en retrait

English translation: slightly inferior to previous years

09:03 Feb 6, 2015
French to English translations [PRO]
Wine / Oenology / Viticulture
French term or phrase: en retrait
Description du millisme 1900:


Très comparables au 1899, leur richessse, leur souplesse et leur velouté leur ont donné une supériorité tardive sur l'année précédente. Les blancs secs sont excellents quoique légèrement en retrait. Une très grande année pour les Sauternes avec des vins d'une grande élégance.
Karen Henry
Local time: 16:56
English translation:slightly inferior to previous years
Explanation:
A suggestion
Selected response from:

James Peel
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:56
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
2 +5slightly inferior to previous years
James Peel
3 +2slightly reticent (on the nose)
Yvonne Gallagher
4To fall short
Naciye Otar
3 +1not quite up to the standard of ...
B D Finch
4although slightly sub-par
Francis Marche
4yields are lower
Carol Gullidge
Summary of reference entries provided
en retrait
Charles Davis

Discussion entries: 34





  

Answers


24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
To fall short


Explanation:
The white wine being expected to be at the same level as the previous one, this one fell short (slightly short).

Naciye Otar
Türkiye
Local time: 18:56
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench, Native in TurkishTurkish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Carol Gullidge: can you explain what you mean by "white wine… at the same level as the previous one"? Are you talking about the quality here?//For me, "the whites are excellent, albeit poorer quality" simply doesn't work
29 mins
  -> My interpretation is more about rating in this instance.
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28 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +5
slightly inferior to previous years


Explanation:
A suggestion

James Peel
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:56
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Carol Gullidge: No, I believe this refers to production/yields, and not to the quality of the wine itself. Try googling "en retrait" + "vin", and you'll see what I mean!//For me, "the whites are excellent, albeit slightly inferior" simply doesn't work!
23 mins
  -> See my comment on your entry - but I am no expert here - hence my certainty level of 2 for my answer!

agree  Edgar Bettridge: definitely can refer to yield, or quality or for that matter price. However, I think quality fits better in context.
41 mins
  -> Thanks Edgar

agree  Charles Davis: See reference: previous year, not years, but does refer to quality. Maybe something like "not quite as good (as 1899)" would give it the right emphasis.
52 mins
  -> Thanks Charles - yes you are quite right - the context is there, so better would just be "slightly inferior" without anything after it

neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: how can it be "inferior" and "excellent" simultaneously? Doesn't make any sense.
1 hr

agree  Georgie Scott: But I don't like the phrasing. I'd go with "not quite as good as" or something less negative.
1 hr

agree  James A. Walsh: I'd go with "not quite as good as", too.
4 hrs

agree  acetran
9 days
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
not quite up to the standard of ...


Explanation:
"excellents quoique légèrement en retrait" > excellent, even if not quite up to the standard of ...

B D Finch
France
Local time: 16:56
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Charles Davis: I'm convinced this is the sense
8 mins
  -> Thanks Charles
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
quoique légèrement en retrait
although slightly sub-par


Explanation:
"légèrement en retrait" is non-specific as to the taste itself (unlike the E "reticent").

About a bottle of chateauneuf-du-pape :
Had this bottle completely to myself since others were not drinking. This bottle was generally consistent with my previous notes ***although slightly sub-par***. I'm wondering if this is going through a bit of an awkward stage, or if there is some slight bottle variation at play.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?Classic=1&PrinterFrien...


Francis Marche
France
Local time: 16:56
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench, Native in EnglishEnglish
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
slightly reticent (on the nose)


Explanation:
is how I'd read this, the wine is "holding back" not giving yup its aromas immediately.


Carol may be right and it's about yield but I don't see "chiffres" mentioned anywhere?
I also don't see how wine can be "excellent" and "inferior" at the sametime?

http://www.macchiawines.com/Education/Glossary
http://renaissancevintners.com/tag/white-wine/
Will improve, as is slightly reticent initially.
http://www.wine-pages.com/forum/tnotes/bord03.htm
http://www.wine-pages.com/forum/tnotes/france.htm
http://www.angelbeckswine.com/items/cellar_notes?itemid=4341...

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Note added at 2 hrs (2015-02-06 11:04:47 GMT)
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http://www.specialitywines.com/usa_wines.html
Monte Bello
Proprietary Red
Ridge

RP - The just-bottled 2010 Monte Bello combines pure structure and power in a rich, full-bodied style for this wine. Waves of dark red fruit, crushed rocks, flowers, mint and grilled herbs wrap around the long, insistent finish. Today, the 2010 is slightly more reticent than it was last year, but the wine comes to life the more it sits in the glass.

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Note added at 9 hrs (2015-02-06 18:41:52 GMT)
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I really don't have the time (or inclination for that matter)to get into a long discussion (or more likely, a contradiction) about this or go searching for examples. However, I will say that (unlike some people commenting here) I have a lot of experience in translating wine texts (from French) over many years and I HAVE come upon this term before with THIS meaning.
I honestly can't see how "inferior" would fit here even though you have 3 answerers suggesting this. None of them have provided any examples to prove this. The context imo is NOT at all clearcut but "inferior" just isn't logical.

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 15:56
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  James Peel: The sentence is about the 1900 wines, and starts with "compared to the 1899 vintage" - hence the whites are excellent, although slightly inferior - see Charles's research below
4 mins
  -> makes no sense at all imo

agree  Georgie Scott: Potentially this too :) I think the context could just as much argue in favour of this reading, even if "en retrait" normally seems to be used as a comparison.
42 mins
  -> many thanks...busy so no time to search for examples in Fr but have used this before

agree  Carol Gullidge: I've changed my mind after further research reveals a pretty close match (see Suggestions box!)
1 hr
  -> Many thanks Carol...up to my eyes today so no time to get into discusssion...
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46 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
yields are lower


Explanation:
production has fallen slightly

This is in fact about the production figures rather than describing the wine itself.

Collins: "en retrait…. notre chiffre d'affaires est en léger retrait par rapport aux années précédentes -> turnover has dropped slightly compared to previous years"

Vin : la France détrône l'Italie et retrouve son premier rang
www.lesechos.fr/0203884414522.htm
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23 Oct 2014 - 2014 sera la plus petite récolte de vin italien en soixante cinq ans. La production mondiale est en retrait de 6 %, selon les estimations de l'OIV…

12 La France redevient championne du monde de la ...
www.leparisien.fr/.../la-france-redevient-championne-...
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23 Oct 2014 - La France redevient en 2014 le premier producteur mondial de vin ... qui s' annonce pourtant «moyenne», et en retrait après les records de …

Le marché du vin en chiffres - SudOuest.fr
www.sudouest.fr/.../le-marche-du-vin-en-chiffres-177... - Translate this page
25 Dec 2014 - Un spécialiste de l'agroalimentaire du Crédit agricole décrit le marché mondial du vin en 2014. La production (271 millions d'hl) est en retrait …

[PDF]Vins tranquilles en grande distribution - FranceAgriMer
www.franceagrimer.fr/.../SYN-VIN-2014 Vins tranq...
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l'année 2012, l'offre des vins tranquilles, dont l'exposition en linéaire est en retrait cette année, évolue moins vite que celle des autres boissons alcoolisées, ...
[PDF]

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Note added at 13 days (2015-02-20 08:50:55 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Post grading: Karen, I could have sworn that you had decided - more than once - on Gallagy's "reticent", which is what would have gone into The Glossary... :(


Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:56
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 32

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  James Peel: I'm not so sure - in all of your examples, this is indeed the meaning - but the core meaning of "en retrait" is that of something going backwards. In this context, it has just described the quality of the reds and goes on to the quality of the Sauternes
6 mins
  -> See Collins for other valid senses of "en retrait", including the one included in the original posting. I agree the syntax looks odd, but in my experience of literally hundreds of similar texts, this isn't at all unusual!

neutral  Georgie Scott: This is how I read it first time, but with Charles' context I think James' answer is more accurate. I agree, "en retrait" would normally be about yield, but mention of yield here seems inconsistent to me.
1 hr
  -> Thanks anyway! In fact, I'm now pretty much convinced that my very first instinct (before changing my mind several times and posting this) of "reticent" is the way to go.
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Reference comments


1 hr peer agreement (net): +3
Reference: en retrait

Reference information:
This expression is used in more than one sense in relation to wine. It can refer to yield, as Carol's references show. It can also refer, in other contexts, to an aspect of the flavour that is not in the forefront:

"Il dévoile une fraîche minéralité, légèrement en retrait par rapport aux arômes plus concentrés de fruits jaunes"
http://www.vins-guadeloupe.com/les-bourgognes-blanc

But I don't think either of these meanings is involved here. The context is a comparison of the quality of 1900 wines with 1899, "l'année précédente", and I believe that the sense of "en retrait" is the one indicated by James: that the dry whites are slightly down (in quality) on the previous year; "excellents quoique légèrement en retrait" indicates that "en retrait" qualifies "excellents": it refers to quality.

The context in which this statement is made tends to confirm this, I think. This may well be the very text Karen is translating, so I will not quote the source, though anyone who wants to can find it by Googling.

"Description du millésime 1900
L'année du nouveau siècle dans tous les sens du terme ! Très comparables au 1899, leur richessse, leur souplesse et leur velouté leur ont donné une supériorité tardive sur l'année précédente. Les blancs secs sont excellents quoique légèrement en retrait. Une très grande année pour les Sauternes avec des vins d'une grande élégance."

This comment comes just below the ratings for 1900, which are as follows:
"Notation du millésime 1900 - France, Bordeaux, Blanc liquoreux 19/20
Notation du millésime 1900 - France, Bordeaux, Rouge 19/20
Notation du millésime 1900 - France, Bordeaux, Blanc sec 16/20"

Here are the ratings for 1899:
"Blanc liquoreux 17/20
Blanc sec 17/20
Rouge 17/20"

And for 1898:
"Blanc liquoreux 14/20
Blanc sec 14/20
Rouge 14/20"

And for 1897 (don't buy these!):
"Blanc liquoreux 8/20
Blanc sec 8/20
Rouge 8/20"

And for 1896:
"Blanc liquoreux 17/20
Blanc sec 17/20
Rouge 17/20"

So "en retrait" means that at 16/20 the dry whites are very good but not quite as good as 1899, when they were rated 17/20. On the other hand, the sweet whites and reds, which were also very good in 1899 at 17/20, are exceptional in 1900 at 19/20.

The figures also show that the comparison is only with 1899, the previous year, not with previous years.

Charles Davis
Spain
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  James Peel: Fantastic research, Charles!
14 mins
  -> Thanks, James!
neutral  Carol Gullidge: Good research, although I'm still out on my verdict regarding the interpretation! My first instinct was indeed that the question was about quality and not quantity, until I checked in Collins, which comes down firmly on the side of production.
43 mins
  -> Well, the answer seems to be that it often does refer to production but doesn't have to, and I really don't think it does here.
agree  Georgie Scott: Context changes everything!
1 hr
  -> Absolutely! Thanks :)
agree  acetran
9 days
  -> Thanks, acetran :)
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