Uncorked: James Suckling

Having worked with the American magazine Wine Spectator for nearly 30 years, James Suckling branched out in 2010 with his own website jamessuckling.com. From there, he has since developed his own brand and become one of the most prominent wine critics today. From his ultra-early Bordeaux en primeur wine scores to his Great Wines series event in Asia and the US, the American wine critic always seems to be able to generate buzz in the wine world. Last Friday, Suckling sat down with dbHK prior to his annual Great Wines of the World event in Hong Kong (3 Nov) to talk about a 1966 Lafite that his father served him, his unusual source of happiness, as well as the worst wine he ever rated and the maximum number of wines he tastes a day.

What vintage are you? 

1958. It’s a very good year for vintage Port and Barolo. Bordeaux wasn’t a very good vintage. 1959 on the other hand was great. Sometimes I have to lie and say I was born in ’59, but you can find some good wines in ’58. It was right after the frost. There was a big frost in Bordeaux, so there was only limited production due to the weather hazard. but you can find some good vintage Port and Barolo. And my 60th [birthday] is coming up, so I have been stocking up. It’s hard to generalise [the vintage] because you have France, and all the other places in the world. Here’s a good one. My birth year in California (where I was born) is actually a good vintage. Beaulieu Vineyard, Inglenook made some great wines. It was a benchmark for California when it proved that it makes great wines that can age and has longevity that are still drinking well today. So let’s say they are old but vigorous.

What bottle sparked your love of wine? 

I remember vividly it was a 1966 Lafite that my father served me. Back then, he was a collector and a tax lawyer and lived in Beverly Hills. I remember he was pouring out wines, and I wasn’t that interested initially. Then, when I was in university and brought my girlfriend back, my dad served the 1966 Lafite, and it was like ‘wow’. This is the wine that made me finally understand how amazing it is and how ethereal and evocative it is. It was amazing but there was a story behind it as well. My dad can tell the stories about the vintage, the winery and it really got me interested in wine.

What would you be as a wine? 

I guess I would probably be a vintage Port. I wrote a book about vintage Port. It was my first and last book I will write. Port is such a historic drink, long lived, fortified, sort of under value and under estimated, but it’s something to be reckoned with.

Where are you happiest? 

On Cathay Pacific. I don’t know. It’s probably a bad sign when you like to fly with all the miles that I have. You know you are working too much when you sleep best on a plane. That’s a joke though. I do like to fly. When I am not travelling or tasting or at home in Hong Kong, or at my house in Tuscany, there’s always something going on. But there’s something about flying that’s really chill on a plane, especially on a long haul flight. There’s no phone, you can rest, you can watch a movie, there’s no distraction. Today, it has become so crazy with all the communication and social media – it’s just hard to find some quiet time for yourself. That sounds odd, but I have three million miles on American Airlines. I don’t want to be George Clooney in ‘Up In The Air’ though.

What’s your greatest vice? 

Dry cleaning at hotels. It’s really nice cause your shirts are perfectly folded and perfectly done.

Best advice you ever got? 

Just recently with Jack Ma (founder of Alibaba group) when I had lunch with him. He said, “in business you will never fail, if you are strong at B2B. If you go B2C, a lot of it is just fashion, and you won’t have consistent growth”. So that was really a significant advice he gave me.

Your cellar’s underwater, which bottle would you dive in and save?

Again I would probably dive in an save a bottle of Aldo Conterno Barolo 1958, because I like to drink wines that are significant to my life by vintages or that someone gave me as gifts. There’s something about the wine. It means more more than just the liquid in the bottle.

What’s the best and worst thing about the wine business? 

The best thing is the people, and the worst thing about it is the people.

What’s on your wine bucket list? 

I want to taste a 100-point Beaujolais because when you go and see the terroir, the old vines, I think there’s actual possibility, and there would be a perfect Beaujolais that could rank with the best Burgundy or wines from Côte d’Or. My dream is to find that. People often limit their wines, and Beaujolais is one of these wines that people think would never get 100 points, but I believe it can.

What about a 100-point Chinese wine?

I am not sure I will live to see that, but I think anything can happen.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? 

I guess I would invite my dad. He is 90 years old and is not very mobile, so I don’t get to see him a lot, but he is the one that got me interested in wine. And he still enjoys drinking a great bottle. Last time I saw him I brought him a 2005 Lafite.

Personal satisfaction (out of 100 points)?

I guess I would say 96. I know Trump would give himself a 100. I have done a lot as a wine critic but there’s still a lot more to do.

Which wine would you like to be served at your funeral?

I thought about it a few times when I was walking around my cellar. I probably would serve the 2000 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Riserva. That’s the one I gave a 100-points. It’s just such an ethereal and amazing wine. Bruno Giacosa has always been an inspiration to me, so I have a few cases of that. I am not promising anything.

What is your definition of a great wine?

Let’s say a perfect wine is a wine that touches all of your senses but also your emotions. A 100-point perfect wine is like falling in love head over heels. We can judge a great wine based on accepted criteria like the balance, the acidity, the harmony, the length, but in the end a really great wine somehow touches your emotions.

On a daily basis, what’s the maximum number of wines you taste as a wine critic? 

I guess 150. That’s on rare occasions, I don’t like to taste that many. But some days when I had to get it done, and I’ve done it. It’s really gruelling.

What is the lowest score you’ve given to a wine?

I’ve given 55 points once. All I remember was the tasting note was ‘tastes like a week-old gravy’. It might have been an Italian wine, but it was a long time ago.

What’s the best part of being a wine critic? 

It’s still really fun and interesting, intellectually stimulating at the same time. In a sense, it’s fun to taste wines and analyse them, and try to figure out why they have a particular character, and then because we actually taste the wines from where they are made, and go to the vineyards, talk to the people. So actually you can connect all the dots, I enjoy that more than anything. Just being in the field, learning about the wine, talking to people, that’s the best part.

What are your other interests outside of wine? 

I like to play tennis. Obviously Asian food, but with running your own business, you don’t have a lot of free time.