Woohoo #1 today !

Can’t really decide on the best 90+, but the worst by far is Panarroz Red 2004 (Library Code: 1184 – $6.49 at WL).

It was very acidic with no structure. I even let it breathe for a few hours but didn’t help at all. I just basically dumped it down the sink.

I expected more quality given the rating, even though the price made me a little skeptical. I sometimes where RP pulls these ratings from.

Great episode, BTW !

best and worst hunh? first, what the hell is the deal with the birds? sounds like you are doing the show from the big bird cage at the NJ zoo….anyway, best 90 pointer…hmmm…it would be one that you recomemded gary “Stephan Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2003″….it was just exceptional and i have been wishing that i had bought a case…as is i have 2 bottles set back. okay, now the worst…well, i can’t really say that i have ever had a horrible one, but there is a RP 90 that i was disappointed in: “Di Majo Norante Sangiovese Igt 2004”
i mean, it wasn’t horrible….i just didn’t care for it much….
good episode

your show is the only reason i get out of bed in the morning.

please dont stop giving me a reason to get out of bed every day

Gary,

1. What’s up with the birds? It was pretty funny to hear them in the background

2. Give your IT guy a break. I work in IT myself and it’s pretty stressful. Next thing you know he’ll refer to you as DFU. If you don’t know what it means, ask him..

See you Wed for bball..

Gary,

I have to agree that the birds got a bit distracting, but not the end of the world.

Best 90+ wine? Well, there are probably several, but the one that pops out of my head is the 2001 Guigal Chateauneuf du Pape. 93 pts WS, #41 of 100 top wines of 2003. Not overrated by any means. Buoght this from you (you still have it in stock, for those that are interested). Incredible Chat du Pape, amazing complexity and earthiness. One of my favorite wines of all time, and a real bargain for under $30. (See, I’m trying to help you sell wine… I’ll take my commission “in kind”.)

I honestly can’t remember a 90 pointer that I’ve hated. Don’t get me wrong, there have been several, but I just wrote them off and moved on, so I don’t remember what they were.

However, I’ll tell you the BEST 69 point wine I’ve ever had (and I’ll come to the defense of BV in the process) – the 2001 BV Georges de Latour Private Reserve. WS absolutely panned this wine. 69 points is just vindictive given that the “100 point scale” really starts at 70.

Anyway, when I bought the bottle I was just getting into wine and I knew 2 things:

1. Georges de Latour was supposed to be a top of the line CA cab, and
2. 2001 was supposed to be a top vintage.

After I paid $70 for the bottle I heard about the WS review. I held on to the bottle until my parent’s 54th anniversary last May. I warned them that this wine had gotten “mixed” reviews. Well, it was superior. Silky smooth, fully integrated tannins, well balanced fruit. No chalkiness, no 69 point badness. At least what you’d expect for a $70 CA cab. Extremely nice.

Tony

What do you do with the open tasting bottles.

Best 90+…a toss up between 1997 Joly Coulee de Serrant and the 70′ Taylor vintage port…

worst…wow, the list is long, but maybe the prize has to go to all of those ’96 oxidized white burgs in my cellar that I’ve been pouring down the drain lately….ouch….

Best and worst? That is definitely a tough call. Well, I think I can definitely talk about the worst. I had bought the 2004 Pannaroz Jumilla from Spain based on its cheap price and 90 point rating from RP. While it was not expensive, it definitely did not deserve a 90 point rating. The acidity level was definitely high and was unbalanced on a whole.

Best 90 point wine is a little tougher. The one that comes to mind immediately was the 2002 Ehlers Estate Merlot from Napa. I think it was #47 in the 2005 WS Top 100 list. It was an amazing wine and was only around $30. It was well structured with nice fruit and a smooth finish and the nose was fantastic.

Keep up the great work and the questions Gary!

Dude… you gotta lay off the origami. Best wine I ever had was the first wine I ever really liked, a 1990 Chateau d’Yquem.

Best 90 point wine… hmmm, I really liked the 2001 shotfire Ridge. Just couln’t go wrong with that price… and teh wine could be had solo or with almost any meal. It was exotic and balanced. Just wonderful. It’s one of my favorite everyday wines.

I’ll think about the best, but I will agree with some of the above comments about the worst. Had to be one of those cheap RP-90 Spanish reds that tasted like what I imagine Draino cough medicine to be….

Oragami? Cmon….
Best 90+ wine – 1994 Montelena Estate. I had it in a restaraunt in Granite Bay, CA with my wife and you couldn’t get it anywhere at the time. We talked the waitress into selling us three more bottles to take home.
Can’t say what the worst is but I have a recent story. My wife and I were in San Francisco and stumbled on a liquor store with Stag’s Leap in the window. The guy shows me this back room FULL of anything you could want. Cote du Nuits, Bordeaux, and large format bottles of Ca Cults. So he talks me into a 1994 Stonestreet Christopher’s Vineyard. $150.00. We save it for a couple of months and opened it in Tahoe…..Suuuuucked.
It was probably a good $40 bottle, but a $150.00? Buying wine in the city is probably a horrible idea anyway…live and learn!

I bought that same 2004 Pannaroz Jumilla that two people above list as the worst–and I whole heartedly agree. It was so awful, such vinegar, that it shook my faith in your ratings and stopped me dead from ordering from Wine Library for some time.

By the way…You should make the episodes more BLOG style so we can comment to each other…

TONY…I’m pretty excited you say that about the Guigal, I have the exact bottle in the Cellar. And totally agree on the BV Georges, we had that bottle a few weeks back and it was Phenominal. I don’t understand what Laube was thinking?

Gary,

Worst wine I ever had with a 90+ score was the Noblaie Chinon Rouge 2003. I saw it on your site and WS gave it 91 pts. Now I am a huge fan of Cab Franc from France…but this one flat out sucked. Tasted medicinal, too much acid, no fruit and no amount of decanting could help it. Honestly, it tasted like a diaper full of spicy Thai food that had been sitting out in 100 degree heat for 3 days.
Best: 2003 Kilikanoon Convenant Shiraz. Parker actually got this one right at 94 pts and for about 30 bones, I quickly snagged a few more up.

Gary,

The Panarroz Red 2003 was awful for a RP 90 point wine. Someone gave it too me as a gift. I tasted it! Then poured it down the drain where it belonged. I never told them how bad it was. Hopefully they won’t give it too me again.

Hey Gary,

I agree with Eric-the dark shirt makes it harder to appreciate the color of the reds on WLTV.

And, on the topic of color,are there any wines that are really “Black”?
I mean, dark purple, inky sure, but isnt black really devoid of all color? 🙂

Keep up the great entertainment. Regarding your question of the day, i’ve had many many great 90+ point wines, but the ’95 Insignia isnt close to Parker’s 98 rating….a solid low 90 pointer at best…..the Pillar Box 2004 i thought was a real clunker and not worthy of Parker’s rave…

Jack that wasn’t A WL rating it was RP’s, so please order from us again :), honestly the Pannaroz is taking a beating, I need to try a bottle asap

Here is a little tip…………Stop listening to WS, RP, ST, and GV. Wine is all acording to your tatse……not theirs. Drink and stick to what you enjoy. It’s ok to do the reading to find out what is hot and what is not, but do not believe the hype……….And Gary, how about a game of horse?

Gary,

Another good episode today; keep it going!

The worst RP 90 point wine I had was Angus the Bull 2002; it was too hot, bitter and just plain nasty. I carried a dozen different wines with me on a Caribbean cruise and no one like it; there were 8 of us. The best RP 90 point wine I had was Chateau La Chapelle de la Mission 2000. What a beautiful drinking wine, wonderfully complex, well balanced fruit – acidity – alcohol, wrapped around integrated tannins. Absolutely delicious; Iâ??d wish I had purchased 5 cases of this wine instead of 6 bottles. We had it during a surf and turf bbq in my backyard and I loved it. There were 6 of us and we had it along with other bottles of Bordeaux which were all Second Growth wines. Yet, the Chapelle de la Mission stood out in my mind!

worst 90 point wine

Los Rocos

I’ve just finished watching the new episodes and….funny commentary, colorful epithets, spontaneous reactions…fabulous, incredible. Glad to see that truth in wine tasting is at the Wine Library, the best darn little library in the good ole US of A. Great work!

Another great episode Gary. My best 90 pointer was a tie between the 1997 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Napa Valley (91 WS – 94 ST) and the 1997 Shafer Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select Napa Valley (95 ST) both wonderful rich and complex. Thank God for expense accounts 😉 My worst? The 1995 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Napa Valley, amazing the difference in vintage years can have (and I had it on two separate occasions no less.)

Most overrated: 2003 Fairview Goats Do Roam Red. This backwash received a 90 from WS…I was floored how lame the wine tasted! Fortunately, it was only $11.00. Most underrated: 2002 d’Arenberg Footbolt Shiraz. I believe it received an 88 from WS, however, it tasted far superior to other 90+ Aussie shiraz I’ve had. Just have to mention the best $20.00 Merlot I’ve ever had recently: 2001 Opolo vineyards…unbelievable!

I don’t usually buy wine based on points but often when choosing a mixed case , a 90+ under $15 wine is tempting. most come from RP. I have quit his picks.Most of his picks are crap. After long thought of the best 90 point wine, some of the Mondavi district cabs have been awesome. Tons of great wine is not rated well.