Just reported by the Speculator with the link to the story here.
Any predictions or speculations? Certainly our very own David A has some opinions!

I predict they will have someone else reviewing the regions Suckling used to review!!

Maybe Parker will take the job!!

Wow? He's not that old. I wonder if he's ok, I mean health wise. Either that, or he's just decided that living in Italy is too good. Gotta be hard to give up all that free vino though. Something doesn't smell quite right.

You know, the guy has been at it for 30 years!
My guess is that he has enough wine to last him the rest of his life and, at this point, how much more can it really mean to him?

How much wine do you need to have until enough is enough??

I mean really.

Yeah, but what if 2010 is the vintage of the century somewhere? Think of all the legendary wines he is passing on.

Maybe Antinori is bringing him in as a partner? Suckling sure did earn it over the year giving Piero's enterprises many kudo's and great reviews.

Maybe Suckling takes over Bordeaux at WA? It's going to take some big shoes to fill Parker's slot in Bordeaux, but it's going to happen some day...

It would certainly suggest a reason for the "see ya" send off that Suckling got from WS.

-Larry

Sal,

From what I have heard, Jimmy and Piero were pretty tight. I will always remember Jimmy's line from the end of "Mondovino": "You know some people say I invented the term Super Tuscan".

Two things made me realize what a putz Suckling is. In one article he wrote he bashed the wines that had been made by the Prunotto winery before Antinori bought it, and praised the wines after Piero's three daughters took over. Little did he know that the wines made by Sr. Colla in the old school style before the takeover are considered (by me, at least) some of the greatest examples of traditional Barolo and Barbaresco ever made. Suckling, among other things, said they were "boring", which tells me he is either an incompetent critic or, more probably, never tasted them.

The second was when he claimed no great wine was ever made in Italy before the 1990 vintage becaiuse they did not have the proper vineyard management techniques nor proper technology in the cellar.

I say good riddance to bad rubbish. dc.

I inferred the same thing - a "yeah, bye, whatever" sort of tone. Not sure why I sense it, but the third ear picks up on it.

The problem with critics in general is that people give them way too much credence.

Nothing particularly wrong with people having the opinion Suckling expressed, as long as they are easily ignored.

I think we can ALL name wines, styles and even regions that "famous critics" have bashed, ignored or completely misunderstood. Which just brings me back to the concept of who needs critics when we have the internet and our own experience.

I proudly say that I haven't read a WS or WA since I closed the shop and haven't missed them in the slightest.

Others have picked up on it too.

Here: http://www.decanter.com/news/news.php?id=300137