Noted some wine publications list "barrel" tastings for some
unreleased wines.

I envision one way to do it thus: critic goes to the winery, siphons
off some wine from a barrel, puts in a bottle, slapped on a
hand-written label, corks the bottle and takes it back to
headquarters, where it is then commingled blindly with the tasting
lot.

Or is it that the wineries submit samples indicating them to be
"barrel" material?

Anybody knows the actual mechanics?

--
=================================================
Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida?
Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/miamiWINE
=================================================

Leo Bueno > wrote in
:

>
> Noted some wine publications list "barrel" tastings for some
> unreleased wines.
>
> I envision one way to do it thus: critic goes to the winery, siphons
> off some wine from a barrel, puts in a bottle, slapped on a
> hand-written label, corks the bottle and takes it back to
> headquarters, where it is then commingled blindly with the tasting
> lot.
>
> Or is it that the wineries submit samples indicating them to be
> "barrel" material?
>
> Anybody knows the actual mechanics?
>
> --
> =================================================
> Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida?
> Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/miamiWINE
> =================================================
>

the way I've done it is siphoned out of the barrel and served in the cave.

--
Joseph Coulter
Cruises and Vacations
http://www.josephcoulter.com/

Joseph Coulter wrote:

> Leo Bueno > wrote in
> :
>
[snip]

> > Or is it that the wineries submit samples indicating them to be
> > "barrel" material?
> >
> > Anybody knows the actual mechanics?
> >
> >
>
> the way I've done it is siphoned out of the barrel and served in the cave.
>

The public barrel tastings I have attended were as Joseph Coulter
describes. And they are sales and/or social events -- not intended for
serious evaluation of the wine. A winemaker may frequently taste from
barrels to check the progress of the wines, but I don't think that is
what you are asking about. I suppose a bulk wine buyer might taste wine
from barrels for evaluation purposes.

Leo Bueno wrote:
> Noted some wine publications list "barrel" tastings for some
> unreleased wines.
>
> I envision one way to do it thus: critic goes to the winery, siphons
> off some wine from a barrel, puts in a bottle, slapped on a
> hand-written label, corks the bottle and takes it back to
> headquarters, where it is then commingled blindly with the tasting
> lot.
>
> Or is it that the wineries submit samples indicating them to be
> "barrel" material?
>
> Anybody knows the actual mechanics?

Normally, the barrel tastings are done in the cellars/cave of the
winery. In the case of Mr. RMP, it does bear some inspection, since
IIRC he claims that all of his tastings are done blind, in flights of
similar wines.

Mark Lipton

Salut/Hi Leo Bueno,

le/on Sat, 25 Mar 2006 21:45:17 GMT, tu disais/you said:-

>
>Noted some wine publications list "barrel" tastings for some
>unreleased wines.
>
>I envision one way to do it thus: critic goes to the winery, siphons
>off some wine from a barrel, puts in a bottle, slapped on a
>hand-written label, corks the bottle and takes it back to
>headquarters, where it is then commingled blindly with the tasting
>lot.
>
>Or is it that the wineries submit samples indicating them to be
>"barrel" material?

I am not a reviewer for any major publication (or minor one for that
matter), so can't say how that happens. However I've very often tasted
barrels samples on my visits to wineries. One of the most interesting was in
Oregon, where we were lucky enough to be received by Jack Rovic of Panther
Creek winery, and were shown the influences of different Pinot Noir clones
and different oaks on their wines. I suppose we must have tasted something
like twenty different barrel samples.

I remember a similarly educational tasting in Ch. Tour des Gendres in
Bergerac, where Luc de Conti was discussing - with barrel tastings - the
difference that different kinds of limestone sub soil gave to the wines made
from the Sauvignon Blanc grape.

In both these cases, as in all others I've attended, the barrel was opened,
a sample taken with a wine thief, and poured into our glasses (as well as
the owner's) for us to taste. We then carried out our tasting, obviously
spitting the wines.

However, as I understand it, when, say, the "Revue des Vins de France" wants
to taste the current range of sweet wines from the South West, they contact
the owners asking them to send tasting samples and so those that wish to
take part will take samples and put them into a 1/2 bottle, cork it and send
it. The most scrupulous will take care that they take a representative
selection of several barrels so that what will be tasted with bear some
relationship to what will be bottled eventually. Others will no doubt take
the gamble of selecting a good barrel from which to pull samples. while they
may get good reviews in the short term, in the long term that kind of sharp
practice gets them a filthy reputation.

I have no idea of how the tasting itself takes place. Presumably that will
depend upon each organisation and how many are participating.

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website

I think that there are at least two kind of barrel tasting's. One, as
described by the people below is more or less a testing of a work in
process of unblended wines. either many barrels of the same blend,
but a bit unique. In some wineries, these may be individually tested,
some rejected( second wine) and the balance usually mixed together to
make the final wine. In other cases, the wine in various barrels is
from different locations(find Shea in OR, and Shea Stadium), or
different varsities, and the "final blend" is a mix of the various
varsities(J. Phelps insignia).

A second kind of barrel sample tasting, which is what I have done most
is: bottles are pulled and labeled, then shipped to Wash DC(where I
live), and opened and sampled here. The wine has a very short life.
it is almost always of the final blend.

The most famous of these tasting's in our area is the Addie Bassin
Tasting, which will come up in a couple of weeks.

http://www.bassins.com/

These are the wines that Parker tastes to generate his CA Cab report.
He does not go to CA to taste most of the wines in that report. Most
of the wines come from that tasting, and he has a private tasting the
day before or the day after. I have never seen him at that event,
although I have seen rogavani there.

There are a couple of other charity tastings that Macarther sponsors
that include Parker. The wines in those events usually end up in
Parkers reports.

These guys do not travel 100,000 miles a year to taste wines.

I have purchased a number of burgundies from barrel samples(tasted in
DC)

On Sat, 25 Mar 2006 21:45:17 GMT, Leo Bueno
> wrote:

>
>Noted some wine publications list "barrel" tastings for some
>unreleased wines.
>
>I envision one way to do it thus: critic goes to the winery, siphons
>off some wine from a barrel, puts in a bottle, slapped on a
>hand-written label, corks the bottle and takes it back to
>headquarters, where it is then commingled blindly with the tasting
>lot.
>
>Or is it that the wineries submit samples indicating them to be
>"barrel" material?
>
>Anybody knows the actual mechanics?

Mark Lipton > wrote:

> Normally, the barrel tastings are done in the cellars/cave of
> the winery. In the case of Mr. RMP, it does bear some
> inspection, since IIRC he claims that all of his tastings are
> done blind, in flights of similar wines.

Sorry, not true. Go to

<http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=91164>

and see what Parker himself sayd three days ago (scroll down to
post #15).

M.

Michael Pronay wrote:
> Mark Lipton > wrote:
>
>
>>Normally, the barrel tastings are done in the cellars/cave of
>>the winery. In the case of Mr. RMP, it does bear some
>>inspection, since IIRC he claims that all of his tastings are
>>done blind, in flights of similar wines.
>
>
> Sorry, not true. Go to
>
> <http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=91164>
>
> and see what Parker himself sayd three days ago (scroll down to
> post #15).

Michael,
My comment regards the statement that appears on the front cover of
every issue of WA: "When possible, all wines are tasted in single-blind
format..." Clearly, he doesn't feel that it's possible to do barrel
tastings in a single-blind format (and I concur), but there's nothing in
his cover statement that lets the reader know that barrel tastings are
exempted from his rule.

Mark Lipton