• 09 El Coto de Rioja Blanco (Rioja): Short on balance, but plenty long on herbs, flowers and tart citrus for the price. $9 B- #
• 08 Torbreck Woodcutter’s Shiraz (Barossa): Hot vintage births a hot wine. Still, it’s a great opp. to sample those 100+ yr old vines. $22 B #
• 08 Tres Sabores Farina Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc (Sonoma Mntn): Round but also vibrant thanks to some “previously inspired” French oak $22 B+ #
• 07 Tres Sabores Rutherford Estate Zinfandel (Napa Valley): Eminently enjoyable & spicy black berry marred only by a bit too boozy edge $35 B #
• 07 Tres Sabores “Por que No” (Napa Valley): Zin blend that will very likely make you the upscale hero of your next BBQ picnic. $25 B+ #
• 06 Tres Sabores “Perspective” Cabernet Sauvignon (Rutherford): Besides the price, there’s a lot to love in this dark, dusty wonder. $80 B+ #
• 07 Tres Sabores Petite Sirah (Napa Valley): If you like dark chocolate, then buy this, pronto (if you’re lucky enough to find any). $45 B+ #
• 08 Cantina Novelli Trebbiano Spoletino Bianco (Umbria): Old vines, herbs & almonds have taken squatters’ rights in the citrus house. $18 B+ #
• 06 Cantina Novelli Rosso (Montefalco): With such light oak, it probably shouldn’t be this far into the “Old” of the “Old World” style $27 B- #
• 07 Cantina Novelli Bianco Cube (Umbria): Looks as yellow as the fruits it tastes like. And the yellow tastes are pretty tasty indeed. $14 B #
• 07 Domaine Rochette Pisse-Vieille (Brouilly): Futher berry, peppery proof that you can’t really go too far wrong with Cru Beaujolais. $18 B+ #

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• 07 Rocca Bad Boy Red (Napa Valley): Mostly a very, very good boy. But something tells me he might be a Bad Boy when it comes to food. $32 B+ #
• 07 Torres Sangre de Toro Tempranillo (Catalunya): Summertiiiiiime, and the sippiiiiiiiin’s eeeeaaaasssyyyyy. Especially in this case. $11 B- #
• 07 Torres Ibericos (Rioja): A sprig of herbs has been stuck into those black cherries, stem and all. Careful with that oak, Eugene. $16 B #
• 09 Acordeon Torrontes (Cafayate Valley): Limes, pineapples & Jasmine, oh my!! You’d use multiple exclamation points too at this price! $9 B- #
• 09 Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare (Central Coast): Tasty, refined Rose for smart people who still aren’t afraid to like strawberries. $15 B #
• 04 Hidden Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma County): U don’t like black cheery & licorice? Well, U like this black cherry & licorice! $75 A- #
• 06 Hidden Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma County): Their vineyard views are gorgeous & substantive. So is this dark-fruited beauty. $40 A- #
• 09 Bennett Lane White Maximus (Napa Valley): Shooting for vibrancy, tropical fruits & refreshing citrus. Pretty much a bull’s eye. $28 B+ #
• 07 Bennett Lane Reserve Chardonnay (Carneros): Can you balance creme brulee on citrus, acids, & booze. In this case, you come close. $45 B #
• 06 Bennett Lane Maximus (Napa Valley): Not distinctive, but this red goes down too juicy & easy not to drink lots of it for the price $35 B+ #

(yes, there’s even more of this stuff…)

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It’s been a while since I railed against the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

Not that they haven’t deserved a good railing in the interim, I’ve just been busy with other topics, and the PLCB has been busy raiding PA bars at great taxpayer expense and with no justifiable reason, so they’ve been dealing with plenty of bad press anyway.

But this week, something got published that I had to rail against.  Because, quite honestly, the news is an embarrassment for Pennsylvania taxpayers whose hard-earned cash is going to help fund a government that is supposed to be controlling wine sales in the state, but instead is taking a puke all over customer service and adding almost no value to the average PA consumer.

This news comes by way of Lew Bryson’s excellent blog Why The PLCB Should Be Abolished (hey, at least you know where he stands), recapitulating a Scranton Times-Tribune blog article by David Falchek.  In said blog post, Falchek describes a friend’s encounter at a PLCB wine & spirits store in which a PLCB employee denied the existence of Cabernet Franc.

Not the existence of a particular bottling or brand of Cabernet Franc. The employee denied the existence of Cabernet Franc itself.

Yes, I am totally serious, and No, I have not been drinking…

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For our latest 1WineDude.com interview, I’m tasked with the difficult job of introducing someone who requires no introduction (at least, not when it comes to the world of fine wine).

Today’s interview guest, Robert Parker, is arguably the most famous wine critic on the planet; what is beyond argument is that he is the most influential wine critic on the planet – his scores are capable of sending a wine’s market value into the stratosphere.  He is the founder of the consumer wine review publication The Wine Advocate, which, not unlike a blog, began as a self-published journal – it now has tens of thousands of subscribers in dozens of countries.  Parker is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on the wines of Bordeaux, and his ability to taste (and recall past tastings of) wines is the stuff of legend.

Parker’s influence and fame at times makes him a polarizing figure (you knew this part was coming, right?).  He established the “love-it-or-loathe-it” 100-point wine scoring review scale. His preference for wines with bold, fruit-forward profiles has, some have argued, divided the wine world into fractions of those who religiously follow Parker’s palate, and those who religiously avoid it.  The divisive effects of his influence have been chronicled in both books and in film.

He has been described as a great equalizer of wine, liberating it from an era of poor quality offerings pushed onto the market at unfairly high prices; he has also been vilified as creating a market of “international style” wines crafted by winemakers attempting to solicit high scores from his reviews, at the expense of regional uniqueness and a sense of place in their wines.

Mr. Parker was a gracious interviewee, so much so that he has tied author Kathryn Borel for the quickest response to interview questions that I’ve ever received.  He even expressed concern that his responses might be a bit dull for the 1WD readers – “thanks for giving me an opportunity to respond to your questions. I’ll try and keep my answers as succinct as possible so your readers don’t nod off while reading them.”

As the Wayne’s World guys might put it – As if!

Below, you will find a fairly intimate glimpse into Mr. Parker’s views on wine blogging, Bordeaux en primeur prices, my friends Gary Vaynerchuk and Tyler Colman, the booming Asian wine consumer market, the Big Lebowski (yes, seriously), and his own influence and professional legacy. It is very likely a side of Robert Parker that few in the on-line wine world have yet seen.

I’m grateful to Mr. Parker for taking the time and opportunity for what might be his first-ever wine blog interview. I’m equally grateful to Jeff Lefevere of GoodGrape.com, who acted as contributing editor on the interview questions.

Ok – appetizers are over; let’s get to the meat-and-potatoes!…

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