For the past few years, I’ve been a member of the blind tasting panel for Ken Hoggins wine review site Kenswineguide. Although not a wine expert I’ve learned a great deal and in exchange for online marketing advice, I’ve tasted a lot of wines.
The group has tasted everything from average, overpriced wines to fantastic wines for under $15. Early on we all chipped in to buy the wines but nowadays Ken has a lot of wineries submitting their wines to be reviewed. The good news is it’s cheaper, the bad news is some wines aren’t that great even if they have received good ratings from the wine publications. Life is too short to drink bad wine, even if it’s free.
Last week Ken sent us an email that I had never seen before:
“98 to 100 point wine: I’m close to awarding my first 100 point wine. If you want to try a sip, swing by at 7:30 tonight. –Ken”
Ken has probably tasted 3,000 wines or more in the last few years so seeing that message was surprising. For the tasting panel it was the colonial times equivalent of ringing a bell for people to come help put out a barn fire.
I couldn’t just let Ken go through life wondering if he was the only person who thought it was the perfect wine.
The wine, a Rolf Binder Shiraz, is an incredible, exceptional wine and the best wine I had ever tried. It deserves a 100 point rating but I rated it a 99 as hedge that there may be another wine in my lifetime that is better.
Ken reviews it here: on blog and on the site.
Although this wine is expensive, Rolf Binder has a selection of other great wines that we tried with a range of affordable price points.
Tried a great wine? Let me know.
Thu, May 14, 2009
Business, Family