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Title: Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide 6th Edition : The Complete, Easy-to-Use Reference on Recent Vintages, Prices, and Ratings for More Than 8,000 Wines from All the Major Wine Regions by Robert M. Parker ISBN: 0-7432-2932-0 Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: 01 October, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.57 (14 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Reads like several different books
Comment: As has been alluded to in other reviews, the usefulness of this book varies with Parker's commitment to any given wine region. For Bordeaux, Rhone and Languedoc I believe he is excellent. For California and NW United States wines, the book is helpful but also frustrating because so many of the entries are "cult" wines with 500 or so case production. I noticed that some of the more widely available California producers that were included in the fifth edition are left off of this one. While many of the French wines are available in a good wineshop--good luck finding any of the Calfornia ones he raves about. If you start now, you may be able to get on some of the winery mailing lists in five or ten years. In many cases the amount of wine produced is not mentioned, which can be a cause for frustration.
I think this book is an invaluable resource used in connection with other guidebooks and a trustworthy retailer. It's a truism that Parker is the most influential wine critic in the world. Many would argue that wineries are crafting their wines to win his high ratings. That being said, it's helpful to read his views as they give a clear snapshot of the state of winemaking in our era.
Rating: 4
Summary: A curious combination of the invaluable & the useless
Comment: I find myself very much in agreement with other reviewers, and I am relieved to discover that I was not alone in this. On the one hand, when one reads Parker's chapters (on Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley in particular), one recognizes the invaluable nature of the guide.
On the other hand, one then turns to the incomprehensible gobbledygook that is the chapter on Burgundy. Proceeding on, one encounters the appalling 11-page chapter on Germany, written by someone who evidently despises most german wines on principle, and which includes absolutely no tasting notes whatsoever. One also gets to enjoy complete howlers like the Loire chapter, which starts with the question "Why are the Loire's wines so little known?" Gee, maybe it is because of 12-page chapters that offer no useful information. All of this is thanks to the rather inept contributions of Pierre-Antoine Rovani.
The result is a wildly uneven guide that should be used with some caution. Parker's chapters for the most part are quite informative. For the reviewer that complained that most of these wines are long since off the market, one only has to read the Bordeaux chapter in regards to the 2000 vintage, which is still available in abundance. If one is looking for good sleeper wines among the 2000 Bordeaux, this guide is worth the price. However, reading Rovani should be regarded as complete waste of time. Like someone else said, he is just deadweight.
Rating: 2
Summary: skewed but useful in conjunction with other books
Comment: Parker Parker Parker, yes we cannot do away with him, but it is useful to know that you don't have to read ONLY Parker, and in fact it is neccessary not to use this book as the be all and end all of buying decisions. Over the past few years Parker's palate has repeatedly being called to question and the flaws of his preferences are being brought to light. This book however is useful for novices and beginner winedrinkers (rich and poor alike) and will appeal to young and innexperienced palates. Be particurly careful about his projected maturity notes and completely disregard anything written by his "co-author" Rovani. Burgundy is a complete disaster so disregard the whole chapter, and the team does not understand Alsace or Germany either. Coverage is good in regions like Spain, italy, California and Bordeaux, but piss poor in hot new regions like New Zealand for example. Nothing has been updated about New Zealand as long as the book has been published (6 editions now) and the man obviously hasn't bothered to taste anything from a country that is universally heralded as a great new source of fine wine. No other writer has been able to ignore the region but Parker still has the same four paragraphs about it that he wrote almost a decade ago. Laziness? Or do the region's wine throw him off balance and he has to dismiss them so single-mindedly? Either way, this should not be the only book you buy. For buying decisions, it is fine to start off with but as soon as you can afford to, PLEASE get a subscription to one of the other critics too, especially Clive Coates, Jancis Robinson and Stephen Tanzer, to save from being dissapointed years down the line when you realise that your palate has matured and outgrown Parker.
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Title: Bordeaux : A Consumer's Guide to the World's Finest Wines by Robert M. Parker ISBN: 0743229460 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 28 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $60.00 |
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Title: BORDEAUX : REVISED THIRD EDITION by Robert M. Parker ISBN: 0684800152 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 02 November, 1998 List Price(USD): $50.00 |
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Title: Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2004 by Hugh Johnson ISBN: 1840007311 Publisher: Mitchell Beazley Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil ISBN: 1563054345 Publisher: Workman Publishing Company Pub. Date: September, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2003 by Hugh Johnson ISBN: 1840006110 Publisher: Mitchell Beazley Pub. Date: 09 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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