The only palate you can truly trust is your own!
Wine Scores:
Consistent with “The only palate you can truly trust is your own”, I don’t advocate for wine score point scales. I do acknowledge the value of point scores for wineries, retailers etc as e.g. a high Halliday score can contribute significantly to a wines sale but this doesn’t promote customer loyalty instead it more likely results in trophy hunting. Wine show medals and scores can also be problematic and of questionable validity. However the show system does serve a function and deservedly has it’s place in the world of wine but please don’t cede your palate to wine show judges. If this was a true commercial site, which it certainly isn’t, then I may be forced by ‘industry interests’ to score wines on a points scale, however I have the current luxury of remaining true to the genuine validity of individual palate preferences & differences.
I get it though, we are all in a hurry, it’s tempting to just scroll through looking for the 95+ pointers. You may be surprised by how many high scoring wines just don’t suit your palate or how many of those same wines are allocated different scores by someone else. It’s a more valid decision making process, and especially if you are considering purchasing a few, to read the entire tasting note – the reviewer may mention something that you know from your own experience you don’t enjoy, individual palate variation is an extensive factor. So please do read the tasting note as it will reveal my own ‘score’. Never make the assumption that you will like a wine because I do – you are the captain of your palate. Even if I don’t personally like a wine I will still state if, in my experience and opinion, it is a quality wine.
All prices quoted are cellar door RRP’s as listed on vineyard web sites.
How The Wines Are Tasted:
Wines are tasted at recommended temperatures, most usually individually without and then with food, they are also tasted over two days. On occasion wines may be tasted side by side or as part of a group of ‘similar’ wines.
Comments:
Comments from all readers are encouraged, comments are necessarily moderated – your comment may take up to 24 hours to appear but usually appears within 12. Wine often evokes discussion and there is huge variance across human palates so please participate if you have a moment.
Learning:
A feature of this site is also learning about wine. I will always endeavour to include more specific information about vinification with each tasting note. This will aid both you and I to learn more about how the factors involved have influenced the wine and how those factors align or otherwise with our palate preferences. We can of course inform each other by participation in the Blog.
I will also from time to time post a tasting note of an aged Granite Belt wine and others in mid-range territory. This is so we can see how any specific wine is cellaring and have some idea of where it’s at in it’s journey – should it be drunk now, has it reached it’s full development potential but will still hold that position for a number of years, or does it have improvement left and may be better if opened in a few more years?
