Le blog du Grand Jury

I am proud of my wine cellar. It mirrors my love for the fine wines of France, Italy, Spain and Germany. Even the not so well informed people know that Bordeaux and Burgundy are very famous but often expensive wines also. Due to their price a lot of people have heard from this wines but never tasted them. We – the wine lovers – forget sometimes that a bottle for 25 Euros is very expensive for the majority of people. But does the "average" wine drinkers actually like Bordeaux, Burgundy or Barolo as much as the geeks? I mean the modern ones? Well - not really is my impression.

When I have guests at my home I always cook a meal and put some bottles of wine onto the table. Often these are the wines I love. And well – I have learned that most of my guests do not share my taste, especially when they are not into wine as I am. Why? Bordeaux are often too tannic – especially the Cabernet dominated wines from Left Bank. Burgundies are often too acidic. And the Barolo tends to be both, too tannic and acidic. I saw it often on the faces, this question normal wine drinkers had: Why the hell does this relative intelligent guy spend so much money for this stuff?

Meanwhile I know what I have to serve for most of my guests to make them happy. Chateauneuf du Pape i.e. especially from years like 1990, 1998, 2000, 2003. Or a Languedoc-Roussillion, a Cabernet from Napa Valley or a Syrah from Australia. Due to their high ripeness, alcohol and glycerol this wines tastes sweet and smooth. And I made the experience that a lot of people love exactly this. 

It is an issue among wine lovers that Parker is the dominator of the wine world and he dictates this style – because he loves it fat, full and sweet. I have a different suspicion. Parker has the palate of the majority. Probably he knows very well what most of the people really like - because he has no problem - he likes it too. Not the complexity, not the elegance, not the structure, not the pronounced acid but the full, round, “sweet” hedonistic pleasure. Did you notice how often "liqueur like" is part of the tasting notes of wines Parker loves and gave the highest ratings? 

I think a lot of expensive wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy are more discussed than actually being consumed among the entire wine world. I know some people who have a few prestigious wines of this areas in their cellar but never touch them – they are only there to be shown as trophys and the proof that this is the cellar of an connoisseur. Could it be that that wines are in fact admired by a lot of people but the wines of the South with their warmth and fullness are the ones who people really like? 

I always loved Bordeaux, Burgundy, Barolo, Sangiovese and dry Riesling and Champagne and I don´t know why (by the way – Champagne is a wine also which people often dislike – especially the very dry examples). My friends call me a wine expert. But frankly: Sometimes I have the feeling they are tolerant to me. Probably they think: I don´t understand him – but almost everyone has a spleen. He thinks this stuff is something special and he samples thousands of bottles in his cellar which are more intellectual than pleasurable. He should spend his money elsewhere. 

Wine geeks tends to think a pyramid of quality does actually exist – with Bordeaux and Burgundy on top. I ask myself if this is based on the Image build over centuries or actually a fact. I guess we will never find a logic answer because in the matter of taste logic isn´t a useful guideline. But one thing is clear for me due to the experiences at my home with some dozen people – men and women. In an election among the entire wine drinking community Bordeaux and Burgundy probably wouldn´t be the preferred drinks. Most of the people love exactly the so called parkerized wines  - often without knowing who Parker is. This is probably one major reason of his success. He speaks not to the experts but to the masses.