WTN Blah Chablis

At least you admit when I'm wrong.

I admit nothing.

Alan, I think great wine needs no excuses.

You're right. But I couldn't disagree with you more greatly regarding your comments on young wine. Young wines don't necessarily "taste good", nor should they be required to. Wines are a living breathing thing and particularly when young go through vast changes from month to month, from week to week, sometimes from day or hour to hour. It's why tasting a young wine once and then giving it a rating may be the most useless way for a consumer to get advice.

If you tastes a young wine once it has fruit and little structure, once and it has tannin and no fruit, once with acidity and no fruit, it might not be a particularly pleasant experience on any of the occassions, but would be an outstaning choice for a wine to buy.

So essentially we go back to my original point. I'm not trying to make excuses for it, I just think that if you have no idea what to look for, there's no point in bashing a 2000 Vaillons from Raveneau, when it will taste absolutely nothing like it does now anyways.

Not too mention, as I have tried to explain thousands of times, Chablis is in its very initial stage fairly expressive and then later shuts completely down. It then opens back up a few years later. Many of the 2000's are currently in this stage. Not making excuses, don't have too. Since I have tasted the wine in the barrel and the bottle over the course of time, I alredy know what's there.

Alan, I think great wine needs no excuses.

You're right. But I couldn't disagree with you more greatly regarding your comments on young wine. Young wines don't necessarily "taste good", nor should they be required to.

My comment? When did I ever say young wines should "taste good"?

I think I said something along the lines of young Barolo being bruising (equals not tasting good) but still discernibly great wine that is too young.

I was teasing Rahsaan a bit, but back to Dale's comment: For Dale's friends who don't like Barolo, I'd wager that they also don't like Barbaresco. I like Chardonnay. Why should a 2000 Raveneau seem like an under-performing wine when I sense excellence in Carillon Puligny Montrachet "Les Perrieres" or the Latour-Giraud Meursault-Genevrieres "Cuvee de Pierre" I had two weeks ago (which was woody, but still showed much promise).

Alan, please understand that I do think many Chablis are under-performing compared to others of the same class, but most of this is just sophomoric teasing that I do for the sake of making guys like Hoke and Lou squirm. I'm sure there are outstanding Chablis to be tasted for those with the patience and/or means. I just haven't encountered any from the cult of Raveneau, Dauvissat, Fevre, etc.

Best,
Joe

[James Roscoe]

At least you admit when I'm wrong.

I admit nothing.

Sergeant Shultz has returned!