Brick Tower, Tower of London
For the UK wine trade this has been the annual Burgundy week with the 2010 vintage being shown by a number of merchants at various venues around town. In contrast to the Bordelais, the Burgundians show admirable restraint and only start to try to sell their wines when they are nearly ready to be bottled. This afternoon it was the turn of Corney & Barrow, who tend to choose the Tower of London for their tastings – presumably as it allows them the opportunity of locking up negative critics in the Bloody Tower.
Having tasted the 2010 reds – seems an attractive vintage with bright red fruits, some structure especially in the upper echelons with good balancing acidity giving wines with charm and delicacy – I had time to snap a few leading/well known critics tasting.
Tim Atkin MW
Stephen Brook (above and below)
Robert Giorgione (Roving Sommelier)
Margaret Rand
Michael Schuster
Natasha Hughes
5 comments:
Leading critics ...
I swear I’m not jealous but can one imagine anything more preposterous than ... leading critics ?
Leading what ? Leading whom ? Leading whereto ?
I’d like to see their “Declaration of assistance”.
And I’d like to see (or hear) them speak foreign languages, ask the right questions and understand the answers, travel to the right spot, visit a vineyard-site, understand a winery’s equipment, know s’thing about organic farming – or organic chemistry, for that matter.
Surely, it’s all there to be found at the Tower.
Not one of them ever held pruning scissors in his/her hand, or could tell the difference between white or black grapes.
Mys-ti-fi-ca-tion !
I, for one, will only be led by the only true and original Jim Budd.
Mind you, this sentence could be very dangerous for non-native English speakers, not all that familiar with verbs such as to lead, to lay, to lie ....
I ... just made it.
Thanks Luc but not for this old canard:
'Not one of them ever held pruning scissors in his/her hand,'
Next you will be demanding that a film critic has to be a film director first or a restaurant critic a three star chef.
It's completely confit!
Burgundy has certainly livened up the gang at WinePagesdotcom, who are being carried away in their enthusiasm on this lively forum!
Bob Alberta.
Yes, Jim. This is the issue I wanted to raise. One doesn’t need to be an EXPERT technician in order to “judge” (I prefer assess), but a minimum of skill is required. I think gastronomic critics should be good “cuisiniers” themselves, and musical critics at least able composers or music players ... the same holds true for all activities. It is all too easy to become a “leading this or that” just because one possesses a clever fountain-pen or a wealthy daddy.
I love Jazz and baroque music, as I love paintings. And I give “opinions” on CD’s or masterpieces. I will never consider myself a valid critic in these fields.
Luc: ' I think gastronomic critics should be good “cuisiniers” themselves, and musical critics at least able composers or music players ... the same holds true for all activities.'
It can be an aid but I don't think it is essential. For instance I would expect a restaurant critic to know about food and probably be a good cook but I wouldn't expect them to have been trained for or worked in a professional kitchen.
Most of those mentioned yesterday have been tasting professionally for at least 25 years and are well established writers. Whether their tastes and preferences match yours is another matter.
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