Which wine mag d'ya believe? The Expectorator or the Euthanasia? Both are out with their annual, rival Top 100 issues...easier to find in the wine shops than most of the wines they honor.
Oregon and Washington score six wines in both rankings, though it should come as no surprise that they're not the same six. Spectator ranks a Beaux Freres pinot noir #17, Columbia Crest's Walter Clore blend #33, Argyle's chardonnay #51. Enthusiast puts Chateau Ste. Michelle's Cold Creek chardonnay at #7, Quilceda Creek's 2002 cabernet sauvignon at #10 and L'Ecole No. 41's semillon at #23.
No overlap, no consensus, no conspiracy, no surprises. No nothing. If he put "Wine Enthusiast #10!" on the label, would it help Alex Golitzen sell any more of his $80 wine? Nope, it's been rationed for years, "on allocation," as they say in the trade. The point of the whole exercise--you've figured this out by now, right?--is to sell magazines, not wine.
www.winespectator.com, www.winemag.com
Posted by Ronald Holden at December 9, 2005 5:55 PM