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Buster Barely Escapes Exile in Zurich as Swissair Almost Loses Pooch!
My daughter Alyce and I travelled yesterday from New York City, to Zurich, to the Dressner Family Compound in Poil Rouge, France (see below for photo). Our dog Buster also came along but since he weights over 10 pounds he was in a kennel in the plan for the bulk of the trip. All told, Buster spent about 12 hours caged-up.
Although Delta Airlines has a direct New York to Lyon route, they do not accept dogs from June through August. So we are always compelled to take some crazy routing going through Brussels, Zurich, Amsterdam or somewhere else. This time it was Swissair through Zurich.
Unfortunately, our plane left JFK airport late and Alyce and I had to run to catch the correspoinding flight to Lyon. Of course, when we got the place, a propeller job in the middle of the runway, there was no dog. I insisted we were not leaving until they found our dog and was then threatened by "This is not possible, you must let the plane leave or we will have the police arrest you."
After insisting for some period of time that I was not letting the plane go anywhere and demanding that they send someone to find Buster, I saw I was getting nowhere. The Swiss airport people kept insisting it was impossible. Finally, after yet another threat to have me arrested a van came barrelling up the runway. Safely cloistered inside the van was our beloved Buster. Off we went to Lyon!
We learned about Swiss culture during this adventure. Swissair has a stellar reputation and my daughter had water, coffee (decaf), a second cup of coffee and her cognac (non-alcoholic, she's only 13) spilled all over her on four separate occassions.
Leaving for France on Tuesday Night....Will be Attending Vinexpo!
I hate Vinexpo but always go. Vinexpo is like a family obligation -- similar to attending the wedding of a relative you despise and pretending to have a good time. At least you don't have to bring a gift to attend Vinexpo.
It is always mind-boggling (as the wine critics say) that kilometers and kilometers of wine producers show their horrible industrial wines once every two years in Bordeaux. One would think all these kilometers of producers would be more discreet and less aggressive about showing their horrible wares. Apparently, they not only expect people to buy these wines, they act ually find customers at Vinexpo!
I go because it feeds my meglomaniacal notion that I'm a Big Man in The Wine Industry. There will be Big Men in The Wine Industry (an Occassional Big Woman, but on the whole it is a sexist trade, like everything else) from all over the world for one week in Bordeaux and I sure as hell am not going to miss all that action. Even if the air conditioners don't work yet once again.
Of course, I would not make a special trip from New York to Bordeaux just to be seen amongst the powerhouses of the industry in Bordeaux. I will already be in France, leaving tomorrow evening, to take my annual summer residence in the Louis/Dressner Family Compound in the hamlet of Poil Rouge in beautiful St-Gengoux-de-Scissé, somewhere in the Mâconnais.
The Louis/Dressner Family Compound in Southern Burgundy during the Catastrophic 1994 Harvest
Copyright 2001 John Danehy
The Wine Importer Will be Making a Rare Public Appearance this Friday
Yes, I am speaking about myself in the third person.
I, The Wine Importer, will be conducting an exhaustive tasting of Louis/Dressner Selections wines at Chambers Street Wines at at 160 Chambers Street in downtown Manhattan from 4:30 to 7:18 pm. This is a new wine shop headed by various luminaries from some of America's greatest wine shops and auction houses.
Mention that you learned about the tasting through this site and you will receive a 10% case discount!
1999 Red Burgundies
Along with Kevin McKenna, my partner, I just did a 1999 Red Burgundy tasting in Boston.
We started out importing Burgundies 34 years ago, but soon became enamored with other regions. I forgot how enjoyable Burgundies can be and the 1999 vintage seems very ripe and pretty. Even the Melon de Bourgogne, which everyone knows comes from the wrong side of the the National.
I actually enjoyed tasting Red Burgundies today, something that I haven't truly enjoyed in quite some time. We really had nothing grandiose there, with only Sylvie Esmonin's Clos St-Jacques coming close to a Grand Cru, but there was a consistent elegance across the line. I give them all 92 points, in descending order..
I think our search for the unspoofulated has payed off with this vintage. We don't have oak monsters but lots of pure little Burgundies with delicacy and charm. Maybe I'll buy some myself.
Remember that vintage generalizations about Burgundies are always useless -- the important thing is which vigneron in which year. So be certain to buy Burgundies selectively. A general good rule of thumb is to limit your purchases to Louis/Dressner Selections and Eric Solomon's Burgundy selections. Both firms make impeccable selections.
Now that I think about it, you also can't do wrong with Fran Kysela Père et Fils. I love that Père et Fils stuff in Fran Kysela's company's name, even though Fran started the company and his father never had an actual involvement in the daily activities. Most importantly, Fran's Government Warning Label has a great graphic of a guy in an apron rolling around a barrel. There is no indication if this is a new or old barrel, but I don't believe that Fran Kysela or his father supply the barrels to their winemakers. If you're looking for that sort of thing, you would do best to buy from Bobby Kacher et Fils or from North Berkeley et Fils. These outfits not only select the wines but also select the tonnelier and send forests of new barrels to their vignerons.
Father's Day is June 17th and what better way to celebrate that day then with a bottle of over-oaked Burgundy from one of the American Père et Fils operations that specialize in new oak? 92 points
Premised
Along with Kevin McKenna, my partner, I just did a 1999 Red Burgundy tasting in Boston. The tasting was at our wholesaler's headquarters and included actual wine buyers from the Boston market and lots of salespeople from the distributor. I don't know many of the salespeople, much has changed since our wholesaler was bought by a multi-national cartel five years ago, so I made a point of introducing myself to each of them as they poured themselves generous portions of high-priced Burgundies on allocation. The general pattern is to pour half a glass, sip a bit, spit it out and then dump the remaining considerable quantity of highly-allocated Burgundy into the dump bucket.
Some of the salespeople work on-premise. Some work off-premise. Some work a combination of on-premise and off-premise. Some were the On-Premise Sales Managers and some were the Off-Premise Sales Managers. One of these gentlemen was responsible for product programming 92 points wines but didn't explain what that was. I did notice that several of the On-Premise people took smaller pours than the Off-Premise salespeople, but the control group was too small to come to definitive conclusions.
Anyhow, what, in God's name, is all this premise talk. Whose premise are they either on or off? Are they all trespassing? If so, where, when and why?
Please send me explanatory e-mail.
Thank God for Marc Olliver
Along with Kevin McKenna, my partner, I just did a 1999 Red Burgundy tasting in Boston. One of the most exciting wines was the Domaine de la Pépière 2000. This is as good a young Muscadet as I have tasted. The wine exhibits gobs of minerality and multi-layered Melon-de-Bourgogne texture. Highly recommended. 92 points
A little-known fact about great Muscadet is that is unsaleable in Chicago!
One More Year
I had four heart transplants exactly one year ago today. My thanks to Denyse, Jules, Alyce, Sam, Irene, Buster and many others.
It is great to be alive, even if the top estates in the Côte Rotie are using the Côtes-du-Rhône yeast and relentlessly reacidifying.
My Children Many Years Ago Before They DIscovered the Internet
My Wife Before She Met Me in an Internet Chat Room
Cans of Industrial Yeasts Used to Make Crappy Industrial Wines
Memorial Day Preparations
I'm off to the beach tomorrow and I am all-equipped with the bundles of summertime clothing I received from J. Crew this morning. Fashion is very important for The Wine Importer and I couldn't be more pleased with the quality and stylishness of my J. Crew selections.
And now, through an exclusive arrangment, we can offer you, our reader, an exclusive arrangement with J. Crew that guarantees you receive the best prices available from this reputable outfit. Just click on the banner below and you will go direct to Crew's site and receive incredible discounts and offers:
Customer's ordering a minimum of $320.00 at J. Crew before June 15th will also receive a mixed case of Clos du Tue Boeuf and Pierre Overnoy wines (in localities that allow shipping of wines from New York retailers)! So hurry, and get in those orders!
Huh? Nuttiness on the Internet.
I used to be active on Robin Garr's Wine Lover's Discussion Group. Robin is a very patient fellow who has been actively hosting wine discussions on the internet for as long as these sort of activities have been around. I stopped being active on Robin's board as I found my presence there disruptive to Robin, the participants of that board and to my work in the wine trade. On the whole, I was one giant pain in the ass to Mr. Garr who did his best to keep me active there as a responsible contributor. I, certainly, would never have had as much patience as he did with myself.
Anyhow, I do look in there fondly from time to time to see what is brewing. Tonight, I notice that one fellow is talking about me in ways that seem inexplicable. Does anyone understand what's going on there? Maybe it is just some more internet nuttiness.
Below, is the transcript of their discussion:
| There's a subject for a wine book... Hoke, 21-May-2001 23:07 With the prevalence for family feuds and various incarnations of the Battling Bickersons, I bet someone could write a good book for wine geeks. Just off the top of my fairly flat head, there's the Mondavi schism, the justly famed Gallos, the Sebastianis, the Cotat you mentioned (not up on that one), Mastro, and countless others. Then you've got the always interesting subset of marital spats and wineries. Legions of those that would be juicy in a National Enquirer kinda way. The Kendall-less Kendall-Jackson, for instance. And I've heard stories about stuff that went on up at Spring Mountain that were never verified. And that's just family stuff. If we expanded "Wine Family Feud" to include various partners, we could have a series on installment pieces that would run longer than a Dickens serialization back in the 1800s! Dirty Laundry indeed. |
| Ah yes, the great wine feuds! Thor Iverson (Boston, MA), 22-May-2001 01:33 Cotat vs. Cotat. Mastroberadino vs. Mastroberadino. Mondavi vs. Mondavi. Kendall vs. Jackson. Gina vs. Matt. Kimberly vs. Carmen. Allen-Coad vs. Allen-Reddel. Dressner vs. Dressner. Like sands through the hourglass... |
| Ah yes, the great wine feuds! Robin Garr, 22-May-2001 02:05 Sebastiani vs Sebastiani vs Sebastiani? |
| Could just as easily have been... Thor Iverson (Boston, MA), 22-May-2001 02:18 ...Dressner vs. Dressner vs. Dressner vs. Dressner vs. Dressner vs. Dressner vs. Dressner vs. Dressner. (Or did I forget one?) Me, I always liked to imagine Suckling vs. Coates in a jello-covered sumo ring. Well, OK, not imagine it, exactly... |
Vigneron Wallpaper and Screen Saver
I have received numerous requests for Vigneron Wallpaper and Screen Savers. Please click on the following web site:
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Thank God for Jean-Paul Brun
I got to taste the Domaine des Terres Dorées L'Ancien Vieilles Vignes 2000 for the first time in bottle today. What a beauty! Just 11 degrees of alcohol, just pure gamay, no spoofulation. If any wine sums up what we aim for then it is this wine. The quintessence of purity.
This used to be called Cuvée a l'Ancienne but is no longer allowed by the French authorities to have this name. The Repression des Fraudes (a French governmental agency that Represses Frauds) did a spot raid of Jean-Paul Brun's cellar and ruled that Cuvée a l'Ancienne was a fraudulent title. So now, Brun has to call this L'Ancien. Go figure!
What isn't fraudulent is all the juice made with the 71-B yeasts, thermo-vinification (the lastest Duboeuf craze), enzymes and all sorts of spoofilication. This stuff has no problem with the Fraud Squad.
But a Beaujolais with no chaptalization, no yeasting and so pretty that it aches is grounds for investigation and prosecution.
None of this is actually available right now for the consumer. Shipments are first being ordered here at Louis/Dressner Central and they should start appearing on shelves by the beginning of July. This delay would normally panic me, but everything is fine since I entered my strategic alliance with The Game Show Network (see my blog entry below this one).
I have accumulated $13.11 since this alliance began earlier this week. One reader of my site clicked on the Game Show Network banner and bought a Regis Philbin Tee Shirt for $13.29. This item is on sale from its normally reasonable price of $18.99. I received $1.33 for this transaction as part of my 10% commission on all sales at the Game Show Network Store that originate from someone clicking on their ad banner at my site.
I also earned $2.38 from an two separate $11.89 purchases of The Best of TV Quiz & Game Show Themes CD. This exciting album features:
original versions of the theme songs you know and love, you'll be spinning the wheel, making a deal, and boogie-ing up the pyramid. Contains 20 songs, including The Price Is Right, Wheel of Fortune (Big Wheels), The Gong Show, and more!
Additionally, I received $9.40 from the 188 different IP addresses that The Game Show Network recorded as going onto their site from the ad banner at The Wine Importer. The Network pays me a nickel for every different web surfer who goes from this site to their site.
Frankly, I have mixed feelings about what's going on at the Game Show Network Shop. They are currently having a 30% off sale and I fear that I am losing valuable commission money. One could argue that the 30% sale encourages a higher volume of purchases, but I'm not convinced that the purchasers of the CD and the Philbin T-Shirt would not have bought the goods at the regular price. All I know is that my commissions are being cut by 30%.
By the way, I want to thank Mike Wheeler for the phrase spoofulated. In case Mike or any of the other readers out there have forgotten the link to The Game Show Network, just click right below:
Lucrative Wine Importer/Game Show Network Corporate Tie-In
Please remember that every garment, game, book or CD you buy from The Game Show Network strikes a blow at industrial, spoofulated wine!
Wine Importer Business Cycles
Things are slow at Louis/Dressner Selections. Since a shipment from France or Portugal takes about two months from door-to-door, we are currently in mid-July. There is not a lot of demand for wine in mid-July.
The major activity these days is selling Burgundies in September. We have just received samples from most of our Burgundy vignerons and will now try to sucker various distributors around the country to buy our Burgundies and sucker retailers to buy the Burgundies from them so that you the consumer can be solicited to fill your cellars with 1999 reds and 2000 whites. Actually, worse things could happen to you as there is much to admire from our growers in these vintages.
The Burgundy market has become confused since Robert Parker stopped visiting Burgundy. No one knows if they should believe Pierre Rovani, no one really believes Steve Tanzer other than crazy Burgundy geeks and me, who is Clive Coates anyhow(?), and the Wine Spectator will no doubt review the vintage either 3 months before they are available or 3 to 6 months after they are available.
This leaves everyone bewildered. Distributors and merchants will actually have to make decisions unaided by enthusiastic publicity. Unless, of course, they are buying wines that are 200% in new oak from Dominique Laurent. In that case, there is endless press enthusing before, during and after the wines are actually available.
Anyhow, all these problems mean that cash flow is somewhat slow these days at Louis/Dressner Selections. Since I have now taken to writing my own web site (blog) I have been learning lots of interesting things about HTML and the web. Most importantly, I have discovered that there are important sources of revenue available to webmasters such as myself by plugging into financially lucrative banner ad co-sponsorships.
So let me announce our first corporate co-sponsorship, which is between The Wine Importer and The Game Show Network.
The Game Show Network is the only network devoted entirely to fun and games. Featuring game show favorites such as The Price is Right, Tattletales, Card Sharks, I've Got A Secret, What's My Line?, To Tell the Truth, Tic Tac Dough, Family Feud and The Gong Show; current favorites such as Wheel of Fortune and JEOPARDY! and innovative original programming that lets viewers at home become part of the action. Game Show Network really is All Play, All Day!
Every time you click on the ad banner below this text you will not only get to read more interesting material about the GSN, you will also help me to earn money as a co-sponsor of the GSN. It also enables the GSN to place cookies on your computer that will track everything you do on the web, allowing them to 'profile' your consumer habits.
Visit the GSN often, but be certain to visit by clicking the ad banner on my web site. Additionally, I will be receiving a 10% commission for every purchase you make at the Game Show Network Shop! Thank you very much for your support.
Revisiting Old Friends
An important wine critic/novelist visited the office yesterday. This was the perfect occassion to bring out a bottle of Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet 1995. This wine seems to get fuller as the years go by. People often think I'm nuts for keeping old vintages of Muscadet but what a pleasure these wines, when they come from good producers, can be. My cellar might be weak in old Bordeaux, but along with Canadian Vintner Jeff Connell, I no doubt have one of the largest private collections of Muscadet outside the Loire Valley. Furthermore, after 34 years of experience in the wine business, I am convinced that the wine geek world is divided into those that love old Muscadet and those that don't (the latter category includes the indifferent).
Last Saturday night I was invited for dinner at Doug Polaner and Tina Fischer's home. They, along with Mike Wheeler, run a distributorship in New York that carries most of our wine. Doug had salvaged a 1996 Pierre Breton Chinon Picasses, a 1996 Thomas-Labaille Sancerre Vieilles Vignes and a 1995 Bernard Baudry Signature (which now goes by the name of Croix Boisée). The Baudry still needed time, but the 96 Breton was absolutely radioactive. A great vintage done in micro-yields that was as great a bottle of Cabernet Franc as I've ever consumed. The Sancerre Vieilles Vignes (which now goes by the name of Cuvée Buster) was just incredibly rich and toned.
I'm convinced that my company has to start putting aside a case from every vintage of every decent wine we import. Doug was lucky to be able to scrounge up these wines, but as the importers, we are obligated to make sure that we keep some stock of the wine. Of course this is expensive, but we can amortize keeping old stock by raising the prices for our wholesale customers. We need more living reminders of how our wines evolve.
Most importantly, Tina Fischer will be checking into a hospital this morning and giving birth to a baby. As the father of two children, Chipster and Malmolleux, I wish her all the best. There is wine and there are the real things that make life important.
Next Wave of Eric Texier Wines to Leave France this Month
Many of you have already enjoyed the Brézème and Côte Rotie from Texier. Texier's Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1999 is now available in several states and is showing beautifully. This bottle can use decanting but already has a beautiful nose of lavender and garrique. The wine is elegant and concentrated and I'm blatantly pushing my own products! But with conviction.
The wine comes from two vineyards: 83-year-old Grenache vines planted in 1917 in the La Craux vineyard and a 50/50 blend of Grenache (with a little bit of syrah and field blends) and Mourvedre from 40-to-50-year-old vines in the Grand Coulet. La Craux is situated near Rayas and the Grand Coulet is near La Nerthe. I should mention that I have put in a reservation with Eric for 6 magnums from La Craux every year as my father was born in 1917 and to commerate the Russian Revolution.
The wines that are going to be picked-up by French trucking firms in Charnay this week include a range of wines from Provençe. They include:
1. A Côtes-du-Provençe Rosé 2000 that is 100% Tiburon. That's right, Tiburon. The wine comes from tiny yields of 20 to 25 hecto/hectare. Delicious Rosé that is not a bleeding of an overproduction but a wine vinified on its own.
2. A Côtes-du-Provençe Rosé 2000 that is from 40-year-old Grenache plantings. Again, a rosé that is vinified on its own, not a saignée.
3. A Cassis 2000 that is 100% Marsanne. This is not the Cassis that you mix into white wine but is an appellation in Provençe from a town close to Bandol. This wine, as with the two above, was raised in barrel, with no sulphur and finished the malolactic fermentation. Usually, the malos are blocked in Cassis, but given the small yields of 35 hectolitres/hectare, Texier was able to finish the malo. My firm chose a special bottling of Marsanne which we happened to like a lot. Traditionally, Cassis is a mix of Clairette, Ugni Blanc and Marsanne, but we happened to like the two barrels in Marsanne. So 50 cases will be available. The wine is honied, floral, long and round.
There is a lot more coming in the next few months. Texier is working feverishly to get all his labels, to bottle and to prepare shipments. This is a young firm and the logistics are somewhat overwhelming.
In the month that follows, we plan to have French truckers return to Charnay to pick-up the following wines:
1. A Brézème Mise Tardive 1999 -- this is a special bottling of Brézème that went through another six months of elévage and which is predominantly from old vines. More meat, more concentration than the first bottling of 1999 Brézème that has taken geekdom by storm.
2. Châteauneuf Blanc 2000 -- This is a special blend of older barrels (5-year-old and the oldest in this cuvée) that is being done for us. All Grenache Blanc from the Nothern part of Old Châteauneuf, from a vineyard called La Ferme Baban. These are 45-year-old vines that make the first Châteauneuf Blanc I am actually delighted to be selling. Texier was able to finish the Malos here and no one believe him. Prominent vignerons almost demanded to see the lab analysis. Again, as with the Casis, working at small yields has allowed Eric to finish the Malo and to avoid blocking the Malo to maintain acidity.
3. Brezemes Blanc 2000 -- 100% Rousanne. From the La Rollières vineyard. These vines are cuttings from Hermitage and were harvested at 18 hectolitres/hectare. Fabulous stuff.
There's also a bunch of reds. Old VInes from Vaison-la-Romaine, Seguret, Chusclan and St-Gervais. One of the great things about a blog is I can write about these tomorrow.
Have Wine Critics Ruined the Quality of Today's Wines?
There always seems to be a lot of heated discussion on this topic by wine geeks. A new web site presents the pros and cons of this issue in a powerful way. Make sure not to miss Are Wines Being Made for Critics Rather than Consumers?
Excellent Wine Sites on Industrial Winemaking
I happened upon two excellent sites today that help explain why there is so much horrible wine out there. Using Industrial Yeasts to Make Horrible Industrial Wines is a comprehensive guide to Lalvin's Yeasting Powders and along with the complementary Using Industrial Enzymes to Make Horrible Industrial Wines helps today's winelovers understand why so much of today's wines are so enjoyable.
Thinking About Beaujolais Nouveau on the Day After Thanksgiving
I was unduly pessimistic and had a lovely time. Great Neck is cultured, civilized and they make delicious overly-elaborate-mishmash-dishes.
It was a good idea to bring wine. They had a Linden Chardonnay from the State of Virginia, "aged in new barrels" according to the wine's back label, that they were very enthused about. The back label also told us that the wine has lots of exotic fruits and was delicious. I view these type of back labels on American wines as a great service to the consumer, cautionary notes that are far more important than the useless Government Warning (I rarely drive and will never be pregnant) and am always pleased that the winery is considerate enough to warn that the wine is going to be over-oaked and over-yeasted and generally horrible. So, I drank the Domaine des Terres Dorées Nouveau instead. My mother liked the Nouveau a great deal but she is inclined to like our wines and in no sense can be considered a barometer of popular public taste. I agreed with her though.
My view of wine has very much been shaped by working with Jean-Paul Brun of the Domaine des Terres Dorées in the Beaujolais. Denyse and I have worked with Jean-Paul for 10 vintages and our notion of non-interventionist winemaking and the importance of natural yeasts dates to our initial tastings with Jean-Paul. Jean-Paul was receiving press in France for his beautiful production of non-yeasted and non-chaptalized Beaujolais, something that seemed almost revolutionary when compared to the the bottlings from Georges Duboeuf which still dominate the Beaujolais scene.
Until recently, Duboeuf was using an industrial yeast called the 71B, which was added to his wines during fermentation and which gave aromas of bananas and tasted like candies. Duboeuf has now moved on to other industrial yeasts and a system called thermo-vinification but Jean-Paul remains part of the tiny minority of Beaujolais vignerons who still produce something authentic. We loved Jean-Paul's wines when we first tasted them and realized that his notion of winemaking was central to making wine rather than beverages. Jean-Paul remains a maverick, constantly hounded by the local authorities in the Beaujolais for bucking modern trends, but over the years we have been able to find growers like him from all over France. But the vigernons working naturally are truly rare today and the industrial beverage-making segment of the wine business dominates both the new world and the old.
Take the Linden Chardonnay I could have consumed in Great Neck yesterday. What is this thing I didn't drink? I consulted their web site today for more information. Particularly intriguing is their use of both Burgundian and Australian yeasts! What could they possibly be talking about?
The world has gone mad and the people at Linden Chardonnay couldn't be happier! Of course Linden Chardonnay itself is of little importance. I had to travel to my cousin's Thanksgiving celebration in Great Neck to see a bottle of the stuff for the first time and I still haven't drank a drop. What is more important is what Linden Chardonnay says about the current wine zeitgeist. Perhaps I'm nuts, but doesn't the following description sound like a repulsive, concoted wine with little relationship to nature, vines, wine or enjoyment?
Flavors: Apple, toasty oak, and vanilla with a creamy, citrus finish. Food Pairings: Rich fish like salmon, or earthy foods like risotto with mushrooms and roast chicken with polenta. Vineyards: Estate Vineyard (79%), Fauqier Co., on top of the Blue Ridge at an elevation of 1,350 feet on a south and east slope. Deep, well drained, volcanic origin, greenstone based soils. Vine age is between 9 and 14 years. Contributes pear aromas and a crisp, citrus finish. Flint Hill Vineyard (21%), Rappahannock Co., elevation of 900 feet, rolling terrain with several soil types. Vine age is between 16 and 18 years. Contributes melon flavors and a rich middle. Vintage: Cool summer and a cooler fall. Harvest dates were Oct. 3 & 4, 1996. Winemaking: 100% barrel fermented in 95% French oak and 5% American oak using Burgundian and Australian yeasts. Aged on the lees in the barrel for 10 months. Bottle aged for 18 months before release. This wine ages wonderfully for many years. 1,065 cases produced.
1996 Chardonnay
Aromas: Pear, melon, almond and hazelnut.
posted on Thursday, November 23, 2000
Charles McCabe, My Favorite Critic
I get so sick of Parker, The Wine Spectator and all the various other wine journalists that I often think of Charles McCabe, my favorite critic.I should note here that I do like Steve Tanzer, who I know personally, for being somewhat more tentative then the rest of the bunch. And of course, Steve is a helluva-a-guy!
McCabe was a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle along with Herb Caen -- a powerful one-two morning punch for City residents. I lived in San Francisco from 1975 to 1980 and greatly enjoyed both columnists, McCabe was perhaps best know for his motto Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art, but I always remember him for his muckraking columns against America's razor blade manufacturers.
McCabe's theory was that America's razor manufacturers were intentionally making blades that required weekly replacement. Periodically, they would develop new shaving technologies that were seemingly superior -- the twin-edged and then triple-edged blade come to mind, although McCabe did not live to see the triple-edged. At product launch, these new blades would be extremely-sharp and last weeks. But as months and years went by, the razor companies would purposely lower the level of razor quality, ensuring that once again the shaver had to replace the blade on a weekly basis. This would create a perceived market need for an even newer technology and a new product would be introduced yet again that would work fine for several months and then once again degrade in quality. Ad infinitim.
I was very happy with Gilette's entry into the triple-edged market and was perhaps one of the first consumers to buy the Mach III when it was introduced. In fact, I was so overwhelmed with the performance of this machine, I was enthusiastically converted to Gillette's contention that this was the most important shaving innovation since the 1960s (although I was too young to shave until about 1968). But two years have gone by and I note that the blade cartridge, which seemed almost immortal at product introduction, now requires constant replacement. And those hard to get smooth spots are becoming the impossible to get smooth spots.
Happily, Alyce Dressner, my 12 1/2 year old daughter, constantly peruses the Drugstore.com site and I learned that the Schick company has now come up with its own triple-bladed system, the XTreme III (Schick XTreme III Site). Of course I immediately seized the opportunity to order these new razors and found the overall experience to be qualitatively superior to the Mach III. But still, it lacked the excitement that was there when the Mach III first came into the market. The XTreme III is incrementally better than the Mach III, but nothing more than that.
During this time of disappointment, I accidentally tried out another Schick blade. I am currently going to a physical therapist three times a week to remobilize my chest. My chest, which was once mobile, was recently cracked open to make way for four heart bypasses. Or quadruples bypasses, as they say in the medical trade.My physical therapist turns out to be organized like a luxury gym and oddly my insurance pays for the whole shebang, including the luxury showers outfitted with luxury cosmetics and razor blades. Just this week, they changed blades from an uninteresting Gillette disposable to a fascinating ergonomic Schick twin blade that I had never seen and that I decided to try out. What a shave!
It is not principally the ergonomic design of the razor that makes it so interesting as it is the inclusion of the One-Push Cleaning System. The shaver pushes this button during the shave and a clever mechanism pushes a small plastic strip between the twin blades, quickly dislodging any dirt or whiskers that might lead to clogging and eventual blade dulling. Again, I cannot recommend this blade highly enough and hope all interested readers will take the time to look at Schick's inspired web site dealing with this new technology: The Schick ST Disposable. Not only is this the best blade in the marketplace but it is also one of cheapest -- I bought a 15-pack today at Rite-Aid Drugs for only $5.99! Of course, there is always the possibility that the razor will go dull in several months or in a year. But until then I'm convinced.
There is a lesson here for wine lovers. They've been making twin-blades and disposables for some time now. Finally, it is an incremental improvement to an old and tested design that qualitatively advances the shaving experience. Not fancy new shavers or elaborate blades. The market always come back to the tried and true and demonstrably effective. Novelty, for the sake of novelty, eventually fatigues.
There is a lesson here for wine lovers.....
posted on Friday, November 24, 2000