Saturday, March 12, 2011

"The best wines of France 2011"

In “The best wines of France 2011” guide of Revue du Vin de France, the title on page 28 read: The missing properties! Because they did not provide samples to taste, this guide did not include a few unavoidable wines such as La Grange des Peres, the wines from Domaine de la Romanee Conti, etc. ... 7 are listed.

Well, 7 wines missing is not so much, as long as this guide knows how to list them! Still only 7, tough for those missing and consider they are part of the elite, and this not even counting those who feel they are not at their place.

I am quite surprised that this guide doesn’t buy a few wines from stores, even taste them blind like the Grand Jury Europeen, who buys wines when necessary, even though they don’t have the deep pockets the owners of RVF have.

I am also surprised by Jean Emmanuel Simond’s elitism, who is in charge of the Languedoc-Roussillon region and who sees no interest in listing wines I produced with my partner – the world is not perfect.

Some do not want to participate and others would like, but alas Decanter, Jancis nor Parker are the decision makers for RVF, which has the right to "mark" its distinctive taste.... This proves their independence, that's for sure…

1 comment:

zizou said...

Dear Jean-Luc,

It is obvious that some wine producers feel unjustifiably excluded from our choices but this is the rule, as long as one wants to assess wine in all independency and selectivity (see the name of our book : "The Best Wines from France 2011")

Should you unfortunately consider that my choices for RVF section of Languedoc-Roussillon are marred by sectarianism, I am tempted to believe that you might mistake sectarianism and selectivity : I do taste the wines of Thunevin-Calvet on a regular basis but do consider, at the risk of disappointing you, that today they do not find a place among the best wines from Roussillon.
In one of the most promising and dynamic wine region of France, many producers are today offering wines of really high quality. Among those producers, many aim to be mentioned in The Best Wines from France 2011, in which space is limited. Thus our strict level of demand, and selectivity imposed on the authors.

Sincerely,

Jean-Emmanuel Simond