Galloni: Screaming Eagle phenomenon unhealthy

All powerful US wine critic Robert Parker’s California taster Antonio Galloni has spoken out about the trading of cult wine Screaming Eagle on the secondary market, dubbing it  “unhealthy.” While researching a feature on cult wines for the drinks business, Galloni, who rates Californian wines for Parker’s bi-monthly publication The Wine Advocate, told me: “The Screaming Eagle phenomenon is not healthy. Very few people buy Screaming Eagle to drink it. It has become a pure instrument of speculation, which is sad, as it’s a great wine.”

The San Francisco Chronicle’s wine critic Jon Bonné had similarly strong views on Screaming Eagle, agreeing that the wine, made in Oakville in the Napa Valley, has become too mythical for its own good. “Screaming Eagle has become a unicorn that isn’t worth chasing anymore,” he told me. First released in 1995, Screaming Eagle continues to command high prices at auction, with a 75cl bottle of the 1997 vintage selling for £2,267 at Christie’s New York this April.

New releases of the wine quickly double on resale – Elin McCoy of Bloomberg believes that at least a third of Screaming Eagle’s mailing list customers immediately “flip” their bottles on the secondary market. Bonné meanwhile, is cynical about the pricing of Screaming Eagle and California’s other so-called “cult” wines. “To justify stratospheric pricing based on points and scarcity, and to claim that California is a bargain by Bordeaux standards is a big does of hubris that doesn’t do anyone any good,” he said.

Despite or perhaps because of their high price tags, both Screaming Eagle and Harlan Estate are doing well in China, favoured in wealthy circles for their rarity. “The combination of money and early curve interest that drives cult wines has migrated to Asia. “China wants Screaming Eagle, Harlan and Colgin as much as they once wanted Lafite and Latour,” believes Bonné.

While Chinese consumers are catching on to California Cabernet, there are signs that other grape varieties are being welcomed into the cult wine fold. “It’s not all about Cabernet anymore. Californian Syrah is starting to have its moment in the spotlight through the likes of Sine Qua Non and Saxum,” Mark Andrew of London fine wine merchant Roberson told me over the phone. Londoners are developing a thirst for Sine Qua Non, small parcels of which are selling well at Wolfgang Puck’s Park Lane steak venture CUT, and at auction.

Though despite this interest, competition is becoming increasingly tough at California’s top end. “Consumers have become much more discerning and value-conscious as a result of the financial meltdown. There will always be room for niche, high-end wines, but the competition is fierce,” says Galloni. Bonné agrees: “Look at wines that have traded hands, like Sloan or Merus; Napa just isn’t big enough for all the rich folk hoping to create the next must-have wine. It was a ludicrous model from the outset, and it’s just playing through the endgame now.”

The lifespan of a cult wine is decreasing, as access to the wines via Facebook, Twitter, blogs and bulletin boards is speeding up their democratisation. “Cult wines are just getting started, but the journey from embryonic cult to washed up has-been is getting shorter,” says Andrew. Love them or loathe them, cult wines are here to stay. 

Decanter World Wine Awards dinner

I'm a bit late in getting this up, but last Wednesday was our Decanter World Wine Awards dinner. I can't quite believe this is the fourth dinner I've attended - how the years have flown.

The first was at the V&A, when I was a wine newby, having worked at Decanter a mere month. I sat next to Michael Schuster and declared I preferred the Riesling to the Chardonnay we were drinking. The next day a copy of his wine tasting book landed on my desk along with a note that read: 'anyone who prefers Riesling to Chardonnay has a palate with great potential'.

We migrated to the The Hempel hotel the year after, then settled on the epically beautiful Royal Opera House, where we've been for the past two years. This year we were treated to wonderful weather - it was one of those glorious late summer evenings where the sun stayed out late, warming our shoulders while we sipped Charles Heidsieck 2000 on the terrace. I say we, but I had to steal sips from my glass, in between ushering winning winemakers to be interviewed for our shiny new decanter.com site, to ferreting out their trophy Riedel decanters.

After the madness of the reception I had a chance to unwind and savour a selection of the wines on show, my standouts being the Schloss Johannisberg, Riesling Erstes Gewächs, Rheingau 2008 and Bodegas Baigorri de Garage Rioja 2005. I was sat next to Alex Hunt, who told me of his seven year quest to become an MW - the answer to which would be revealed on Friday (he did). We then got talking about the science of sight, the merits of Comte, and whether photography could be considered an art form, which, of course, it can.

Food was an exciting affair - we started with peat-smoked salmon and watercress creme fraiche and moved on to leg of lamb roasted pink with a Guwurztraminer velouté. Both were exquisitely cooked, especially considering the ROH kitchens had to churn out 400 of each dish. After the main course the 28 International Trophies were announced. There were two big surprise wins: the Red Rhône Varietal over £10 trophy went to Israeli winery Carmel, for its Kayoumi Single Vineyard Shiraz 2008, beating the likes of Rhône big guns Chapoutier and Guigal. The winery, based in Upper Galilee, celebrated its 120th harvest this year.

Another shocker, which raised the biggest cheer of the night, was when East Sussex winery Ridge View trumped some of the top Champagne houses to scoop the Sparkling over £10 trophy for its Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2006. Unfortunately I was in the loo at the time, but the cheers of delight at the fact that the Brits had trumped the French at their own game snaked all the way down the corridor.

I'd spoken with Mardi from the winery a few weeks prior, in order to get their wine dog Talby on our back page, and had to force myself not to mention the International Trophy. One word from me and the whole surprise would have been ruined. Mardi rang the office the day after the awards – she'd been bombarded with media interview requests all morning, but seemed as happy about Talby making it as a 'top dog' as she did about the International Trophy.

Before pudding I quickly caught up with Jeremy Rockett from Gonzales Byass, who was sporting a fetching Tio Pepe waistcoat, Joe Gilmour from Roberson, who was buzzing after his Kensington shop was deservedly crowned the best small independent merchant in our retailer awards, and the lovely Lo Franco brothers from Fattoria La Vialla in Tuscany (who I'm pictured with). They invited me out to their estate to do the oliver harvest in October - I'm seriously tempted.

Sitting back down to get stuck into my sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce, Barry Dick pulls up a chair beside me. We get chatting and I quickly notice he's taking no interest in his pud - watching the six pack I imagine. I feel rather self conscious about wolfing down mine, but it's so delicious I can't resist. He tells me he bought his tux 15 years ago and that it still fits. I glance down at his tight fitting trousers, his toned thigh muscles clearly visible from beneath the fabric, and get a Semillons flashback!