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Robert Parker’s Magical 20 tasting - Part 1
Just mention the name, Robert Parker, and most people in the wine world, seem to have an opinion -both good and bad.
When offered the opportunity to attend a tasting lead by Parker at Wine Future Hong Kong, I jumped at the chance. While he is primarily regarded as a wine critic, in being so, he is also inspirational as a communicator and educator.
At this tasting labeled, “Parker’s “Magical 20,” we tasted the Bordeaux wines that Parker described as forming the next tier below the famed first growth wines of Chateaux Lafite, Margaux et al.
A tasting of this magnitude for 1000 winelovers, required 20,000 glasses, 1400 bottles and 45 sommeliers to open them! As well, many of the Chateau had flown to Hong Kong just to be part of tasting and support their wines.
For me, I have always been fascinated by Parker and his dominance of the fine wine world His credentials stem from his rave review of the 1982 vintage in Bordeaux which other critics panned. It is now regarded as one of the outstanding vintages of last century. Part his goal when he started writing about wine in the early 80s was to work on the side of the consumer and help buyers better evaluate which wines to buy and what to avoid. His 100 point rating scale has been copied and criticized ever since.
“I was a farm boy” says Parker and learnt about drinking wine in France, “because it was cheaper than coca cola. I am most proud that I brought a sense of democracy in a wine field that was not short of elitism and in many cases did not justify their reputations.
I would say, “Just taste the wine. It is not the price or the history but what is in the glass. I was trained as a lawyer and wanted to be totally independent and to treat everyone on a level playing field.More importantly, he talked about how his discovery of fine wine had transformed his life and allowed him to move away from a career as a lawyer.
“Wine seemed to go with food and promote conversation. Liquor was dumbing and disabling. And this fascinating beverage has changed my life. It keeps me young and keeps me as a student. Every new vintage is like going back to school. It sustains me and energizes me. After 33 years, I still have the same enthusiasm and passion that has not changed in all these years”.
As wine educator, I was particularly interested to learn from Parker his interpretation of what makes a great wine. He described our session as Wine 101.
“Wine is emotional and is meant to please our senses. It is why we love music. It has nuances and reveals things and is meant to satisfy us. The greatest wine that you will drink is hedonistic and gives you intellectual pleasure. It challenges you.”
Parker extolled us to keep our minds open because there are great wines from all over the world and don’t believe anything that you read – what you taste and your palate is what you think and if you like it…why do you like it and this becomes an educational process.He went on to say that wine is subjective up to a point but at the same time there is a consensus that modern day classic wines must satisfy a handful of elements:
- A great wine must satisfy both a hedonistic pleasure and intellectual sense. It reveals things and challenges you with nuances, like layers of an onion that you peel off and each time more and more things are coming out as you smell and taste.
- It offers a depth and intensity of aroma and flavor without heaviness. There is a perfect equilibrium and purity of flavours. It is easy to make wines that at heavy and alcoholic but like the great cuisines of the world, wine should achieve intensity without heaviness.
- The finish of the wine leaves a perception that is being felt in your mouth after you have swalled or spat.
- It must have the ability to hold your interest and pulls you back for more.
- Great wine must have the ability to improve with age and become more complex over time. Some wines will be no more complex in 10 year or 20 years as they become “lumps of grape juice and alcohol”.
- Great wine has to have a singular personality - and once you recognize this you wont forget!
More photos of Robert Parker’s Magical 20 Tasting available here.
