The Emperor’s New Wine

“Vins fins means, simply enough, ‘finished wines,’ that is, wines that did not turn out as well as might have been expected”

—JAMES THURBER, “HOW TO TELL A FINE OLD WINE”

Most So-Called “Great” Wine are junk. No, that’s probably too strong. Let’s say instead that most wines to which “greatness” is commonly ascribed— the big names, the famous labels—don’t begin to live up to their reputations. They certainly don’t live up to their prices, which are preposterous almost without exception. Half the time they don’t even taste very good. Half the time they don’t possess even a modicum of the qualities most of us (I presume) look for in wine: an agreeable bouquet, some measure of complexity, good balance of constituent elements (for instance, tannin, acid, fruit), and, of course, good old-fashioned pleasant flavor.