Wine companion annual awards dinner

[LGW]

Well I'm off the the much loved and respected Halliday awards dinner tonight.

Is anyone else (silly enough to be) going?

I'll try post some notes if I remember/ capable to take any!

[Michael McNally]

I am certain the event will be rated 96 points......

Cheers

Michael

[Ozzie W]

99 points for 2011 Xanadu Stevens Road Cabernet Sauvignon.
His ratings just get higher every year!

[ticklenow1]

99 points for 2011 Xanadu Stevens Road Cabernet Sauvignon.
His ratings just get higher every year!

He's running out of room to move.......

Cheers
Ian

[TiggerK]

Respect for the man, but 'his' scores are a joke to me. I totally ignore them.

How was the dinner?

[Hacker]

99 points for 2011 Xanadu Stevens Road Cabernet Sauvignon.
His ratings just get higher every year!

He's running out of room to move.......

Cheers
Ian

Maybe he has adopted Craig(NZ)'s modified 107pt scoring system? So 99 points is in relative terms not as top notch as we would think!
Where is Craig(NZ)? Hope you are well.

[Polymer]

Respect for the man, but 'his' scores are a joke to me. I totally ignore them.

Same. I am also sore at his company for how they handled their iPhone app.

[Redwine&Rum]

Who are some of the more 'respected' wine critics going around at the moment?
I'm looking for people that are more reserved with their wine scores and not over the top like Halliday.
Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers

[maybs]

Respect for the man, but 'his' scores are a joke to me. I totally ignore them.

How was the dinner?

Maybe this is a bit harsh, but for anything over 90 (which is basically everything haha) I take off about 5%. I actually still like his notes though and as with all 'experts' I am interested to read his cellaring window suggestions.

Hope it was a good dinner.

[Dan]

Who are some of the more 'respected' wine critics going around at the moment?
I'm looking for people that are more reserved with their wine scores and not over the top like Halliday.
Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers

I think Halliday is a very respected critic. And deservedly so. We're all just green with envy.

His notes are pretty much bang on for me, I'm not too bothered by the scores, but I wouldn't say they don't help me at all.
I also Like Gary Walsh's notes, his tastes seem to be in line with what I like.

[Polymer]

I think Halliday is a very respected critic. And deservedly so. We're all just green with envy.

His notes are pretty much bang on for me, I'm not too bothered by the scores, but I wouldn't say they don't help me at all.
I also Like Gary Walsh's notes, his tastes seem to be in line with what I like.

I don't think he meant respected as in, having respect for them and what they've done for the wine industry, their knowledge, etc.... but respect in context of scoring.

In general though, I think Australian wine critics are way too generous with their scoring...I think someone (maybe it was Gary) said it is all within context of the country....which I took to mean that you only compare Australian wine critic scores to other Australian wine critic scores and that tide that has made them score something a 94 is in context of an Australian wine critic scoring an Australian wine...He's on here so maybe he can comment...

I personally think Halliday and Stelzer have highly inflated scores....Gary Walsh is not as high..I think he is generous on some lesser wines but his higher end doesn't inflate as much..

This problem isn't just with Australia..although I think the scoring bloat is worse here...the fact is, if you want to grow your brand, you need to have your name out there...Places trying to sell wine are going to put the most impressive score out there to try and sell it..If your name is on shelf talkers all over the place, you are building your brand...Scoring a wine 89 points isn't going to get your name out there and it might upset a few people as well...I don't know if this is a conscious effort or not but giving eyebrow raising scores gets your name out there...

One of the fairest scorers I've seen is probably Cam Wheeler...who is also on here..

[tunetown]

I'm not sure how any of the scoring works but I haven't had too many bad wines that Halliday rates at 95 or above. I use those numbers as a benchmark to try new wines. Works for my. Every now and then all the known scorers are on the same page. Usually means a nice drop. I still buy his book every year. Even if only for the vintage information.

[dave vino]

Another vote for Cam. Although he obviously doesn't get through the sheer number of wines as the pros do.

My only concern would be the winemakers would be reluctant to send him wines due to his more realistic scoring as they have become accustomed to getting 95pts for coloured water.

[tunetown]

Oh, and I have tasted some great wines that he rated at around 87 points. Go figure.

[Ozzie W]

I take all wine ratings with a grain of salt. Here's why:

2011Graillot Syrah
- James Halliday 97
- Campbell Mattinson 89
- Huon Hooke 85

Even if Halliday overrated that wine by a few points as he frequently does, it doesn't explain the huge discrepancy between all 3 ratings.

[tunetown]

I have the 2011 and 2012 in my cellar. I tried an 11 last years and it's better than an 89 IMO. Not sure about the 97 points but after a long decant I enjoyed it. Haven't tried the 2012 yet which I believe he also gave a 97 to.

[LGW]

How was the dinner?

Well I have almost recovered from last night! 28 wines over dinner meant zero notes were taken!
I have attached what wines were served. I have put a pen mark next to my highlights of each flight. I didn't place a mark next to the semillons as it was hard to choose between a young and two aged wines.
No mark next to the sav blanc flight because it's sav blanc!
WOTN for me was easily the bass phillip.

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[The fish]

I take all wine ratings with a grain of salt. Here's why:

2011Graillot Syrah
- James Halliday 97
- Campbell Mattinson 89
- Huon Hooke 85

Even if Halliday overrated that wine by a few points as he frequently does, it doesn't explain the huge discrepancy between all 3 ratings.

That wine is a good case in point. For my taste I certainly can't taste 97 points worth of wine and I wonder if the Graillot Syrah is a victim of Halliday's expectations rather than the wine in front of him?

FWIW the bottle I shared with a mate was a tad dilute but it was following on from a Greenock Creek monster:) 89 points was too generous for me. 87-88pts

PS - what was winery/wine of the year?

[LGW]

Winery of the year: hently farm
Winemaker of the year: Robert Diletti
Wine of the year: 2011 Xanadu Stevens road cab sav
Best value winery: hoddles creek

[Gavin Trott]

Winery of the Year - Hentley Farm Wines

Wine of the Year - 2011 Xanadu Stevens Road Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon

.

[The fish]

Winery of the year: hently farm
Winemaker of the year: Robert Diletti
Wine of the year: 2011 Xanadu Stevens road cab sav
Best value winery: hoddles creek

Winery of the Year - Hentley Farm Wines

Wine of the Year - 2011 Xanadu Stevens Road Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon .

Thanks guys

[Ddavew]

Winery of the Year - Hentley Farm Wines

Wine of the Year - 2011 Xanadu Stevens Road Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon

.

very high points from halliday, anyone tried this?

[TiggerK]

Mmmm 1914 Seppelt Para.... bet that was good.....

Points, meh. Descriptions are much more useful.

[LGW]

Winery of the Year - Hentley Farm Wines

Wine of the Year - 2011 Xanadu Stevens Road Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon

.

very high points from halliday, anyone tried this?

Had it last night, don't think it's a 99 point wine but I did enjoy it more than the yering station and John riddoch in the same flight. Can't tell you much more sorry as it was the 24th wine served for the night.

[sjw_11]

I take all wine ratings with a grain of salt. Here's why:

2011Graillot Syrah
- James Halliday 97
- Campbell Mattinson 89
- Huon Hooke 85

Even if Halliday overrated that wine by a few points as he frequently does, it doesn't explain the huge discrepancy between all 3 ratings.

Actually that wine raises a slightly different issue... because the qualitative and descriptive comments were all different (and matched the scores). So its not so much "does Halliday give scores that are universally higher than other critics" and more "why does everyone else think its pretty ordinary, and he loved it?"

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13368&p=108580&hilit=graillot#p108580

[Rossco]

I'm not sure how any of the scoring works but I haven't had too many bad wines that Halliday rates at 95 or above. I use those numbers as a benchmark to try new wines. Works for my. Every now and then all the known scorers are on the same page. Usually means a nice drop. I still buy his book every year. Even if only for the vintage information.

Im pretty much in the same boat. I buy the book every year, read the notes/descriptions carefully and use the scores only as a
very rough guideline.

I have had some 88 pointed wines that i thought were 96 and some 96 that I thought were 88 points.

One of my favourite Aussie Reviewers is Andrew Graham (Aus wine review)

[simon1980]

Good work Lawrie. I see the Bass Phillip continues to wear you down. I see a purchase coming on...

Regarding Halliday and scores...well I'm sure he does a lot better job than I would! I personally have gravitated towards reviews from the guys on The Wine Front...and pay a lot more attention to the words (rather than the number) nowadays. For my taste, I have found that Jeremy Pringle (winewilleatitself) is very consistent - I have a very good record following his recommendations.

Simon

[LGW]

Good work Lawrie. I see the Bass Phillip continues to wear you down. I see a purchase coming on...

For my taste, I have found that Jeremy Pringle (winewilleatitself) is very consistent - I have a very good record following his recommendations.

Simon

Yes I am very tempted buying a bottle!
Speaking of Jeremy pringle, he hasn't posted anything on his site recently, anyone know what's going on?

[catchnrelease]

Love that Hoddles Creek got best value winery - I whole heartedly agree with that!

[Dennisr]

I personally think Huon Hooke is a reasonable judge of good wine. Anyone that goes to Italy for Barolo wine tastings has got good taste in wine.