2011 Finca Antigua Crianza, La Mancha

 

 2011 Finca Antigua Crianza,  La Mancha  

Although 2011 this Crianza from La Mancha is still youthful. A blend of 50% Tempranillo, 20% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Syrah, this is quite typical of a certain style of Spanish red with good concentration and some sweet American oak notes, although it is aged in old barrels – a mix of French and American. A good red for the winter. 

Another good value red from The Wine Society. 

#DWCC13: another selection of fotos

 We've got you covered....

Angelika Deutsch

Alexandra Corvo (above and below)

André Ribeirinho

 iPad with Benjamin Spencer (The Etna Wine School)

Carrie Jorgensen (Cortes de Cima)

El Cid (André Cid Proença)

Gabriel Dvoskin (above and below)

Uncle Ken Payton

Luiz Alberto

Mariëlla Beukers 

The 'cool' Miss Vicky

Joe and Janelle Becerra 

Giampiero Nadali

Ricardo Bernardo

Robert Joseph: the deep wine thinker...

Roger Kolbu

Tim Hanni MW

Fabio Bartolomei - a 
producer from near Madrid (on Twitter)

Charles Metcalfe
The wine singer

LA: Your Wine Bottle Needs You!

Louise Hurren

Jan Read: 1917-20th November 2012

Jan Read:The Wines of Spain and Portugal, Faber 1973 

Very sorry to learn this evening of the death of Jan Read at the age 95 on 29th November 2012. Jan was well known initially for his work in films and then latterly as a specialist in the wines of Spain and Portugal. Jan's book – The Wines of Spain and Portugal (published in 1974) above – was the first book on the wines of the Iberian Peninsula that I bought and may well have been the first study of these wines in English. 

See here an appreciation of Jan Read by his son, Carlos Read, and Jancis Robinson MW from her website.

Jan was one of the most senior members of the Circle of Wine Writers. Here is the notice sent to members by CWW chair Stuart Walton:

'Members will be greatly saddened to hear of the death last week of one the Circle's most senior members, Jan Read, at the age of 95. Born before the end of the first world war, Jan became, for the generation prior to the late John Radford, a formidably authoritative expert in Iberian wines, and also wrote (with Hugh Johnson) what was the first ever book on the wines of Chile as long ago as 1988. It was that latter that some of us had packed in our suitcases when we did our very first trip there in the early 1990s. He and his Spanish wife Maite Manjon wrote some of the first ever specialist Hispanic cookery books to be published in the UK, and he was also a prolific screenwriter for both film and television. His autobiography, Young Man in Movieland, was published in 2005. Jan is survived by Maite, and by their son Carlos, who works for Spanish importers Moreno Wines.'

With the death of John Radford on 19th October, we have now lost two of the leading English speaking Spain wine specialists in little over a month. Señor Gerry Dawes look after yourself please! 

John Radford dies: born 1st December 1946 - died 19th October 2012

John Radford judging@The 2012 Decanter World Wine Awards

Very sad to learn this morning that John died recently of heart failure aged 65. (I believe he died on 19th October and there was a quiet family funeral.)

A great and generous character, a fine wine writer – amongst the very best. Spain had the good fortune to have his love and attention – a wonderful and very professional ambassador for Spanish wines. How very distant from the tawdry goings on in parts of Spain exposed at the end of last year. 

John had been in declining health for a number of years but this did not quench his enthusiasm. Unfortunately he was involved, through no fault of his, in a very serious car accident involving a lorry at the end of the 1990s and this may have been a contributory factor.

The October edition of Circle Update, the newsletter of the Circle of Wine Writers, will be published next Wednesday and will feature appreciations and tributes to John. If anyone would like to contribute memories of John, please email them to me by Tuesday morning to budmac@btinternet.com

Will certainly be raising this evening a copita or so of Sherry to his memory.  

John presenting Alejandro Fernández with bottle of Bollinger 

 @Circle of Wine Writers tasting of the wines of Pesquera in 2008

John Radford: The New Spain 

Miguel Torres on the publication of John Radford's The New Spain in 1998:

‘This image of Spanish winemaking, the modern reality, is what the reader will find in the pages of The New Spain. For many years, John Radford has had a special interest in Spanish wines, as evidenced by his work in all the major English-language wine magazines in Europe, as well as his television and radio career. No one but John, a genuine Hispanophile and an enthusiast for every Spanish region, could have written this comprehensive, contemporary, complex but very enjoyable review of the wines of Spain.’    

**

John's entry in Wikipedia (although it neglects to include John's various appearances in Christmas panto):

John Radford is a writer and broadcaster in the field of wine and food, with an emphasis on Spain. Radford was born in Nottingham on 1 December 1946 and was educated at Stamford School in Lincolnshire.

After a background in the food and drink industry and retail, Radford's writing career started with children's comics, principally for the Dundee publishing house of D.C. Thomson, with Judy comic for girls, for which he wrote a good deal of the annuals from 1978 to 1985 as well as the weekly paper. He also wrote for the same publisher's science fiction series Starblazer, and contributed to other publications, including a series of stories about Dixon Hawke the Dover Street Detective for the Dundee Sporting Post.

He began lecturing about wine whilst in the wine trade, from 1975, and started writing about wine from 1977. His first regular column was in 1981 in the Coventry Evening Telegraph and this was subsequently syndicated to local dailies around the UK. He also contributed wine articles to Decanter Magazine from 1985, as well as writing general features for regional and county glossies and business magazines.

As a result of his perceived interest in Spain, he was commissioned by ICEX, the Spanish Embassy Commercial Office in London, to write the trade/press textbook for Spanish wines The Spanish Wine Education Notes, which appeared bi-annually from 1989 to 2001, after which ICEX took it in-house and it went online.

In 1997 he was commissioned by the publisher Mitchell Beazley to write a new and definitive consumer guide to Spanish wines - The New Spain. Since then his books have a won a number of international awards. The New Spain (1998) won the Glenfiddich "Drinks Book of the year" and the Prix de Champagne Lanson "European Wine Book of the year" awards, as well as 'Best European Wine Book' at the Livre Gourmand Awards in Versailles, and was awarded the silver medal of the Gastronomische Akademie Deutschland. His 2004 book The Wines of Rioja also won the Livre Gourmand award for "Best European Wine Book". In 2006 he was awarded the Premio Especial Alimentos de España in Madrid for his continuing work on Spanish food and wine, and he is a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino. His most recent book Cook España, Drink España, written in collaboration with chef Mario Sandoval of Restaurante Coque in Humanes de Madrid was published in October 2007. In November it won the Livre Gourmand Award 2008 for 'Best European Wine Book Outside France'. In December 2007 it was shortlisted in the top three for 'Best Wine Book in the World (outside France)', and went on to win the world title at Olympia, London on 13 April 2008.

Radford writes articles for a number of UK wine publications, including Harpers, Drinks International and Off-Licence News (all trade publications) and Gourmetour, Decanter, Wine Press (Beijing) as well as other consumer publications.

In March 2007, the first issue of Yes Chef! magazine was published, with a launch at Harvey Nichols in London, and Radford as editor. The magazine was quarterly and aimed at kitchen and restaurant professionals as well as interested amateur cooks. In 2011 it was relaunched as the bi-monthy Chef magazine, with Radford as Consultant Editor. In addition he continues to write mostly wine-related articles for magazines in the UK and abroad.

Broadcasting

Radford has appeared on several wine-related British television shows including A Question of Taste which ran from 1997 to 1998 on Carlton Food Network, hosted by Russell Grant.

From 1993 to 1997 Radford co-presented the breakfast programme for Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire with BBC Three Counties Radio^[3] based in Luton. In 1997 he transferred to BBC Southern Counties Radio based in Brighton where he stayed until March 2006.

From April 2006 until August 2009 he worked as a local radio presenter for Splash FM in Worthing.

Selected bibliography

• 2011 RIOJA REVISITED (e-book updating THE WINES OF RIOJA)
• 2011 THE WINES OF RIOJA (republished as an e-book)
• 2010 THE ULTIMATE WINE COMPANION (Sterling Epicure, New York - Spanish chapter)
• 2009 COMPANION GUIDE TO THE WINES OF THE WORLD (New edition - Spanish chapter)
• 2009 COOK ESPAÑA, DRINK ESPAÑA (American edition)
• 2008 WINE REPORT 2009 (Spanish chapter)
• 2007 WINE REPORT 2008 (Spanish chapter)
• 2007 COMER EN ESPAÑA, BEBER EN ESPAÑA (Spanish language version)
• 2007 COOK ESPAÑA, DRINK ESPAÑA (with Mario Sandoval)
• 2007 GREAT WINE TOURS OF THE WORLD (New edition - Spanish chapters)
• 2006 WINE REPORT 2007 (Spanish chapter)
• 2005 WINE REPORT 2006 (Spanish chapter)
• 2004 VINOS DE ESPAÑA - Spanish Translation of THE NEW SPAIN (New Edition)
• 2004 THE NEW SPAIN (New Edition)
• 2004 THE WINES OF RIOJA
• 2004 COMPANION GUIDE TO THE WINES OF THE WORLD (Spanish chapter)
• 2004 WINE REPORT 2005 (Spanish chapter)
• 2003 WINE REPORT 2004 (Spanish chapter)
• 2002 THE SPANISH WINE EDUCATION NOTES
• 2002 DE WIJNEN VAN SPANJE - Dutch translation of THE NEW SPAIN
• 2002 GREAT WINE TOURS OF THE WORLD (Spanish chapters)
• 2001 GYLDENDALS BOG OM DE SPANSKE VINE Danish translation of THE NEW SPAIN
• 2001 A CENTURY OF WINE (Spanish chapter)
• 2000 GLOBAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WINE (Spanish and Portuguese chapters)
• 2000 A CENTURY OF WINE (Mitchell Beazley, London - Spanish chapter)
• 2000 POCKET BOOK OF FORTIFIED AND SWEET WINES (with Stephen Brook - fortified wines)
• 1999 WEINLANDSCHAFT SPANIEN - German translation of THE NEW SPAIN
• 1998 THE NEW SPAIN

Awards

• 2008 Best Wine Book in the world, Livre Gourmand Awards (London)
• 2007 Best European Wine Book, Livre Gourmand Awards (France)
• 2005 Premio Especial Alimentos de España (Spain)
• 2005 Best European Wine Book, Livre Gourmand Awards (France)
• 2000 Silver medal, Gastrononmische Akademie Deutschlands (Germany)
• 1999 Best European Wine Book, Livre Gourmand Awards (France)
• 1999 Prix de Champagne Lanson, Best European wine book (UK)
• 1999 Glenfiddich Award, Best European wine book (UK)
• 1996 Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, elected to membership (Spain)

 

From Wikipedia here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Radford_%28wine_writer%29

See also a tribute to John by Gabriella Opaz here on Catavino.

April 2010: John@Enoteca Turi, Putney, London during DWWA regional chairs' lunch

  

         

Campogate: Robert Parker's 'car crash'

"What a fine mess I've made of this!"

The summary report on the investigation by Cozen O’Connor and Kroll Associates into Campogate/No Pay No Jay has some devastating findings and conclusions amongst its measured tones.

Although Pancho Campo MW and Jay Miller are obvious losers, it is Robert Parker’s reputation that takes by far the biggest hit. In short ‘Campogate’ has shown that Parker’s administration and public relation skills are woefully inadequate. The report demonstrates that the management of the world’s most influential wine critic and The Wine Advocate team would make Heath Robinson proud. 

Parker bears the major responsibility both for the genesis of Campogate and for all the avoidable damage it has done to brand Parker and his Wine Advocate. In order to recoup some of the thousands spent on an investigation,  Parker and The Wine Advocate should offer this sorry saga to PR guru Max Clifford as an abject lesson in how not to do ‘crisis management’. 

The report makes ten recommendations – surely a remarkable number for an investigation of this kind. One crucial one, however, is missing: that Parker becomes chairman of the board and appoints as managing director someone who has both managerial and public relations skills. This would allow Parker to concentrate on his strengths: tasting and writing about wine.

The genesis of this débâcle dates back to November 2009 and Wine Future Rioja. 

Was it ever going to be sensible to appoint a non-Spanish speaker – Jay Miller – to give the increased coverage to Spanish wines that Parker wanted? Probably it wouldn’t have been a problem if Miller’s role had been just to taste samples in the US. Instead, Miller was dispatched to make frequent visits to Spain, thus requiring a Spanish-speaking guide and organizer.

I guess after the adulation of WineFuture Rioja in November 2009 and being well paid for his participation (entirely appropriate as Parker was the headlining act and without him both editions of Wine Future would have had much less impact) it must have seemed to him a smart move to ask Campo to organize Miller’s Spanish visits.

But was it a really that bright to appoint someone who at that very moment was wanted by Interpol (a notice only downgraded in July 2010) for absconding from a conviction for fraud in Dubai in 2003? Furthermore, as the report notes:

‘Robert Parker and the staff at The Wine Advocate placed Campo – someone with ‘a myriad, legitimate commercial relationships with wineries across Spain – in a position that provided him with an opportunity to exert some control over Miller’s itinerary in Spain without adequately briefing him about The Wine Advocate’s strict standards safeguarding its independence. Furthermore, Jay Miller did not speak Spanish, and, as a result, was dependent on Campo to make all arrangements with minimal oversight from The Wine Advocate. This difficulty was exacerbated by Miller’s lack of knowledge and interest regarding the details of Campo’s negotiations.’

Given all this, it is utterly astounding that Parker accepted invoices from Campo and The Wine Academy of Spain (TWAS) without any documentation, as the report states. ‘TWAS submitted its expenses to The Wine Advocate on a single invoice with no supporting documentation – i.e., no actual receipts of its or Jay Miller’s expenses in Spain.’ This from a man convicted of trousering $600,000 from his former business partner! 

Little surprise then that problems arose:

The investigation concluded that, whether intentionally or not, Campo blurred the lines between tastings for rating in The Wine Advocate and TWAS-sponsored private events.

An early example of the blurring of ‘the lines between tastings for rating in The  Wine Advocate and TWAS-sponsored events‘ came in July 2011 with the July 2011 visit to Navarra.  In August 2011 Mercados del Vino y la Distribución reported that the visit to Navarra by Jay Miller and Pancho Campo MW had cost the region €100,000 and included a master class for which Miller was apparently paid $15,000. Chris Kissack (The Wine Doctor) reported that:

‘Parker’s response was to indicate that it was a paid lecture, and it was $15,000, not €100,000, and “and where is there any conflict? He, as all of us do, are paid to give lectures“. “I can’t possibly see any conflict with what Jay has done, but if you actually know anything, I am all ears“.  

Recommendation 8 (Cozen O’Connor): Refuse to allow contractors to conduct private events while travelling for The Wine Advocate.

Irrespective of whether Parker was shooting from the hip or commenting with the full facts at his disposal, his remarks may well have indicated to Campo and Miller that Parker saw no conflict of interest in having private paid events tacked onto Wine Advocate visits.

On 26^th October 2011 Vincent Pousson published on Facebook the now famous ASEVIN tariff for tastings and visits by Jay Miller and Pancho Campo. Shortly afterwards I published further emails that Harold Heckle and I had obtained that supported the email published by Pousson and provided further information. ‘Campogate’ had begun. 

Had Parker been media-savvy he could have stepped in at the beginning of November and publicly launched an investigation into the Murcia/ASEVIN emails, saving himself much grief and money. Instead he allowed the situation to fester and get worse, due, I assume, to an unfortunate siege mentality that any criticism seeks to undermine him and is motivated by envy. 

  

Further Parker inspired PR disasters followed at the beginning of December after our publication of the emails around the abortive proposed visit to DO Vinos de Madrid. On 1^st December Parker claimed in relation to the ASEVIN emails that:

‘This blogger posted about Miller/Campo charging for tasting Spanish wines or for visiting Spanish wineries a while ago. We launched an investigation at that time despite the fact that both Miller/Campo denied all the allegations. We found no substance or truth to any of the allegations.’

Full details here.

As well as threatening me with legal action over the new Madrid allegations, Parker launched a four-month legal investigation that presumably cost  thousands, which backed up what the ASEVIN emails had shown:

‘There was plainly an early attempt by ASEVIN to solicit such contributions’ (page 4, Cozen O’Connor).

Another claim made in Parker’s outburst was also shown to be wrong: 

‘Jay chooses and controls 100% of the wines he tastes and wineries he visits.’ (RP). ‘According to Jay Miller, he typically provided a list of wineries to Campo that would fill approximately 75% of his schedule; this left a portion of his schedule (approximately 25%, by Miller’s estimation; much lower by Campo’s estimation) to be completed with recommendations from Campo. (The investigation confirmed that no one else at The Wine Advocate was aware of Campo’s significant role in proposing wineries to visit.)’ (Page 3).

It looks to me like an awful lot of money has been spent to demonstrate managerial incompetence and that you don’t know what is going on in your business.

Parker’s announcement and the DO Viños de Madrid emails merely fanned the internet ‘explosion’ as well as a rising tide of criticism in Spain. Just when it seemed it couldn’t get any worse Parker capped it all on 4^th December by baldly announcing that Jay Miller was leaving The Wine Advocate. Although Miller’s departure had apparently been long arranged, it was widely assumed that he had been sacked. Parker gave the appearance of being entirely oblivious to the effect that his announcement was bound to have in the fevered atmosphere of the time.

How far ‘Campogate’ has damaged Parker’s reputation and that of The Wine Advocate remains to be seen, but what is clear is that most of the damage has been largely inflicted by Parker himself. It has certainly demonstrated that the administration and management of Team Parker is a ramshackle affair. This might be hubristically amusing if Parker and The Wine Advocate did not have the power to make the reputations and fortunes of wine producers as well as very significantly influence the wine investment market.    

Pancho Campo MW

Pancho Campo will doubtless trumpet that he has been cleared by the investigation citing ‘no evidence of actual impropriety’. However, the blame for the ‘appearance of impropriety’ is largely laid at Campo’s door and ‘sever relations with Pancho Campo and The Wine Academy of Spain (TWAS)‘ is the report’s very first recommendation. (So much for Campo’s allegation of ‘disgusting attacks’ somewhat supinely reported last week by Harpers.)

One crucial question remains unanswered in the report: did ‘the blurring of the lines between tastings for rating in The Wine Advocate and TWAS-sponsored private events’ mean that Spanish wine regions had to accept, or thought they had to accept, the TWAS-sponsored private events in order to have a visit from Jay Miller and for their wines to be rated in situ? Email evidence relating to the proposed trip by Miller and Campo in the summer of 2011 to DO Viños de Madrid suggests that this was the case but is not mentioned in the report.   

Campo has acknowledged that wine no longer holds the financial rewards it did and is attempting to resuscitate his career by returning to music and sports promotion as well as deluxe lifestyle events under the Charade Management umbrella (‘can’t these bloggers get anything right?’ – special representative for Marbella – ‘it’s Chrand Management SL – director: Pancho Campo.)

Jay Miller

From the report, Jay Miller appears to have stumbled around Spain in ‘don’t ask questions’ mode.

‘Furthermore, Jay Miller did not speak Spanish, and, as a result was dependent on Campo to make all the arrangements with minimal oversight from The Wine Advocate. This difficulty was exacerbated by Miller’s lack of knowledge and interest regarding the details of Campo’s negotiations.' 

Miller had power of veto over Campo’s suggestions of wines and wineries to visit but never used it. ‘Although Miller always retained “veto” over wines and wineries suggested by Campo – and thereby ultimate control over his itinerary – Miller admitted that he never had reason to exercise this power with any of Campo’s recommendations.’

‘Thus, while this investigation revealed no evidence of actual impropriety, we believe the dynamic of Miller and Campo’s collaboration in Spain –  even if undertaken with the best of intentions – created an appearance of impropriety.’

***

One of Spain's leading wine critics, Andrés Proensa (www.proensa.com), gives his verdict on Campogate and has a look at Charade Management in this article.