The Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts Part II

One must wonder at times, in what state the members of an international, internet wine drinking group would tend to be doing their posting. I mean, I for one would Never turn on my computer after drinking a bottle of Chateauneuf des Papes. Nooo sir… But the temptation is there, what with the occasional virtual tasting, and the propensity for some to simply begin their tasting notes at the point at which the bottle is first uncorked. And it would follow that this state of participation might lead to a colorful repartee, a few misguided comments, the occasional virtual punch-up...

It’s true, there are some flare-ups, and some have even misguidedly ventured into the political arena, but never the actual arena. Most disturbances are mercifully brief, although there were quite a few boilovers in the early days. Come to think of it, there were a few pot-stirrers, as well. Typical topics of discussion often revolve around Parkerized wines vs. classic wines, investment strategies vs. drinking strategies, and so on.

But there is a bone of contention, not necessarily amoung the BWEers themselves who are relatively unified in their opinion, but involving a certain quasi-prominent wine critic and his favoring of the ’95 vintage over the ’96 in Bordeaux. BWE comes down solidly on the side of ’96, because of the outstanding quality of the Left Bank in that vintage. The ’95 vintage is favored by James Suckling, Bordeaux and Italy critic for the Wine Spectator, and he rarely misses a chance to plug his favorite, largely because he seems to prefer Right Bank, merlot based wines overall, and ’95 shines in that area. So it’s really a feud, now very much dormant, however always in danger of flaring up, between BWE and one of its especially prominent members, and James Suckling and the Wine Spectator. Although admittedly it’s a feud where one of the combatants is decidedly obscure, eccentric, and whimsical, no matter how aristocratic, romantic, courageous and intellectually superior he may be.

No large group is without its foibles of course. I tend to avoid feuds in general, but can’t help using this opportunity to mention a few negatives. One revolves around the natural tendency of posters to do a bit of bragging, however unintentional it may be. I mean really, if I go home tonight and drink a bottle of 1995 Grand Puy Lacoste with my lusty girlfriend, am I a humble man? Irrelevant. And then I tell you about it? Certainly not. But everything being relative, I must say the tendency of some people to respond to your posting about a particularly fine bottle of wine that you just had by stating that they’re sitting on several cases of it is not exactly gracious. Another gambit that irks me is the “Lowball Response,” for example when you mention in a thread in post-shopping therapy bliss of how you just scored a case of one of your favorite wines at an unheard of price, you don’t exactly want to have someone chiming in with, “Yeah, that’s a nice wine – I just paid 20% less for it at so-and-so’s.” These are minor complaints, but it’s enough that at times I studiously try to avoid the postings of certain members who seem to make these practices a regular part of their commentary.

But some more interesting clashes have popped up. More than a few involved a high end inebriate going by the name Pomerolover. He first came to my attention in my noticing the straightforwardness of his moniker. Before long, however I saw that he had become embroiled in one flare-up after another, most notably with a fellow who goes by the name of Compte Flaneur. Their embroglio descended to the level of politics, as they often do, and lasted some 100 posts with all manner of name calling and whatnot.

You can imagine my delight when I put together my first full scale BWE tasting, on the Margaux appellation (a difficult choice but it had to be done) and I saw that on the list of attendees was the notorious Compte. A deceptively polite and erudite Englishman showed up at the tasting and we hit it off right away. His dark side has surfaced on more than one occasion since then but always in acceptable circumstances. I never did meet “Pom” but the agitative Compte has managed a few more scrapes in the intervening time.

A more recent development stands as one of the most serious feuds yet on BWE. A very active member who for lack of a more secretive nickname must remain nameless, became irksome to our BD on more than one occasion and they had minor words. The offended party left the board in a huff and several of his most loyal followers went with him. It was a shame because it knocked a substantial piece off the core of the NYC crew. But the recovery has been taking hold and one could even say that dullness has set in for the moment.

Sparks may yet again fly, and in person this time, though it’s highly doubtful, when the group convenes in the fall for a 1986 Horizontal. The scabrous Compte has organized the event, and at least one of his nemesis is scheduled to attend. One could almost see a sort of ‘pistols at dawn’ scenario in the making but the likelihood of any BWE member being able to hit the side of barn after one of our spirited soirees makes the likelihood of such a violent development almost nil.
Of course, I’m probably almost as guilty of it as the next guy when it comes to polluting cyberspace with gin-soaked drivel. One of the reasons that I started my blog was to spare the members of the board the hazard of my sometimes overtly personal posts. I needed another outlet for my writing. Wine wise and otherwise.

Really, it’s amazing - I never expected to get so much enjoyment out of membership in an internet group. Through BWE some incredible people have invited me into their homes for dinner in some of the most beautiful locals of Europe, and I’ve had an absolute blast with others on my home turf of NYC, as well. The generosity of the group members has been astonishing. And I’ve learned an enormous amount about wine. There’s still a long way to go, and I’m sure BWE will be traveling there with me.