If wine makers submit their first produced bottles from a vintage for "grading" to the likes of JO and JH etc. Wouldnt they use the best available grapes knowing that the performance score of these initial bottles will significantly impact the sale of that particular wine/vintage? ie. the winery produces a premium vat and makes sure to send any bottles to those making assessments from this vat.
Can we therefore assume that the ratings assigned initially are positively biased in comparison to the bottle we pick up 1 year later?
This hypothetical came to my attention when reading the other thread re: Saltram Mamre Brook 04 CS by bacchaebabe. JO gave the wine 95/100 yet the impressions posted lately indicate that this score was overly favourable to say the least. I also recall when the wine first hit the shelves reading numerous tasting notes from Andrew Jordan and others raving about this wine.....
Is this an issue as consumers we need to take into account
I'll be interested to hear how much of a possibility this really is!
I suspect it does occur and IIRC HH/RKP referred to this in the Penguin book a few years back. I suspect they can only detect the tip of this iceberg.
I've even seen it first hand at a beer festival (the GB beer festival back in 1990 or 91). Ind Coope Burton Ale, one of the big brewers beers walked away with the trophy and knowing the beer well I thought I'd better taste it (I always liked it, but it was a surprising winner in my eyes). Well the beer was certainly good enough to win the trophy, but also far superior to any pint of it I'd had before. It was like tasting a standard bottling vs. a reserve label, as the lineage was clear, but there was plenty more effort that had gone into these barrels. I'm sure it caused ructions at the time, but unless the rules are tight, then it will occur because of the benefit to sales.
