Welcome to another edition of 90-points-plus. This will ruffle some feathers, I know. I read a blog post recently by a U.S. importer who decried the curse of 90-plus scores. As a popular industry exaggeration goes, you can’t keep a 90-point wine in stock and below 90 you can’t give it away. The importer wrote in a tone suggesting a grand jury unearthing a monumental deceit. His basic argument: Point scores disingenuously pawn off opinion as mathematical truth.
The lament is patently unfair. In fact, I’d say the importer missed the mark by precisely 100 per cent. Numbers quantify; that’s what they do. They can quantify subjective experience as well as such objective facts as the volume of a beer keg or the alcohol concentration of a chardonnay.
Wine aficionados “score” all the time, even when they don’t know they’re doing it. Consider someone trying to verbally distinguish the quality of two wines. In reference to the first glass, the person might say, in a normal conversational tone, “I really like this chardonnay.” In referring to the second wine, he or she might utter the same words, only this time at louder volume and with a stress on the word “really,” as in, “I REALLY like this wine!” Same literal meaning, two distinct messages: The second wine tastes better to the judge.
That taster might eschew numerical scores, but a scientist could measure the relative enthusiasm with a decibel meter. Let’s say the first “really” measures 60 decibels (typical conversational volume), while the second swings the needle to 75. There’s your point score: 60 versus 75. It’s just like those corny TV talent contests that decide winners based on audience applause. Is the judgment itself more objective because it’s represented by numbers? Nobody ever pretended it was.
Doctors often ask patients to quantify pain on a scale of one to 10 when, say, they’re poking at a bruise. They know pain is subjective, but people have all sorts of ways to describe their sensations in words. Numbers force patients to focus and communicate in a way that’s meaningful to the doctor (usually as a supplement to a verbal description). A scream of agony would be just as useful, I suppose, but then we’re back to decibels.
I hope you’ll find more pleasure than pain in the following selections, especially the fine whisky that kicks off the notes.
The Balvenie Aged 15 Years Single Barrel (Scotland)
SCORE: 94 PRICE: $134.95
This Speyside single malt’s journey on the palate is full of surprises, beginning with a creamy, luscious texture that turns satisfyingly dry on the finish, with flavour stops at malted barley, roasted nuts, fruit and spice. Each bottle comes from a single barrel (there are about 350 bottles per barrel), so the inventory currently in Ontario may differ in flavour and strength from bottles sold elsewhere – and this 47.8-per cent- alcohol spirit is a winner. It’s a crowning achievement for The Balvenie’s David Stewart, who this year celebrates his 50th year in the business, the longest-serving Scotch malt master in the industry. Available in Ontario.
Castello di Nipozzano Mormoreto 2008 (Italy)
SCORE: 93 PRICE: $59
A Tuscan blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot from a single site, this full-bodied, smooth and succulent red has high-end-Bordeaux complexity and finesse. Expect rich cassis, chocolate, espresso and mineral notes as well as some tannic backbone. Try it with rare lamb or cellar it for up to 15 more years. $59.99 in British Columbia, $60.50 in Quebec.
Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains 2007 (California)
SCORE: 92 PRICE: $49.95
