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" The Million Dollar Nose"

3K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  rick alan 
#1 ·
I have many comments on this article but it's wiser to listen first to our friends here that know better :)

"With his stubborn disregard for the hierarchy of wines, Robert Parker, the straight-talking American wine critic, is revolutionizing the industry -- and teaching the French wine establishment some lessons it would rather not learn "

"
The most influential critic in the world today happens to be a critic of wine. He is not a snob or an obvious aesthete, as one might imagine, but an ordinary American, a burly, awkward, hardworking guy from the backcountry of northern Maryland, about half a step removed from the farm.

His name is Robert Parker Jr., Bob for short, and he has no formal training in wine. He lives near his childhood home, among the dairies and second-growth forests in a place called Monkton, which has a post office but no town center.

A new interstate highway has reduced the drive to Baltimore to merely thirty minutes, but otherwise has had little effect. Monkton remains rural and bland -- a patch of forgotten America as culturally isolated and nondescript as the quietest parts of the Midwest.

Parker likes it that way. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Pat, with whom he has a teenage daughter named Maia, adopted as an infant from a Korean orphanage. The family has a quiet and apparently idyllic domestic life. Parker seems to be a happy man. In repose he has the staid face of an affluent farmer. In his baggy shirts and summer shorts, with his heavy arms hanging wide, he looks as if he could wrestle down a cow. "

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/20...ngewiesche.htm
 
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#2 ·
I very much enjoy reading Parker as I find his palete excellent.

The Wine Advocate in my opinion is the best publication dedicated to wine.Unlike the Wine Spectator which has mearly become a life style mag.

Although i'm not quite sure what you are looking for Vivian, I do respect Parker.

He's like a chef which never went to culinary school but by practical life experiences became awsome. This is how I see Parker.

Roberts use of wine discriptions like hedinistic & unctuous (to name two) confused the American consumer and made the Europeons giggle at first.

This has all changed over time as Mr Parker has risen to the top of his profession.

I also appreciate the fact that Parkers publication does not have advertisment,it is purely funded by the usership (this cannot be said for other mags)

You said in the begining of your post you wanted to wait until others "who know better" post. This is not an issue of who knows better,it's more of a personal and/or subjective opinion of the community.

Robert Parker and Michael Broadbent are my two favorite writters/critics in the wine world.

I would like to share also this excellent BB that is run by Mark Squires and developed by Parker.

I find it to be very educatinal and it is visited often by some of the worlds best palets

http://www.erobertparker.com/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi
 
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#3 ·
While I can't comment directly to Parker, I have this to say about critics in general. The key to using a critique is to know how your preferences and tastes differ from the critic. That way you can use even poor reviews of a product to know if you might like them on some useful level or even just outright like. It's not neccessarily about agreeing, but using the information in a useful way to you.

Phil
 
#5 ·
:) Sorry!
I was wondering.
To previous threads in this very forum, we were discussing about "famous" wines that costed hundreds of $$ and now I read about someone who turn everything upside down.

I didn't like the way Parker presents himself. The country boy that questions the "establishment" like a cow-bow.
Maybe I am wrong but the aftertaste, the bouquet... of the article was pretty sour!
 
#6 ·
Got  here accidentally, but now that I'm here...Quite frankly I trust absolutely nothing Parker has to say.  I've had a number of wines Parker rated mid 90's, and that rating was absurd.  Don't ask me what they were, I gave up on him years ago.  From my perspective he is a whore, many others seem to feel the same.
 
#10 ·
Honestly I never even looked at this forum before, the post just appeared on the home page and it showed entertainment value.

Now if it was called, "What's Drinking Good Right Now," well them I'd be all over it.

So what do folks say - Are We Divine Drinkers Ready for a New Forum?!
 
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