T23:55:33.665-07:002015-04-20T23:55:33.665-07:00Ron--
There have always been rating systems in wi...Ron--<br /><br />There have always been rating systems in wine as long as I have been around and that is a decade or more before you.<br /><br />I mentioned the twenty-point system, but even Finigan and Balzer used a four or five tier system. I cannot see how five tiers is radically and idiotically different from 100 points, especially since 100 points, as we all know is really 15-20 points.<br /><br />I think Frank Prial said it best. "87 points means that I liked a wine a little more than I liked a wine at 86 points".<br /><br />And while I have great sympathy for notes without any scores, try doing that over several hundred reviews. The words become unintelligible gibberish.<br /><br />Each of the items you cite as not have 100 point reviews are one-offs. They do not exist by the hundreds. And by the way, the SF Chron reviews are actually a nine point system and Zagat is a 30 point system. <br /><br />How about cars and vacuum cleaners and TVs and cameras and laptops? Depending on the reviewer, some get 100 point scores and others get something else.<br /><br />So, the real issue for me is not the 100-point system but rating systems in general. Very few entities in the general rating business would attempt to review 100 compact cameras without a rating score attached.<br /><br />You and I share a strong dislike for the misuse and abuse of the 100-point system, but frankly, we would be agreeing about the misuse and abuse of the 20-point system if it were in vogue.Charlie Olkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02513782687786106137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-86206163190597143322015-04-20T19:30:07.510-07:002015-04-20T19:30:07.510-07:00Since we are discussing Rhone Valley varieties, le...Since we are discussing Rhone Valley varieties, let's meander over to Spain where Grenache and Syrah also thrive.<br /><br />And throw in a third grape, Tempranillo, whose "time" ascending in California is akin to "vaporware" in Silicon Valley: always just a few years away.<br /><br />From Wines & Vines<br />(May 2006 . . . yes a decade ago):<br /><br />"It's Time For Tempranillo"<br /><br />Link: http://www.winesandvines.com/sections/printout_article.cfm?article=feature&content=50428<br /><br />Those who reside in or who are traveling though San Francisco this Sunday, April 26th should consider attending the 8th annual Tempranillo Advocates Producers and Amigos Society (TAPAS) consumer tasting.<br /><br />[Aside: I would like to think that the wine trade is admitted gratis.]<br /><br />Link: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/tapas-grand-wine-tasting-2015-tickets-15194181205<br /><br />And for a "take" on what last year's event was like, see this Sacramento Bee article by Mike Dunne.<br /><br />Link: http://www.sacbee.com/food-drink/wine/dunne-on-wine/article2602068.htmlAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09537737782259421612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-64597387645623663912015-04-20T17:47:20.282-07:002015-04-20T17:47:20.282-07:00Yeah, Bob, we need twice as many scores.Yeah, Bob, we need twice as many scores.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-60363572949203088322015-04-20T17:46:17.633-07:002015-04-20T17:46:17.633-07:00Susan,
Happy to welcome you as a common tater. I s...Susan,<br />Happy to welcome you as a common tater. I see you hanging around STEVE!'s blog, welcome to my little slum. And thanks for the kind words.<br /><br />Charlie,<br />Somehow movies and books and films and restaurants and a million other things get reviewed without 100 Point Scales. Wine is different? Again, as I wrote, I don't mind that so many wines get 88 points--there are a lot of average wines on the planet. Is an 89 point wine better? That moment, that taste, that order of tasting, perhaps. Otherwise? Hard to have faith in a system that cannot be duplicated or reproduced even under the same circumstances a day later. That's the kind of system that leads to people believing vaccinations cause autism.<br /><br />Does the public like the 100 Point Scale? Yup. But, hell, they loved public lynchings too, so that's not really a good reason.<br /><br />Consumers, the ones patrolling Costco and Total Wine, are not paying attention. Costco sells the currency of points, in a real sense defrauding their public. They don't care who gave it more than 90 points, only that it got more than 90 points. BevMo did the same thing with Wilfred Wong. That shit reflects on everyone who scores wine.<br /><br />Your rag didn't use to assign points, only stars. Wine Spectator, for many years, way back, didn't assign points either. Suddenly wine, a business hundreds of years old, needs points to explain it? <br /><br />Points are only about money. Points are money. What is that old saying about the love of money...?Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-6901238411522136382015-04-20T17:40:15.675-07:002015-04-20T17:40:15.675-07:00"As for 'rosé,' let me know when the ..."As for 'rosé,' let me know when the best Bandol rosé can give me as much total excitement as the best Rayas."<br /><br />"... I think your comments about Rayas vs Bandol do indicate the inherent value in some form of rating shorthand."<br /><br />Comparing a Bandol rosé to a Rayas is a false comparison.<br /><br />It is apples to oranges. An unlevel playing field.<br /><br />Compare rosés within their archetype. Not across other varietal archetypes.<br /><br />Over on Steve Heimoff's wine blog, I have championed the approach used by Hi-Fi News & Record Review magazine for music reviews: a twin scale.<br /><br />One scale for "audio fidelity." (Does a French horn sound like a French horn . . . or like an English horn? A difference with a distinction.)<br /><br />And a second companion scale for musical interpretation/artistic expression.<br /><br />A recording can have great audio fidelity capturing the sounds of acoustic instruments in a concert hall (A grade), but be performed with indifference by the artists (C grade).<br /><br />Similarly, a so-called "orange wine" can show true-to-type "typicity" and "terroir" . . . and still taste lousy (in the wine reviewer's humble opinion).<br /><br />So one score for technical merit (XX points) and one companion score for "pleasure quotient" (YY points).<br /><br />That would go a long way towards differentiating between wines that "cluster" towards the top of a single 100 point scale.<br /><br />No April foolin' . . .Bob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099196210297757292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-36414192298167862452015-04-20T17:18:20.499-07:002015-04-20T17:18:20.499-07:00Hoser,
It was the least I could do, given the dis...Hoser,<br /><br />It was the least I could do, given the discussion about NZ Syrahs.<br /><br />(Or as my detractors might say: "It was the VERY least he could do . . .")<br /><br />I cannot recall Syrahs being poured at past NZ Winegrower events. Self-evidently SBs and PNs, a few red Bordeaux blends, and the rare Gewurz and Riesling. (The latter two varieties being quite nice.)<br /><br />Now if only David (a friend) would take his whistle-stop tour to So. Cal. sometime this year, I'd be a very happy fellow.<br /><br />To his credit, he does have a table every year at Pinot Days here in La-La-Land. Typically showcasing three vintages across a dozen wines.<br /><br />(signed)<br /><br />The Missing Link<br /><br />(Oh, can I quote you on that?:<br /><br />"Never thought I'd say this, ...")Bob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099196210297757292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-42532015155080762112015-04-20T16:39:58.773-07:002015-04-20T16:39:58.773-07:00Ron--
The grade inflation issue may yet kill off ...Ron--<br /><br />The grade inflation issue may yet kill off the 100-point scale because even 90 now is too close to meaningless for too many reviewers. Score stagflation indeed.<br /><br />But I think your comments about Rayas vs Bandol do indicate the inherent value in some form of rating shorthand. It used to be 20 points, which then acquired tenths of points making it into a 200-point system.<br /><br />Stars, puffs, cookies, chop sticks, letter grades. It really does not matter which system gets used, but wine reviews done in larger than a few at a time and very selectively need the help of a supportive shorthand because words are not adequate at that level of small but perceived differences.<br /><br />Yes, the 100-point system is the currency in which wine reviews are presently traded, and like some currencies, they need to be understood for what they are and what they are not. The grade inflators, of which Jerry Mead was unabashedly one of the first "I get more attention that way", are understood for what they are by those who pay attention.<br /><br />Everyone knows that Bordeaux did not suddenly changed it spots despite the fact that Parker has all of a sudden discoved 100-point wines by the truckload.<br /><br />It bugs me to be the lowest scorer around because our reviews get marginalized at times, but our readers understand, and as one said so acutely, "I dont care if you use the ten chopstick system. It is your judgments that are meaningful to me". Which brings me back to the 100-point problem that I face. Does my rag raise its scores in order to compete? Do we stubbornly refuse to give 90 points to wines we would not stick in our cellars? Do we abandon 90 points and revert solely to our old three-star system and get ignored completely by everyone except our coterie of faithful readers.<br /><br />Or do we become the first to go to the 105 point system? Now that would certainly put us out in front, and I guarantee that it would not be long before the lemmings followed suit.Charlie Olkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02513782687786106137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-89420774103428251702015-04-20T14:59:37.985-07:002015-04-20T14:59:37.985-07:00Another common taster is signing up, because HoseM...Another common taster is signing up, because HoseMaster reviews wines with the sense & sensibility that cannot be possibly cloned. Ron, you've got to be the Homo sapiens that cannot be GMOed by vinous brains & souls. Cheers!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04358440123116736195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-86018913840772481542015-04-20T14:14:00.699-07:002015-04-20T14:14:00.699-07:00Charlie,
I'm completely on your side when it c...Charlie,<br />I'm completely on your side when it comes to Bandol Rose vs. Rayas. But words express it better than points, don't you think? Scores are the epitome of comparing apples to oranges. One size fits all, or we'll make it fit all anyway.<br /><br />The 100 Point Scale doesn't need defending any more than the almighty dollar needs defending. The more I think about it, the more I believe that wine scores are wine business currency, earned, invested and traded. They have an imaginary, but tangible, value. And the higher the numbers you have, the more power and value you have as well. Which makes Parker and Wine Spectator and CGCW the Wine Mints, where all the currency is manufactured. And who are responsible for score inflation, which may soon become score stagflation. When times get tough, do like Wine Enthusiast, print higher scores.<br /><br />Oh, I have no idea what I'm talking about.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-53077141350654640412015-04-20T14:04:23.578-07:002015-04-20T14:04:23.578-07:00Claire,
Thanks for reading my endless piece about ...Claire,<br />Thanks for reading my endless piece about the Rhone Rangers tasting. I'm still disappointed that I didn't get to taste at a bunch of wineries I wanted to visit--Bonny Doon, Miner, Burt Street, Campovida... I need to create a fake name. Damned HoseMaster thing gets tiresome.<br /><br />You should attend next year's Rhone Rangers, Claire. I'll meet you there! <br /><br />Divine Miss M,<br />I love Sangiovese Rosé, or Italian Rosato. Something about that grape makes for lovely Rosé. Thanks for being a common tater.<br /><br />Bob,<br />Never thought I'd say this, but thanks for the link! I saw David Strada at WOPN, and he told me he was impressed that WOPN had the "guts" to invite the HoseMaster. He was nervous to invite me to a NZ tasting. And he didn't. But now I'm going to attend. Thanks for that.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-50700383350769109392015-04-20T13:59:17.440-07:002015-04-20T13:59:17.440-07:00I wish I had something new and original to say abo...I wish I had something new and original to say about the 100-point system, but it has already been said 100 times over--that's one time for each point, and I don't deal in fractions so no more.<br /><br />As for "rose", let me know when the best Bandol rose' can give me as much total excitement as the best Rayas.<br /><br />Charlie Olkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02513782687786106137noreply@blogger.com