[rant] wine reviewers

[Chip]

similar to tea, im wondering if i got a broken palate or what, because i just cant get how they come up with this . imho they're all FOS

bursts of bright, ripe strawberry - what? the hell you get an acrid acid tanninic strawberies at- cause i wont buy them.
hint of licorice - $($&#&*
hint black pepper on the back of the palate - OMG
smoky note -OMFG this one is pulled from a donkey's "donkey"


this one is closer to what i'd say
tannins are solid, dark, - fo sho, lots a tannin, coating = nice
the wine layered with acidity - yes, not unpleasant, works very well with the tannins and flavor.
black plum juice, dried raisins - eh, maybe sorta, kinda
and final acidity- well, come on its not that acid. stings the tongue but its probably the alcohol, tho cant feel the alcohol while on tongue- probably due to the tannins.

haha here we go
still fresh and with a medium dark and slightly sweet fruit nose. medium short finish -Nothing special but a good vin de pays

[iannon]

I get what you mean about all he "fruit notes" and such..My palate has a hard time defining them..but I will make my wife try some before letting her read any descriptions ans she OFTEN falls in line with what they describe.."hint of pear" or whatever the heck they say it tastes like....

[wyardley]

I think you have to realize that the tea (or wine) usually doesn't literally taste exactly like those things or a combination of those things; rather, it's a specialized language used by wine professionals and oenophiles to describe a taste or aroma. Since wine (and tea) have a broad range of flavors for which there are no direct words to describe it, this language helps people communicate about what they're tasting. Even if you haven't experienced, say, the taste of muscat grapes, it's possible to know what taste people generally describe that way. I have occasionally had wines and teas where the taste really does strongly remind me of a particular flavor.

I would assume that most of us haven't actually *eaten* cat pee or road tar, but the fact that they have a distinctive aroma that is hard to forget once you've smelled them makes them a useful description.

Sometimes, the terms may apply more to a wine or spirit's bouquet or finish than to the taste itself.

Of course, these descriptions can get pretty annoying really quickly, especially when people are really over the top about it, and it's easy to make fun of these descriptions when they get really out of hand, but they do serve a function, especially when communicating to others about your experiences.

[silverneedles]

i acknowledge, however more often than not, reviewers tend to go overboard seeking terms to describe flavor.