Different Tongues - Power of Suggestion

[Randy Caparoso]

Thank goodness, consumers can still count on tons of wine stores across the country -- including one right down the street from me -- where they can always get good, solid recommendations, with nary a mention of scores and medals. A big daddy, in my book, is Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant in Berkeley, where you darn well that most of those wines would barely rate an 80 or 85, let along "finish" in a competition. They're too peculiarly French! But fascinating, and great with food, in their own intricate ways.

Foodie, you get me wrong. I do not contend that palate is "everything." I just say that it's slightly more important than nose, not the other way around. Of course, a nose has to be attractive, and the more complex and interesting the better. But I'm sorry, Bucko, but I think the balance of importance SHOULD be closer to 51%/49% in favor of palate. But keep in mind that I think of palate as a combination of tongue sensations, the aroma-related flavors that reach the olfactory through the back of the palate, and most important, the balance, texture and harmony of all the above.

It's on the palate where, say, a Chateau Margaux or La Tache really show their stuff. But if you stick such standbys in a blind tasting next to, say, a Caymus or Williams-Selyem, you know that there's a good chance that even the most seasoned tasters would "rank" the Californians higher. Especially if they can't resist the natural tendency to fixate on nose. You can say that that's how the cookie crumbles, but common sense tells you that there's more to it that, well meets the nose. If you're in a situation where you're called upon or forced to apply certain standards which you normally would not apply -- like simply "nosing" through 250 samples in order to eliminate the ones not "eligible" for medal consideration -- then you're bound to end up doing something outrageous... like eliminating a Margaux or La Tache. This may sound extreme, but I've personally seen it in private tastings -- in which a big year Margaux, a Montrachet or Pichon Lalande were cast to the bottom of a heap by people who normally enjoy them! Blind tastings are simply unnatural.

Nevertheless, Curmudgeon, judging from your recent results, it's obvious that your judges are getting better and better about overcoming these tendencies. In my life, I've only been in two large tasting situations (in the Sonoma County Fair and Kapalua, Maui), and I could clealy see that it takes a great deal of self-discipline to judge. One of the biggest constraints is time, which causes perfectly good wines to be flung unceremoniously by the wayside. And all it takes is one impatient, assertive panel member to destroy an entire group's willingness to keep an open mind, and not judge a book by its cover.