110:-oriented, did not shy from criticising wines that Finigan thought were substandard, and quickly became popular. In 1977, Finigan added a national edition of his newsletter, and was to some extent also read outside the US. Finigan's base in Bordeaux was at his friend Alexis Lichine's Chateau Prieure Lichine in Margaux. Robert was such a close friend to Alexis that he literally had the keys to the Châteaux. Even if Alexis was not in Bordeaux at the Châteaux, the housekeepers were told to treat Robert with the same courtesy as though Alexis were at home. Robert was very accustomed to tasting the Bordeaux of the 'house' every time he was at the Prieure. In 1975, while at the Chateau he tasted and reported on the fabulous vintages of Prieure and Lascombes 61, 62, and 64. ( see The Pope of Wine- the biography of Alexis Lichine in the selected publications).
127:. However, when he tried the barrel samples, he was generally disappointed, and found the wines too alcoholic and lacking in flavor. He therefore gave the 1982 Bordeaux vintage a fairly bad review in the March 30, 1983 edition of his newsletter, and recommended his readers buying Bordeaux wines of the 1980 and 1981 vintages instead.
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Another US wine critic who tasted the 1982s from barrel was Robert M. Parker, Jr., who at this time was much less established than
Finigan. Parker gave the 1982s the highest possible acclaim, described them as one of greatest Bordeaux vintages of the century, and predicted steep price increases for
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In
September 1972, Finigan published the first issue of "Robert Finigan's Private Guide to Wines". As a subscriber to "Jack Shelton's Private Guide to Restaurants" (which he later bought), Finigan's intention was to do to the wine scene what Shelton did to restaurants, and covered Californian and
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After more and more critics adopted Parker's view on the 1982 Bordeaux vintage and prices rose, Finigan's influence as a wine critic started to decline, while Parker achieved his breakthrough. In the late 1980s
Finigan was considered much less influential than Parker and several others.
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In March 1983, Finigan was one of very few US wine writers or critics to travel to
Bordeaux for the tasting from the barrel of the 1982 vintage. In late 1982, Finigan had reported in his newsletter on the enthusiastic early evaluations coming out of Bordeaux from proprietors like
89:. After tasting the unbottled wines from cask, Finigan was unimpressed and advised against buying, and it turned out that this evaluation was later reflected in other critics' evaluations of the vintage.
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had not reached national popularity, but was primarily consumed on the west coast. Several business trips to Europe also offered him opportunities to become acquainted with
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some years later, Finigan initially rated wines in four broad quality categories: Outstanding, Above
Average, Average and Well Below Average. Finigan's newsletter was
44:, where one of his classmates came from a French wine-producing family. After having completed his studies, he moved to San Francisco in 1967 to take up a position in
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wine regions. His first opportunity to try his hand on wine criticism came in 1970, when San
Francisco wine merchant company Esquin's asked him to evaluate the 1969
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His newsletter was eventually cancelled in 1990, but
Finigan remained an influential San Francisco restaurant critic.
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Hennessy, Leslie A. The Pope of Wine- a biography of Alexis
Lichine. SF: Montrachet Publishing, 2009.
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concurred with Parker, while
Finigan strongly stood by his negative evaluation of the vintage.
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Robert
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The Emperor of Wine: The rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr., and the reign of American taste
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22:(September 22, 1943 – October 1, 2011) was an American
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Food and Wine Critic Robert Finigan (radio interview)
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287:"Robert Finigan, an Early Wine Critic, Dies at 68"
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188:Corks and Forks: Thirty Years of Wine and Food
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285:Prial, Frank J. (2011-10-11).
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191:. Shoemaker & Hoard.
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185:Finigan, Robert (2006).
162:Finigan, Robert (1987).
52:wines, at a time when
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506:American wine critics
156:Selected publications
104:Robert M. Parker, Jr.
46:management consulting
222:McCoy, Elin (2005).
460:The Emperor of Wine
437:The Emperor of Wine
414:The Emperor of Wine
391:The Emperor of Wine
368:The Emperor of Wine
345:The Emperor of Wine
322:The Emperor of Wine
141:through its writer
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121:Jean-Pierre Moueix
42:Harvard University
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349:. pp.
326:. pp.
50:Napa Valley
495:Categories
304:2020-02-11
271:2008-03-23
210:References
133:en primeur
93:Newsletter
86:en primeur
70:Portuguese
28:restaurant
299:0362-4331
170:. Knopf.
33:based in
108:consumer
100:Bay Area
78:Bordeaux
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397:103–104
81:vintage
74:Spanish
66:Italian
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62:German
58:French
31:critic
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328:40–41
486:KQED
295:ISSN
266:KQED
234:ISBN
193:ISBN
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123:and
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