I have recently received a review copy of Jonathan Ray's 64-page new book: How to buy wine – all you need to know to choose the right bottle every time published by Ryland Peters & Small £9.99
I was dismayed to read on the Loire page:
'Not so good for: Big, full flavoured reds. Forget it, there are none.'
Jonathan I'll give you that there aren't any Barossa style reds but there are plenty of full flavoured reds including some from your recommended producers such as Filliatreau and Vacheron (La Belle Dame).'
Very disappointing to see such nonsense continues to be written and published.
6 comments:
I'm not disappointed - it keeps the prices low for the rest of us!
A fair point Frank but prices need to be high enough so that producers make a decent return so that they can invest further in quality.
Which brings up an interesting question: how high does the price need to be to ensure that a grower/producer of a decent-sized Loire domaine at a decent-sized yield would make a living wage and enough return on investment to hand down the business to his/her children?
I ask because there are so few high-quality, affordable wines from California - too many people paid too much for their land. On the other hand, a place like Dry Creek which has owned its land for nearly 40 years can put out a drinkable product at less than $15 per bottle.
Jim, you make it sound as though Mr. Ray (whose name and work I've never encountered) is one of those people who correlates "big" with "full flavored" -- that one cannot have the latter quality without the former.
If so (and I'm not sure that he is insinuating this) then he has no business writing about wine in the first place. Perhaps he doesn't find a good Volnay "full flavored," either?
If he's not insinuating this, then is he simply guilty of sloppy writing? Anti-Loire prejudice? What does he think Loire reds are good for?
Wicker Parker: Thanks for your comment. To be fair to Jonathan this is really just a brief soundbite (the book only has 64 pages).
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