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Christmas Wine

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Aha! Confirmation that the 100-point scoring system is just the Marchbanks 5-point scale with added pointless points.

‘Under 80 points means there’s something critically flawed about the wine.

80 to 84 points means, “Not bad. I’ll drink it if it’s there, but I wouldn’t seek it out.”

85 to 89 points means, “Mmm, this is good!”

90 to 94 points means, “This is delicious. I want to know more about it.”

and 95 to 100 points is what we call “classic.” That means, “This wine is the best example of its style,” but also, “I’ll remember this wine for years to come.”’

Or as I prefer, ‘Jesus Christ!’, ‘Bof’, ‘Pretty good’, ‘Excellent’ and ‘Oh, man!’

https://skepchick.org/2015/06/grading-wine-what-is-the-100-point-system/
 
^ there is a fudge at the core of scoring: eg is Musar marked on a scale of Lebanese wine ? Or, as a Bordeaux blend, is it marked against Bordeaux from Bordeaux ?
Is a Pinot from New Zealand marked on a scale of NZ pinot ? Or against Burgundy from Burgundy ? etc
Personally I think we need a bit more granularity around 'Pretty Good' and 'Excellent' as those brief comments probably cover 90% of what we drink.
Can I coax you into an 8 point scale: Crap, PG-, PG, PG +, Excellent -, Excellent, Excellent +, Oh, man ! (or Blimey as my polite expletive) ? No I thought not :)
 
^ there is a fudge at the core of scoring: eg is Musar marked on a scale of Lebanese wine ? Or, as a Bordeaux blend, is it marked against Bordeaux from Bordeaux ?
Is a Pinot from New Zealand marked on a scale of NZ pinot ? Or against Burgundy from Burgundy ? etc
Personally I think we need a bit more granularity around 'Pretty Good' and 'Excellent' as those brief comments probably cover 90% of what we drink.
Can I coax you into an 8 point scale: Crap, PG-, PG, PG +, Excellent -, Excellent, Excellent +, Oh, man ! (or Blimey as my polite expletive) ? No I thought not :)

VFM should be the only mitigating consideration, I reckon. So a pleasant £20 wine could be bof, but an equally pleasant £3 wine excellent.

Less is more, I think. Otherwise you will start rating as PG/PG+, like the 100-pointers go for 91-94. In fact, I’m thinking of simplifying to three levels. ‘Would you buy again? No/maybe/yes.’ Or perhaps even two, as Luc Lapeyre suggested to me - “buvable ou non-buvable?”

  • Mint (M)
  • Excellent (Ex)
  • Very Good + (Vg+)
  • Very Good (Vg)
  • Good (Gd)
  • Fair (F)
  • Poor (P)

You might need separate grades for contents and container...
 
I knew it. Knocked back to a monosyllabic "Oui" or "Non". No doubt the "Oui" said with that very annoying accent the French use when speaking French.
 
VFM should be the only mitigating consideration, I reckon. So a pleasant £20 wine could be bof, but an equally pleasant £3 wine excellent.

VFM is a side consideration but the grading should be subjective on an objective scale IMO.
However if you are discarding your 5 point scale for a binary Yes/No I think this will neatly encompass VFM.
 
Whilst snipping up the Parma ham for the omelette I thought I might be prepared to allow ‘Bof+’ as an extra grade as it has a certain ring to it. But that’s probably just the Rochefort kicking in.
 
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Not usually a fan of this type of thing
but it's hallowed.
 
Famille Perrin Les Sinards 2017 tonight. Spicy with a hint of strawberries.
Chatting with a mate tonight who told me that a mutual friend was the first person to commercially import Chocolate Block into the UK.
 
Famille Perrin Les Sinards 2017 tonight. Spicy with a hint of strawberries.
Chatting with a mate tonight who told me that a mutual friend was the first person to commercially import Chocolate Block into the UK.
How long ago? I’m curious as to how long it’s been around in the uk, nothing else.
 
I use a 5 point scale that runs from 15 to 20. It could just as easily run from 0 to 5, but you get set in your ways.

It is, as above, elaborated with +/++ or - /--, which I think makes it kind of 20 point score anyway.

I use the plusses and the minuses to indicate respectively gosh/mmmm/but or potential or suspected technical flaws, or maybe a great beginning but a slightly questionable something on the finish, or variations and exceptions to the above. The problem of course is that I can't remember exactly, so I addend the score to a tasting note that I then lose when I fall asleep on the tube on the way home.
 
Chilean this evening. To an extent inspired by the comments upthread about Cousiño Macul.
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A firm ça va bien on my interpretation of the Marchanks minimalist score. It’s got better as it’s sat open, I probably should have decanted it. The acidity that was there initially has mellowed completely, and it’s turned into a rather nice, velvety red. Not too much fruit, but it’s clearly there, mixed with the soft, but present tannins; really really rather enjoyable. It’s gone very well with a supper of pâté and cheese (duck, epoisse).

I was chatting to a friend of mine, an MW who used to be a buyer for Laithwaites but has set off on her own, about Chilean and Argentinean wine. She doesn’t really know them that well, but she was in agreement with my view that the Chileans tend to show a French influence in their blends and approach. I default, generally and out of these two, to Argentinean, probably due to what I perceive as a more no-nonsense approach. There’s less of the chasing a “Bordeaux blend”, and more of a “what can I do with, or to tame, Malbec”. I’m no expert, but I like that.
Saying that, I tend to swerve a lot of the “stack ‘em high, sell ‘em low” Chilean wines, and I’m left with wines that I’ve never disliked. The Finis Terrae up thread is an example, this Acrux is another, and so on. First time in a while that I’ve reached for a top up to realise the bottle was empty!
 
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