Robert M. Parker Jr.’s edgy speech at the Professional Wine Writers Symposium in the Napa Valley in 2014, from writer Richard Jennings’ report in Huffington Post.
It is hard not to think of Shakespeare’s aging King Lear as the wine world begins moving past the era of Robert M. Parker Jr., the powerful American wine critic who popularized the 100-point scoring system and who once wielded such market-moving power that his taste for big, ripe and alcoholic wines altered the world’s style of wine making from France to California to Australia and beyond.
There has always been a quiet murmur of resistance to the Parker style, of course, but the murmur has begun swelling in recent years, famously rising at least briefly to a roar after Parker belatedly discovered Twitter in 2010 and famously posted a rant declaring opponents of his favored style “The Anti-Flavor Wine Elite.”
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I joyously took the side of the AFWE in a February 2010 column, “The anti-flavor wine elite,” in which I wrote, “Whoa! Wine elites? This bore an eerie resemblance to a vinous Teabagger. It was red meat for a lot of people … it stung a bit to have our tastes dissed as ‘anti-flavor’ and ‘elite.’ Some online wine geeks have actually begun labeling themselves with the tongue-in-cheek acronym, ‘AFWE.’ I like that …” Click here if you’d like to read it all.
Two years after that brouhaha, Parker stepped down as editor-in-chief of Wine Advocate, a position he had held since 1976, selling the magazine to a group of investors in … wait for it … Singapore. He remains on Wine Advocate‘s board and continues contributing tasting notes, reported The Los Angeles Times; and he speaks at wine-trade conferences, sometimes controversially, presumably commanding respectable honoraria for doing so.
Suddenly Parker seems to be only one more voice in a growing generation of younger sommeliers, bloggers, and social-media wine geeks of all ages in a changing world where everyone can have a voice but where it’s difficult for one voice to stand out, particularly if that voice is older, graying, overweight, slowing down a bit, and increasingly cranky (a definition, I might add, which also fits this humble critic reasonably well, except perhaps for the “cranky” part.)
Which brings us to a fascinating, long story by Bruce Schoenfeld. which will appear Sunday in The New York Times magazine, is already online. You can click this link to read it in full, and I highly recommend that you do so.
The gist of it, however, is incorporated in these three paragraphs:
“If ripe wines are considered good, many California producers reasoned, those made from grapes brought to the brink of desiccation, to the peak of ripeness (or even a bit beyond), should taste even better. That logical leap has created a new American vernacular for wine, a dense, opaque fruitiness well suited to a nation of Pepsi drinkers. More sweet fruit, more of the glycerol that makes wine feel thicker in the mouth, more alcohol. And by extension, more pleasure.
“Pleasure is a matter of opinion, of course. But for three decades, the tastes of mainstream American wine drinkers have been shaped by the personal preferences of one man, Robert M. Parker Jr. A 2013 inductee of the California Vintners Hall of Fame — as a reviewer — Parker has been anointed by The Atlantic Monthly as ‘the most influential critic in the world,’ all genres included. As it happens, he has made a career out of championing exactly the style of wine that Parr and his colleagues disdain. In my conversations with them, no phrase elicited more derision than ‘Parker wines.’ It was shorthand, fair or not, for wines they deem generically obvious and overblown.
“Until a few years ago, if you wanted to drink a wine with a European sense of proportion, you bought a European wine. In 2011, in reaction to an American marketplace that they perceived to be dismissive of California wines made in anything but the superripe style, [Sommelier and wine maker Rajat] Parr and Jasmine Hirsch of Hirsch Vineyards in Sonoma County began soliciting members for a loose confederation of pinot-noir producers called In Pursuit of Balance.”
That sounds an awful lot like the Anti-Flavor Wine Elite to me, and I’d like to believe that this emerging trend marks the beginning of a return to normalcy as the Parker era moves on into history. I seriously suggest that you go read the rest. I think you’ll enjoy it.
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Today’s Tasting Report
Le Cirque 2014 Côtes Catalanes Rosé ($13.99)
This blend of 40% Grenache Noir, 40% Syrah and 20% Mourvèdre from the French Pyrenees is a clear, light rosy pink color. Subtle red-berry aromas and a whiff of something pleasantly bitter, almost like a distant touch of Campari, on the nose and palate. Fresh and tart, perhaps a hint of fresh-fruit sweetness, but good acidity imparts a dry, refreshing finish. Interesting rosé, with a light 12.5% alcohol, it works well with a variety of food pairings or, as spring moves into summer, a pleasant aperitif for sipping alfresco. U.S. importer: Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, Va. (May 6, 2015)
FOOD MATCH: Crisp and fresh, it’s a perfect pink wine for aperitif sipping indoors or out on warm late-spring and summer evenings. It’s suited to a range of fare including richer seafood or poultry – it would be excellent with smoked salmon – and cheese-based dishes. Try it also with spicy options; we enjoyed it with a piquant Nigerian-style red bean and peanut stew.
WHEN TO DRINK: There’s no reason to cellar rosé. This one would last for a year or three, but why not drink up while it’s young and fresh?
VALUE: No qualms whatsoever at this price point, which falls within the typical range of U.S. prices shown by Wine-Searcher.com.
WEB LINKS Click here for importer Hand Picked Selections’ fact sheet on the 2014 Le Cirque Rosé.
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Compare prices and find vendors for Le Cirque 2014 Côtes Catalanes Rosé on Wine-Searcher.com.
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