Tasting notes and wine assessment

[Bacchus]

"But if Nic finds violets in a dauzac, am I gonna go out and buy the 2010?"

This statement by Jim over in the long thread caused me to think about the way we judge and assess wines. In going over my tasting notes, I noticed that a lot of them read alike. And when it comes down to it, they read a lot like everyone's notes, whether members of this board, or the professionals. Prominent in most notes is a list of flavours, typically berries, things like cedar, graphite and charred oak, with perhaps some other sorts of flavours, like flowers. Notes might also refer to mouth feel, tannin and acid levels, and matters of balance. But what I can't tell from these sorts of notes is whether I will actually like the wine or not! In my own notes the descriptions of the wines I like don't look any different from the wines I don't care for. To remind myself of that decision, I have to add the very explicit statement that I liked a particular wine, or not! I guess I'm finding the traditional tasting note a little on the useless side. But I'm wondering what it is that makes us like a wine or not, and whether that can be more accurately described in a tasting note. Are we describing the right things, or do we need a better language? Or have we simply come up against the limitations of the ability of language to describe tasting experiences? Anyone else wonder about this sort of thing?

[DavidG]

That's what points are for.

[RDD]

Can you define what you don't like in a wine?

[AlexR]

It is very enlightening to taste wine with an enologist.
Their criteria are very different from those of consumers and critics.

The question you ask reminds me of some movie/book reviews I come across in which you read the article and you still haven't figured out if the damned thing is worth watching/reading!

The basis of all this is really rather complicated... People who publish their reviews often hedge and - whether they admit it or not - take into account the wine's reputation.
But non-professionals who describe wines with energetic outpourings are, alas, often not really qualified.

How to describe wine, you ask.... Well, the technical crowd will point you in the direction of systems defined by UC Davis, for instance. The rest of us rely on word pictures and try to touch all bases: color, nose, taste (texture, volume, tannin, etc., etc.) and aftertaste.
Of course, many of us use scores too. I'm old school: they're out of 20.
And I tend to score on the tough side.

But, whatever anyone says, there is no objective standard! Furthermore, people are necessarily inconsistent with themselves!
(myself included). I could very easily give a score of 90 to a Côtes de Blaye, and 90 to a Saint-Julien, but they would only be pertinent within their respective contexts.
There is no golden yardstick.

Still, words and evaluations DO have a meaning and are helpful. I'm also tempted to say that the more verbose tasting notes are, the more helpful they are, in the fine wine category anyway.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[OrlandoRobert]

I like reading the notes and do think scores help in context.

When I read a note on these Boards, however, I am really looking for things like drinking window and decant time. I love reading the notes on wines I own, and therefore appreciate the thoughts on how the wine is best presented, how it is showing and what the window might be. And if it is not ready, then that's key information to know. Whether you see violets and I see lilacs, well, one man's X is another man's Y. Interesting to read, but not always on point.

[Ken]

Bacchus - I have had exactly the same experiences and I have started adding to the finish line in my comments whether I like the wine and whether I would buy it.

I also find my notes frequently read the same which does not reflect my experiences. I think I have trouble waxing poetic; unlike some of our breathern. I used to tased with a guy who would come up with the wildest tasting descriptions, and I was always envious.

-Ken

[Nicklasss]

This is why you have to attend a BWE convention or mini-offline. This is the best opportunity to taste a wine, from the same bottle, with another BWEer, and compare your appreciation of the wine.

Even the "virtual tasting" are not perfect as the wine is not from the same bottle, same temperature, same glasses...

As I know many BWEers are real passionnate about wine, this is why I do all those trips to meet them and share a bottle of wine. I have a better figure of what JimHow, MichaelP, Pappadoc, Jal, DavidG, Tom in DC, sdr, dstgolf, tim, AlexR, stefan, SF Ed, Mr. Bublitz, Mr. Dayton, JohnB, and all the others I've met, what they appreciate, so when I read their comments, it is easier.

But even if I've done that, I understand that some BWEers will never get it. An example : JimHow who tried to get a 1993 Chateau Batailley at the 2012 BWE convention, to open with me. But I know what he will answer : "You know Nic, I'm just a Maine country lawyer ..."

Nic