Halliday's palate

In response to Byron's and other comments about Halliday's high rating of Melton's 2002 Cabernet: Halliday himself says he is 'generous' with his Australian tasting notes. The use of numerical scores for wines highlights the problems of rating scales in general (sorry to be so academic). When reading any wine writer's reviews, one must take into account the palate of the reviewer. We do so when reading Robert Parker, and should so the same with Halliday. He is easily overcome by high fruit and alcohol levels as well as oak. He doesn't mind added acidity. I read a few more reviews of the 2002 Melton Cab. Most rated it below 95 and all praised it as a good example of Barossa Cab, none compared it to any classical style (Bordeaux) cabs.

Halliday does not taste blind; either did we, so our opinions have to be influenced by what we expect to be drinking and of course what our personal preferences are. I happen to like Barossa style wines, like Charles Melton, Rockford, and some of Torbreck's lower priced (and lower oaked) wines. It may have to do with familiarity (I don't drink much Bordeaux), but I really liked those 2 top Bordeaux. I guess I like ripe grapes and tanins on par with the fruit level of the wines. I don't shy away from higher alcohols like Byron (and Jordan Louviere), but I do like them in balance with the rest of the wine.