The coverage of Bordeaux wines was previously the responsibility of Robert M. Parker Jr., who has reviewed every vintage of Bordeaux for the last 38 years, since he started the publication in 1978. This news follows the announcement last year that Neal Martin would assume responsibility for reviewing Bordeaux en primeur wines – barrel samples of the new vintage – commencing with his coverage of the Bordeaux 2014 vintage, published in The Wine Advocate magazine and on the RobertParker.com website in April 2015. Meanwhile, Robert Parker will continue his comprehensive annual coverage of Northern California, including the iconic regions of Napa and Sonoma, and he remains the president of the publication.
“Neal is clearly the most experienced and seasoned veteran to assume the tasting responsibilities of Bordeaux barrel tasting,” noted Robert Parker. “He has been doing it well for nearly two decades, having started as a young man. I have full confidence in his ability, experience, integrity, independence and work ethic to make this an easy transformation. While I loved the challenge of tasting en primeur every spring, it is time for a change and an injection of younger talent.”
Neal Martin has been visiting Bordeaux and tasting the region’s wines constantly for 19 years. After creating his own successful Wine Journal wine review website in 2003, Neal began working with Robert Parker for his eponymous publication. In 2008, Neal took over The Wine Advocate’s coverage of the sweet, white wines of Bordeaux. His award-winning 2012 book, Pomerol, and continued coverage of Bordeaux for the Wine Journal column of RobertParker.com demonstrate his unwavering commitment to the region.
Neal Martin commented, “It is a great honor that Robert Parker has passed Bordeaux coverage on to me. Robert Parker’s coverage of Bordeaux, both in The Wine Advocate and his books, were instrumental in my understanding of the region and its wines. Bordeaux is where I began my wine education many years ago and though I have amassed a great deal of experience, visiting regularly since 1997, tasting thousands of wines and penning hundreds of Bordeaux-related articles, my passion for its wines and its people remains undiminished.”
“Subscribers to The Wine Advocate should expect a constant stream of articles immediately after en primeur 2015. Every month will see at least one new report on RobertParker.com. On the immediate horizon: horizontal tastings of 2006 and 2013, a raft of vertical tastings accompanied by first-hand interviews with winemakers; as well as regular updated reviews of mature vintages both legendary and obscure. I’ll not only be reporting on the top of the hierarchy or iconic wines. Bordeaux is occupied by countless, relatively unknown châteaux and rarely mentioned sub-regions that produce great and affordable wine. All of these will be on my radar. As usual, I will be writing everything in my own style that strives to be entertaining as well as insightful. Finally, there are a couple of “secret projects” up my sleeve, but readers will have to wait for those. In a nutshell, if you have an interest in Bordeaux, there is still going to be only one place to come.”
On the calibre of the 2015 vintage, Neal remarked, “Three weeks in Bordeaux tasting the 2015 vintage from barrel has unveiled a clutch of wines so sublime that they are certain to become landmarks for their respective châteaux…not necessarily from the most obvious names.”
Neal Martin’s “2015 Bordeaux En Primeur” report will be published in the end of April issue of The Wine Advocate and will be posted on RobertParker.com on April 29, 2016, featuring an in-depth look at the growing season and calibre of the wines for every major sub-region, with over 600 tasting notes. (Available for subscribers only.)
About Robert Parker Wine Advocate
For more than 35 years, The Wine Advocate, and later RobertParker.com, have been the global leader and independent consumer’s guide to fine wine. The brand was established by the internationally recognized, Robert M. Parker, Jr., the only critic in any field to receive the highest Presidential honor from three countries – France, Italy and Spain. Robert Parker Wine Advocate provides a wealth of information to its subscribers, including a searchable database of more than 300,000 professional wine ratings and reviews, in addition to articles, videos, daily news content, online retail availability and pricing, an active, professionally moderated bulletin board, a mobile app for easy access to the comprehensive online database of reviews and much more. For more information, visit www.RobertParker.com or follow @Wine_Advocate on Twitter. For more information on the Matter of Taste tour, visit http://www.a-matter-of-taste.com and follow #MatterOfTaste on Twitter.
