Archive for August, 2009

Despite downward trends in financial markets in almost every sphere, including fine wine, the value of legendary first-growth Bordeaux, Lafite, has held strong. Not so for other first-growths. While Chateau Latour and Chateau Mouton-Rothschild have been rocky over time, Lafite continues to climb.

According to a piece on Bloomberg.com this week, it’s called “The Lafite Effect”. The historic winery owes it all to the Asian market. The emerging Asian market sees Bordeaux, namely Lafite, as a kind of wine holy grail. As wealth increases there, demand for Lafite skyrockets. In July, the average price for 1982 Lafite for example, was at its highest ever, $3,386, up from 2007 and 2009. And it’s not just the first-growth, their second and fourth wines: Carruades de Lafite and Duhart Milon are in high demand as well.

I know that Bordeaux is highly regarded in Asia. It’s a status symbol. They even have a cartoon (Les Gouttes de Dieu/Kami No Shizuku) devoted to seeking out the best wines in the world (mainly Bordeaux). But how did Lafite gain its position in the sky? And why not any other top Bordeaux?

Moreover, can these prices continue to increase, or will the bubble burst, crashing them, down to a price that even a lowly American can afford?

We’ve all said it before, and we all know people who would say it time and time again. I know I used to be one of the worst offenders out there, hoarding away my precious bottles for the perfect opportunity for them to be consumed: the right company, the ideal food pairing, the fabulous occasion. But why, oh why, do we deem it necessary to hold on to these gems until we feel deserving of their wonder; why are we not good enough on a daily basis?

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I read with great interest, the recent announcement that The New York Times will be starting a wine club on the heels of the Wall Street Journal and San Francisco Chronicle wine clubs, which have already been launched. This did not come as a surprise to me; the motivation was obvious: the piece went on to say that the paper was “seeking new revenue” and that their 2nd quarter results showed a decline in sales of 21.2%.  All three newspapers cover, rate and review wine and all three newspapers are now selling wine.

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I recently traveled to Greece and Cyprus on a wine tasting tour and besides being seduced by the beauty, food and culture of the countries, was fascinated by stories of the ancient Greek, Roman and Crusader-era history of the places. Both countries have been making wine for millennia, and many of the wine and food traditions we enjoy today were born in that part of the world.

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Edgar Allan Poe. The 40th anniversary of Woodstock. What do they have in common? Nothing, except that I’m currently researching Poe while also seeing countless articles and documentaries about the mud-drenched rock festival. A deeply spiritual, if cockeyed, connection occurred to me:

One of the last works Poe ever wrote was a book called Eureka, in which he attempted to describe his vision of the creation story, the structure of the universe….and to justify transcendence through, ahem, altered states. You know: achieving an overwhelming, authentic, mystical experience of communion with the infinite, feeling at one with the universe, through artificial means. Poe was a lifelong alcoholic, and may have dabbled in other substances, such as laudanum, a powerful painkiller and tranquilizer in common use in the 19th century. Woodstock…well, among the many things it represents in the popular imagination is spiritual communion, transcendence through altered states, that whole 60s vibe.

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One of the things the editors talked about at our just-completed editorial conference was rating wines. We even tasted a few pairs of wines to help illuminate (lubricate) the discussion. In the first pairing, we blind-tasted two wines from the same producer–one the estate wine, one the second wine. Essentially, this was a test of whether we could pick out the “better” wine.

Perhaps a more precise way of phrasing the question would be whether our critics agreed with the winery’s judgement of which was the better wine. In the end, we almost unanimously did. Why? Because even though wine rating is undeniably subjective, most critics–and winemakers–are examining the same traits of each wine.

Although each of our reviewers is free to use their own rubric, we stress the importance of evaluating balance, length, intensity and complexity as the basis for our ratings. For myself, I tend to model my scoring approach after that of Robert Parker, Jr., whose writings played a major role in my early wine education.

Appearance is not a major factor, unless it is somehow suspect (hazy) or atypical (browning in a young white) for the type and age of wine being judged; most wines receive 4 or 5 points for appropriate appearance.

Aroma is the next facet of the wine that I judge, based on balance, intensity and complexity. Balance suggests a harmony of scents, with no single overbearing component. Intensity can be a double-edged sword: superintense but unpleasurable aromas rate lower than low-intensity unpleasurable ones. Complexity mostly refers to the number of different scents detected, subject to the requirement of balance, and on rare occasions refers to the indescribability of the overall bouquet. Aromas typically account for up to 10 points of a wine’s score.

Flavors are up next, and for obvious reasons are very closely associated with a wine’s aromas. Generally, I evaluate flavors along the same lines (balance, intensity, complexity) as aromas, and wines that score well for their aromas often perform well in flavor as well. That said, certain wines are more or less intensely flavored than aromatically endowed, and some wines’ flavors don’t gracefully reflect their aromas. Length of finish is an important quality indicator, although with the same caveat as intensity: No one wants a long finish if it tastes of paint remover. Overall, flavor accounts for up to 15 points of a wine’s rating.

While the wine is on the palate, I also examine the wine’s weight and texture, or what we call mouthfeel. Although this is primarily a function of the wine’s alcohol, sugar, tannin and acid levels, it may also reflect the wine’s concentration and other components. It should be appropriately balanced with the rest of the wine’s elements; I award up to 10 points for mouthfeel.

That leaves up to 10 points I assign based on a wine’s perceived overall quality and ability to improve over time. And this–in addition to the other areas where they may not receive full marks–is where most of the world’s rosés come up short on my scorecard, as virtually none are capable of improving with age (maybe Lopez de Heredia‘s Rioja Rosado, if you like the style). For similar reasons, I will probably not find many Beaujolais nearing that mystical 100-point barrier, nor several other styles of wine.

That doesn’t mean that these wines aren’t capable of excellence; many are, and make for wonderful drinking. It just means that they are subject to certain limitations imposed on them by my scoring rubric. Should they be?

I recently had the immense pleasure of attending the first official Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival, held from July 30th to August 2nd in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event, which originally debuted in 2007 as Toast to the Coast, was revamped and relaunched this year by partnering with TD Bank and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. With more events, tastings and celebrity chef meet and greets, it was easy to follow the event’s slogan to “Uncork your Passion”.

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In our September issue, we’re running a piece on unusual California tasting rooms. This includes everything from the Persian palace setting of Darioush in Napa to the drag tomfoolery of Paso Robles’ Clautiere Vineyard, where donning wigs and silly hats is intended to break down barriers and allow for easy socializing. Whether it’s incredible, cutting-edge architecture or fun themes, many wineries offer personality and, in some cases, a little kitsch. But is this what you want?

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