I've documented how much I enjoy the wines of Brewer Clifton, a long time fan. My trip to Santa Barbara a couple months ago only galvanized my admiration of what Greg Brewer and Steve Clifton are accomplishing in the Santa Rita Hills. Fine, Ok, so what has my panties in a bunch? This morning, I found out that all the wines are gone. And the reason for this is the Wine Advocate gave them big scores the day before and the stampede commenced.
Liz Willette (the fantastic NY distributor) has had these wines in her warehouse for probably 6 months. They have been shown at multiple tastings and my sales rep has brought them out to taste as well. Bottom line, any retailer or restauranteur who wanted to try them since then had ample opportunity to use their own palates and buy accordingly. Instead, like the lazy lumps they are, they sit around waiting for Lord Parker to tell them what to buy and how good it is by way of a numerical figure. And once he weights in the herds descend like cattle infected with Mad Cow Disease. It makes my nuts! Believe me, I have no axe to grind with Robert Parker. He has done way more good for the wine world than almost anyone in the last 50 years. I don't necessarily agree with his palate, but that's why they make chocolate and vanilla. It's not Parker's fault that the entire wine world hangs on his every word, to the point where winemakers are crafting wines solely to impress him. That's another rant for another day.
In summation, here is a link to the Brewer Clifton wines we have in stock, the Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay and the Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir. Both are solid Burgundian styled efforts that I've tasted and think are special. I've calmed down now. Thanks for helping me through this...
JCB the 4th
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