Judging wines without a sense of smell 18 May 2007

How did Jancis Robinson do it?

In her article on Swartland wines, reproduced on this website, British wine judge Jancis Robinson remarked on the illness which meant that she was unable to smell properly while she was judging on the Trophy Wine Show recently. This prompted the following comment:

From Clive Sindelman:
I always thought that my wine tasting abilities deteriorated markedly when I got a cold. Even worse if the doc prescribed some antibiotic.How does Jancis R cope?

We asked Jancis to comment on this. Not wanting to go into further detail than what she discusses in a short piece openly available on her website, she pointed out again ‘how surprised I was by how much I could in fact taste’. She had also been reassured to see, during the judging process, which included a good deal of discussion, ‘how consistent my opinions were with those who could actually smell’.

Michael Fridjhon, who chairs the competition, was more expansive in his response to a request for a comment:

Jancis Robinson arrived midway through the first day's judging, and although she expressed doubts about her ability to smell with any accuracy (but was confident about tasting) joined her panel but declined to chair proceedings. The remaining wines for that day were classes such as  Chenin, Semillon and white blends.

It was clear by the time I met with the panel to discuss their medal winners that she had picked up several of the top wines - about which there was anyway reasonable consensus. In discussion she commented on  her impressions about climate ("these taste maritime, she said) which I checked  with the stewards and they confirmed were correct. When the Golds and Trophies from those classes are made public on 4th June, I have no doubt they will be broadly applauded.

On the second day, the panel worked its way through 151 wines. Because Jancis was more dependent on mouthfeel information than olfactory input, the fact that her scores generally paralleled those of her colleagues speaks highly of her judging and tasting skills. This also corroborates my experience with the late Harry Waugh, who suffered permanent olfactory loss as a result of a motor accident and yet continued to taste with extraordinary accuracy. (I saw him correctly identify several very young Classed Growth clarets blind and he said he knew them by their mouthfeel).

The nature of the Trophy Wine Show judging system is that all judges defend their scores – and in this sense it is self-regulating.  For most of the day Jancis deferred to the other panel members (Gary Jordan and  Chris Williams) in discussions relating to the aromatic qualities of the wines, but was  integrally involved by the end of the day, and again the next morning during the sometimes robust debate around the possibility of finalising a gold medal winner.

On the Wednesday, given the general improvement in her health, she chaired the Bordeaux blend class.

None of the gold medal winners put forward to the trophy judging by her panel was deemed to have been unduly rewarded - in fact there was greater consensus this year about the quality of these top wines than at any show that I can recall. Fewer than 2.5% of the votes cast by the judges sitting together indicated a dispute with the gold medal quality of the submissions. The highest scoring red wine of the show (a vote taken by all the judges) came from her panel.

It wouid be curious if anyone believed that, given her competence and experience, Jancis Robinson would jeopardise her reputation if she believed herself unable to perform on the day.

From Peter Saunders in New Zealand:

From Emile Joubert:

I am so glad that our commentator from New Zealand has joined this most important discussion surrounding one of the most famous noses and palates in vinous history. Remembering New Zealand and South Africa's mutual interest in rugby, perhaps we can take a leaf out of the coaching books and encourage wine show tasters to take some tips from rugby coaches who have to ensure their charges are prepared to do battle over a trophy.

Some guidelines:

Wine judges should be subjected to random drug testing, as who knows what performance enhancing substances could be used to sharpen their skills. Had Ms Robinson, for example, used a nose spray to dry her damp sniffer, she could have had an unfair advantage over the other Trophy Show judges whose noses were not artificially stimulated by chemical substances.

Compulsory warm-ups exercises should be implemented to elimate the chance of an undue injury to any show wine judge. Someone with a stressed larynx, for example, becomes just a passenger at a judging session as he or she is unable to detect the ladybird-wing aromas so common in under-oaked, New World merlots. We want warm noses and stretched palates to judge our wines, please.

The subject of reserves to substitute unfortunate judges laid low by injury incurred during the judging should be addressed. A wine show judge should not be forced to continue whilst carrying an debilitating wine tasting injury such as a knotted nose hair or numb tonsil. Get the poor chap or lady some immediate medical attention and replace the injured party with a substitute judge who, of course, bears the necessary qualifications.

Like sports people, wine judges should complete a thorough fitness test before participating in a competition. Who knows what affect a short-term bout of colour blindnes, a burst blood vessel in the schnozz or a crusty tongue could have on judging a delicate flight of floral riesling?