Customer Reviews

Reflections of a Wine Merchant

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If there was ever any doubt about the matter we now know that the skill set needed to discover wines of real character and the one that results in great prose are entirely distinct. Though I was looking forward to this book, from the outset I was sorely disappointed. The author spends much of the first several chapters settling scores with individuals who have disappointed him in the past. Before we join him on his first solo visit to the vineyards of Europe he already sounds embittered. Once we join him on his rounds, we do meet some lovely people for whom Rosenthal has genuine affection--and who seem inordinately cursed by personal tragedy. While the dust jacket promises that 'we will learn how they unveil the subtleties of their individual terroirs,' I don't believe we do. I was expecting something on the exalted level of 'Adventures on the Wine Route,' but this isn't it.

I don't get the vitriol of the first three reviewers. Concerning their complaints that this book is full of Neal's opinions and rants: yes, it is. If they were looking for nothing but raw facts perhaps they should have selected a book that wasn't autobiographical. As for the quality of the writing: while Neal does tend to be a little over-the-top with his comparisons, his use of the English language is quite good albeit old-fashioned.

Personally, I really enjoyed this book. It's a quick, fun read as long as you take it for what it is: a collection of recollections and musings on wine and personal history by Neal. I found him to be relatively even-handed in his treatment of most subjects and it was refreshing to hear from someone in the world of wine who doesn't worship at the temple of numerical scores.

I must have read a different book than the one reviewed so unfavorably here, although the title and the author are the same. "Reflections of a Wine Merchant" was exactly what I had hoped it would be when I bought the book for my husband, the winemaker in the family. He found the book opinionated but dead-on right, and he felt that it was about time that someone wrote to decry the industrialization of wine and the homogenization of taste. When we have finally lost the ability to appreciate terroir or even the opportunity to experience it, we will be all the poorer for it, and we can only hope that through the efforts of people like Rosenthal that never happens.

There are huge philosophical differences among vintners and wine merchants about what constitutes good wine; my husband and I have read quite a few books on the subject. My husband's methods are of the old school which lets the grape speak for itself and turn into whatever it will become, whereas the newer school, represented more by California, Chile, and Australia, wants a product that will be the same across batches and regardless of the provenance of the grapes, and so they use embellishments to enhance the wine in order to be able to sell it young and standardize the product. What one prefers is a personal choice but it's important to recognize that there is a difference.

Rosenthal's descriptions of his interactions with vintners, positive and negative, were fascinating and offered insights into both the sociology and the techniques of the ancient craft of winemaking. I found his writing to be adept, descriptive, and on point. My granddaughter is about to enter the sixth grade, and were she to express herself a third as well as Neal Rosenthal does here, her teachers would be amazed and ecstatic. Please don't let the previous reviewers discourage you from buying and reading this book, especially if you have an interest in understanding the possibilities and potential of wine.

Neal Rosenthal has written a good book about his experience in the wine business.
Inevitably it's going to be compared to Kermit Lynch's "Adventures on the Wine Route." That's the benchmark for wine books of this sort and I'm not sure anyone is going to equal it. Lynch is a good story teller as well as being kind of a Lewis & Clark of U.S. wine merchants, which gave him incredible stories to tell.
One of Rosenthal's chapters is a direct rebuttal to "Adventures on the Wine Route," where he discusses the problems of the wine seller choosing the barrels of wine he's willing to sell.
As far as complaints from other reviewers that he's bitter or settling scores, I think Rosenthal is just telling the story as he experienced it. One U.S. importer in particular seems to come across poorly. I've talked with three people who've dealt with that importer directly or through intermediaries and except for his excellent portfolio none had anything nice to say about him. So when Rosnthal writes bad things about him he's just picking the low-hanging fruit.
I want to try some of the wines that Rosenthal describes. I'm still trying to track down some Chambave rouge and I've got a line on some white Burgundy.
The writing is awkward in places. That's as much a fault of the editor as it is Rosenthal. It really seemed to slow down at the end. I got the feeling with the ending he ran out of gas and just wanted to end the book.
Also, he seems to be making the same pro-terroir argument several times with slightly different arguments. It seems that could have been condensed.
There's not much mention of my two favorite Rosenthal imports, Foreau and Schleret. Maybe he didn't have much to say. I'm glad someone is bringing them into the United States.
But I liked the book and would recommend it to anyone who loves wine.

i enjoyed reflections... but i certianly don't think it's going to go down as one of the greatest wine books ever written, and i don't think it makes as much of a statement as it could have.

the book is essentially a collection of stories about people rosenthal has encountered over the years, and how their story fits - or doesn't fit - into rosenthal's importing business and view of what the wine world should be. for instance, the story of a family/producer in piedmont embodies everything he loves about wine, while a relationship with a producer in burgundy crumbles as they insist on making changes he doesn't feel are for the best. the stories are generally interesting, however i don't feel they'll appeal to those who aren't truly interested in the subject matter. (however if you've made it to this page, you probably ARE interested in the subject matter.)

i echo the sentiment that rosenthal spends a bit of time ranking on people by name. it's not really vengeful stuff as some other reviews have implied, but the problem is that it's not really done with a lot of finesse or class either. it doesn't portray the author in the best light, and makes you question his own personality to some extent. this doesn't destroy the book, but it does detract from the experience a bit.

finally, i feel the book doesn't have a ton of focus. there's not a really strong thread running through it. i know it's a collection of stories, but considering the experiences rosenthal has had over the course of the last 30 years, in addition to his very strong feelings about what wine should be, i think the book could have driven home more of a message. maybe rosenthal didn't want this to be too agenda driven, but i thought the result made it a little light.

all this said, this is worth reading, especially if you're a fan of rosenthal's views on what wines should be. come to think of it, you should probably read it if you *don't* share rosenthal's views on what wines should be.

Perhaps this is an exercise in piling on, but it must be said... this book is a tremendous disappointment. Mr. Rosenthal vents his spleen on a variety of topics and people, with little in the way of real insight to offer. The prose is sometimes comically stilted and reads like bad legal writing. Often a single sentence rambles on for a good part of a page, bearing the weight three or four sentences should carry.

His heart is in the right place: wines with character and sense of place, made for keeping. But between the small minded jabs at a pantheon of enemies, the rotten writing and the sheer superficiality of it all... No. Don't bother. Instant bargain bin material.

If you are looking for another Kermit Lynch, you will be disappointed. If you liked Alice Feiring, then this is for you. I am, like the author, a lover of Burgundy (& Piedmont), a disliker of modern over-fabricated fruit & alcohol bomb wines,and I take Parker and all with a pinch of salt. So I started the book with great hope thinking I had found another Kermit soul-brother. And though I often agree with his more moderate opinions, he has a serious problem with attitude. He takes side swipes at just about everyone (inc Kermit) and sometimes comes across either as a mild lunatic (dont tell me that your wine smells of the skin of the hares that frolic around the fields, I mean, come on...) or an arrogant, opinionated and rather unpleasant individual. But then the next chapter will be evocative and spot on. A real roller coaster of a read. I suspect I rather agree with the basics of his belief in real wines of place, but his personality keeps getting in the way. Also I wonder at his palate. Romanee-Conti and Domaine Leroy are expensive (though DRC could double its price overnight and still sell out, the retail price is about three times the ex-cellars and that's not DRC's fault) but they are also almost universally considered the pinnacle. His evident dislike of Mme Bize-Leroy is out of place and pretty stupid as she is one of the finest wine producers in the world. Oddly for someone who is so into natural wine and place, he also slags off another superstar of biodynamic wine, Chapoutier, yet his single vineyard white and red Hermitages are lauded the world over (and not just by US wine critics). Inverse snobbery or is there some sort of anarchic dislike of the most succesful (who are bound to sell, alas, at a price)? One thing is for sure, the book is not boring, which is a good point, but it does oscillate between being a very good read and being downright annoying. Like his favourite wines, there are good vintage chapters and some that should be tipped down the sink. He is a terroirist in extremis and one with a slightly nasty side to boot. But we do need wine merchants of character and someone to praise 'real' wine and push back at the wave of tedious, taste-alike 95 score wines on steroids... But what did Spurrier, Wasserman, Lynch, Leroy, Chapoutier and all do to him?!

The amount of vitriol in the comments here is excessive. I read the book over the holidays and enjoyed it. Perhaps it is that I have been to Paolo Bea in Montefalco; spoken about Carema to a sommelier native of Piemonte who believes the wine is outstanding; or yearned about someday visiting Burgundy with a man who taught me so much about wine. Mr. Rosenthal has led an incredibly charmed life. Considering that I am a Francophile from Italy living in the States, the thought of discovering the wineries and places he recounts in the book would have been a dream. The stories here are immersed in nostalgia; it is a yearning for a time that, for better or worse, is slowly fading. I would love to turn back the clock but it is too late. Rosenthal acknowledges that many great things have resulted from the new wine world order, though he spends a large amount of time bashing it. The beauty about today's market is that we have choices. We can follow the Rosenthals, Lynchs, and Dressners, or support the wines that the Parkers, Robinsons, and Tanzers love to praise. Those who know will seek out what they like, which today I believe is a balance between the wines of the two camps (generally speaking, of course). I have some reservations about Rosenthal's distrust of the New World as it pertains to the grape. There is a brief recollection about his early experiences in California but that is all. It can come across to some as being presumptuous and somewhat narrow minded. All in all, this is a great read.

Neal tells us about his personal rise to the top of his trade. Most importantly he tells us why and how. I enjoyed it. I love the stories behind the story.

Neil Rosenthal should be ashamed of himself. First of all, his command of the English language is at or near a 6th grade level - no wonder he could not make it as a lawyer. His goal in writing this book was simple: "Everybody pay attention to me!"

Neil wants to be a critic. Not an importer. He should stick to what he knows.

If his mother was, "Ugly, with horselike features and legs as thick as a country table" would he like it if that were how she was memorialized? Probably not.

Spend the $[...]-- on a bottle of his wine not this awful book. Neil, you really have no class. Shame on you.