93 Point Wines Are They Worth It?

93 Point Wines Are They Worth It? – Episode #103

October 9, 2006

Wines tasted in this episode:

Today Gary attacks three wines with huge scores, 93 points to be exact and tries to see if they are worth the score. Sit back and watch a very interesting episode of Wine Library TV and oh yeah send a link to all your friends!

Links mentioned in todays episode.

Metheny’s Wine Site
Link to BBC Podcast

105 Responses

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October 9, 2006

ChrisR
Gary,

I think I called it first when I said you are the replacement for Robert Parker. It is just a matter of time, my friend.

Wine Snobbery: Anyone who shuns red with fish, dessert wine with dinner, etc. Great wine goes with great food.

So how did you manage to arrange for Lorraine Bracco to come to your store? Did you woo her with your Sopranos WLTV spoof?
October 9, 2006

Greg
QOTD: I’m not sure if this really counts as wine snobbery, but I hate it when I’m at a winery, tasting, or store and I’m totally ignored or given slow service because I’m young (25) and don’t look like a high roller.

I typically won’t buy wine from wineries or stores that look down on younger customers (unless of course the wine is that good).
October 9, 2006

Lynne
OK..I’m not understanding the old world vs new world stuff. Could someone please explain to me the difference? Saw Ep #20. I don’t want to spend $125.00+ to taste the difference. Got any cheaper suggestions for old vs. new?

QOD: Was once told (by people in my party) I was showing my wine ignorance by coming up with strange descriptions when I tasted wines. Ex: one reminded me of the pink medicine I had to take as a kid, one, my Grandmother’s basement (Tho’ I did kinda like Grandma’s basement) another, my husband’s shop rags. Didn’t go to dinner with those folks again. Their wines sucked. Maybe I should have brought up cat piss.
GV, Loved the spoofs! Was it “West Side Story” that had the Sharks and the Jets? You’ve got them both! Keep on doin’ what you’re doing. I, myself, have learned so much and am gaining a greater understanding and appreciation for all these fruits of the vines. (And Grandma taught me how to make only jams; though I must admit, we have some really good Jams)
To Ed R: I’m sorry you feel the way you do. Get on board with us “unsnobs”…it’s fun!

C-H-E-E-R-S……CHEERS!
October 9, 2006

RCP
Gary-

Did you pour the Neo into the Brunello decanter when you were answering one of the questions about Port? More importantly, did some of the staff end up tasting the “meritage”?

QOD: A couple times at wine tastings I’ve been to, someone told me I was wrong about what flavors I was getting from the wine. How can anyone ever tell someone else what they are or aren’t tasting?

Ryan P.
October 9, 2006

stewart l
I was dining in Hilton head sev yrs ago with aphysician I was thinking of joining. To impress me he asked for a certain northern rhone wine that he said he had visited on vacation. After we had all drank about half a glass, he told the sommelier that he didn’t like it, and it didn’t taste like the same wine he drank in France. There was nothing wrong with the wine, just he didn’t think it was as good after he had bragged about drinking with the owner at the winery on a private tour. The sommelier reluctantly took it back. When he ordered a new bottle, which he preferred because it was a wine he also had in his cellar, she poured it, and by “accident” spilled it right in his lap. My wife and I still laugh about this. Not suprisingly, I didn’t join his practice.
October 9, 2006

Ed R
I have no good wine snob stories in my early wine life. Thank You, Dan for clearing up the jump the shark reference for those not familiar with it. Gotta love the Fonz
October 9, 2006

GregS
Gary,

I feel your pain, nuff said about this weekends football.

The most annoying wine snobbery I have run into was the fine dining room on our last cruise. They have all these annoying sommelier guys who act like they alone have any knowledge of wine. Or even worse when they snob-ify the whole experience by going into the whole “excellent choice, blah blah blah” thing where they try to build you up into thinking you are a wine snob. I just want to enjoy my wine!
October 9, 2006

Denise
Shark? Hawk? No, Gary, you’re the man!! Another great WLTV episode. Thanks!
October 9, 2006

the professor and....
Kell, Great catch!!! I did notice it but forgot about it until you just mentioned it. Yeah thought it was ironic as hell, WL exclusive, 83pts, pazzzzzzzz. Totally classic!
October 9, 2006

Rob M.
Biggest example of wine snobbery- this recent BBC report decrying RP as a critic, rating systems, and some Vaynerchuck dude who hawks wine on the internet.

What happened to my gravitar?

Thanks as always,
Rob (who curiously has not bashed the Jets or mentioned his beloved Dolphins in a while)
October 9, 2006

Ed R
Brandon M,
I posted a reponse too your last post on the previous shows comment section.
October 9, 2006

Panman
I like the replication of the J-E-T-S chant, with the word WINE!
October 9, 2006

Brandon M
Ed R…whats up? Did you really think the show was that bad? I mean cmon..whats wrong with telling what our wine backgrounds are. If someone says it was to get drunk, and now they have evolved into a connoisseur…then so be it. At least people are being honest.

What did you think was wrong with this episode? You REALLY didn’t eloborate.
To say Gary has 25 epsiodes left is a little harsh…even though you thought the episode was bad, doesn’t he deserve a bad showing every now and then?

B
October 9, 2006

Chris Marcantonio
Gary,

Love the show! Your the Ryan Seacrest of wine. Can you recomend a great wine for watching re-runs of 90210?
October 9, 2006

Kell
Did anyone else think it was hilarious that the wine that the clip used as an example was the review
of the Kendal Jackson 2005 Chardonay – ” A Wine Library *exclusive*” ???
Hopefully anyone hearing that will get the sense of humor and irreverence that makes WLTV great.

long time viewer, first time poster.
October 9, 2006

Tony
Aside from my own bout of wine snobbery last weekend, I haven’t encountered much. I’m not a terribly serious guy, and don’t hang out with people who take work/life/wine too seriously. Wine is too be enjoyed, not obsessed over. I agree with the insecurity comment.

In my wine column, I try very hard to make fun of wine snobbery and put new wine drinkers at ease in their lack of knowledge. My approach is to make fun of the people that new wine drinkers fear will make fun of them. Here’s a couple of good examples:

http://wine-thoughts.blogspot.com/2006/09/bad-acid-trips-and-spitting.html

http://wine-thoughts.blogspot.com/2006/09/jed-clampett-and-french.html
October 9, 2006

Matty Van, Rochester,NY
class snobery…I remember when I was 8 years old my dad did something for his ammusment and to teach me something, he was going to but a new 88 vette with the the options and we went to the dealer only he wore cut off shorts (it was the 80’s) and a tee shirt with a small but noticable staine on it, he got just about no service and I remember the sales guy telling him that they only test drive the vettes for serious buyers only. The next day we went back only he was wearing a suit, freash shave and looking good, and there was a sales guy all over us kissing his ass.

its amazing how people treat you different based on looks
October 9, 2006

the professor and....
Gary, congratulations! You’ve offically become big enough to be slandered! People must be intimidated, or no one would give a crap what some guy in Jersey is doing. So let me be the first to say, congratulations buddy, you’ve made it.
October 9, 2006

Bill Nelson
Gary, the Vikings managed to beat the Lions so life is good this weeek. I was once standing at the bar tasting in a California winery and had the bartender take my glass and swirl it on the bar because he said I wasn’t doing it right. I always figure that if you aren’t spilling the wine it’s ok! Today’s episodes shows it’s not 93 points til Gary says it’s 93 points!
October 9, 2006

the professor and....
Tony S. – That’s just insecure bullshit!! never, never judge a man’s character by the clothes he wears. To this day I intentionally dress in jeans and t-shirts on my own time because it reminds me of where I started, and more importantly, to never become a materialistic, pompass ass.
October 9, 2006

Brad
Considering all the football comparisons, how ’bout the question of what type of wine would Terrell Owens be? Or what type of wine would any player be for that matter? Critics and aficionados alike will generally liken wine to personality traits, and what better character to start off w/ then the bratty, brash and poisonous TO?
Considering the fact that he’s big, loud and colorful, it’s gotta be in the red family.
His muscularity has a spicy, tannic bite…so that leads me to syrah. The more I think of it, there are very little refined or balanced qualities that TO possesses. All this leads me to conclude that Terrell Owens is an under ripe Petite Sirah, maybe from the Anderson Valley in California.
If I was truly mean, I’d also add that he can be a ‘corked’ Anderson Valley Petit Sirah, which can be poisonous.
October 9, 2006

Anthony L
Hey Gary,

It was great meeting you and your father Saturday. I was the guy who’s running the shop in Staten Island(in case you remembered hehe). Anyway, I loved the Roquefort which I had with a bottle of Stephan Ridge Syrah, Awesome! I also picked up the Eagle Point Ranch Syrah, the ‘99 Palomero and the Godello which was tasted. It was an absolute pleasure walking through your store. I love this Industry, and as a fellow retailer I love seeing innovation as well as creating some. Thats what makes working all the long hours so worth it.

QOTD-I think I might actually be guilty of some snobery of my own. At my shop when a customer would ask for a “nice Burgundy wine” and I’ve followed it up with the question “are looking for red or white” when I know they ‘re really just looking for Paul Masson or Carlo Rossi. just havin some harmless fun I guess. Is it wrong? As far as snobery from other people, nothing significant comes to mind. mostly just closed minded opinionated stuff.

Good Luck with the tasting this week, not that you need it.
October 9, 2006

JohnM
Enjoyable episode, Gary. Thanks for continuing to taste and tell, instead of merely being a lap dog for anyone, as the audio clip suggested. Personally, I’d probably be a panther if any animal. Wine snobbery isn’t a topic about which I’ve got good stories. I know someone who can be quite a snob, but he’s treating me with deference now I’ve demonstrated having as (if not more) of a sophisticated palate and underwstanding of wine. As a psychologist, I see such snobbery as a sign of underlying insecurity and don’t worry about the message.
October 9, 2006

Henry
Where’s all those cute Jet’s stuff… LOL
October 9, 2006

John Coyne
This is in response to the question posed by Damon on Port decanting. For vintage ports older than twenty years, the bottles have a thick layer of sediment on the bottom. It’s OK to decant with cheesecloth to catch the sediment. Wash out the bottle, making sure all the sediment has been removed. Using a funnel, pour the decanted Port back into the bottle and top off with a Vacuvin. I like Port around 65 degrees.