On wine writing and criticism…

May 9, 2011

Just would like to express my thoughts on the above subject, seeing that it has been addressed in various wine bulletin boards… Not that I am much of a wine critic. I consider myself more a wine writer and wine enthusiast, but do take the time to criticize wines I think I know: Bordeaux, primarily.

To be a decent wine writer and/or critic, you must taste wine.

Sounds simple? Well, not really. You have to taste regularly and critically, but also in a dining setting, if you believe, as I do, that great Bordeaux is not meant to drink alone, but with a fine meal. So join or create wine tasting clubs that organize dinners, make it a point to open a bottle for dinner, purchase a case or two, taste given wines in given vintages over time to see how they evolve. Visit the estates and talk with the owners or winemakers. By all means accept invitations to taste prestige wines. Gone are the days, alas, when most people could go into a store and buy a bunch of Latours (or even Palmers, Pichon Comtesses, Ducru Beaucaillous, among others) to taste on a regular basis, for example.

Second, avoid excessive horn blowing. There may be a fine line between self promotion and… self aggrandizement. On the wine chat boards, we all do it… No dirty secret. In any case, I prefer to err on the modest side of the spectrum. No false modesty, but perhaps quiet assurance that comes from having built a steady track record of tasting wine in specific regions that I have come to understand, at least enough… And recognition that I am weak in other areas or have a bias for certain wine styles.

Avoid too close contact with the wines you cover. A trickier point. For me, wine is a sensual pleasure. It also more often than not reflects the people who make it. So it is important to taste at the estate, to get to know the winemakers and what they are doing. Obviously, you build certain relationships and you start to like some wines more than others, some people more than others. That is human nature.

Some people criticize the annual Bordeaux en primeur junkets. We are all being wined and dined by Bordeaux, yes? Well, such events also enable us to meet and greet the people behind the wines and to appreciate older vintages a table. That does not mean that I will praise to high heaven all the wines tasted. Believe me, I don’t. And like others, I have had my share of e-mails from winemakers criticizing my judgment. But how else to taste the sheer volume of Bordeaux from a given vintage? In any case, you need to re-taste as much as possible. Because I am in France, it is easier for me to visit Bordeaux more regularly. Certainly, if you live in Bordeaux, you can get negociants to get you the samples to taste on a more regular basis.

Whatever the case may be, there is something sometimes fraternal about tasting wines along with other writers from around the world: notes are compared, impressions described, sometimes heated discussions ensue – and even friendships are made. I can say with confidence that most people who come to Bordeaux for en primeur are not going just to be wined and dined. In fact, more quiet writer-tasters who do not chat on bulletin boards or actively blog take the sessions very seriously and write their articles afterwards. And they do have good palates, certainly with regard to understanding Bordeaux – particularly the ones who have been going there regularly for some time now.

Be courageous in your opinions, but be prepared to be wrong. Especially with barrel samples. Be humble. And be modest in the scoring. Too many scores I feel have become so over-exuberant that there is nowhere to go but… down, once the wine is in bottle. 2008 is a good example. I have already stated this before, but I have a gut feeling that too many people have become over generous in barrel scoring, feeding promotion rather than information. I repeat: the only time you can really be certain about a wine is once it is in bottle. At least at that point, you have the absolute final product from which to make an educated guess about its aging capacity.

Jeff Leve, famously known for his evident love for Bordeaux – and his own wining and dining of Bordeaux chateaux owners – does not profess to be a critic, but an unabashed wine lover. Hurrah to Jeff, whom I have met and can say with 100% certainty: he loves wine. But he made a joke that, the way I think, why not just wait until the wines are mature before we cast judgment? In a way, I think that would be the most sensible thing to do. Chalk that one down as an idea… I joke, of course, if half heartedly. For Bordeaux, at least for purported “great” Bordeaux, that have become so expensive, consumers should have a product that will become complex with age, not just a pleasing experience en primeur. So my advice to anyone who wants to judge Bordeaux is to keep in mind its potential longevity.

On blind tastings

A fellow taster in Washington D.C. and an ace at blind tasting, Kevin Shin, stresses education. That people, as a prerequisite, should be able to pass a simple blind taste test to differentiate Pinot Noir from Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc from Chardonnay. I wholeheartedly agree. Why not ask the UGCB to provide such a test? Sommeliers have to pass grueling tests to ply their trade, why not the tasters who go to Bordeaux during en primeur week? Sure, I have met many tasters in Bordeaux during en primeur week who more often than not are diligent and quiet about their work, with track records. But Kevin’s idea for a test to establish basic credentials is sound. Certainly I feel that the UGCB has sometimes invited “unqualified” tasters because they promise media attention. I remember during the en primeur campaign, the UGCB so much as invited a team from “nbc” television. No, it was not the major US channel NBC, but they went around with cameras and videos donning “nbc” tags. As the French say, “N’importe quoi” …

But blind tasting aside, there is something to be said for knowing a specific region, knowing it well enough to be able to judge it with some confidence. A few years ago, I failed miserably in a blind tasting in Washington D.C.: I did not recognize a South African Chardonnay as such, thinking it was a Burgundy. And then I confused the Burgundies… But back then, I did not know Burgundy all that well. Furthermore, I have since tasted with sommeliers in blind taste tests, and I can tell you: It can be a rather difficult exercise, especially if the blind tasting is not at least conditioned by region or appellation or by similarly profiled wine styles. In a blind tasting earlier this year with Society of Wine Educators sommeliers Maria and David Denton at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Washington D.C., the wines were all over the place: from a Chenin Blanc aged in oak to an Albarino … I agree that one should be able to pass a basic blind taste test. Be prepared to be humbled all the same, and at least know the region you intend to cover.

When I go to Bordeaux, I choose the blind tastings organized by the UGCB and Cercle de Rive Droite. They are divided by appellation, which makes them coherent. On the other hand, too many estates are not members of the UGCB or the Cercle de Rive Droite. One must taste at the chateau. So there is a different experience there. The positive aspect of non-blind tasting at the chateau is that (1) the sample will probably be better because of maximum control, the likelihood that it is very fresh, and (2) you can discuss the wine with the winemaker. The negative is that there is a tendency to score it higher, at least on a subconscious level. All the more reason to be conservative in your impressions, especially when it comes to a barrel samples.

Renaissance Men are a rare breed. There is a French expression called “qui trop embrasse mal etreint”, which means, roughly, if you seek to do everything, you do it poorly. Be a specialist. Keep hitting the same nail with the same hammer and you will learn quite a bit. Still, to be a certified sommelier, you need to be really good at blind tasting across the boards. I am not that great at it, especially with so many varied wines made all over the world – and for certification you need to know about so many wines. Obtaining certification was far easier 10 to 15 years ago. But my project is to obtain that bloody certification. All the while, I stay focused on my passion, which is French wine, secure in the knowledge that my main experience is with Bordeaux. Although I am loving Burgundy more and more…

Embrace subjective taste. Wine tastings are not about wearing lab coats and tallying a score to some exact decimal. Restaurant clients who order Bordeaux are not out to differentiate between a Pinot and a Cabernet. Or a 97 and a 93. They want tasty Bordeaux. But one man’s Bordeaux is another man’s potential nightmare. I seek freshness and elegance in Bordeaux, not bigness and boldness. For that reason, I tend to score a wine like Figeac or Canon perhaps higher than a wine like Pavie or Pavie Macquin. A wine like Brane Cantenac higher than Lascombes. Montrose in most vintages higher than Cos. But that is my personal taste. One should be able to appreciate the vision of the winemaker and his or her wine, but one should not deny one’s personal taste. Scores can be high, but the wording should explain that a wine may be 90-94 for yourself, but 94-98 if you love that particular style. Too often we forget stylistic vision and individual palates. In that sense, as a critic, you can establish a “following” who share your preferences: Vive la difference…

Consider how a given wine tastes with food. That is also too often cast aside in beauty contest style wine tastings. How many times have I taken part in wine dinners to discover that a wine tastes so much better (or not) when paired with a particular dish? You taste it alone and think, hmmm, it has a bit too much of this or that. You taste it with the right food and you say: Wow, that’s just excellent.

When I look at things in a rose tinted sort of way, which is my natural inclination, most of us here on this board love wine, and enjoy sharing our wine drinking experiences. The best wine drinking experiences I have had are with people who share my passion. Just recently with Jürgen Steinke near Freiburg, where we opened several bottles including a delicious Keller Kirschspiel Riesling GG 2007, a Volnay Marquis d’Angerville Les Caillerets 1989, a La Tour Blanche Sauternes Premier Cru 2001, among many others. We did not take notes, nor did we think in terms of exact digits for each wine… we merely enjoyed them, albeit critically, with some great food that Jürgen had prepared, over a very pleasant evening, noting how the wines evolved in glass. Take the Mas de Daumas Gassac 1998 Jürgen opened for example. It was a bit barnyardy at first, but that blew off and it improved noticeably, over time. Had that bottle been tried in a line up of wines, with only a limited period of tasting, the tasting note may not have been as good. In any case, some tasters would have not been as bothered by the brett aspect, others more so.

And that is perhaps my final point. Respect the other person who may honestly disagree with you because we can only communicate in a civil fashion if we show respect for one another. Certainly some taste better than others, some “nail” a wine more often than others. But if you have a passion for wine, and you feel that you have been tasting long enough to say something at least somewhat intelligent about that wine, then your contribution should always be welcome.

My goal, I suppose, is to write a book. I think that is one of the most rewarding things one can do about a subject one loves. Yet, I confess to a certain laziness coupled with angst: A fellow journalist with whom I had worked in the past once told me: Having written is far better than writing. Writing can be a pain in the ass, but once it is done, it can be so rewarding. So, if you can, get off your ass, and write…

Well, I hope this did not come across as too self indulgent. For whatever reason, I felt like writing it and would have considered it a waste of time not to post. In retrospect, perhaps the most important thing about tasting wine aside from enjoying it with friends, is not to take the whole enterprise all too seriously!