I've caught a lot of heat from some of you for my inclusion of Old English 800 in the last post, and rather than explain away my reasons for posting the accolades for a beer (malt liquor) some of you may think is beneath you, I've decided instead to push it even further, and set up a blind tasting. There has been a lot of chatter lately about ethics over at Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, in a furious serious of posts shaking the very grounds of the wine community. The concerns namely, are that wine and wine criticism have become huge business lately, to the tune of Billions of dollars annually in the US alone, and in light of this, what keeps these "critics" honest? This, of course, begs the fundamental questions of wine criticism's effectiveness, it's methods, and it's possibilities of objective truth. It's in this spirit that I decided to do a blind tasting with real people, my neighbors Jay and Dick. Here's Dick:
So, they were cooking burgers and watching the Ducks game with my roomate Justin when I came over, and nobody seemed too excited about my great experiment. This is actually a perfect control group for employing the Scientific Method (see image below)
This is all especially interesting to me for a few reasons: 1. I haven't had Old English in at least 15 years, and I'm curious to see what it tastes like to me now (I remember gagging that stuff down many years ago in Brooklyn at house parties) 2. I want to see what these guys with somewhat experienced to limited wine backgrounds will think of the Burgundy, and 3. Because one of the most commonly asked questions about wine that I get as a sommelier and wine consultant is: "Is expensive wine really worth it?", I'd like to put that to the test.
I'm lucky enough to taste some very expensive wines on a regular basis. As I'm putting together the wine list for a new restaurant/ wine bar here in LA, and go to as many portfolio tastings as possible, in addition to as many as 15-20 tasting appointments a week, I'd estimate I try somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 wines a week, and in some weeks where I have multiple portfolio tastings, taste even more than that. Not all of these wines are expensive, and in my experience, price definitely does not indicate quality. I've had some very beautiful inexpensive wines, and vice-versa. One of my favorite wine stories involves an experience I had as a sommelier out in the Hamptons a few years ago. See here.
But so anyway, to the point, the point! I blind tasted these three guys on the O.E. and the Clos de Beze and asked them, what they thought, which was better with their food and the hockey game, and once they tasted them, I told them the prices, and asked if they were worth the money. Results:
Old English 800-
Jay reported a giant nose of corn chowder (not surprising since most of the fermented grain in inexpensive domestic beers and cheap whiskies is corn) Dick remarked that he thought, while not good, it was definitely not as bad as he remembered. Justin failed to comment, but casually returned to the table with the remainder of the forty and a glass after the tasting had concluded, to finish with the rest of the hockey game. As for me, the corn on the nose had a cheap chardonnay quality to it, and it almost certainly had residual sugar in it, which, while somewhat off-putting, wasn't entirely cloying, and overall, it was better than I either expected or remembered, but I will probably not be reaching for some in my local beer purveyor's refrigerator anytime soon.
2007 Faiveley Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru-
Jay liked it, and found it delicate, but on the downside, felt it was a little too light and lacked the depth her prefers in Cabernet Sauvignon. Dick didn't like it, felt it was light, boring, and tasted like "warm spit". Justin liked it, found it balanced, perfectly nice, but that it didn't stand out in any particular direction, good or bad. I liked it, but more importantly, for our purposes, I wanted to like it: I knew what it was, and unfortunately that subconciously played into my review of it. All that being said, my review was that, it was possibly a bit on the light side for a Grand Cru, but the aromatics had improved significantly in the few hours it was open since the tasting. It was extremely well balanced, with very nice cherry and lightly earthy overtones. It was of course, a baby, but a very pretty wine.
Oh, and just for the hell of it, Here's what Tanzer thought..
2007 Domaine Faiveley Chambertin Clos de Beze
Saturated dark red. Knockout nose combines liqueur-like raspberry, coffee, smoke, licorice and brown spices. Tightly coiled and powerful, conveying an impression of energy but at the same time sweeter and more harmonious than the Mazis. Perhaps best today on the extremely long, palate-staining finish, which features an almost electric impression of precision and complex suggestions of minerals, coffee and spices. Hervet describes 2007 as a vintage that offers great transparency of terroir, and this wine could serve as Exhibit A.
Are they worth the money?-
Old English 800 (40 oz.) Roughly about $2.50, although honestly I don't quite remember.
2007 Faivevley Chambertin Clos de Beze (750ml.) between $150-$300 retail
Jay was OK with the O.E. but would much rather have just about any other beer. As for the Clos de Beze, he felt if he was in the market for expensive burgs, he'd certainly consider it, but at this particular moment in time, he wouldn't be dropping over $150 on any bottles of wine. Dick was also ok with the O.E. and preferred it to the Clos de Beze. He mused, "Anybody who'd spend that kind of money on THAT is a fucking moron." Justin kept his thoughts to himself about the O.E. although the empty 40 spoke for itself. As for the Clos de Beze, he liked it, but felt the price was unjustified. "I simply wouldn't spend that kind of money on a wine unless I thought it was truely amazing, and THAT, to me, is simply not amazing." Personally, I'm glad I tasted the O.E., if only to chalk it up to experience, and because now I know I don't need to try it again anytime soon. If I were in the market for a 40 oz. of beer, I'd go elsewhere. As for the Clos de Beze, I seemed to be the only one to really like it. As I said, I was prejudiced because I knew what it was, but I enjoyed the development of the aromatics, and I felt it was very well crafted and delicious. I would definitely enjoy it again and recommend it as an OPP (Other Person Paying) wine, but while I liked it and would give it an 91 out of 100, I would not necessarily recommend this particular bottle at roughly $150-$300/ btl to any of my friends or clients.
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