If a tryst is worth $4,300, as we learned last week, maybe it makes sense that a nose is worth a cool $8 mil.

That’s how much Lloyd’s of London insured the nose of Ilja Gort for in a story that just got posted on our website. Gort is the winemaker for France’s Chateau de la Garde, so his proboscis is important (at least to Chateau de la Garde).

But here’s the deal, at least for the rest of us: Being able to discern the nuances of a wine’s aroma is just not that big a deal.

Don’t believe me? Well, I’m merely quoting one of the most respected wine figures in the country, importer Kermit Lynch. I asked him recently why his tasting notes focus on structure, depth and balance, while most magazine critics plumb the depths of the aroma world, citing the likes of lychee fruit, eucalyptus and pencil lead.

“That’s offputting and completely unrealistic,” Lynch said of the prevalent five-odors-and-five-flavors approach to tasting reviews. “I might smell violets on a wine out of the barrel, but by the time it’s bottled, there are no violets there. And a year later, it will have none of the same aromas as before. Or you can get an aroma at one temperature, but you heat [the wine] up five degrees and that aroma’s gone.

“Wine evolves; wine changes. That’s one of the great things about it.”

Since hearing Lynch’s words of wisdom last month, I’ve run his assessment past a half-dozen or more wine experts. Every last one of them agreed completely.

Good enough for me.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 2:25 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.