Yea! No pay wall! We are entitled to it for free. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
We already lost Wine Doctor.
Listening, Jeffois?
I think you need to invite Jeff down to Orlando for an Modern v Traditional Throwdown that matches up The Insider vs. Snobby Bobby.
Natch, I will be invited to transcribe the event. Marc can handle publicity. Neal will sort out the legal mumbo jumbo and have the additional responsibility of refilling water glasses.
If he brings Hercules, it could be arranged. My dogs Buster and Ranger are “in”.
You guys are too funny! Thanks for all the nice words. And yes, even the posts that do not agree with me have been nice.
A few things… Bordeaux is of course the main focus of the site. But there is a lot of info for Rhone Valley wine lovers. The Chateauneuf du Pape section is probably the best on the Internet. All About Chateauneuf du Pape Guide Best Wine Character Style History
Cote Rotie and Hermitage receive good coverage, but it is not at the level of depth you find in Chateauneuf. Slowly but surely, I keep adding California wine content, but it’s not nearly as deep as it should be.
Tasting notes… The good and bad there. My site will cross 15,000 notes soon, OK, as soon as I edit and post on the 250 wines from the 2015 vintage in Chateauneuf. Anyone who knows me, in the real world, or through just reading what I write is aware that I am not a card carrying member of the AFWE. So what? That is the point. I like and prefer some attributes in wine over others. And I have never been shy about it. There is no reason for that, if you are going to publish notes for others to read, hoping those comments will help them put together a better cellar, for less money.
We all have our own likes, dislikes and preferences. What is important to convey is 2 things in my notes. First, consistency. You should be able to use my tasting notes to buy wines, or run for the hills on a consistent basis. My notes coupled with scores should guide you there. Next, as some have pointed out, tasting notes should convey a true sense of the wine. This is what the wine feels like on your palate. This is what that wine tastes like. When you pop a bottle, your experience should at least sort of mirror mine. If my notes do that, and I hope they do, I am more than happy. That does not in anyway mean you should like the wines I do, or to the same degree, but it does say that if you open that wine, you will get at least similar sensations.
My site is an ongoing project, which gets worked on when I have the time. It is a continuing work in progress. It is updated as often as possible. I added information on the sale of Fonroque in St. Emilion this morning! I want to be current. I also try improving the tech part of the site all the time, so your experience on the site makes it a place you want to visit. The current tech push is in the tasting note search result. A big shout out to Eric LeVine. Without his help, I would not have any of that cool functionality.
For the 2 readers of my site online here. As others have pointed out, I am completely accessible. If there is info you think belongs on my site, or if you have ideas on tech improvements, drop me a note, letting me know. Most of the fixes and improvements on the site have come from ideas people have shared.
Jeff Leve’s notes contributed to the purchase of my wine of the year 2016: two bottles of 1996 La Jota Anniversary Howell Mountain Cab
His website was also really helpful when I was doing research for purchasing 2014 Bordeaux for my son’s birth year wines.
Lots of good points here. No need for everyone’s palate to align, but being consistent is helpful.
It takes energy to write notes and put yourself out there for everyone else to criticize.
Cheers to Jeff
I concur with all those who praise Jeff and the website. He is also very good at communicating both in response to threads as well as questions regarding the site.
I am going to be persnickety and correct one error that is found right at the opening of Jeff’s Chateauneuf-du-Pape section. The term Chateauneuf referring to the village predates the popes. And It certainly does not refer to the Palais des Papes in Avignon and really probably doesn’t refer to the Pope’s smaller chateau in the village. Moreover, there are numerous other towns in France with the title Chateauneuf in their names. Older documents show the term to be a translation of Castel Nuovo or new fortifications and was in use, as I said, probably by the 11th century (this may be the common source of many if not all the names of the various towns, but that’s just a guess). The town became known as Chateauneuf du Pape (note the singular) probably as a result of the fact that John XXII was very fond of the wine and bought up much of the available vineyards. Thus is would have been almost literally that Pope’s Chaeauneuf.
I cannot find that. Although you might be right. But things get lost when you have 7,000 words to comb through. This is what is on the site - “Chateauneuf du Pape takes its name from the time when the Pope moved to Avignon in 1309”
Read more at:All About Chateauneuf du Pape Guide Best Wine Character Style History
The village itself predates the arrival of the Pope, but not the name. And from what I read, the village was called Chateauneuf Calcernier, AKA Castronovo Calcernarium by the about 1,200. The town was officially named Chateauneuf du Pape in 1893. Although I could have typos, they do happen, as we have no editors 
Send me a PM please with the paragraph you’re referencing, and I’ll search for it, and correct it.
Keep it up Jeff! It’s been too long… Sema says hi, as does Oliver who was about nine months when we visited you but now wears a size nine shoe and can eat a whole porterhouse.
There is no doubt that Jeff created the most informative Bordeaux related website.
I love Jeff’s website, plenty of information especially on Bordeaux classifications and re-classifications. I have learnt so much! Thanks Jeff. Tastes, of course to each to his own, but Jeff is notes are well written, giving as much nuances and information as possible.
I remember… That was one of those great, multi hour lunches at my house. The world and Internet was much simpler in those days 
Thanks for the nice words. As far as giving scores to wines, at least to me, when I score a wine, I am saying that I like this wine, more than that wine and to what degree. There is no ambiguity. There is no place to hide. It is a clear statement about my personal preference. So, at that point, (yes intended pun there) you can easily determine to what degree you either agree, or not with my preferences.
There is no such thing as for example, a 95 Point wine in a vacuum. The score needs to be accompanied by a reasonable tasting note, that explains how and why the taster arrived at their conclusion. Then the score must be related to other wines in its peer group. That gives the tasting note and score context, that allow the reader to decide how valuable that tasting note, or taster is.
I am aware that you, and others do not agree. And that’s fine. There is plenty of room in the cellar for divergent view points. It would be a boring world, if that was not the case.
Jeff, sorry I had to edit my post…Didnt want to open a can of worms talking about scoring and grading. This topic was about the site and hence just wanted to say thanks for the information!
Subu,
I’m glad you did write your opinion on scoring, cause that gave Jeff an opportunity to (convincingly I should think) argue that there’s really no need to be so religiously against scoring as, say, Hugh Johnson was when he first became aware of Robert Parker’s 100-point scale.
H.J. does, after all, apply his own, albeit much more rough and rudimentary, way of conveying an idea of the relative likeability of the wines he writes about to his readers.
Peter
So, did you go into shock when one member after another of the AFWE praised your site?
I PM’d him just to make sure he was ok, not catatonic.
Love the site, it was even helpful when I was thinking of places to visit in Bordeaux. Just a great resource.
Thanks for the mention Marc, much appreciated. Cheers!
Personally I fully agree with Subu. There is certainly theory to what Jeff says, but the reality of points chasers still remains, and too many new enthusiasts are misled into believing they must be guided by the numbers, rather than spending the time learning their own palate to allow them to interpret the tasting note.