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RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 11/4/2023 1:19:15 PM   
penguinoid

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: sastewart

quote:

ORIGINAL: WineGuyCO

Most important things for me are:

1. Decanting time. Especially for young wines or those just entering their drinking window.
2. Optimal drinking time. I know this will vary among wine folks but a few year window is helpful.
3. Wine Characteristics. Is the wine light, medium or full body/mouthfeel? I prefer more medium/heavy mouthfeel wines (Bordeaux, CA Cabs) so this steers me away from the more AFWE wines. This of course does not apply to all wines (Burgundy, OR PN) or wines I know will be AFWE.


Agreed! Especially from people who I am a fan or friend of because I trust their palate.



Depends totally on the critic. Most reputable critics are not trying to sell wine -- though some may have (real or perceived) conflicts of influence if they accept ads from wineries in their magazine website, or if they consult for wineries. Mostly, they're trying to sell subscriptions to their journal or website -- and reliable reviews are better for that. Many critics re-evaluate the wines a few months or years after release for this reason too.

I don't think anyone would disagree that notes made after actually drinking a wine with a meal are going to be better than those made from a tasting session.

However, no critic can taste everything, so CT often wins out in terms of breadth. There's more wines covered, and more notes, than you'd find on a critic's site. Plus you can generally integrate notes from subscriptions to critics' sites with CT -- I am a subscriber to JancisRobinson.com and see the notes here as well -- and get the best of both worlds!

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RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 11/4/2023 2:54:53 PM   
wadcorp

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Blue Shorts
Tasting notes mentioning whether it was done with a "pop and pour" or with aeration.


This is important to me.

Love to hear that a wine will benefit from decanting, or opening an hour or two prior to pouring.

If I see "vegetal" or "bell pepper", I'll never buy that wine.

.


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Post #: 32
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 11/4/2023 5:10:32 PM   
hankj

 

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Status: offline 		Drinking window, and what stage the wine is at in it.

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Post #: 33
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 11/5/2023 8:06:41 PM   
recotte

 

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Status: offline 		I'll add to the chorus of being mostly interested in where the wine is currently at: Did it need to be decanted? Good to go on PnP? Is it still primary and fruit-forward, or has it developed more mature qualities? Is it in a dumb phase? Heading downhill? Over what time period was it consumed, and what evolution occurred in that time?

I'm typically less interested in the various aromas and flavors, as I like to suss those out for myself, but I do like info on the wine's balance. Is it hot/flabby/acidic (in a good/bad way)/tannic/etc.

I try to write my TN's with these things in mind. Hopefully someone finds them helpful!



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Post #: 34
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 11/6/2023 9:08:44 AM   
KPB

 

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Status: offline 		A perspective I'll toss in is that more and more, I would like to understand bottle provenance and how long the wine was open before serving.

The interesting thing is that I would not have said either of these things until a few years ago. I was drinking mostly Rhone reds and those are easier to source and consumed younger. But now I'm trying to be more balanced and am drinking more cabernet-based reds, and those often don't mature for 15 or 18 years. As a result I'm seeing TNs for wines I own that might have been for bottles purchased on secondary markets -- where the storage history becomes a puzzle.

Plus, Cabernet Sauvignon really needs time to breathe before serving. With a Rhone wine, you can get away with pop and pour because during the same dinner, you'll notice the wine evolving and will revise your TN if it made a huge difference. But those wines open up within 2 or 3 hours. With Cabernet, where a full day might not even be enough time to fully show its stuff, a TN created in a pop-and-pour setting could be really unfair to the wine.

So those are factors I wish people would report more systematically (at least for Cabernet. Maybe also Nebbiolo).

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Post #: 35
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 11/6/2023 4:49:29 PM   
bretrooks

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: recotte

I'll add to the chorus of being mostly interested in where the wine is currently at: Did it need to be decanted? Good to go on PnP? Is it still primary and fruit-forward, or has it developed more mature qualities? Is it in a dumb phase? Heading downhill? Over what time period was it consumed, and what evolution occurred in that time?

I'm typically less interested in the various aromas and flavors, as I like to suss those out for myself, but I do like info on the wine's balance. Is it hot/flabby/acidic (in a good/bad way)/tannic/etc.

I try to write my TN's with these things in mind. Hopefully someone finds them helpful!



This covers most of the key things I look for too:
- How the wine was consumed (preparation, temperature, food pairing if any, consumption timeline)
- General description of wine impressions with structural notes given at least as much attention as aromas/flavors
- Where it seems to be on its aging curve

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Post #: 36
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 11/7/2023 8:10:10 AM   
Ibetian

 

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Status: offline 		As others have said the most important thing to me is how it’s drinking now, with supporting info on provenance and handling. I use this to help decide whether to make a trip to the offsite, dig a case out of the stack and crack it open.

But I do sometimes use CT to help with purchase decisions for the cellar (though not now, I’m in the Moratorium!) or for drinking at a restaurant when they don’t have corkage. In addition to the drinking window, I appreciate thoughts on the style of the wine. Is it red fruited or black/blue? Noticeable oak or alcohol? Balance overall? Complexity? More fruit bomb or AFWE? I admire those who can detect multiple scents or tastes in a wine, but I’m not one of them; general info on style is better for me than a long list of descriptors. I’m actually pretty flexible on enjoying different styles in different contexts, but I like to know what I’m getting into.

Trigger alert! Score discussion ahead!

I also value the score and score trends. I recently saw an offer for the 2019 Durfort Vivens, a bit over the EP price but under $75. The CT average score was 95, (21 notes) with recent notes from experienced tasters at 98. Keith Levenberg rated it 97 with a long, thoughtful and effusive note. Jeff Leve rated it 94. So here was a wine that could appeal to different palates, was red fruited, balanced and complex for under $75. I bought a ton.

I also look at the trend in scores. If the overall score is 90, but recent notes (say 5 or so over the past year) average over 92, that’s an indication to me, in addition to the written notes, that the wine is improving.

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Post #: 37
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 11/19/2023 3:57:10 AM   
penguinoid

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Ibetian

As others have said the most important thing to me is how it’s drinking now, with supporting info on provenance and handling. I use this to help decide whether to make a trip to the offsite, dig a case out of the stack and crack it open.


Noting the provenance of the wine isn't something I'd thought about much, but is a good point. I normally note if I've drunk the wine at a restaurant (esp if it's a by-the-glass offering and I didn't get to see the bottle to verify the vintage). I rarely buy older wines from the secondary market, but on the rare occasion I get to drink 10+ year old wines, that's often how I've got hold of them -- generally from shops that specialise in buying wines off collectors. I'll start making of a note of this from now.

I don't tend to decant because I live by myself and so drink wines over two or more nights. This way, I get to see how the wine is when first opened, and how it is with some air. I'll normally add an update to my note on the second evening.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ibetian
I also value the score and score trends.


I value the scores (in the context of the notes) but don't add scores myself. This is more to do with not being able to trust my own ability to rate wines numerically than to any philosophical position on the subject

< Message edited by penguinoid -- 11/19/2023 8:31:02 AM >

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Post #: 38
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 11/19/2023 7:12:42 AM   
River Rat

 

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Bottle treatment - decant, double decant, air time, pnp, sediment?
Balance - it can be big or it can be lean, but it needs to be balnced.
Abv
No flab

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Post #: 39
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 11/19/2023 7:16:31 AM   
River Rat

 

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Status: offline 		When it comes to mention or/not of provenance one can peruse a few notes to find who has been storing their wine properly and who hasn’t although it’s always nice to see a glowing note on an aged wine which generally speaks to provenance as well as winemaking.

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Post #: 40
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 11/21/2023 8:49:43 AM   
London Ed

 

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Status: offline 		If I see the word 'mineral' I'll tend to avoid it. Probably my taste profile is out of fashion lol

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Post #: 41
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 11/30/2023 2:23:59 AM   
diphthong

 

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Status: offline 		Older wines...fill, cork quality, sediment amount all important. Decanted, not decanted, how long as well. Have had a few older wines that looked like they'd been up for 48 hours straight dodging bullets that drank great. Have had more under similar circumstances of excellent pedigree that drank not so well. Not so worried about the prognosis on a 2021 Beaujolais vs the 1990 Gruaud-Larose. More info is better than less. Newer releases settling in. For those that won't live long enuff (sorry) to see the new wines drinking optimally, they are looking for accessibility and immediacy. For the young punks, they don't care how things age or don't. it's more of a right here right now thing. PNP. Gotta cover both bases with the notes if you can. For those that feel the tinge of age but are still in denial, you'll wanna post optimal drinking windows and "drink till" highlights.

< Message edited by diphthong -- 11/30/2023 2:35:16 AM >

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Post #: 42
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 12/6/2023 3:38:18 PM   
fingers

 

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Status: offline 		- How does it look
- Any sediment
- How long was decant and how did it change over X amount of time
- How does it smell
- How does it taste, including finish/aftertaste
- Anything that makes this special or distinct from the vast sea of like wines.
- Subjective thoughts on value are welcome, too

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Post #: 43
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 12/6/2023 4:07:02 PM   
recotte

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: fingers

- How does it look
- Any sediment
- How long was decant and how did it change over X amount of time
- How does it smell
- How does it taste, including finish/aftertaste
- Anything that makes this special or distinct from the vast sea of like wines.
- Subjective thoughts on value are welcome, too



Good list

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Post #: 44
RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 12/7/2023 7:32:51 AM   
wineismylife

 

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Status: offline 		This thread reminds me of what my wife PURPLE used to say all the time:

"Tastes good. Buy more."

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RE: So what is most important in a tasting note to you? - 12/7/2023 7:47:43 AM   
sastewart

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: recotte


quote:

ORIGINAL: fingers

- How does it look
- Any sediment
- How long was decant and how did it change over X amount of time
- How does it smell
- How does it taste, including finish/aftertaste
- Anything that makes this special or distinct from the vast sea of like wines.
- Subjective thoughts on value are welcome, too



Good list

This. Plus provenance if known.

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Post #: 46
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