The real Challenge is making sense of the Results

Let’s begin with the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge 2015, which was won by the humble Taylor’s Shiraz 2014 from the Clare Valley – $13 at Bayfields. The wine didn’t just win the best Shiraz under $25 category but also the outright trophy, scoring an almost perfect 19.5 points out of 20.

Does it sound too good to be true? YES it does, and YES it is. I have a glass of the Taylor’s 2014 in front of me as I write this, and it’s a ripe, aromatic, forward Shiraz with sweet vanilla oak and a soft finish. Typical Taylor’s, easy on the gums but nothing special. I’d give it about 90 points unless it improves dramatically over the next day or two. (It didn’t). It beats me how the judges could give the top trophy for the best Shiraz in all of Oz to a mass-produced wine of no special merit.

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The key word here is Opinion

There are as many opinions as there are reviewers, so whom can you rely on? Let’s kick off with this example from Dr Vino :

‘… some flash points have emerged, most notably Cos d’Estournel [2009]. Parker gave it a score of 98-100 with an asterisk calling it “extraordinary … one of the greatest young wines I have ever tasted,” while Neal Martin who also writes for the Wine Advocate lamented the alcohol level, compared it to a wine from the Douro, and scored it 89-91. Tim Atkin noted the 14.5% alcohol on the label, called it over-the-top, compared it to an Australian Shiraz and gave it 95 points. John Gilman wrote that it was “one of the worst young wines I have ever had to taste, as it displays an utter contempt for both the history of its region and the intelligence of its clients … I cannot imagine having to drink it. This is a train wreck of monumental proportions. 67-68 points.’

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Cabernet Sauvignon – the noblest of red varieties?

What makes Cabernet noble is the fact that it produces distinctive Cabernet wine wherever it is grown. Isn’t that what a grape variety should do, I hear you ask. It should but few do. Riesling is another, and it’s also called noble. Pinot Noir certainly does not, nor does Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. Some of the most expensive wines in the world are made from Cabernet, but down under is still the lucky country.

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The high price of the Penfolds Icons poses the question: what else could you do with the money?

You won’t get your money back on Grange, not the current 93 point-rated release, or any other going back to 1971 – they’re all cheaper at auction than the current shelf price. There two better ways to invest $700.

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More hyperbole, more Price Hikes, More Marketing Blunders

Has Penfolds Grange priced itself out of the Market? That’s the heading of an email Tyson Stelzer sent out, on the occasion of Penfolds 2015 Collection Annual Release (October 15). It’s not the fault of Grange, of course, since no wine can determine its own price – Penfold’s owner TWE does that. Tyson’s next issue  is this: ‘When Penfolds suddenly and brazenly jacked the price of Grange from $685 to $785 in 2013 in the wake of strong reviews for the 2008 vintage, the question on everyone’s lips was whether it would drop the price again in a weak vintage.’

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‘At the end of the day, we’re selling poetry.’ Geoff Kruth, Master Sommelier

‘When the wine critic James Suckling described a [1989] Château Haut-Brion in the pages of Wine Spectator in 1992,’ Bianca Bosker writes in the New Yorker, ‘he needed just a single phrase to sum up the taste: “Big and meaty, with lots of fruit and full tannins, but featuring a sweetness and silkiness on the finish.”

When Suckling reviewed the same Haut-Brion again in 2009, he needed 7 sentences to describe the ‘perfumed aromas of subtle milk chocolate, cedar, and sweet tobacco.’ Bosker adds that ‘extravagant tasting notes have become de rigeur in the marketing world,’ and that they’ve lost their value as practical guides for consumers.

The Baroque Painter

I’ve seen the same trend over the years, and I’ve seen tasting notes evolve from useful descriptions of wines to baroque works of art that can resemble a Rubens Masterpiece.

Some reviewers clearly consult Dr Anne Noble’s aroma wheel to come up with all the aromas and flavours they do: Orange Blossom, Kaffir Lime leaf, cloves and sandalwood. And lots of oil paint.

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The madness of the long distance wine reviewer

I’m sitting here at 9 in the morning, tasting Pinot Noir and vaguely recalling a wine writer long ago suggesting that this style goes well with eggs. I’m surprised to learn that he is right, but what am I doing drinking red wine with my breakfast eggs? Have I lost it? Have the rivers of wine I’ve tasted in recent years done in my head?

Look elsewhere for quality, consistency and value

No, I’m still agonising over the Pinot Noirs that deserve inclusion in our Top 10 segment for a mailer that is due out later today. Here are three that get 95 points and rave reviews from the GOM of Aussie wine (you’ll find his notes at the links), and I’m sitting asking WTF happened?

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GTW Tasting of Coonawarra and Limestone Coast, June/July issue

These Gourmet Traveller Tastings always throw up (no pun intended) interesting results, and ‘the expert judging panel’ is a bunch of serious wine dudes: Peter Bourne, Mike Bennie, Nick Bullied, Andrew Caillard MW, Huon Hooke, Peter Forrestal, and Toni Patterson MW. In other words, we can expect the scores to be more meaningful than usual.

Sadly, the 95 points scored by the Brands Laira 171 Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 immediately questions that assumption. I’ve no idea why judges and reviewers keep falling for these overworked, over-extracted, over-oaked concoctions. Like a General in a South American country, this wine has far more medals on its chest than genuine fortitude inside it. $70 at McWilliams.

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‘Australia is the world’s second most prolific grower of Riesling grapes after Germany,’ Jancis Robinson tells us and adds: The climate is quite warm enough to ripen every Riesling grape to the max and the challenge is to retain acidity, so virtually all Australian Riesling is bone dry. There is no need for any softening sweetness.’

Most German Rieslings don’t get enough sun to reach full ripeness, so they tend to soften the harsh acid with a touch of sweetness. Germany’s most sunny corner is the Pfalz in the south-west corner of the country just across the border from Alsace where all the names are German but the people speak French. Alsace gets enough sunshine to ripen its Rieslings, and most of them are dry.

The famous Mosel

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HALLIDAY is the new name for the old Wine Companion magazine

Halliday Wine Companion 2016 (HWC) signalled the change in branding a few weeks ago. The 2015 edition was called James Halliday Australian Wine Companion. The magazine comes with the subtitle ‘Australia’s bestselling wine magazine,’ which surprised me until I recalled that the mag is part of various subscription options and special offers on the HWC website. I can’t imagine a lot of people paying $10 for a LITE wine magazine such as this. It’s a slim 80 pages and carries a lot of ads and sponsored content.

This October / November edition also contains an 8-page lift-out for the HWC 2016 awards, plus 6 pages of award winners and a separate booklet under the title ‘RED HOT & RATED – over 80 wines reviewed and rated by James Halliday.’ They’re all red wines and all of them scored ‘a whopping 96 points or more.’

Red Hot and Paid For?

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