Gilman on 2010

[Bacchus]

Some of these quotations from the ever controversial Mr. Gilman shed light on his low opinion of 2010; snippets from his en primeur tastings, culled from his Twitter postings. He has a way of putting things that makes these fun to read, if not a little outrageous. If we believe him, it'll make the boycott easy:

Brdx made by M. Rolland or S. Derenoncourt analogous to MTV divas who never wrote a song or played a note in their lives- vinous soft porn?

One of the clearest things about the 2010 Bordeaux vintage is even if one makes a balanced wine over 14% alcohol, one loses focus & detail

Given Mouton-Rothschild's very high alcohol contents this year, the most pleasant part of the visit was the Baroness' 10 min historical film

Has anyone actually praised this behemoth vintage in Brdx? There are some good wines, but 2010 has loads of train wrecks!

Question of the day- Can a Bordeaux vintage truly be termed "great" when the stunning wines barely outnumber the flat out failures?

2010 further proves that the formulaic uber consultants so popular in Graves & St. Emilion these days really have no clue how to make claret

Clould everyone in Brdx handle '10 challenges- nope- even Haut Brion stable could not transcend potential pitfalls & made leaden & hot wines

Long day in the Graves yesterday- poised & balanced wines such as Haut Bailly will be hard to find in 2010- many hot, coarse & astringent!

[DavidG]

Thank you, Bacchus! His quotes are always a blast because they are so pointed and at times outrageous.

Some potential rejoinders:

Brdx made by M. Rolland or S. Derenoncourt analogous to MTV divas who never wrote a song or played a note in their lives- vinous soft porn?
Porn sells! Someone must like it.

One of the clearest things about the 2010 Bordeaux vintage is even if one makes a balanced wine over 14% alcohol, one loses focus & detail
It's not the MAKING of the >14% wine that causes loss of focus and detail, it's the DRINKING of it!

2010 further proves that the formulaic uber consultants so popular in Graves & St. Emilion these days really have no clue how to make claret
Then again, they may not be trying to make "claret" - which got it's moniker from being rather thin and watery and lacking concentration (in a different sense than those who have been drinking too much >14% wine!).

[Houndsong]

Didn't the 47 Cheval Blanc have something like 14% alcohol? Haven'y heard many complaints about it.

[DavidG]

But has Gilman tasted/written about it?

[Claudius2]

Hound
The 47 Cheval Blanc had more like 16% alc.
The level is not marked on the bottle.
last bought this during the recession in Australia in 1991 for $A900. Would hate to buy it now!

I have been saying for years that the overall quality of wines made in Bordeaux (and just about everywhere else) has never been higher.
St Emilion probably the best example.
I have expressed some concerns about alc level (eg my several reports on 08 right bank wines) but the overall quality is heaps better than in the 70s when I started drinking them.
If that is the impact of flying winemakers and uber consultants, then good for them.

The other issue is diversity.
There are now numerous diferent styles and if you do not like one style, winemaker or whatever, there are so many choices.

[DCWINO]

I have had a number of tasting with him. During a tasting of Figeac, he stated that the 90 Beausejour Duffau hasn’t changed a bit since bottling, basically making fun of hte wine. He loves Figeac just about all vintages.

[Bacchus]

Yet another cautionary voice on 2010:
http://www.garagistewine.com/2010-bordeaux-fun-numbers

[AlexR]

Who is this Gilman, please?
Never heard of him.

Alex R.

[Bacchus]

Serious question Alex, or being funny while forgetting to add emoticons?

http://www.viewfromthecellar.com/
http://www.drvino.com/2008/12/20/john-g ... le-values/
http://www.vikingrange.com/consumer/lif ... rod8890176
http://www.snooth.com/articles/john-gil ... agdelaine/

[JimHow]

I'm with Alex.
Seriously, who is this guy?

[Bacchus]

He's an American blogger and wine critic. His claim to fame, his profile raising moments if you will, came from trashing the 2009 Cos d'Estournel and the 2010 Pavie. He's known for preferring traditionally made wines, and disliking modern, fruit-forward, heavily oaked wines. I don't subscribe to his electronic journal, although I'm thinking of ordering a couple of back issues to sample his writing, but he has a reputation for being very thorough in his analysis of things vinous.

Here's an interesting discussion of some of his controversial views:
http://wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtop ... =1&t=46647

[Bacchus]

David, somehow or other I seemed to have missed your come-backs. They're great. In fact, I can't decide which I like best. Thx.

[Claudius2]

The article (garargiste) is actuallyu well written and thought thru, not an emotional dump or ple for the way things used to be.
Not tried any 2010s and will be interested to taste them.

[Blanquito]

Connecting the dots, it sure seems that overall BWE is bullish on 2005 Bordeaux.

[JimHow]

The 2005 Lagrange I had the other night... the 11th of a case of 12 that I've had so far... was the "best" yet.... Still, I'm not real high on the 2005 Lagrange, and for me the verdict is still out on 2005 in general. To me, the 2000 vintage... both left and right, from what I can tell... was the perfect vintage. I don't get that 2000 "accessibility" and "charm" from the 2005 vintage.

[DavidG]

The '05s are decidedly more tannic than the '00s, and less approachable. And not just because they are 5 years younger. They will require patience, but I believe they will reward it, much like those '86s some of us shared in NYC