Wine rated 92 points

[Mike Buckley]

If you're understandably not interested in such a long post, skip to the part of the narrative that interests you. Or skip the narrative entirely!

Wine Ratings
High wine ratings given by widely recognized professional critics can make a winery's sales soar. That's because the winery's unit sales can increase and because the winery can raise its price per bottle. Robert Craft who became famous at Wine Advocate and to a lesser extent Wine Spectator are often blamed for the trend in the last 30 or so years for wineries making big red wines with higher amounts of alcohol than in the past. That's because those two organizations have a tendency to give their higher ratings to red wine made in that style. Many wineries feel pressured to make wine that way to get the high ratings that lead to increased revenue.

The most common rating systems use a scale of 100 points. Though the points indicate somewhat different meanings from system to system, any wine with a rating of 90 points or more generally is considered to be an outstanding to a classic wine. This is the rating system used by eRobertParker.com and this is the system used by Wine Spectator.

It's not unusual that two wines priced at perhaps $25 and $100 are rated 92. That makes no sense to me, so I don't follow wine ratings closely when making my buying decisions. Even so, I don't ignore them. That's especially true when I know my tastes are generally aligned with the critic's tendencies or if, as an example, I spot a red wine rated about 90 points that costs $15 or less. That rarely happens but it does happen.

More and more employers of wine critics sell the wines their critics are rating. In that situation a conflict of interest can lead to higher ratings for the wines they are selling. That's another reason ratings aren't important to me.

This Wine
The wine shown below is a 2006 Ribera del Duero gran reserva made of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

I'm really excited about it because it's the only Ribera gran reserva I have ever seen. The term, gran reserva, indicates that the wine was aged at least five years before being released of which at least two years was in oak barrels. (That's also true of Rioja wines.) The number, 36, displayed on the label indicates that this wine has been stored 36 months in oak. Wines that are aged so long might be smoother or more mellow and they are usually made from the best grapes.

Ribera del Duero is a wine region in Spain that makes wine in the same style as the very famous Rioja wine region and many people believe the best Riberas are better than the best Riojas. Better yet, this particular wine was released at $80 per bottle and I picked up four of them at only $25 each. The wine has already aged ten years and Wine Spectator says I can keep it another nine years, though don't think for a nanosecond that I have that kind of discipline. You might have already noticed from the photo that Wine Spectator rated it 92 points.

The Wine Label
I photographed it for two reasons: Few bottles display the wine rating and when they do they don't always display it with taste that complements the main label as in this case. The paper this particular label is made of has the most interesting texture, which in turn leads to the challenge I couldn't resist of depicting it in a photo.

Setup
The camera is mounted on a boom above the scene at an angle that places the label on a slight diagonal and intentionally creates perspective distortion. The background and tabletop are high quality black felt. A medium continuous-light lamp is above the bottle and on the left, positioned to create a shadow on the angle rather than parallel to the side of the label and to display the texture by raking the light across the label. (I could have emphasized the texture more by moving the lamp farther away but that would also have reduced the brightness of the light falling on the label.) The lamp is also flagged to minimize sheen on the velvet. (The unwanted sheen indicated that I need a new piece of velvet). A reflector on the right side makes the "B" appear bright gold and adds flair to its elegant swoon. The gradual change of tones in the "B" from dark to light helps define the shape of the bottle. A reflector on the left side adds a refection to the glass on that side of the bottle, which separates it from the dark background.

Please click the image to display it at a larger size to appreciate the texture in the label.

[Ziggy]

Hope you enjoy.

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured, thanks for the background.

[joebranko]

Thanks for sharing this info on rating wines. It was very informative. I have not tried Riberas but enjoy Riojas and have made a note to self to try a Ribera.
As usual your lighting explanations are appreciated.

[purplehaze]

The texture of the paper was the first thing I noticed! (It is lovely.) Nicely done, Mike.

[bnnrcn]

WOW , great shooting angle ! I will read your post later as I have to log off now. When I have a very quick look at the image I can see some shadowy areas on the dark part on the left side of the bottle. I don't now if they are some brush strokes of your PP work . I will come back to this image later to view and enjoy it better

[TonyW]

Mike, I think we should giving a score to your pictures. For this one can I suggest 97, although I am not really qualified to be on the judging panel, nor would I be qualified to be on a wine judging panel.

A serious expert like you should be able to tell whether the wine comes comes from the east or west bank of the Duero.

The texture of the label certainly came out well. Without the narrative, we would have needed just a little more of the label to identify the region. I had not heard of the region before although I have sampled tempranillo wines with pleasure.

[Manfred M]

I see you are following Robert Capa's advice about getting really close to your subject.

The image works really well, and that's all that needs to be said. Great shot, Mike and a good read on the subject, thank's for the continuing education on the wine and your techniques.

[Kaye Leggett]

Another masterclass and a beatiful image - thank you. Also I hadn't realised the Spanish made a Duero wine - I've enjoyed many a Portugese one.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, everyone!

I can see some shadowy areas on the dark part on the left side of the bottle.

Once you have a chance to look at it closely, let me know. I don't see any issues. I even checked the original file.

EDIT: I initially misunderstood your post, Binnur, and looked in the area to the left of the bottle rather than the left side of the bottle as you intended. You're correct that the glass on the left side of the bottle does not appear uniform. That's because of inconsistencies in the glass; there is no selective post-processing in that area of the image and I checked to ensure that the only two global adjustments (to the curve and the sharpening) did not cause it. I had four bottles to choose from and this particular bottle overall was the best to photograph despite the issue you mentioned.

A serious expert like you should be able to tell whether the wine comes comes from the east or west bank of the Duero.

I'm only an avid enthusiast, which is very different from a serious expert. I could probably look up the winery and determine where it is but I don't know without doing that.

On a related note, the Bordeaux wine region of France is split into two primary areas that are referred to as the left and right banks of the Gironde river and its tributaries. I never remember whether one should imagine facing toward or away from the ocean when determining which sides are the left and right banks.

Without the narrative, we would have needed just a little more of the label to identify the region.

I could easily have included more of the label in the image. In fact, I composed the scene to do that by making an 8x10 crop from the full-size 4x6 aspect ratio. Instead, I used a square crop. Even so, there is no other wine region in the world that includes the word, Duero, in its name and that word is displayed in the image. For people who understandably don't know that, Googling "Duero" quickly reveals that the full name of the region is Ribera del Duero.

I see you are following Robert Capa's advice about getting really close to your subject.

It's interesting to me that the bottle is about an inch farther away than in my previous image of the solo bottle wearing the red cap and that I used the same lens. Yet the bottle displayed in this thread does seem closer. I think that's because there is so much less negative space in this image (the subject fills the frame more as Capa famously recommended) and perhaps to a lesser degree because the angle is so much more dynamic.

I hadn't realised the Spanish made a Duero wine - I've enjoyed many a Portugese one.

The Spanish wine region is Ribera del Duero. The Portuguese wine region is Douro (the same name as its river). It's easy to get the two names confused.

[Mike Buckley]

One more tidbit about the image: Notice that the number, 36, is almost as black as the name, Balbas. You would not know from the image that the number is made from the same material as the large, elegant "B" at the top and can be just as bright. The reason the number is so dark is that there is no direct or reflected light source that is within the family of angles of that number. I thought very seriously of adding a light source to make that happen, but after pondering the constraints of my makeshift studio I decided to go with the current image.

For a good demonstration of how a shiny surface can appear very bright or very dark depending on whether the light source is inside or outside the family of angles even when the light is striking the surface in both situations, see this thread I posted nearly four years ago. It was such a revelation to learn about this from the book, Light: Science and Magic, that I still remember my exhilaration when I was able to personally experience that characteristic of the physics of light by recreating the demonstration provided in the book.

There is not a single photograph I take, whether in my makeshift studio or anywhere else including outside, that I'm not aware of this. I also notice it in photos made by others. Indeed, when I saw Kim's gorgeous photos of her horse, Corey, I instantly wondered if Corey's hair is reflective enough to produce unattractive glare if the light source (the sun) is in the family of angles. A person's skin will produce glare in that situation but I don't think horse hair will.

[NorthernFocus]

This is a good example of how angular lighting makes texture visible. Nicely done.

[Mike Buckley]

This is a good example of how angular lighting makes texture visible.

Thanks, Dan! Thanks to your post, I added information about that to the explanation of the setup.

[TonyW]

Another masterclass and a beatiful image - thank you. Also I hadn't realised the Spanish made a Duero wine - I've enjoyed many a Portugese one.

The Rio Duero and Rio Douro are actually the same river. The first is the Spanish name used where the river forms the border between Spain and Portugal and the second where it is inside Portugal. Ribera del Duero means bank of the river Duero. Kaye probably knows that already.

[Mike Buckley]

Kaye probably knows that already.

I didn't. Thanks for the explanation!

[Mike Buckley]

While we're comparing the Portuguese Douro and Spanish Ribera del Duero wine regions, keep in mind the grapes used in the two areas. Though the Douro sometimes produces wine made at least partially from Tempranillo grapes, it also produces wine made from several other grapes generally not produced in Ribera del Duero. Two primary examples are Touriga Francesa and Touriga Nacional grapes, which I think are indigenous to Portugal. Ribera del Duero red wine is usually Tempranillo on its own or more often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and/or Merlot. I'm not aware of any of those grapes being prominent in the Douro region.

[bnnrcn]

Thanks for your informative post Mike, a beautiful image indeed and your shooting angle has made it double beautiful