I just realized that I have written many posts about wine and each one has two scores, a star rating and a potential x/100 score. Let me explain…..
I am not a pro wine critic, just an amateur like you. I do drink boatloads of it though and I try to educate myself with magazines and books. Robert Parker, famous in the wine world as the de-facto wine critic is the man behind The Wine Advocate. His rating system awards points for the following, starting at a base of 50 and working up from there:
Color and appearance- 5 points
Aroma and bouquet-15 points
Flavor and finish- 20 points
Overall quality level or potential for further evolution and improvement—aging- 10 points.
The other system from across the pond uses a 20 point scale and also a star that corresponds with the score. Each critic will argue the virtues of their system and the shortfalls of the competition, at the end of the day, it’s just numbers. Wine is dynamic, personal and subject to so many variables that you should not simply “buy on ratings”. Whilst I respect all the pros, I have on numerous occasions- disagreed with them. I score my wines on a point system. If Wine Spectator gives a $500 bottle of Chateau Go Fock Yourself a 99 point rating, I may only give it 2 stars. You see, it’s all about perspective- for $500, I want my socks to get blown off, an ethereal experience and possibly an orgasm. Realistically, you will be very disappointed in a wine that costs that much and doesn’t deliver the aforementioned. Hence the 2 stars, whilst a $12 bottle with excellent flavors and a good aging potential will get 5 stars from me- an overachiever… Pretty simple really.
So, why do I include ‘professional’ tasters scores? Because I have drunk enough wine in my day to know that so-and-so will give it 88, or 91 points. Their scoring is very straight forward and easy to learn, with experience. Quantifying it as an actual consumer is harder, hence my role as the point man. So, I use an educated guess or actual rating to let you know what I/the pro’s would rate a wine out of 100 points, and then add my stars so you know whether I think it’s a good wine or not. Like I said, it’s dynamic, and it’s all personal. So, unless you are buying for investment, don’t read too much into numbers. Salut
Wine reviews 