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. 

Wines aimed at women “short on flavour”

Bloomberg’s wine and spirits columnist Elin McCoy has slammed wines aimed at women as “long on legs, but short on flavour.” As reported on db.com, sampling a selection of wines designed with women in mind blind, McCoy described the majority as tasting like “neutered commercial plonk.” 

“Only three wines stood out as barely acceptable chilled plastic cup party fare: 2011 Skinnygirl White, 2011 Skinnygirl Rose, and 2011 Be. Fresh Chardonnay,” she said. “For the US$10-15 that most of these cutsey bottlings go for, drinkers seeking an emotional connection with what they swill in their glass could have real wine made by real people – think Rieslings, Proseccos, Rosés, Beaujolais, Argentinean Torrontés and Malbecs,” she added. 

According to wine brand marketers, women pick wine to match moods, not foods. They also apparently crave an easy going, fruit forward flavor profile with an edge of sweetness. McCoy believes many of the female-targeted wine brands are getting it drastically wrong. “Aren’t Canadian winemaker Strut’s labels, featuring photos of long, shapely, perfect legs emerging from short skirts a guy fantasy?” she questions. 

Women account for nearly 60% of wine consumers in the US, according to the Beverage Information Group’s 2011 Wine Handbook. Hence the recent trend for start up wine brands targeted specifically at women, with most targeting women aged 21 to 34. Australian-based global wine giant Treasury Wine Estates recently launched four wines under the “Be.” label: Flirty, a pink Moscato; Bright, a Pinot Grigio; Fresh, an unoaked Chardonnay; and Radiant, a Riesling. 

TWE’s website describes the Pinot Grigio drinker’s mood somewhat patronisingly: “Your sunny disposition sets your soundtrack to the soothing sounds of a steel drum band as you flip flop through fabulousness.” 

In February, three low-calorie California wines from Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc. hit US shelves under the Skinnygirl brand; the low-calorie cocktail brand made famous by American reality TV star Bethenny Frankel. A five-ounce glass of any of the Skinnygirl wines, which include a Syrah blend, a Chardonnay/Pinot Grigio blend and a Grenache/Syrah rosé, contains 100 calories, as opposed to the average 110-125 calories.

Mary Ann Vangrin, creator of Middle Sister, a wine brand with over 115,000 fans on Facebook, told McCoy that women look for wines that offer an emotional connection. “Women don’t want a wine that bites back. They like ripe, fruit-forward wines without a lot of tannin and oak,” she said. 

The 10-strong Middle Sister range has personality profile names like Drama Queen Pinot Grigio, Smarty Pants Chardonnay and the best-selling Rebel Red blend.  All, according to McCoy, share a “flavor-phobic house style.” Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits meanwhile, which brought Yellow Tail to the US, has launched its own female friendly wine; Flirt, a Syrah, Zinfandel and Tempranillo blend.