Robert Parker has recently published his annual review of Australian wines. Although I have to see his tasting notes in their entirety, I have seen enough to suggest that he has deliberately moved to place the not inconsiderable weight of his opinion and preference even further behind the ‘blockbuster’ styles from the warmer regions that he has tended to support for some years. One maker of excellent shiraz from one of the more southerly, but hardly ‘cool’ regions, wrote to me this morning with his reaction to Parker’s comments, as they relate to his wine in particular as well as to the entire category of Australian wine in general. I think it’s wise to keep the identity of this maker to myself. His words are: ‘I am annoyed that Mr. Parker has to use the ‘blockbuster’ style as his benchmark for other Aussie wines. Not because he scores my Shiraz at 89 points, but rather he seems to have failed in recognizing the diversity of regional styles. Are the red wine drinkers that he writes to a bunch of lemmings? Fine if they are going to drink the ‘blockbuster’ reds now, but would you enjoy these flat, porty, imbalanced wines ten years from now? What is so seductive about these wines? They are like a convoy of heavy, loud and arrogant Harley Davidsons thumping past and deafening you as you drive along listening to a fine piece of classical music. Pardon my analogy but it appears that many Aussie winemakers have been duped by the clich̩ that ‘there’s no substitute for cubic inches’. ‘It is fair enough that US wine importers rely so heavily on Mr. Parkers’ opinion to sell their stocks (we all like to make money), but it also shows that there is more to brand building than just scoring a huge point from him. My advice to potential exporters is make sure the importer/seller is passionate about your wine and is thoroughly prepared to do the hard yards to sell it.’ ‘Anyway, enough moaning from me. I think I’ll go outside and prune some more vines.’
