This month we want to talk about wine ratings. How much attention do you pay to ratings when making a purchase? How much attention SHOULD you pay? Rating individual wines is a relatively recent phenomenon. The noted guru, Robert Parker, is really the person who started it all. He began as a rank novice who became fascinated with wines. At the time, 30 years ago, French wines were considered the world standard. Parker went to France and began to learn and taste, and to sort out the best from the rest. He found this wasn’t easy. There are literally thousands of labels in Burgundy and Bordeaux. He was forced to rely on the claims of the winemakers themselves, who promoted their wares aggressively whether the wines were good or not. Parker quickly discovered that the quality of the wines he was drinking was not always up to the expected standard. With the prices that were being charged, he realized that unsophisticated consumers had no way to know what they were getting, and were often being ripped off. Parker devised his now-famous 100-point system to guide him through this chaos of competing claims.
Parker does have a great palate, and is scrupulously honest. After a while, others began to pick up on his recommendations and comments. Eventually, he began writing a newsletter (Wine Advocate--with no advertising) that featured his tasting notes, and wine retailers and consumers began to key on his reviews as a way of making purchasing decisions. So, wine ratings began as something to help the consumer get a better deal and to remove them from the clutches of unethical winemakers, who had no incentive to tell the truth when it might cost them money. Robert Parker has become the most powerful and famous person in the wine business. His rating can make or break a wine. Because he does not always like what he drinks, and because big money and reputations are at stake, some French winemakers will no longer allow Parker to rate their wines.
Parker is but a single individual. He customarily tastes hundreds of wines in a single day. It is difficult to see how one person could sample so many wines in such a short period and still get it right. Also, Parker has a definite preference for big, hearty reds with a certain taste profile. Because his preference is well known, there are winemaking consultants now who travel from region to region, and even country to country, advising winemakers on how to achieve a flavor profile that will result in a high rating from him. The man who started as a hero to wine drinkers now finds the world of wine being manipulated to accommodate his tastes. Parker remains so powerful because there are still too many competing wines for consumers to sort through by themselves, and because there are too many consumers who do not have enough confidence in their own palates to make their own decisions.
There is nothing wrong with referring to a Parker rating if you have no other point of reference. But it is unlikely that any single person is going to have the same palate as yours. It is a mistake to rely on Parker’s taste when, left to your own devices, you might prefer a more refined or delicate wine that Parker might disdain. Personally, I pay little attention to Parker ratings, except for the times when his rating and the price point intersect. A new line of Australian wines last year received mid-90s ratings from Parker and were priced under $20! That is a confluence that the consumer should pay attention to.
After Parker, Wine Spectator magazine began to rate wines also. They do it slightly differently. WS has seven editors, each of whom tastes wines from a specific country or area. Wines are always tasted blind, in flights organized by varietal, appellation, or region. Price is not taken into account. Published reviews are usually personally initialed by the taster, so theoretically it would be possible to get a fix on individual preferences. Like Robert Parker, WS also uses a 100-point system: 95-100= Classic, a great wine; 90-94= Outstanding, superior character and style; 85-89= Very good; 80-84= Good; 75-79= Mediocre; and 50-74= Not recommended.
A recent issue of Wine Spectator featured reviews of 610 new releases from around the world. Here is how the ratings broke down: 95-100= 7 wines; 90-94= 210 wines; 85-89= 351 wines; 80-84= 42 wines; and 75-79= 6 wines. Now here are some questions for you: (1) What is the difference between a wine rated 89 and one rated 90? Would you buy the 90 if it cost $10 more? (2) How do you compare a white French Burgundy rated 90 with a German Riesling rated 90? (3) When you have 351 wines rated 85-89, how useful is that information in making purchasing decisions? (4) There are literally hundreds of wines that are not rated at all because they are unique, or from an unusual country, or due to limited production. Do you just ignore those wines? (5) What does a rating really say about the pleasure YOU are likely to get from a particular wine? These are reasonable questions to be asking yourself.
All wine shops utilize “shelf-talkers”, those small plastic tabs above the bins that give the wine’s rating and usually some tasting notes. They obviously help to sell wine, and Frugal MacDoogal is in the business like anyone else. If a rating by Parker or Wine Spectator (in conjunction with cost) is your only consideration, then put the bottle in the cart and proceed to checkout. However, the point we want to leave with you is that there is no substitute for a relationship with a real wine expert who understands your palate and preferences. When you buy something just because Parker gave it a 90, you may be passing up a wine in the next bin that you would like better that wasn’t rated at all, and is $10 a bottle less expensive. You’ll never know what you’re missing if you key on ratings as your only point of reference. Let the wine guys help you sort through the ratings and you’ll be drinking better wines at better prices!
Photo credits: Jerry Hall | 2BSEEN. (Photo of Robert Parker from www.eRobertParker.com).
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