Comments on: Blind tasting is tough – tasting Bordeaux 2005 with Robert Parker

By: Submissiveness: to critics, to technology « in vino claritas

Submissiveness: to critics, to technology « in vino claritas — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:19:23 +0000

[...] approach? Robert Parker may say he can distinguish between a Pauillac and a Saint-Émilion, but there is room for doubt; the electronic nose, on the other hand, has proven success in distinguishing Coke from Pepsi, [...]

By: Gary Vaynerchuk – Kevin Burke

Gary Vaynerchuk – Kevin Burke — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 08:37:09 +0000

[...] can’t tell that high priced wines are better than low priced wines, and even Robert Parker gets a ton of wines wrong when he does a blind taste test. So I don’t pretend I can distinguish between different types [...]

By: Here We Go Again « Wine Country BC

Here We Go Again « Wine Country BC — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:21:48 +0000

[...] reviewing process. Robert Parker, perhaps because of the scope of his influence, is subjected to almost microscopic analysis which, though entertaining at times, is not constructive for either his believers or [...]

By: Blind tastings are to wine what strip poker is to love. « Nickel and Dime Wine

Blind tastings are to wine what strip poker is to love. « Nickel and Dime Wine — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 05:25:33 +0000

[...] since he conducts both barrel and bottle tastings at the winery. In 2009, Parker conducted a 2005 Bordeaux blind tasting during which he misidentified most wines and proclaimed wines he had previously given lower scores [...]

By: wine tasting with blinders on: what’s the point?

wine tasting with blinders on: what’s the point? — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:14:29 +0000

[...] Did you read on Dr. Vino’s blog the fascinating story of blind tasting 2005 Bordeaux with Robert Parker? [...]

By: Paddy O'Flynn

Paddy O'Flynn — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 09:34:51 +0000

Being Irish and living in St. Emilion since 1988, I understand the Parker predicament. In my first decade here locals were astonished at my ability to recognize and remember wines and vintages.22 years on and it is much more difficult as quite simply I have more references to select from. Parker initially had few references and this increased his percentages of success in blind tastings. The Parkerisation of wines has added to the difficulty of properly assessing wines and vintages. We drank “Vieux Chateau Certan” 2006 this weekend and it was lactic. Parker rated this wine 96 points and it sells for €150 plus. It was disappointing to say the least, in fact, one of our Spanish wine-makers was with me here in St. Emilion for the weekend and he preferred an organic “Cotes de Francs” at under €10 a bottle! Parker’s rating system is a good tool but is nonetheless based on his palate, which is American, and is certainly not flawless.

By: burris

burris — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:15:33 +0000

Folks, double blind means neither the taster nor the pourer knows which wine is in which glass. Just like in a clinical experiment where the doctor doesn’t know if he is giving you the real drug or a placebo. It doesn’t matter if you know what wines are in the line-up.

Its not very blind if you just put bags over the bottles since most bottles differ and can be identified by just the top. The proper way to do a double blind test is to decant the wines into identical bottles numbered 1-8, then leave the room and let someone else come in and put labels A-H over the numbers. Now the tasting is “double blind.”

By: Andrea

Andrea — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:07:16 +0000

I agree with the conclusion from drvino, and I would conclude saying that rating is “one experience” and like all experiences the whole contest has to be considered. I have been saying it on my blog per decades, http://www.italyabroad.com/italian-wine-blog, and the problems with rating is that they are considered too much, especially the ones from Parker and friends, and this blind tasting proves that be taken for what the are, impression on a wine on a certain day under certain circumstances.

By: Daniel Posner

Daniel Posner — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:47:44 +0000

Rama

Obviously, cost would play into not having Petrus, etc. @ $2500/btl, add an extra $200 per person to the event, and you get Petrus…Throw in $50 for Cheval, and $150 for Ausone…OUCH!

By: Dennis

Dennis — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:38:30 +0000

Dr.Vino, you are a great disapointment. This was not about EWS and the 2005 Bordeaux but you personal feelings about RP.
You would do well in the Obama administration.
This is my first and last time at your website.
You are a petty man.

By: Rama Kuchipudi

Rama Kuchipudi — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:04:19 +0000

Nice article but in the end it’s the drinker who decides is this wine satisfying for me or not. I’ve always felt that these Parker scores are somewhat over-rated, and lead to much over-valued wines. On a side note, how come no Petrus, Cheval Blanc, or Ausone on that list? I only ask because I’m a huge Right Bank lover myself:)

By: Eight Reasons the 100 Point Wine Rating Scale Will Go Away | The Bottle Topper

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:50:01 +0000

[...] that a lot of other people have had the same question. Some great discussions online, notably at Dr. Vino and Fermentation, show that everyone has an opinion. I’ve listened to the debate, read the [...]

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:19:39 +0000

Hi,

I stumbled upon this blog while searching for some explanation of RP scoring system and really enjoyed reading both article and the debate which followed. While I am astonished that he struggled to distinguished between left and right bank wines, I am more concerned about “grade inflation” and/or narrow range in his ratings whatever 100 point scale says.

I drunk 2 bottles of Bordeaux over Christmas with few friends: one was 1985 Gruaud Larose (purchased for £60; real bargin) rated at 90 points by RP and the other Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, 2000 Chateau Potensac (£35) rated at 89 points. Everyone present (apart from me not really used to wines above £20 price point) rated GL much higher then CP. I would struggle to find one attribute where CP would score higher then GL. What is more I would struggle to justify paying again £35 for CP. I might declare slight “prejudice” here: apart from Chateau Poujeaux and Mayney I always struggled to find value in higher priced Cru Borg wines always prefering second wines of Leoville Burton or Leoville Les Cases or Langoa Burton.
Still it does not explain why scores are so close for 2 wines which are NOT even in the same league in quality in MHO. Funnily enough the real measure of value here is the price. While at usual price of £100 (in London, UK) for GL, the better value can be found elsewhere it is still a bargin at £60, whereas I would not pay more then £25 for 2000 CP again. But at least price differential is better reflection of the respective quality of both wines then very close RP score.
Finally, I am not sure that RP scores are really driving the market especially for older wines. Otherwise how would we explain the wines from same estate rated by Parker in low 80s selling at 2-3 times more then wines he rated at low 90s?. Mytical status of some vintages and supply and demand balance have more influence then RP ratings.

thanks and regards,

Andrew, London, UK

By: Could Parker simply be losing his sense of taste?

Could Parker simply be losing his sense of taste? — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:30:33 +0000

I’m neither pro-Parker nor anti-Parker, but the guy’s 62, and everyone’s senses deteriorate with age–eyes, hearing, taste. Is it possible that, at 43, he just had more acute olfactory nerves than he does now?

By: A Case for Avoiding the Wine Rating Mousetrap « WineZag

A Case for Avoiding the Wine Rating Mousetrap « WineZag — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:22:08 +0000

[...] This was in evidence in Tyler Colman’s recent post about the Robert Parker lead 2005 Executive Wine Seminar tasting which Mlodinow also references in his WSJ piece and I wrote about here in a post entitled “A [...]