William recently wrote an article, published in THE WINE ADVOCATE, which was simply, outstanding!
In his article, UP FROM THE CELLAR 28, William reviews mature, aged wines (French) in addition to more recent releases, in the last 20 to 25 years, as well as issues related thereto, such as acquisition, serving and authenticity.
In my tiny world of wine, William has reached the pinnacle of wine evaluation!
I love William’s contributions here. They are almost enough to convince me to rejoin. Almost. I just don’t buy enough current-release wine to make it worthwhile. If I were younger . . . .
He pretty much IS the wine advocate. Can anyone take Lisa PB seriously? Just the baggage from the sale of the WA and her role in being the new head honcho was enough to make many of us bail out of our subscription. William projects an image of enthusiasm, professional curiosity, and a pretty formidable intellect without appearing arrogant or cocky. You could say many of the same things about Antonio G, but he seems to be a little too smug at times about his ability (which is considerable). Perhaps I am the only one who feels this way, but…
Actually, if William took over - and he should be the face of the new TWA - I would subscribe. His writing, his palate and the context in which he places his opinions, are spectacular. He ain’t too shabby of a winemaker, either.
I subscribed through the Myriad free months offer a few months ago and plan to continue primarily based on William’s articles (it helps that he reviews Champagne and Burgundy) as well as his continued contributions here. He’s also been very generous in private correspondence/recommendations through Instagram, which is just another massive positive.
I will say that slagging William’s colleagues is probably not the best way to show your appreciation for his work. Everyone’s welcome to their opinion but it puts him in an impossible spot professionally.
At first I thought this was going to be a thread calling William out for a duel!
I strongly agree with the sentiment of all the posters on this thread - William’s contributions to both his job and to this forum are terrific, and are one of the biggest reasons I’m a recent subscriber. He’s also a lovely chap in person over a glass of wine!
I’ll happily pile on since I’ve been meaning to brag on him recently calling a 2014 Huet sec blinded without an ounce of context. I was very impressed.
William’s keen intellect, indefatigable enthusiasm, broad historical knowledge, literary skill, generosity and personal warmth are a rare and wholly winsome combination. I happen to know he’s a good father and husband as well.
You would be hard pressed to find someone with the passion and breadth of winemaking knowledge as this guy, who will certainly be a legend one day.