Wednesday, October 31 2007
The Empire Strikes Back
Critic Robert Parker (pictured above) is barking mad these days. In 2004 he and consultant winemaker Michel Roland (not pictured--he doesn't show up on film, apparently) were harshly criticized by filmmaker Johnathon Nossiter in his documentary film Mondo Vino. Nossiter's thesis was that Parker has too much influence, and likes low-acid, high-colour, over-oaked red wines that sacrifice the structure of traditional great wines for quick drinking 'fruit bomb' character. He also intimated that Michel Roland was the tool of Satan for trying to force all wines into this mold on Parker's behalf.
If that wasn't enough, it turns out that Nossiter has published a book, "Le Gout et le Pouvoir" (Taste and Power) which not only continues his criticism of Parker and Roland, but also restaurants that over-price their wines, railing against thousand percent markups and citing restaurants where a 6-Euro bottle of wine is sold for thirteen Euros--a glass!
Parker has not taken this lying down. In fact, he's pretty much standing up and shouting, calling Nossiter a 'scary wine Gestapo' (I wonder if Parker is aware of Godwin's law?) and averring that he had 'half a chimp's brain'.
Having had half a chimp's brain (I'm never going back to that restaurant) I'm pretty sure Parker is just letting off steam. To be sure, Nossiter's film isn't perfect: it picks on poor old Robert Mondavi, whose only crime was in poor succession planning, it's not terrifically well made (shaky camera, jumpy cuts, dressing up Paris attorneys like humble farmers for the camera) and there are probably many evil people ahead in line for a scolding in the wine business. In particular, distributors are getting slammed at the moment--there's something about a restrictive trade monopoly that gets people's hackles up.
But it points out some important truths: winemakers, particularly those who answer to corporate masters, are forced to make wine the way Parker likes it, if they want big scores in the magazines--because big scores translate into big sales. The difference between getting an 89 from The Wine Spectator and getting a 90 can translate into direct profits and increased sales--and hundreds of thousands of dollars. If Roland has a proven track record for helping make those sorts of wines, people are going to hire him in a 'me-too' flood of style changing.
When I really dug in and turned into a wine geek, twenty-mumble years ago, the 'International' style wasn't much on the horizon. I could buy Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards Cab with a layer of crusted goo in the bottle, and enjoy stunning vitality in a bottle--Newton was lush and dense, Duckhorn was actually a great value, Panther Creek made me want to be a better person, and every one of those wines stands out distinct and clear in my palate-memory. Now? Hmm.
These days I'm just glad to be labouring in the vineyards of consumer-produced wine. Our biggest worries are convincing folks that it can be done, it actually makes tasty wine, and that it's easy. Beyond that most people are so busy keeping up with thier consumption and trying new styles that they don't have time to worry about some cranky Boston lawyer and his henchmen in shadowy corners.
And I'll drink to that.
| Posted by Tim AT 9:37PM | 0 Comments |  |
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