Dear Sir Asimov,
I recently read your article that a customer dropped off:
"Old Favorites That Are Worth A Second Look"
I find myself this time compelled to respond. Usually I am able to ignore articles like this, but today I can't.
With this email I am not disputing your expertise, but as a wine aficionado how can you describe wines as a generality when all of them have so many variables?
The shocker in your article is that you failed to mention any vintage for any of these wines. And as we know, all these old favorites for most part can be, and often are, very different from one year to another...
So, with this letter I implore all of you "Wines Gurus" to address this noble product as it should be: with precision and care. Not doing so you send the readers the wrong message because you do not include information concerning a specific wine and its specific vintage.
The wine labels may look alike across vintages but they aren't the same, as people in the industry and collectors understand.
The way most of you "Wine Gurus" address wines to the public is very inaccurate and leads to a lot of misunderstanding for novice people.
So maybe, as I have suggested, being more accurate with a deeper approach would lead more people to enjoy great wines.
Being in the industry now for the last 40 years with restaurant and retail under my belt, I can assure you that a lot of people do not understand when they are drinking bad wine because they have never been exposed to precise information about good wine, but rather to vague wine descriptions.
This imprecise guidance leads customers in the end to dismiss wine because they really don't understand the product.
Here is my take on wine, a product for which I happen to have a passion: when it hits right their is nothing like it!
So why not give the potential consumer a chance to really experience the product at its best when all the stars are in alignment?
This email was based on a wine that you mentioned a few time as a reference. Working myself with Rosenthal Wine Distributor, I was struck by your mention of Chateau Le Puy "Emilien" that I happened to love on 2021 vintage upon release in contrast to the 2022 vintage that is much tighter and requires a few years in bottle.
I guarantee that if you compare these two bottles, you will make sure to specify the vintage when you happen to give advice to readers or others in the future.
Thank you very much.
Christophe Lhopitault
Lake Side Emotions
- Wine Boutique -
113 Main Street
Stony Brook, NY, 11790
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