Has Halliday Lost the Plot?

Has Halliday Lost the Plot? (Aug 10)

For the record, let me state that I have always had the utmost respect for James Halliday's knowledge and his phenomenal palate. The man is an icon in the Australian wine industry; he and Len Evans are two people that have probably done more to foster and promote the enjoyment of wine in Australia than anybody else.

However, as time goes on, in some ways the more I look at his work, the less confidence I have in it, but that lack of confidence is mainly restricted to one small area of his work.

Today I received an e-mail that stated the following, “James Halliday has just published his Australian Wine Companion 2006 - Bestselling Guide to Australian Wines.

He has given Pirramimma some excellent reviews including the highest possible rating for the winery overall....

"FIVE STARS - Outstanding winery capable of producing wines of the highest calibre"

Halliday also includes Pirramimma in his list of Best Wineries of McLaren Vale - only 9 wineries out of a possible 93 McLaren Vale producers reviewed in his book made this list.

Here is the Pirramimma review in full....

Pirramimma is a long-established, conservative, family-owned company with outstanding vineyard resources. It is now turning those resources to full effect, with a series of intense old-vine varietals including Shiraz, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, all fashioned without over-embellishment.

There is absolutely no argument that Pirramimma deserves to be in the top 10% of McLaren Vale wineries, however according to Halliday's description a five-star winery is an, "Outstanding winery capable of producing wines of the highest calibre.”

It may be semantics, but from my perspective, Pirramimma are certainly capable and do produce very solid, credible wines that also happened to be well above average value; but “wines of the highest calibre?” I guess it depends on how you define “highest calibre” but to my thinking, as much as I admire Pirramimma’s wines, I wouldn't term them “highest calibre.”

I have tried all the current release Pirramimma reds and thought each and every one of them were good and I would be happy to have both the Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon in my cellar, having rated both of them as Highly Recommended with **** for value; but Halliday rated them 95 and 94 points respectively.

It is also important to realise that Halliday doesn't rate wines above 97 points, so according to him, these wines are just about as good as they get. Some readers may not know that Halliday rated Penfold 2000 Grange at 96 points whilst most other professionals rated it far lower; Oliver at 87 and Mattinson at 88.

Some readers may think that the 96 points for the 2000 Grange is symptomatic of the fact that Halliday has lost the plot but from my perspective, whilst he may not be quite as good easy used to be, I would not take one rating in isolation that I disagree with as proof positive that he has lost the plot.

No! All the above shows is the complete and utter shortcoming of the hundred point rating system and how over time, it has become extremely congested at the top end, which in reality, makes this point rating system almost worthless to readers.

Do I think that Halliday has lost the plot? Absolutely not, however I do believe that his (and some other people's) use of the hundred point system has, and as a result, those points have very little realistic use (except to help wineries sell their wine.)

The tasting note is far more important than a score; from a well written tasting note, especially if your palate has been aligned with the reviewer, you have a chance of knowing if you will like the wine but even if a wine scores 100 points there is no guarantee that you will enjoy it. Halliday is economical with words and in many ways, the more succinct the tasting note the better, provided it give you a real picture of what is in the bottle. If the note is too brief or contains meaningless waffle but sound nice, then it is next to useless.

Look at three tasting notes on the Pirramimma wines. The ones in blue are Halliday’s, the ones in purple are Mattinson’s and the ones in black mine.

Pirramimma 2002 McLaren Vale Shiraz

JH - Complex and scented, yet elegant, bouquet: has intensity and power without clumsiness; fine, ripe tannins. Great vintage. Rating 95 $26.50

CM - ($26): It’s dry and reserved and while lacking in real definition, it’s sense of dry restraint has to be applauded. I’m betting that it’s going to cellar well. Blackberries, sand, chalk and clay, with powdery, biting tannins hitting on the finish. A very well structured wine. Drink: 2006- 2014. 88 points.

TORB - sells for $26 at cellar door. I wrote a note to myself on the tasting note sheet that said “must buy.” The bouquet was closed but I was able to coax some liquorice, blackberry and char/smoky oak. An excellent, soft mouth -feel; but don't be fooled, there is a solid wall of smooth tannins to back up the pure, deep fruit that delivers ripe, blackberry with chocolate and a slightly bitter finish. It's a voluptuous wine without being fat or alcoholic and should age well. Muscular-weight, it's still tight but the complexity is well developed and harmonious; there is some smart winemaking in play here. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value, I will be drinking mine in 2009 and beyond.

Pirramimma 2002 McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon

JH – On the mark from the first whiff; nigh-on perfect balance of cabernet fruit, tannins and oak; long and harmonious. Rating 94 $26.50

CM - ($26): Expressive, gravelly, briary and long, with runs of chocolate and sand and a terrifically curranty mid palate. It’s liqueurous and porty on the finish, but the length and frame and dryness of it masks it well – this has been immaculately put together. Drink: Now-2016. 89 points.

TORB - sells for $26 at cellar door. After tasting this wine, the first thing I wrote was “absolutely worth buying, it's an underrated label.” It's got all the things good wines need; great fruit, terrific structure and balance. Silky, drying tannins have an excellent mouth-feel and make the wine approachable already, whilst providing a solid structure, and firm, but supple consistency. The pure, deeply-seated fruit delivers substantial blackcurrant, ripe chocolate and mint flavours that are varietally correct and finish both long and with excellent persistence. This muscular-weight wine is rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value and should peak around 2009 and beyond.

Pirramimma 2002 McLaren Vale Petit Verdot

JH - Cedar, cigar box, black fruits and earth; hyper-concentrated and powerful, reflecting both the 20-year-old vines and the vintage. Rating 94 $26.50

CM - ($26): It really is a good wine. It’s exceptionally floral, and while it’s lived two years of its life in new American oak, the oak has married into the fruit nicely, setting a

harmonic scene of resin and blackcurrant, with a sweet, perfumed, elevated edge that really gets the tastebuds jumping. Lives up to its popularity. Drink: Now-2011. 90 points.

TORB - sells for $26 at cellar door and 4,000 cases have been produced. A smart, well-made wine with abundant dusty tannins supporting deeply seated fruit that delivers musk, liquorice, dark chocolate and violet flavours; it finishes with excellent persistence. Ample-weight with a firm consistency, solid structure and diverse complexity; this is worth buying for something different but needs time to show its best. It has an old-fashioned structure, but that is good; rated as Recommended with *** for value, the rating should improve as the wine matures in 2008 and beyond.

Now how much do Halliday’s notes tell you? The notes are certainly succinct and hit the high spots but are very short on detail; about as short as a wine that does not have sufficient structural tannin length to send the flavour to the back of the palate. Whilst the wine may be drinkable, it finishes short; same with Halliday’s notes.

How much more does Mattinson tell you about the wine? You be the judge. I will make no comment about my own notes. Unfortunately Oliver has not written up these wines so I could not include his notes, however they would well written, probably be a fraction longer than Mattinson’s and “complete.” On the plus side, Halliday is certainly prolific, a very experienced taster but the downside is his congested point scoring at top end and the lack of detail in his tasting notes. More is not necessarily better, in more ways then one.

Next week there will be a review on the highlights of the Halliday 2006 Wine Companion.