In a word, no. If this is simply one bad bottle among 12, this can happen to anyone. In your other example, yes, you should warn your readers if a winery's style has drifted away from its former greatness, as so many Napa Cabs have done, Caymus chief among them. These are completely different circumstances.
Agree with Clark, how many pre-mox Leflaive have we had and still go back to the till because when it is on it is amazing. Same goes for Lafon. Maybe it was the change to DIAM ultimately. Who knows, but 11 good out of 12 is a home run in my book.
Have to agree with what others have said: one bad bottle doesn’t cancel the winery. That you enjoyed the other 11 is to be celebrated. I was once gifted about a dozen high-end Bordeaux wines from the 70s & 80s. Some were fantastic; some had gone bad. I was grateful for the great ones but harbored no ill will towards the ones that were gone.
I suggest that the impact on your total experience of this wonderful case of wine, due to this being the last bottle, is worth further exploration. What if the off bottle had been the first bottle? Maybe you wouldn't have ordered that case at all if you'd tasted the bad bottle elsewhere? Maybe the wine just got too old? Maybe one bad bottle, like, for instance, a bad meal at a favorite restaurant, isn't a justification for total abandonment. I am fairly often surprised by the latest releases from a winery that I think I know well. But as often as I am disappointed I am surprised in the other direction, when a winery's latest releases seem suddenly far better than in the past. But evaluating a new vintage is different from a last bottle experience. All good topics for further discussion.
As a decision impacting only your personal drinking/purchasing decisions, sure, go ahead and cut 'em off based on one bad bottle. As a reviewer, in my view, no way is it fair or even ethical to have a 'one and done' cancel policy.
There's hitting someone (actively harming another to satisfy yourself) and then there's tripping and falling into someone (an accident anyone can suffer without meaning to.) One deserves a true blue consequence. The other does not.
Echoing the renowned Clark Smith, in a Word, no. . . There are times that for whatever the reason(s), a bad bottle evolves for some unknown reason and no fault of the winemaker. As a winemaker who has suffered the embarrassment of fans sharing their last bottle of a great wine with friends only to suffer the same disappointment described in you article, we replaced the flawed vessel with another and our friends praise, was redeemed with the joy of sharing that wines' excellence. Bad bottles happen and the old saying is, "wine is a living organism. Its not if a wine goes bad, rather only a matter of when". C
In a word, no. If this is simply one bad bottle among 12, this can happen to anyone. In your other example, yes, you should warn your readers if a winery's style has drifted away from its former greatness, as so many Napa Cabs have done, Caymus chief among them. These are completely different circumstances.
I love when I certain vintage is in my rotation and sorry this happened. What was it? I might have a bottle lol
Jason
Maybe you're being too harsh. Perhaps this wine had simply passed its peak. Let's face it, it happens to us all.
Are you trying to say that maybe the wine and brand doesn't deserve to be cancelled?
Haha! Great analogy. Come to think of it, yes.
Agree with Clark, how many pre-mox Leflaive have we had and still go back to the till because when it is on it is amazing. Same goes for Lafon. Maybe it was the change to DIAM ultimately. Who knows, but 11 good out of 12 is a home run in my book.
Have to agree with what others have said: one bad bottle doesn’t cancel the winery. That you enjoyed the other 11 is to be celebrated. I was once gifted about a dozen high-end Bordeaux wines from the 70s & 80s. Some were fantastic; some had gone bad. I was grateful for the great ones but harbored no ill will towards the ones that were gone.
I suggest that the impact on your total experience of this wonderful case of wine, due to this being the last bottle, is worth further exploration. What if the off bottle had been the first bottle? Maybe you wouldn't have ordered that case at all if you'd tasted the bad bottle elsewhere? Maybe the wine just got too old? Maybe one bad bottle, like, for instance, a bad meal at a favorite restaurant, isn't a justification for total abandonment. I am fairly often surprised by the latest releases from a winery that I think I know well. But as often as I am disappointed I am surprised in the other direction, when a winery's latest releases seem suddenly far better than in the past. But evaluating a new vintage is different from a last bottle experience. All good topics for further discussion.
So, wait, Paul. It seems you are suggesting that I shouldn't CANCEL a wine or wine brand because they disappointed or stumbled one time?
As a decision impacting only your personal drinking/purchasing decisions, sure, go ahead and cut 'em off based on one bad bottle. As a reviewer, in my view, no way is it fair or even ethical to have a 'one and done' cancel policy.
There's hitting someone (actively harming another to satisfy yourself) and then there's tripping and falling into someone (an accident anyone can suffer without meaning to.) One deserves a true blue consequence. The other does not.
Echoing the renowned Clark Smith, in a Word, no. . . There are times that for whatever the reason(s), a bad bottle evolves for some unknown reason and no fault of the winemaker. As a winemaker who has suffered the embarrassment of fans sharing their last bottle of a great wine with friends only to suffer the same disappointment described in you article, we replaced the flawed vessel with another and our friends praise, was redeemed with the joy of sharing that wines' excellence. Bad bottles happen and the old saying is, "wine is a living organism. Its not if a wine goes bad, rather only a matter of when". C