Two Sides of the Wine Coin
Sunday, 12th November, 2006
- David Farmer
Hugh Johnson - "these wines do not fulfil any useful purpose; they are merely made to win competitions."
I think my favourite drink is the Seppelts DP 117 Fino which is so light and elegant that you forget it actually runs at 17.5% alcohol. Well made wines can carry high alcohol it would seem.
A great debate is running about high alcohol in wines and a world authority on wines Hugh Johnson recently let fly about this topic. The following passages are taken from a report in Decanter, September, 2006.
"Wines that 20 years ago had 12 or 12.5 degrees of alcohol may now pack a punch at 14.5 or 15 degrees or even more; balance disappears, and drinkability is thought wimpish," he writes.
"Like human bodies packed with steroid-driven muscle, these wines do not fulfil any useful purpose; they are merely made to win competitions ... Mostly what excess alcohol does is muddy the flavours and blur the aromas, so you lose definition and focus and complexity."
Johnson savages the trend: "To make one of the world's most magical substances boring takes some doing."
He says he has drunk red wine from last year that tastes like port, and whites like "peaches in brandy"."
Living as we do in the Barossa we have taken a keen interest in this high alcohol debate. Most recently the topic was discussed in High Alcohol - The Debate Rolls On.
There are good arguments for both sides but we suspect it is much ado about nothing and we draw your attention to the following passage which is from an article called ‘Big Beaujolais’ by Harry Waugh from Compleat Imbiber No 6
"I have a few, alas only a few, bottles of Julienas 1947 and 1949 left, and these are quite outstanding. They are enormously full, rich wines with a high degree of alcohol. When my particular 1947 Julienas was being made the vats became so overheated during the fermentation that water had to be poured in to cool the fermentation down, and even then the wine had an alcoholic content of 17 degrees instead of the normal 11 or 12, and is fabulous-proof indeed, as it turned out, of the Beaujolais belief that in the great vintages the wines can be so fine that, with bottle age they can be compared with many of the masterpieces of the Cote d'Or.
As my 1947 Julienas was so remarkable, I tried an experiment; I invited some really discerning friends in the wine trade to two luncheon parties. I told them they would be drinking two great burgundies 'blind' and would say which they preferred. The wines were my Julienas 1947 and the Romanee Conti of 1937 made from pre-phylloxera grapes. At the first luncheon of six people the voting was three all and at the second, four to two in favour of the Julienas! This extraordinary wine astonished everyone, as it still astonishes me."
|
|
|
Which is Better - Young Wine or Aged?Wednesday, 27th August, 2014
John Moody and Brave or Foolish Judging by Winestate September/October 2013 : Part 2.Monday, 21st July, 2014
My Replies to Frequently Asked QuestionsSunday, 22nd June, 2014
John Moody and Brave or Foolish Judging by Winestate September/October 2013 : Part 1Thursday, 1st May, 2014
Tastings Wine Scores and Shapley ValuesThursday, 27th March, 2014
Views on Tasting with Penfolds Notes for the RecordThursday, 27th February, 2014
Broken Glasses, Tasting Cups, Chinese Misadventures and TailgatingThursday, 8th August, 2013
A Wine for RichardMonday, 5th August, 2013
Morrisons - Never Fail Method for Buying WineTuesday, 9th July, 2013
Writing Tasting Notes about Great WineWednesday, 2nd May, 2013
Is a Tasting Note Helpful when Shopping?Wednesday, 24th April, 2013
Do Tasting Notes Have any Value?Friday, 22nd March, 2013
The Five Secrets of Stylish Women Applied to Drinking WineTuesday, 12th February, 2013
Playing the 'Hit Me' Wine GameMonday, 10th December, 2012
A Response to an eBay Customer About Barossa CabernetMonday, 27th August, 2012
Starting a Cellar and General Thoughts on Ageing Wines - The Experience of a Hardcore Wine CollectorMonday, 20th August, 2012
Starting a Cellar and General Thoughts on Ageing WinesWednesday, 18th July, 2012
Do Tastings Protect the Brand Image of Wine Australia? Tuesday, 17th April, 2012
Do the Waitrose Taste TestSunday, 26th February, 2012
Wine Writers Misleading CustomersTuesday, 10th January, 2012
Steps in Becoming a Wine SnobSaturday, 10th December, 2011
A Morning at the Mount Barker WA Wine ShowSunday, 20th November, 2011
Natural Flavours from Wine and Beer YeastsFriday, 26th August, 2011
Status in St Emilion Raises IssuesSunday, 24th July, 2011
What Should You Pay for Great Wine?Sunday, 15th May, 2011
Gordon Ramsay Says "Consult the Sommelier" - Is He Right? Tuesday, 13th July, 2010
Driven to Drink - A Reflection by Frank DevineFriday, 25th June, 2010
The John Vickery Leo Buring Tasting 1997Monday, 24th May 2010
Tasting Budget Reds in LondonTuesday, 27th April 2010
A Rosemount Story from Tesco UKTuesday, 23rd March, 2010
Descriptions of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from Unexpected SourcesTuesday, 23rd March, 2010
Sadat X Amusing? Yes. But Not Yet a Challenger to Robert ParkerThursday, 18th February, 2010
Tasting the Latest Noon WinesFriday, 5th February, 2010
The Barossa Wine Show Public Tasting 19th September
Part 3 of the Barossa Tastings
Monday, 4th January, 2010
The Power of GoldWednesday, 25th November, 2009
First Write the Review then Taste the WineWednesday, 25th November, 2009
The Artisans of the Barossa 12th September
Part 2 of the Barossa TastingsFriday, 30th October, 2009
The Whites do go Better With FishFriday, 30th October, 2009
A Parker Tasting Should Make Us PauseTuesday, 13th October, 2009
Why You Drink Champagne by the SeaThursday, 8th October, 2009
Tasting at Three Barossa Wine Shows
Part 1 - The Small Winemakers Show
Sunday, 4th October, 2009
It's In The Bubbles, StupidFriday, 2nd October, 2009
How Good is Your Palate?Monday, 21st September, 2009
Another Know All Wine WankerMonday, 21st September, 2009
Further Thoughts on the Australian Wine Show SystemThursday, 3rd September, 2009
Wine Advice from CraigslistThursday, 3rd September, 2009
Comparing Wine Types and Dog BreedsSaturday, 1st August, 2009
Electronic Experts Give Wine AdviceMonday, 15th June, 2009
In Search of a Holy GrailMonday, 5th May, 2009
The Gimblett Gravels Travelling Road Show Surprises LondonMonday, 20th April, 2009
The Beauty of the Five Point Judging SystemThursday, 26th March, 2009
Ideas for a New Wine Judging ScaleThursday, 12th March, 2009
The First Growth GimblettsMonday, 26th January, 2009
The Story of One Lonely BottleFriday, 26th December, 2008
The Future of Capital City Wine ShowsFriday, 5th December, 2008
The More You Spend the Better the TasteFriday, 2nd May, 2008
The Key to Tasting WinesFriday, 11th April, 2008
Buying Wines That Have a Sense of PlaceFriday, 11th April, 2008
What Are We to Make Of Wine Tasting NotesMonday, 4th February, 2007
Study of the Label Alters Our TastesSunday, 9th December, 2007
One in Five Cannot Smell Alpha-ylangeneMonday, 24th September, 2007
Charles Must Love ItFriday, 24th August, 2007
Liking Rough RedThursday, 28th June, 2007
The Ultimate Masked BottleFirday, 24th May, 2007
Create the Atmosphere for the Tasting Result You WantMonday, 19th March, 2007
Confessions of Wine Deceit, Other Deceptions and Fooling YourselfMonday, 29th January, 2007
Two Sides of the Wine CoinSunday, 12th November, 2006
Wine Labels, Ranking, Ratings, Experts and Wine PricesFriday, 27th October, 2006
A Story About VerdelhoWednesday, 4th October, 2006
The Magnetic Appeal of WineSunday, 24th September, 2006
Geology Cannot be Found In WineThursday, 18th September, 2006
More on the Impact of Scoring Wines Out of 100Thursday, 14th September, 2006
How a Three Star Wine Became a 90 Point WineSaturday, 9th September, 2006
High Alcohol - The Debate Rolls OnTuesday, 5th September, 2006
So You Suffer from AnosmiaMonday, 7th August, 2006
Can’t Tell Your Brett from Oak FlavoursTuesday, 18th July, 2006
Terroir - Can It Possible Shine Through the Background NoiseTuesday, 4th July, 2006
A Little Spat Over Chateau PavieThursday, 15th June, 2006
After All This Time - Now They Tell UsTuesday, 13th June, 2006
Winemaking and the French TouchFriday, 9th June, 2006
The Judgement of Paris Part IIMonday, 29th May, 2006
Why Do Chardonnays Seldom Win Trophies?Friday, 5th May, 2006
The Other French ParadoxTuesday, 2nd May, 2006
Show Me the Chardonnay TastingSunday, 30th April, 2006
Judging Wine and the View of the American 'Wine Spectator'Thursday, 6th April, 2006
The World Versus Robert M. Parker, Part ThreeSaturday, 18th March, 2006
Halliday v Parker Continues to Attract International AttentionThursday, 5th January, 2005
"Thank You Mr. Evans and Sorry Mr. Parker"Thursday, 8th December, 2005
The Differences of Opinion Continue: Mount Mary Quintets vs. Robert M. Parker Jr. Part 2Monday, 5th December, 2005
Sharp Differences of Opinion Over Mount MaryMonday, 14th November, 2005
The Views of the Economists With a Sense of HumourFriday, 14th October, 2005
Wine Quality: Does Terroir Matter?Friday, 14th October, 2005
Thoughts on Wine JudgingThursday, 13th October, 2005
What You See Affects What You Smell and TasteTuesday, 13th September, 2005
The New Taste of WineFriday, 2nd September, 2005
Consumers Disagree with Wine ExpertsSaturday, 27th August, 2005
Drinking From Special Wine GlassesThursday, 4th August, 2005
Now, This Wine Drinks Well, Night After NightMonday, 18th April, 2005
Corks, Stelvin Caps and OxygenWednesday, 6th April 2005
A Peep Behind the Wine Show DoorThursday, 17 March 2005
Going To Your Second Wine TastingSaturday, 11th December, 2004
What You Bring to Your First Wine TastingSaturday, 4th December, 2004
What Do Show Medals Mean - Part 2Tuesday, 7th December, 2004
What Do Show Medals Mean - Part 1Friday, 3rd September, 2004
|
|
RSS Feed