Originally Posted by
clover
Another controversy has boiled up over there as well that threatens to further damage RP's brand and credibility.
http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/...d.php?t=206266
It seems that Jay Miller gave a 96 rating in 2007 to a Spanish wine, Sierra Carche 2005, a Jumilla from a new brand name winery. That rating was used to market the wine (of course) and it has sold briskly. However, over 10 months ago, a Parker board member tasted the wine and found it undrinkable, not corked, just lousy wine. He Fed Exed a bottle of it to Miller (whom he knows personally) with his "TN" and suggested Miller re-taste the wine. Apparently, Miller sat on it for 10 months until a couple of weeks ago, then tasted it and pronounced it equally undrinkable and that "any resemblance to the wine"...he'd tasted earlier was non-existent.
Sets up some interesting questions. Among them: did the winery substitute inferior juice under the auspices of the highly rated wine (when it ran out due to the hot sales..or for other reasons) and, why did Miller wait 10 months before re-tasting the wine?
All I can say about this is that it's not surprising in the least. IME, this happens more than a lot of us (or they) want to admit. Within my limited circles of the biz, the topic of "ringer" bottles/cases (and the associated high scores) has come up quite frequently, and not just with Parker wines, but with pretty much all the notable critics out there. Usually any comment about a ringer is followed by nervous laughter but general acceptance. If you say this in the presence of a vintner though, the reactions can be pretty comical
