Dear Phil,
 
I wasn't trying to be duplicitous, I was trying to ascertain the provenance of the wines being offered by Grays after discovering the bottle I tried didn't match the published reviews.  The mention of Kemeny's was a stupid mistake on my behalf for not checking my facts properly first, not intended to be a trick in any way.  I did mention on my site that I had contacted you and that you were happy with the wine (see 26 February on the Archive page for February) and I'm not implying your response was untrue.
 
I don't have formal technical training, but I've been drinking and tasting and learning about wine for 40 years or so.  The bottle I tried of the wine I bought didn't present well, as I described, over 2 days.  I'm now awaiting Gray's assessment of the wine.  With regard to mousy characters, I've always regarded that as one indicator of brett or at least the dekkera form and a quick check of the Oxford Companion to Wine indicates that brett is one possible (and probably most common) cause of mousiness in wines.  I also believe from personal and reported experiences with brett that it can vary from bottle to bottle and seems to sometimes develop when a wine has been warmer than desirable.  Depending on when you despatched the wine to Grays and how they store the wine, that could be a possibility and that was one reason I checked with you to see if it had perhaps been sitting around in a distributors warehouse somewhere.
 
I have been critical of Grays in the past due to them publishing erroneous descriptions on some wines listed (and being slow to correct them when advised) and as they are essentially acting as clearance and remainder agents for wineries in many cases I think they could have a better returns policy.
 
I am happy to publish your email in full (and this reply) and will do so tomorrow in case you want to reply to this one from me.
 
My apologies for causing distress, I don't publish a criticism of a wine unless I'm personally convinced there is an issue and the bottle I tried certainly didn't present as expected.  I sometimes get confirmation of my opinion from readers who bought the same wine, in this case I haven't had any emails on the wine at all.  If you have a look back through the archives of my site you will see I'm a big supporter of small wineries and independent wine merchants.
 
Regards
Brian Handreck

 
From: Phil Sexton [mailto:phil@innocentbystander.com.au]
Sent: Thursday, 8 March 2007 6:56 PM
To: Brian Handreck
Subject: Sexton Jones Block Shiraz 2004

 
Hullo Brian
I was referred to your website earlier this week and read, with interest, your comments about our wine.
Last week, when you emailed my office, I felt that I addressed your questions promptly and frankly.
When you emailed again asking if we were the makers of a Kemeny wine, we again answered promptly and frankly.
I feel a little naive now: you never disclosed that you were involved with a publication.
I realize now that the Kemeny question may have been a trick: to see if we would confirm something you seemed to know.

Reading your article, I was surprised to see the words "mousy, metallic and brettanomyces".
When you asked, I explained truthfully why the wine was being sold at reduced prices through Grays.
But I now realize you were coming from somewhere else: you imply that the wine is faulty and by extension, that we are dumping it.
In doing so, we are unsure if you are trying to discredit Grays (why reprint their return policy if you were not) or us.
As I provided you with an answer, you are implying that my answer was not truthful.

The independent small wine industry is a very small industry.  We make no secret of the reality that business is tough: we often must sell wine however we can, just to stay in business.
We find it very difficult to find markets amongst the ruck and noise of the majors: both retailer and producer.
Most of us do this because we love wine and are driven to make even better wine.
It is fundamental to us that we not be involved with, or sell faulty wine.

If your site is a service to consumers, why would you not at least report my answers to your questions?
You appear critical of Grays for belatedly responding, yet make no mention of my immediate and frank responses.

I presume that you have technical expertise, as you use technical descriptors for several wine faults.
I was confused though, by the combined use of the terms “mousy” and ‘brett”. This implies that the wine would have been infected by two different spoilage organisms.
It is like having Cholera and Typhoid at the same time.  

In the light of your publication, we were concerned to quickly determine if unknowingly, we indeed had these problems.
Indeed Grays requested background advice from us and our wine is presently withdrawn from sale.

We have tasted this wine regularly and have referred to our records:
 

Upon reading your article, we immediately initiated further 4-EP and 4-EG analysis through the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI).
Same time, we submitted samples to an expert tasting panel convened by Wine Network Australia requesting a sensory analysis report (without disclosing the nature of our concern)

I can now confirm for you that:
 

We are very concerned that publication by you of these remarks is damaging to us.
We take our reputation as a competent and professional wine grower/maker very seriously.
Our livelihoods depend upon this.

We respect your opinion not to like our wine, but advise you that this wine is free of faults and taints and request that you correct these statements as soon as possible.


Yours faithfully
Phil Sexton
Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander