Written by: Krešimir Kožić, Vinski klub
How many times have you heard a sentence like: ‘This wine scored 90-something points, so that’s why I bought it’? And how many times did it leave you unimpressed? Probably quite often…
But does a review in specialist wine criticism actually meet the expectations of the average, or even the experienced, wine lover? The answer is complex, so we will try to simplify it.
The most common wine-scoring system is the 100-point scale devised by Robert Parker, used today by most wine critics. The 100-point scale is, however, rather confusing for the average consumer. Interestingly, Parker’s scale in fact begins at 50 points, not zero, which means the real scoring range is far narrower than it appears. ‘Decent’ wines start at 85 points; anything below that has some specific flaw and is essentially not recommended. We could simplify this scale even further by turning it into percentages. That means all wines from 85 upwards are very good, excellent or outstanding.
Wine criticism grades the scale as follows:
- 85 to 89 – good wines
- 90 to 94 – very good wines
- 95 to 98 – excellent wines
- 99 to 100 – benchmark wines
When we look at the statistical average, starting from wines of 85 points upward, in practice most rated wines fall in the 87 to 89 point range. So what exactly is being judged? To keep it short:
- quality of execution
- typicity of the variety or region
- ageing potential
- and finally – the overall impression
And all of this together makes up… a highly subjective assessment by the critic.
It often happens that a single wine receives 87, 90 and 92 points from three different critics. So who is right? Well… all of them.
Since this is a matter of subjective impression, the consumer is expected, through research and evaluation, to ‘get to know’ a particular critic’s palate in order to make sense of their scores. Some critics love powerful, tannic reds, others do not. With white wines, some prefer acidity and minerality, others the influence of oak, still others pronounced fruitiness, and so on.
So, pick up your phone! Find the score for a wine that interests you. Look for a critic who rated highly a wine you already enjoy drinking. That critic could prove useful for your future wine choices.
And what if three or more critics rate a wine at 98 to 99 points? Does that mean it is a ‘super wine’?
The answer lies in an anecdote… Recently I was at a dinner in one of Croatia’s finest steakhouses, and excellent wines were being poured. One of them was a red Chateauneuf-du-Pape that had earned that famous 97 to 99 points from the critics. Everyone was hugely impressed by the wine, except one person, who said: ‘This doesn’t do much for me… 93 points. Something’s missing…’ And that is perhaps the best proof that even 99 points does not guarantee satisfaction.
So it can very much happen that a wine highly praised by the critics does not appeal to you at all. Where is the catch? Wine critics are generally far more experienced than the average consumer and have a defined palate that, as we have already noted, subjectively values certain qualities in a wine.
Arm yourself with patience, and read wine reviews carefully and widely. Whenever the opportunity allows, be sure to taste the wines that interest you. Make your own list of favourite wines with brief notes on why you like them. Then you can hope that the wine-scoring system will become a little clearer to you.
Do not be afraid to explore. Wine reviews can be a useful tool if you use them correctly when choosing wine.
