What are Wine Scores?

The practice of assigning 'scores' has had an extraordinary effect on the wine market. They enable potential investors and traders to take a position and affect the market without necessarily knowing anything about the wine. They empower new wine drinkers to make decisions independently of wine traders. And because, unlike tasting notes, they can be understood universally, they can guide potential wine buyers all over the world. Wine scores, for example, played a part in Asia's dramatic and inflationary entry into the fine wine market in the 1990s

Scoring enables new, good, wine producers to make a name for themselves and their wines very much faster than ever before. The downside, for wine drinkers, is that prices inevitably rise steeply.

Who scores wines?

Well known wine writers and many others score wine. The prototype is that used by the America writer Robert Parker who did much to promote the controversial and highly influential practice of awarding scores as points out of 100, modelled on the American high school system. Many wine merchants, brokers and auction houses include wine scores in their wine descriptions and wineries use them to market their wine. The principle writers and the abbreviations used by the industry for them are:

Scores are generally written as follows: RP 85 advising the consumer that Robert Parker has awarded the wine 85 points out of 100. Some wines have a range of points, for example: RP (85-90), and this is usually because the wine was tasted and scored before bottling and finishing.

Below are detailed explanations of some of the individual schemes:

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Robert Parker is the most influential wine critic in the world. His bi-monthly newsletter, The Wine Advocate, was first publishing in 1978 and now has a profound effect both on prices and market demand for fine wines around the world. His Wine Advocate journal and related website use his version of the 100-point scale which, like the Wine Spectator, has 50 as the lowest possible score.

Parker's tastings are done in peer-group, single-blind conditions, which mean that the same types of wines are tasted at the same time, though the producer of each wine is not disclosed at the time of the tasting. In his journal, Parker notes that he gives every wine an initial 50 points. General color and appearance can merit up to 5 points. Aroma and bouquet merit up to 15 points. Flavor and finish merit up to 20 points. Finally, the "overall quality level or potential for further evolution and improvement-aging" merits up to 10 points. Parker explains his ratings in this way:

Robert Parker's influence on fine wine prices cannot be overstated. As one observer once noted, "When Robert Parker spits, the world listens". Historically the wines that Robert Parker gives high scores to, particularly scores over 90 points, tend to be the wines that show the biggest increase in value. Many Bordeaux producers now wait for Parker's ratings before setting the release price of their wines. Some wine critics have argued that some fine wines are now being produced in a style to please the world's most famous palate so that the requisite high Parker score will be accorded to the wine.

You may be interested in looking at our analysis of the effect of Robert Parker wine scores on price.

Wine Spectator's 100-Point Scale

The Wine Spectator is a longtime advocate of the popular 100-point rating scale. This is how the magazine explains its scoring "Wines are always tasted blind. Bottles are bagged and coded. Tasters are told only the general type of wine (varietal or region) and vintage. Price is not taken into account". The magazine says its ratings are based on "potential quality, on how good the wines will be when they are at their peaks".

Other Publications Using a 100-Point Scale

The 100-point system of rating wines has come into common use. Other reviewers who use it include Stephen Tanzer of International Wine Cellar, James Laube, author of California Wine, James Halliday, author of many books and reviews on Australian wines, and Allen Meadows of Burghound.com.

Five Star Rating Systems

Decanter magazine, an influential wine periodical in England, has a dedicated readership worldwide. This publication employs a 1- to 5-star rating system popularized by Michael Broadbent in his Great Vintage Wine Book. Decanter tastings are conducted blind, and participating panelists change with each tasting.

Other Rating Systems

Jancis Robinson uses scores out of 20, with the great majority of wines (though by no means all) scored somewhere between 15 and 18.5. You can see examples of wines which have been awarded full marks. She comments, however: "...I'm not a great fan of the conjunction of numbers and wine. Once numbers are involved, it is all too easy to reduce wine to a financial commodity rather than keep its precious status as a uniquely stimulating source of sensual pleasure and conviviality."

The quarterly Gambero Rosso, a respected Italian publication for Italian wines, uses what is essentially a 1-3 point rating system, though the magazine calls the symbols it awards "bicchieri", Italian for wine glasses. A single bicchiere means "above average to good in its category". Two bicchieri means "very good to excellent in its category". Three bicchieri means "outstanding in its category".

David Schildknecht of International Wine Cellar uses an asterisk system rather than a numerical rating. He describes his succinct rating system like this: "Wines designated with an asterisk were particularly impressive. Two asterisks signify a wine of clearly profound complexity". Like other critics, he stresses that purchase decisions should never be based solely on ratings. In general he gives wines either one or two asterisks.

Finding highly scored wines

Although you are unable to search by score on Wine-Searcher you will find that many of the merchants have included ratings as part of their descriptions.

You can find a full list of highly scored and award winning wines in our recommended wines page.