I pride myself on getting it right, so I review fewer wines but give them more time – several days usually. I don’t always get it right, of course, no wine reviewer does. There are the vagaries of bottle variation, and how the wine showed on the day as Peter Bourne said to me once when I queried how the Grosset Rieslings didn’t make the 90 point cut in a GTW tasting.
So it goes. A subscriber complained that the 1960 Taltarni Old Vine Block 27 Pyrenees Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 I raved about and gave 96 points to was oxidised / cooked and showed dried porty / stewed aromas. He bought a 6-pack on my recommendation, and is thinking of returning the remaining bottles.
In my defence I said it was a more traditional style, with a stronger tannin grip than usual, and said I thought I mentioned that in my review. It looks like I didn’t. Mea culpa. I should’ve said: you must’ve got a bad bottle and left it at that. The bottle I had was terrific. I’d welcome more feedback.
Kemenys Hidden Label Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc 2017. I can’t find it now but I think I listed this as a great buy in a recent BBW. Then I got a sample and gave it a bad review (84). I’ve been highly critical of wine show judging, and I should stop paying any attention to trophies and other bling. Mea culpa. Still, it’s hard to ignore a list like this:
- Trophy, Best Value White, Sydney Royal Wine Show 2017
- Trophy, Best Sauvignon Blanc, Sydney Royal Wine Show 2017
- Trophy, Best Sauvignon Blanc, Royal Hobart Wine Show 2017
- Top Gold, Royal Perth Wine Show 2017
- Gold, Sydney Royal Wine Show 2017
- Gold, Cowra Wine Show 2017
- Gold, Royal Hobart Wine Show 2017
The wine won trophies and golds in 4 different shows across the country, not one or two. That kind of consistency is rare; in addition I know the maker – Miles from Nowhere – so I took a punt at that ridiculous price. Then I checked a sample over the usual 2-3 days, and soon found the wine falling apart. Therefore my bad score.
The same subscriber said my score for the Dan M’s Langhorne Creek Cabernet Shiraz cleanskin had come down several points. What happened here is that another subscriber had written in and said my score was too generous, so I bought another bottle at Dan M’s, agreed with him and marked the wine down.
Many of you have written and said that my calls are almost always right, and I think that’s as good as it can get in this business. I do get it wrong sometimes, and other times it’s simply a matter of different tastes. That’s why I make no bones about my lack of enthusiasm for blockbuster reds, skinny chardies and tropical savvies.
Keep the brickbats coming now, you hear?
Kim