Parker agrees with Berrys on Bordeaux 2009!

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LatourThe mighty Parker has released his scores for Bordeaux’s 2009s – possibly the most important document in wine history since the 1855 classification – and guess what? He actually seems to agree with us! Many have been the years where we have read through Parker’s proclamations with a sense of bewildered wonderment – 2003/2005/2008 for example.
 
Well, this year he seems to have seen the light and hasn’t, like many, declared 2009 the best vintage in living history, but has sensibly informed the wine world that, although many chateaux have made the best wines in memory, it is not a blanket vintage and many wines are too alcoholic and lack definition.

However, as we have always maintained, Parker, although a great critic and undoubtedly one of the most influential men of our times, is simply one man.  One man who’s opinion affects an entire industry, so when he gives the brilliant 09 Ch. Latour 98-100 points but, in the next breath, awards the same status to certain Right Bank wines which were, in our (team’s!) opinion, over-extracted, over-alcoholic and stand-your-spoon-up-in-them thick, we can’t help but wonder whether being all things to all men is simply not a sensible tactic (the wines we are talking about shall remain nameless). The sad fact is that most people don’t read Parker’s notes, they just care about the score, so if they enjoy the classy, subtle elegance of Ch. Latour and then decide to try another of his more “exotic” 100-pointers, they are bound to be disappointed, and vice versa of course. To me it would seem very helpful to the reader that he identifies the “pea soupers” (PS?) as Modern Style (MS) perhaps. Anyway, enough rambling on, the report will only add fuel to the 2009 fire. Message to Chateaux….Come on ….let’s get on with it!