In my last post I criticized the 2002 Paolo Scavino Bricco Ambrigio Barolo. I didn't like the wine, but it is my hope that they never change the way they make it. By that I don't mean the barrels or yeasts they use, but that they never change the fact that they make their wines with passion and vision. It matters not one bit that I do not share their vision for what makes Barolo great. The only thing that matters is that in their soul they believe in the wine they make. If I don't like it I don't have to drink it.

There is an important difference between wines cynically manipulated to get points and those made by winemakers that feel in their gut that they are making the greatest expression of variety and vineyard they can attain. That sometimes those are the same characteristics that get points does not diminish their vision.

As wine critics tear apart the passion play that is winemaking it is important for them to remember that it matters not one bit if you like the wine, but only if it is made with great care and, most of all passion and vision. A critic does not need to share that vision to appreciate that wine. Such is the case here with the Scavino Barolo, the fact that I don't enjoy it does not mean that it is not great wine. It only means it is not great wine for me.