The Auswine Forum

From my other thread.. It got me wondering, since Oliver isn't much of a guide to Froggy vino and, as our illustrious leader mentioned, it is too expensive to experiment, AND the bloody cellar doors are too far away...

how do you select which French wine you will buy ? Robert Parker ? If you don't trust his Australian selections, would you trust his French taste in wine ?

I quite like parker in Bordeaux and rhone and coates in burgundy, but when I am buying I compare as many reviews as I can and try and find a consensus.

Timmy wrote:From my other thread.. It got me wondering, since Oliver isn't much of a guide to Froggy vino and, as our illustrious leader mentioned, it is too expensive to experiment, AND the bloody cellar doors are too far away...

how do you select which French wine you will buy ? Robert Parker ? If you don't trust his Australian selections, would you trust his French taste in wine ?

I guess it's a different story in this market place (the UK) as one has a huge range of French wine to choose from, and a lot of very good value wine from £7-£20, so experimentation is very affordable.

In that context, I tend to take little notice of the recommendations of any of the writers, including Mr Parker. As to going long on Bordeaux en primeurs, I try to take as broad range of views as possible.

The only advice I can dispense on French plonk is go for Rhones from 1998-2001 - all great vintages for Southern Rhone - 1999 and 2001 excellent for the Northern Rhone - and don't limit oneself to the big 3 of Guigal, Chapoutier and Jaboulet - their very top wines may be excellent, but the smaller producers leave their generic bottlings for dead.

The other thing would be, try the lesser and "out of fashion" appelations - Crus Beaujolais (especially Morgon and Moulin-a-Vent - though not necessarily Georges Duboeuf). For Chardonnay, 1er Cru Chablis is good value, ageworthy and a style that is not matched anywhere in the world. Decent Pouilly Fume is not crazily expensive and for mine, offers a more sophisticated alternative to Kiwi Sauvignon - there are even some decent AC Touraine's being made.

But for value, it is hard to beat Village level Cotes du Rhones (check producer integrity) and Languedoc.

Sorry about the ramble!

Cheers
Phil

If u like hedonistic wines, Yes!
Elegant, wimpy and restraint wines look for Gary Walsh

Yes, him and Broadbent.

MartinC wrote:If u like hedonistic wines, Yes!
Elegant, wimpy and restraint wines look for Gary Walsh

what's this about then?

Parker only like bigger style Rhone and Bordeaux wines. His view does not influrence my buying decision. I normally use Clive Coates, Stephen Tanzer and James Suckling. Their reviews are usually more consistant and earlier than Parker's review. I buy all my French wines before parker's review is released because the only influrence parker has is the price. So many people just following his recommendations and what ever he said is good, the price will increase significant regardless it is a good or bad wine.

Clive coates likes more elegant and refined wines than parker which is what I like.

Phil Shorten wrote:

Timmy wrote:From my other thread.. It got me wondering, since Oliver isn't much of a guide to Froggy vino and, as our illustrious leader mentioned, it is too expensive to experiment, AND the bloody cellar doors are too far away...

how do you select which French wine you will buy ? Robert Parker ? If you don't trust his Australian selections, would you trust his French taste in wine ?

I guess it's a different story in this market place (the UK) as one has a huge range of French wine to choose from, and a lot of very good value wine from £7-£20, so experimentation is very affordable.

In that context, I tend to take little notice of the recommendations of any of the writers, including Mr Parker. As to going long on Bordeaux en primeurs, I try to take as broad range of views as possible.

The only advice I can dispense on French plonk is go for Rhones from 1998-2001 - all great vintages for Southern Rhone - 1999 and 2001 excellent for the Northern Rhone - and don't limit oneself to the big 3 of Guigal, Chapoutier and Jaboulet - their very top wines may be excellent, but the smaller producers leave their generic bottlings for dead.

The other thing would be, try the lesser and "out of fashion" appelations - Crus Beaujolais (especially Morgon and Moulin-a-Vent - though not necessarily Georges Duboeuf). For Chardonnay, 1er Cru Chablis is good value, ageworthy and a style that is not matched anywhere in the world. Decent Pouilly Fume is not crazily expensive and for mine, offers a more sophisticated alternative to Kiwi Sauvignon - there are even some decent AC Touraine's being made.

But for value, it is hard to beat Village level Cotes du Rhones (check producer integrity) and Languedoc.

Sorry about the ramble!

Cheers
Phil

Phil
You made the point I was going to make, but more eloquently than I would have!
To back up your Rhone views, we were blown away by a St Cosme Gigondas (2001?) recently.

However I guess it's still difficult to find value in Bordeaux/Burgundy & Champagne, just because of the perceived "prestige" which is not always justified.

regards

Ian

I subscribe to Coates but also keep an eye on what a lot of the other critics are saying including Parker. I think he is good in Bordeaux and the Rhone - but I am generally looking for some 'consensus" before I commit to much $$. There is a hell of a lot of information available these days, its just a matter of finding time to do your research. However, these days I have a core of favorites that I buy, but I am always looking for who is "on the up and up". I recently got Tom Cannavans new book which I would recommend. He uses various country / regional 'expert' contributors, with a new twist on format.

MartinC wrote:If u like hedonistic wines, Yes!
Elegant, wimpy and restraint wines look for Gary Walsh

Good one Martin! Ha ha ha. I laughed and laughed, until I stopped

Timmy wrote:how do you select which French wine you will buy ? Robert Parker ? If you don't trust his Australian selections, would you trust his French taste in wine ?

For Bordeaux I think he does a pretty good job.