Australian Oenophiles - I am considering a Cabernet rated at 95 points by a reviewer:
Reviews wines from Australia and New Zealand. A native of New York who has spent years living abroad in London and Perth, Australia, Pickard’s work has previously appeared in publications such as Gourmet Traveller Wine, James Halliday’s Wine Companion, Scoop Magazine and Decanter, along with...
www.wineenthusiast.com
And the specific wine of interest:
Detailed and “of somewhere” (in this case, the cool hills of Clarendon in McLaren Vale), this beauty opens with heady aromas of raspberry coulis, beef jerky, Chinese five spice, mint chocolate and
www.wineenthusiast.com
Are any of the hive knowledgeable about the above? I have to order on-line as it is not available in the Central Florida market.
My taste runs to affordable (<$100.00 per 750 ml bottle) such as Heitz Cellars Marthás Vineyard and the Gallo Reserve by Gina Gallo plus the or second or third growth French clarets (the first growths are stupid expensive and I simply will not pay that for the name).
Also, a comment on numerical wine ratings by “Experts”. It seems to me that, while the rating runs from 1 to 100, the reality is really 90 to 100 points. I use a 1 to 10 for my personal system. Sort of like this:
Anything under 1 is possibly a table wine to be used for meals, nothing disgusting about it.
1- 4: mostly for meal accompaniment, and some interesting flavors.
5 - 7: These wines, while also for dining, can stand on their own for the sheer pleasure of drinking.
8 - 9: Truly excellent wines to be savored… interesting nose (smell) and depth of flavors, in simple terms, delicious!
10: Rare examples of wine that has the finest of the grape type, ideal soil and weather conditions during the growing season, perfect timing of the harvest and created by those most expert of wine makers! The tragedy for me is that this combination, of necessity, results in a VERY expensive wine! On the rare occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary, I will get something to drink that brings happy tears to my eyes.
I should also point out that the relationship of price to quality is not a reliable index… I have had wines that, although a decent name brand carrying a high price, were mediocre at best. One would hope to be able to trust the wine steward in a restaurant for suggestions at a price point, most are honest and will not try to upsell you, but make a decent suggestion. The same applies to sales staff in liquor/wine specialty shops.
Finding a good salesperson in any of the big places like Total Wine or ABC is great! Many times small specialty wine stores are owned and managed by people that truly love the wines they sell. I have had the best experiences in that type of shop.
Tillman