Wine. Do you know it?

[Glaucus]

Bit much then. 1921 for 37.5k

 

[GolfNovember90]

tbh i usually go for the cheaper bottles of wine, more expensive do taste 'nicer' but not enough to justify the cost imho

 

[Rroff]

lol, but only because the RRP of Wolf Blass Yellow labels is about £8.

Wine is like anything else, you like what you like. In the same way that some people prefer red to white or dry to sweet some people prefer the more industrial flavour of cheap wines. On a like for like basis though (eg a varietal Sauvignon Blanc for a fiver against a varietal Sauvignon Blanc for £40) you should be able to tell the difference..........assuming the retailer has priced them honestly.

Yeah I usually nip down tescos get it for ~£6 - but most of the decent Sauvignons are £10+...

I've neve been a fan of Oz wines but my mates who have moved there have found it a revelation; especially in realising the stuff they export is complete ****.

I'm not a fan of Oz wines - most are kinda plasticy tasting atleast the imported ones - but I find Wolf Blass a good drink - its neither too dry or too sweet and while it doesn't quite have the depth of some better quality wines its still quite satisfying to drink - much fuller taste than many much more expensive wines.

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

I've got mayes who drink nothing but Rioja, but it just doesn't get in with my tongue. Pomerol / St Emillion is a different story though. I was at wedding just east of Bergerac at the weekend and I was knocking back the SE like nobodies business. It was lovely.

 

[NickK]

Bergerac at the weekend and I was knocking back the SE like nobodies business. It was lovely.

Yup, it should be smooth, almost like velvet without any acidity.

 

[Glaucus]

do you know any outstanding wines around the £60-80 mark, or even better any websites you can put the price in and maybe region and it gives you a list and tasting notes which years are the best.

 

[malfunkshun]

winesearcher.com

 

[NickK]

do you know any outstanding wines around the £60-80 mark, or even better any websites you can put the price in and maybe region and it gives you a list and tasting notes which years are the best.

not straight off the top of my head drunk whilst eating pizza Ch. Conseillante, La Tour (Figeac), Le Pin, Ch. la Croix. Ch. Figeac, La Mondotte (Ausone is like CB.. forget about that!) .. helps if I finish the sentence ... are good, first ones are pomerol later are st.emillion.

As for years, I'd need to research them... I know 05, 00, 98 off the top of my head but decanter have a good list.

 

[singist]

Just like the **** arguments that go on about whisky etc ....... drink what you find to be nice, whatever the price.

I have had some very nice £3-50 bottles that would beat many a £20 bottle but I'm not a snob and drink what I like.

I would defy most people to distinguish the difference between a good £10 bottle and a £50+ bottle in a blind tasting.

 

[Glaucus]

Did you read my post or just percieve it as an attack on 'wine connoisseurs'. I was referring to the study, 5000 people (http://www.wine-economics.org/workingpapers/AAWE_WP16.pdf). In a blind taste test (judging purely on flavour/aroma) it finds that all but those considered wine experts enjoy more expensive wines less than they do cheap wine.

yes and was pointing out why I thought it didn't hold water for your statement in the first post.

The article confirms to me a definite snob mentality that's associated with buying wines , the mentality that is if it costs more it tastes better.

from a sample of 4 wines.

And went on to say what test would be needed to show that stance. Not all expensive wines taste nice and not all cheap wines are horrible. But that doesn't tell us anything about the general taste quality of cheap compared to expensive wine. Only that precieved cost can alter someones reaction.

 

[Greenlizard0]

Wine is worse than art.

And no I can't tell the difference. It's either drinkable, very drinkable or disgusting for me.

However I easily can distinguish between vodkas, and sometimes olive oil bizarrely enough.

 

[taB]

I sell wine from £5 a bottle to £whatever. Most expensive bottle I have on hand to poke is about £700. The decent stuff is generally kept in bond as it should be.

As mentioned above www.wine-searcher.com is a good place for price finding (ignore everywine.co.uk). Other internet resources I use regularly are:

www.cellartracker.com - community reviews
www.erobertparker.com - Both Bob himself & Neal Martin - formerly of wine anorak. Forums are free. I have a sub as it's very handy
www.wine-pages.co.uk - Tom Cannavan + UK community forum
www.wine-journal.com - Jamie Goode - wine scientist chap. I have a couple of his books.
www.winedoctor.com - Chris Kissack - world renowned expert on Blue Nun.

Cheval Blanc is an interesting one. Most vintages are rated good to excellent by Bob P Jnr with a couple of shockers and a couple of perfect 100s. The price will be high for any vintage but vary a lot according to his scores. Cheapest winesearcher price for the 2000 vintage is £450 ex-VAT - although Fine & Rare are at £589 and they are much more likely to be up to date and actually have some. Conversely the 1997 is a bit **** and sells for £154 ex-VAT. I could show you dozens of wines around £10 that get better reviews than this 1997 wine (terrible year in general and one where the Bordelais shot themselves in the collective foot post '95 & '96 price hikes) but it's Cheval Blanc....

Wine is wine to some people. I read reviews of wines I've tried and liked and they aren't always favourable. The reasoning is to align my palette (or pallet in the Sun's wine column this week) to a critic's. Once I know what I like about a wine and how that affects a certain expert's reviews & scores I can make more informed purchases. For example, I like traditional style Bordeaux as opposed to the often higher scoring overly spoofulated wines produced by winemakers who are seeking high Parker points. Because as Dale has taught us: "Points mean prizes" (or prices in this case).

I'm currently drinking a glass of Ozzie Shiraz that set me back about £5 for the bottle. It's rather nice. Tomorrow I'm having dinner with some family and will be dipping into my cache of good stuff. Pontet Canet '95 is a likely candidate.

Addendum: Parker's scoring is becoming increasingly odd and the tasting notes more important. Up to May 2005 there were 140 100 point wines (source: google 5 minutes ago) in total - from 1980(ish) when he started until then. This week he has rated 10 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Papes at 100 points.

 

[malfunkshun]

ooo Chateau Neuf du Pape! now there is a mouth FULL of flavours, get some of that

 

[cheets64]

What I want to know is what makes win so expensive, obviously if its old and been stored then its going to be rare and part of history but the distillery process is probably the same and that they can charge what they like because people are stupid enough to pay £500 for a bottle.

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

Wine is expensive because there is sufficient demand for it.

However, wine isn't distilled only spirits are, but you are right that the basic process is essentially the same. What does change the taste are various factors like the quality of the grapes used, the blend of grapes and the barrels used to store the wine before bottling.

People are paying for something they like, just like an expensive meal. Saying it's the same is a bit like saying McDonalds is the same as Gavroche.

 

[Dogoid]

What I want to know is what makes win so expensive, obviously if its old and been stored then its going to be rare and part of history but the distillery process is probably the same and that they can charge what they like because people are stupid enough to pay £500 for a bottle.

they can charge that amount because they know there is a market for it. To me its just the same as people who buy expensive watches, its more to do with social standing than time telling.

someone made an analogy using the graphic card market on the first page, well there too is a market for the same mentality that i just highlighted with wine, ' the bragging factor' its more to do with perception than any reality , other peoples perception of ones self. we tend to want to control that if we can , and through wine and other stuff we do. we are social beings, we do what's necessary to fit into what ever social niche or group we want to be in.

 

[squerble]

Not the biggest fan of wine but I do like the Blossom Hill White Zinfandel I think it is? It's a rose.

 

[Justintime]

My girlfriend is a wine connesieur of sorts (does judging etc.. ) and can attest to the fact that many el cheapo wines taste excellent. Myself i'm personally a vodka/beer/rum/whiskey man, hate wine tbh.