If It’s Good, Must You Like It?

I’ve long been an upholder of a principle that is very likely to irk some readers: simply liking a wine does not mean that the wine is good. Conversely, and just as potentially irksome, simply disliking a wine does not mean that the wine is bad. Like it or not, true wine appreciation, what wine writer Matt Kramer might call “connoisseurism,” entails more than just expressing subjective, personal opinion. Coming to grips with these aphorisms is a difficult but necessary step in developing a well-rounded foundation for the understanding of wine.

I’d like to think that I’ve developed a reasonable knack over the years for knowing how to avoid buying truly bad wine (though it’s important to taste bad juice from time to time both as a reality check and as a basis for judgment). On the other hand, I don’t think anyone who’s truly interested in wine, no matter how careful, can ever be exempt from occasionally picking up a bottle – a good bottle – and finding it not to be to their liking.

In originally selecting the wine that inspired this soap boxing, I’d followed some important cardinal rules of wine shopping. It was a current vintage release procured from a reasonably good wine shop, both guidelines that reduce the chances of ending up with an abused bottle. Likewise, the capsule spun freely, with no sticky or sweet smelling signs of leakage. Just as importantly, this being European wine, it came from an importer whose selections and handling practices I trust. It even came with recommendations, strong enough to have stuck in my memory, from my cohorts Brooklynguy and Canada Joe. All of these variables considered, I opened this bottle with every expectation of liking it.


Cheverny Blanc, Domaine du Salvard (Delaille) 2006
Bright, clear straw to the eye. Intensely aromatic, redolent of grass, mint and white flowers, all of which carry through to the palate along with flavors of kumquat, lemon water ice, white pepper and gooseberry. The wine is balanced, dry but fruity, refreshing and entirely proper – essentially good wine – yet I found it not to be to my liking. Why? The primary reasons are twofold.

First, Salvard’s 2006 Cheverny said nothing to me of its place. If I’d been handed a glass of it in a blind tasting, I most likely would have guessed New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or, in any event, certainly an unoaked, new world SB. The minerality and more subtle herbaceousness I expect from Middle-Loire Sauvignon were respectively missing and far from subtle.

Second, in spite of the clean, lively texture of the wine, I found there to be something coarse about the wine’s overall impact. Maybe my expectations are unrealistic but I want even my everyday, under $15 wines to display some elegance.

I think Brooklynguy’s pal NorthCarolinaguy put his finger on the aspect of the wine that bugged me: aromas and flavors of dandelion. I like dandelion greens in salad, at least in small quantities, for the bitter spark they provide. I like them even more when sautéed with garlic and olive oil – very nice on pasta. I even like dandelions in my yard for their diversity of color and flora. But the cattiness of their aroma doesn’t work for me when it comes to wine. The French call the dandelion “pissenlit,” literally “urinate in bed.” Wikipedia attributes that etymology to the plant’s diuretic properties. I, for one, think it’s a little simpler than that.

$14. 12.5% alcohol. Nomacorc. Importer: Kermit Lynch, Berkeley, CA.