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Telling it like it is

7/27/2015

Raymond Chan, one of New Zealand's most prolific wine tasters, has no qualms about awarding maximum points to truly fine wines.
"Tasting wine,"he says,"ïs not just a sensory experience. It can also be an emotional one, Sometimes I am moved to tears.".
Just for the record: Raymond has awarded the possible to 25 of the more than 7000 wines he has tasted since setting up Raymond Chan Wine Reviews in 2010. And there will, no doubt, be more as he continues to sip, swirl and spit through a second round of chemotherapy for cancer.
He says the outlook is promising,.

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Sip, slurp, taste, spit and score wine for what you think it's worth

7/26/2015

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For the second time in just a few weeks I have seen a New Zealand wine awarded the perfect score (100 points) by a New Zealand winewriter.

That is quite a call; one which has already led to one of the country’s most experienced tasters asking where all the other truly fine wines of the world fit in?

Which suggests that he thinks, and so, no doubt, do others, that these scores are far too generous; that these wines simply cannot match those of similar varieties from the Old World, where the best wines are still presumed to be produced. And still believed to set the standard.

Sorry, but a good wine is one that has all the qualities expected of the variety, no faults, and satisfies, or in the cases to which I refer, charms the hell out of the palate of the person who assesses it.

The reputation of the maker or the wine’s place of origin has little to do with the result because tastings are almost always conducted blind.

We taste wines not to compare one against the other, or against wines from held up as perfect examples of the various varieties. We taste wines to assess their individual qualities as we understand those qualities.
If we have a benchmark then it is our own, not one that has been established by others whose tastes and standards can, and do vary widely.

Let’s leave comparisons to wine show judges whose ultimate task is to select a winner, often from a number of wines that have all scored the same mark.

And let’s remember also that many wines, often with the biggest reputations, are not entered in these competitions for reasons that should be glaringly obvious.

Some are not even offered, or not widely offered for independent evaluation, makers preferring instead to put their own spin on theproduct, much of it based on reputation.

And let’s make no mistake about one other thing.

New Zealand wines are perfectly capable of matching many held to be the world’s best. And most, particularly the reds now being released are from a vintage (2013) which is said to be the best ever.

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For the wino who has everything

7/24/2015

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About

Warren Barton is a veteran newspaper journalist who spent more than 25 of his 50-plus years in the business, writing for a number of publications about wine and the wine industry. Well known for his no-nonsense, easy-reading style, the ability to connect with wine-lovers no matter what their level of experience and his support and belief in New Zealand wines and their makers. Has also written about food, travel, theatre; worked as an editor, columnist, feature writer and is an award-winning golf writer.

Telling it like it is

Sip, slurp, taste, spit and score wine for what you think it's worth

For the wino who has everything

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