chinonrouge posted:I am a little baffled how WS picks top wines as if they know how the wines will taste in a decade. Is WS proposing that the consumer purchase 2016 Ch Pichon Longueville Baron and consume it now?
To me, this wine is a cellar selection to be held, but so are all the young second growth Bordeaux. To play devils advocate, I ask, “How does WS know 2016 Ch Pichon Longueville Baron wine will fair better than 2016 Ch Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in a decade? My suspicion is that both wines will be excellent in time. Why is one on the top 10 list, and the other is not?
If I remember how the process was described a few years ago, the WS Editors bring together a Top 20 that they've tasted in the previous year, re-taste and then debate them based on X factors.
As you know, all these bottles were tasted blind initially and were assigned a rating. I assume they get the top bottles rated with consideration to represent all if not most wine regions. If the Pichon Baron was rated a 96 and the Lalande a 93 at the time the initial tasting was done, then you can see why one would be included in the Top 10 and not the other.
I don't think they project what the wines will be in a decade. Many of the 1st of the 2nd Growths will probably be shut down a decade after release!