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My Take on the most Controversial Wines in the world

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I use this wine key: Forge de Laguiole Ebony

I have used the following glass in this video: Spiegelau Definition Universal Glass

I have tasted the following wines in this Video:

Blue Nun 24K Gold Edition Sparkling, Germany: https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/blue+nun+gold+edition+sparkling+germany?referring_site=KSB

2023 Pheasant’s Tears Kisi Amber Wine, Kakheti, Georgian Republic: https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/pheasant+tears+kisi+amber+kakheti+georgia+republic/2023?referring_site=KSB

Meiomi Pinot Noir, California, USA: https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/meiomi+pinot+noir+california+usa?referring_site=KSB

2021 The Prisoner Wine Co. ‘The Prisoner’, Napa Valley, USA: https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/the+prisoner+co+napa+valley+county+north+coast+california+usa/2021?referring_site=KSB

2024 Doppio Passo Primitivo del Salento IGT, Puglia, Italy: https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/doppio+paso+primitivo+salento+igp+puglia+italy/2024?referring_site=KSB

2003 Chateau Pavie, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France: https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/pavie+st+emilion+grand+cru+bordeaux+france/2003?referring_site=KSB

Lustau Jarana Fino Sherry, Andalucia, Spain: https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/lustau+jarana+fino+sherry+jerez+andalucia+spain?referring_site=KSB

The 100 Point Scoring System (from www.robertparker.com):
96-100: An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase and consume.
90 – 95: An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, these are terrific wines.
80 – 89: A barely above average to very good wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavor as well as character with no noticeable flaws.
70 – 79: An average wine with little distinction except that it is soundly made. In essence, a straightforward, innocuous wine.
60 – 69: A below-average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavor or possibly dirty aromas or flavors.
50 – 59: A wine deemed to be unacceptable.

In the early 2000s, two titans of the wine industry clashed: Jancis Robinson and Robert Parker had both tasted the 2003 Pavi,e and their ratings and descriptions of the wine could not have been more different. Parker loved it while Robinson hated it.
In this video, I will taste the wine that they were fighting about, to set the record straight. But this is not the only controversial wine I will try. I have a whole lineup of wines prepared that are loved by some and hated by others.
Taste is subjective, and it is therefore impossible to produce a wine that everyone loves. What’s more: An experienced wine taster, over time, often develops a different palate. While a beginner might look for bright fruit flavors and a juicy texture, balancing the acidity with some sweetness, wine experts often look for extremes:
Wines with an extreme mouthfeel or extraordinary flavors that they have not experienced before.
I think that is also the case with music: Kids music is easy going and the lyrics are predictable. Some people will keep listening to easygoing and predictable music when they become adults. While others look for challenging sounds and lyrics. All of the wines that I am going to taste represent a challenge – but will I like them, or not?

47 Comments

  1. Meiomi is a typical, crowd pleasing style of red wine. I think that there is some zinfandel blended in along with MegaPurple and intensive interventions to create the style. It's an easy drinking red but definitely not pinot noir. Not my cup of tea but lots of people like it.

  2. Fun video. The Meomi gets worse the next day… a jammy nightmare. Never again. Love any St Emilion and I can never turn down a chilled glass of Fino. I’ve tasted Georgian wines and yes they require a practiced palate but they are fun. Blue Nun was the date wine we US boomers graduated to from our parents horrible jug wines. Black tower too. We’ve moved on.

  3. Meomi suddenly got much worse (and much more sugary) a few years ago. Unsure when that tipping point happened, but some point to its purchase by Constellation Brands in 2015, I think.

  4. The Prisoner sounds like Guv’nor, which is a brand of Spanish wine. It’s is very popular with Brits in Spain and can be bought for around four Euros – please give your opinion of it one day.

  5. Being a lover of wine, and someone who loves trying wines away from the norm (please not a another Cab Sav or Chardonnay), I stumbled across this video. I am hooked and I have subscribed.

  6. No one can reliably consistently pick the most expensive wines from a blind test or even agree on which tastes best within a panel of experts.
    Wine is a luxury product, its value not affected by normal business conditions like better taste equaling quality and therefore higher price or demand and supply.

    It’s marketing baby. And frankly it all tastes like rotten grapes. Drink fresh juice instead.

  7. Yah a friend blinded me on the Meiomi once and I was humbled because as the wine and Pinot snob of our group- I called it a Zin and didn’t mind it!

  8. "It's still made well, I mean, It's a decent wine. So I would say this is an above average wine."
    Rating it as 82 points.

  9. There is no way I am going to focus my first comment of a video containing your new studio, on the wines! Joking aside, adore the new space, lighting, quality and details, excellent stuff. Can’t wait for more videos from here. As for the wines, haven’t drunk any of them but you definitely sparked my interest on Fino Sherry. Will probably do some late shopping while listening to MFDoom 🍷

  10. Yeah, the Naomi PN is one of those wines you have to consume in a restaurant to understand what a wine shouldn't be. These wines are well-suited for restaurants with clientele who may not be particularly discerning about the wine they consume.

  11. I feel I have a pretty wide (accepting) palate while still being able to discern fairly subtle qualities. I drink wines from ~$12-300/bottle on a regular basis, but almost exclusively from the west coast (coastal and inland) of the United States. Someone gifted a Meiomi pinot to me a few years back and I would categorize it as "good value" – I find it to be consistently drinkable with lots of desirable qualities for a very decent price. Don't ask it any questions and it won't tell you any lies… it's not a pinot in any classical sense (I live very near the Willamette Valley terroir) but if you're opening a wine for people who just like wine and don't over think it, it works great – especially when paired with strong flavors. Definitely works well as a second or third bottle once the tongues are a little less … sensitive.

  12. I don't like the Meiomi at all, and I would dispute that it tastes like a Zinfandel. I've never had a Zinfandel that sweet.

  13. You were very kind with some of these wines, especially meiomi. I find all of the wagner stuff (belle gloss, caymus, meiomi, and other overpriced labels) offensively manipulated.

  14. I blind tasted a friend's glass of wine recently and I said Zinfandel but he replied Pinot which I would have never ever guessed. Either it was Meiomi or an Oregon winery that's following suit (we live in Portland)

  15. So strange not to see you in the cellar. Great reviews as usual though I like the intimacy and casual ambiance of the cellar more, especially as we get to see the table with the wine etc, and of course the flying corks.

  16. Congrants Konstantine! I may prefer the original studio, but this one is certainly nice (and the chance itself was good). What I'd say I really appreciate is that you seem bolder in the comments, like the true you is getting through. Well done!

  17. The Bob Dylan MF doom reference is enough for me to subscribe to this channel, 😂

  18. Bravo, I like both sets, each conveys a particular feel. A great discussion of wines with controversy, and your blending of critical and personal views is refreshing. Long time fan!!!

  19. When I was first getting into wine, I was hanging out with one of the employees of my favorite bottle shop, and he popped open a manzanilla sherry. At first, I thought it was interesting but definitely weird and thought I was going to struggle getting through the glass. However, we had these tuna-stuffed olives, which completely changed my perception of the wine. I've been in love with fino/manzanilla sherry ever since, but 100% of the people I've tried to get hooked on it end up absolutely hating it.

  20. Seems that many wine professionals are not too fond of southern Italian wines. I generally like Primativo better than Zinfandel. Once I heard Primativo described as Zinfandel with elbows. I also like Nero di Troia. There seems to be a notion that heavy red wines dont go well in the warm weather. But I think what grows together goes together.

  21. I was working at the best wine/liquor store in Houston back in 1980. We got a phone call one night from the road manager for KC and the Sunshine Band. He wanted to know if we had 1978 (?) Blue Nun! We had no idea it was vintage dated. I ran back to the rack and sure enough, we had that vintage. They sent a limousine over to pick up a case!

    As for the Meiomi. I have twice told guest who brought it over, "I'm not opening that. Let me open a good Pinot for you." I know it sounds rude, but both times they were impressed with my selection and are now drinking better Pinots.

  22. Wenn Sie wissen, was gut für Sie ist – geschmacklich wie moralisch – dann tun Sie es wie die Kanadier und lassen Sie US-Wein dort, wo er hingehört: im Regal, unberührt, ungekauft, ungenießbar.

    Man muss nicht jeden Tropfen trinken, nur weil er fließt – schon gar nicht, wenn er nach Fracking, Freiheitsbomben und Fox News schmeckt.

    Trinken Sie lieber etwas, das nicht nach Weltpolizei und Glyphosat riecht.
    Also: Boykott. Prost.

    Mit galligem Gruß,
    —Ein Freund des Weins, nicht der Weinkrieger

  23. I’ve represented The Prisoner for 10 years under multiple different ownerships, and I’ve done Prisoner events all over the world at this point. The wine was originally based on Napa Zinfandel, which is different from other regions like Sonoma and Lodi. It’s more of a mouthfeel style of Zin, especially at 26+ brix (BTW Brown Family is doing some really interesting stuff with Napa Zin now, a very different expression). Now that The Prisoner is just the broad California appellation, it could be almost anything. The loss of Charbono was a bummer, because that was the one grape used to add tannin and acidity (imagine that!). Now it reminds me of a decent CDR, but more expensive because you know … California. I recently opened a 2014, when Jen Beloz was making the wine. It was still good! It just didn’t gain much complexity or benefit from bottle age. The Prisoner has changed quite a bit over the years and is now lighter, sweeter and less concentrated than it used to be … and no Charbono.

  24. I don't understand why blind tastings aren't done regularly. Name recognition alters people's perspective…

  25. Great video! The 22 Meiomi was probably on of the last good vintages that was made. After the label was sold, the brand went down hill rapidly. I don't think the grape producers didn't sign on for the shifting the bulk of their production over to a mega corporation, who ended up putting out a couple of non-vintages releases. Interestingly enough, Böen Pinot Noir, which came out about the same time, and it tasted just like… you guessed it, Meiomi.

    As far as The Prisoner is concerned, Trader Joe's held a contest amongst its wine partners to see who could come up with a taste-a-like wine to match The Prisoner's flavor profile but it had to cost no more than $10, and, Voila, you get The Tribunal for $9.99. (at one time they even put some Dolcetto into the mix). This is a great Zin based blend for that price, and, as far as I am conerned The Prisoner has gone down hill since they sold out..

  26. Most the hate for Meiomi has to do with all the nasty additives. You can taste it if you have a palate of any class. It’s awful.

  27. Gold on food or in drinks is a huge cope. I guess that people often overestimate its value, that tiny amount of gold is worth almost nothing.

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