Comments on: Extremely Well Made – 91 Points! But I Don't Like It!

By: vinosseur

vinosseur — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:29:30 +0000

Thanks for the kind words Frank!

By: FH

FH — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:37:18 +0000

Dear Vinosseur, I really liked this piece. The amount of information about a wine and different peoples opinions is daunting. However, what you are edging towards is a better system of wine characterization. It will definitley cause opinion leaders headaches since it will take away their superiority or aloofness. Although imperative and useful, a standardized system will only be as good as those who use it and poor vines will always be pushed until they find a system or judge. Your solution has the chance to be universal, since it will provide an objectivity to an otherwise subjective tasting. distincti saluti.

By: vinosseur

vinosseur — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 09:29:21 +0000

In reply to JB.

JB,

Thanks for your positive comment! It’s great that I was able to get my point across!
I love the Jura by the way and Vin Jaune is extremely interesting. I remember the first time tasting that wine, it happened to be the 1997 Vin Jaune “111” from Tissot and immediately added it to my wine list. Fantastic!

-salute

By: JB

JB — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:16:02 +0000

Great post, great point. Lots of well-made wines I don’t like, lots of weirdly-made wines (e.g., from the Jura) I love, and no very good way to “compare” them. Opus One is really well made; I happen to find it utterly pedestrian and hugely boring. A number of obscure Vin Jaune are probably “poorly made” to a lot of people, but truly fascinating wines given the chance. Screw scores- read the notes, and trsut your palate…

By: vinosseur

vinosseur — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:09:44 +0000

In reply to Francesco.

Francesco!

Thanks for this great analogy! Perfect.
“los gustibus non disputandum est”

By: Francesco

Francesco — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:49:33 +0000

Hey Joe, I just posted my thoughts on this subject in a wine forum, and I feel that we agree on the same principals. Here it is:

I think that more objectivity should be put pack into wine tasting and criticism. Lets compare apples and oranges. You have a perfectly round, juicy and sumptuous orange and beside it a shimmering mouthwatering red apple. Which one is better? Its a hard question to answer but now consider this. The apple has some green spots and is bruised in some places. When you bite into it, it is soft and pulpy and lacks crispness. Now which is better? Clearly the orange is because it lacks qualitative faults. If the situation was reversed and the orange was dull, dry and shriveled the apple would be better. Both fruits have certain characteristics that ascertain their quality: their color and physical presence, the texture and feeling in your mouth, acid/sugar balance etc. The same can be said for wine. It is possible to rate wine from an objective standpoint, but only when the qualitative factors are being compared, not the elements that make them different. Of course you may choose the blemished and pulpy apple over the worlds greatest orange, but you should realize objectively that the orange is of better quality.
“Quality is something perceived more than defined.” – Pisani
Theres my 2 cents.