Customer Reviews

Wines of the Rhone Valley: Revised and Expanded Edition

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a French and especially a French born in a little town located at 20 kilometers from Chateauneuf-du-Pape, I am really amazed that Mr Parker get to know the wines of my own country so deeply. He really understands their 'spirits' and he is - as no one that I know of - able of explaining them and detailing them in beautiful, and in the mean time, trully informative and practical ways. This Rhone Valley's guide - because I consider this to be a real guide even though it is a shot from one author alone - is really pleasing to read and to use. It is motivating! This is a masterpiece to be highly considered by all wine lovers in the sense that the wines from the Rhone area were - and maybe still are - not very well considered by all wine drinkers. Because Mr Parker, as a well know master taster with a huge knowledge about the wines and wine producers of the Rhone Valley, did write this book, people might now get a better understanding of what these wines are, how they are made, and who is doing them best. Mr Parker loves powerfull wines... (so do I) ...I am not suprised that he wrote such a book about this region because the Wines of the Rhone Valley ARE VERY powerfull - but not all of them. This is what you will learn by reading this book. You will find plenty of details as well as plenty of very good addresses there. This book is definitely THE reference for now. Give it a try. It is worth it. And if you visit the Rhone Valley wine country, bring it along with you or you'll miss most of the fun: tasting the good, the excellent and the exceptionnal. A la votre.

There are a number of books now available on the wines of the Rhone, an area of the wine world with increasing public awareness, and deservedly so. Parker has updated his own volume, but appears to be unaware of any of the efforts of others in the field; he is certainly unprepared to acknowledge the body of work into which his new book will rest. Any book of this type of thoroughness with no bibliography seems to this reviewer to miss the point a bit...

Parker's book is full of the usual indulgences - a preparedness for hyperbole, for speaking with absolute authority and for the general impression that the author is more important than the winemaker. The wines are afforded their status because he writes about them, alas; we would prefer, I suspect, a writer who realises the wines are his reason for being, rather than the other way around.

Nonetheless, the book is a solid effort of research and the tasting notes are a testament to an awful amount of time and care - and love - devoted to the subject. Parker knows the Rhone, and he conveys his enthusiasms well. Recommended.

This is Parkers first book on Rhone - and what a result ! All areas of the Rhone are covered, some to a bigger detail than others but anyway, the outcome is great. Maybe a little more in-depth details on the smaller - or should I say lesser known - regions (which are the ones we mere mortals can afford !) would be nice but, knowing Parkers affection for Rhone, that'll probably (hopefully) come in the next edition. All-in-all, very recommendable..

An excellent book. My husband loves it for their reviews. When we visited the Rhone, we relied heavily on the travel section in the back of the book and found excellent lodging and restaurant recommendations, which made for an unforgettable trip.

Latest vintages reviewed are 1996 and many Rhone wines aren't made to cellar 10 years, so I consider the book out of date. However the details Parker includes about the regions and wineries do make this a very comprehensive reference tome.

Definitely a true connoisseur's guide and there is no exception for the readers in Asia! Parker's books always fulfil our request for complete information all about wines.

The best part of Robert Parker is how much information he provides. No one else so consistently organizes so much and puts it in one place. Add integrity, and a superb palate. The Rhones have never been treated better.

Parker has done it again. The book give the reader exellent insight into the wine world of Rhone. Major growers are described in detail, not only covering the wines, but history as well. Later vintages are covered with tasting notes. I will not call it negative, but the book demonstrates Parkers 'tast dictatorship': He either enjoy a wine or not.

Book was in very good condition with author signature. Actually more information than anyone should need, as most of book is reviews of individual producers' wines dating back at least 10 years. The negative is that the book was updated in 1995, so there is no current information. I bought the book for more in depth information about the different growing areas, which it had.

This is a fabulously indulgent work for fans of Rhone wines. Parker's great love of the area and its most famous product shines off the pages and brings depth and passion to wine criticism. There is however one drawback for those hoping to use the book as a basis for touring the vineyards themselves and this is that he only gives a generic price for each appellation rather than a price for each domaine. Thus we know roughly how much a Cote Rotie is going to cost us, but not how much a particular Guigal will be. This is obviously due to his having an American audience in mind which will be buying its wine largely from importers, but nonetheless it does it mean that for us who like to tour wine areas we need to refer to another work in order to make a judgement about which wines represent the best value. Otherwise an excellent and enjoyable work.