Tasting notes: Good, bad, or necessary?
What is the point of a tasting note? What kind of notes do you prefer to write and/or read? What are tasting notes for? Are they needed anymore?
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The first two questions, posed by colleague David Bueker, have inspired quite a conversation in our WineLovers Discussion Group this week.
A few days later, wine writer Meg Maker, in consultation with the wine writer and importer Terry Theise, posted a fascinating take on this issue in her Substack. This quote in particular got my attention:
We both believe the tasting note is an impoverished way of talking about wine’s significance and impact. We believe the professional system of tasting and scoring wines, often under time pressure, elides the taster’s experience in ways that make the writing affectless. We believe that wine is worth writing about, but also that we owe the subject the courtesy of more of our human creativity.
Maker and Theise published an article digging into their thoughts in the December issue of The World of Fine Wine. Their column is long and deep and deserves your full attention. You’ll find it at this link, with the headline A defense of wine writing – Does an object of beauty deserve to be written about beautifully?
Wine tasting notes go back a long way. Do you suppose medieval monks scribbled their vinous observations in the margins of their illuminated manuscripts?
Of course I have opinions, since, after all, I include one of my own wine notes in this column every Friday. I’ve been doing it pretty regularly since around this time in 1999. That’s a lot of notes, and I hope that many of you are reading this today because my thoughts on mostly affordable wines of good quality and value and the broader world of wine appreciation are of interest to you. (Many thanks for being here, and extra thanks to those who’ve chosen to support us with a paid subscription. I appreciate you!)
To make a long story short, I try to be concise and specific. I name the wine, list the varieties in the blend if that’s relevant; describe, in the order of the traditional tasting process, the wine’s color, clarity, aromas, flavors, and finish. I try to avoid the easily parodied style of some of the most followed critics (Robert Parker’s “gobs of hedonistic fruit” comes to mind), and I also try to avoid the practice of using obscure and little-known descriptors, from quince to durian to brettanomyces or even the evocative Provencal garrigues.
I can’t resist sharing a few words on this that I ran across in an obscure paper from the University of Grenoble Alpes in France, How Robert Parker’s 90+ and Ann Noble’s Aroma Wheel Changed the Discourse of Wine Tasting Notes. (If it comes up in French, look for the “Français | English” tabs at upper left.))
The current trend among magazine tasting note writers is to use overly precise and detailed descriptors for aromas and tastes. It is no longer sufficient to say that a Chardonnay has a citrus element without specifying whether that element is lemon, lime, grapefruit, or orange. And if it happens to be orange, contemporary tasting note writers will go on to choose between bitter orange peel, orange sherbet, and glazed orange slices to complete the metaphorical description. The compilation of detailed descriptors does not inevitably result in a conveying or informative tasting note.
I promise not to do that. Or at least I’ll try not to.
After all this discussion, I’m sorry to say that this week’s featured wine, Agricoltura Sinergica 2021 “L’Archetipo” Salento Fiano, is locked behind our subscription paywall. Since I buy all the wines I review at retail and do not accept wine samples or other gratuities from the industry, I count on the support of paid subscribers to help cover the cost of the wines I review. Accordingly, I have to reserve wines that cost me more than about $20 behind our subscription paywall.
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