Don't Throw Out All That St. Emilion!

I know it's too late for some of you. You've already thrown out all that St. Emilion wine that used to be Grand Cru at one point, but which was turned into worthless, unclassified Bordeaux eight months ago. But for those of you who haven't divested yourself of all that pedestrian plonk, I have some good news. It's now back to being great wine again. It's certainly incredible, isn't it, how quickly our wine can go from great to lousy and back again? It's almost like the Wine Spectator rated it an 88 one day and then a few months later Robert Parker rated it a 96.

Life is crazy here in the world of wine, and sometimes you never know which way the wind is blowing. First there is a new classification for all the wineries in St. Emilion in Bordeaux. Then, all of a sudden there is not. And then now, as of the day before yesterday, there is again.

Much to the relief of winemakers and estate owners in St. Emilion, a French court has struck down the earlier decision that annulled the 2006 classification that established the (current) Who's Who list of producers.

Can you hear the collective sighs of relief from status conscious winegrowers and collectors around the world? I know I am going to sleep easier tonight.

And I guess I better go get those three cases of Cheval Blanc I put out on the curb for the homeless guys. They might be worth something after all.

Read the full story.

Posted by: Alder on November 17, 2007 3:52 PM: Filed under: Ramblings and Rants , Wine News; Like this post? Share it! Digg it! - Add to del.icio.us - Add to Stumbleupon - Add to Reddit

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Comments (3)

Mark V Marino wrote:

11.18.07 at 12:12 AM

Alder you are so funny, who is this Parker Guy anyway, did we take a vote and identify him as, "The collective taste buds"? Ratings are the taster's opinion, I have done tasings with 1000's and I can tell you taste buds vary greatly. Some of these grand cru wines start terrible only to end fantastic, this is why they have received the classification, from previous vintages preformance! It amazes me how many put store in Parker's predictions. I have a friend that was encouraged to buy a Zinfandel years ago on 90+ rating he said upon tasting the wine it was diesel oil not fit to burn in a truck, needless to say he is not one of his fans,there are many slips between the cup and the lips. I say taste for your own palate and do not worry about rating make your own ratings and those are the most important for you! I could use a bottle or two of that Cheval Blanc if you are putting out on the curb....???

DJ wrote:

11.20.07 at 3:57 PM

It's always interesting to me how people follow the various point systems and even more interesting how the points are derived.

I typically steer clear of Parker and "WS" ratings and tend to have faith in my own palate. After all, it has been scientifically proven that women have more taste buds than men, so as a woman, why should I follow the recommended ratings given primarily by men? Sorry guys ;-)

vive la difference!

DJ Prescott

The Wine Opinionator wrote:

11.27.07 at 10:00 PM

Yeah, don't through out that Chateau Bellevue because as you might have heard Chateau Angelus(imho one of the best producers of wine in St. Emilion) has recently purchase part of the winery, which can only lead to good things in the future from this Chateau. Pretty amazing how St. Emilion works and I believe there is still unfound potential there.