THE ROBERT M. PARKER WINE RATING SYSTEM (100 POINTS)
Robert McDowell Parker Jr. is a retired American wine reviewer born on July 23, 1947. He created the Robert M. Parker 100 point wine rating system. This wine rating tool and his newsletter, “The Wine Advocate,” have had a significant impact on the wine industry and, as a result, play an important role in pricing newly released Bordeaux wines. Through his work, he has become the world’s most well-known and influential wine reviewer in modern times.
Wine criticism was usually supportive of wine production or trade until the 1970s. Consumers were unconcerned about the potential conflict of interest that could arise from such a tight association since they read wine reviews to learn more about the world of wine, not necessarily for guidance on how to get quality value for their money. As a result, before Robert Parker, wine critics almost always had a connection to wine production or trading.
Robert Parker’s 100-point rating system, which he created with his friend Victor Morgenroth, is one of the most influential and contentious aspects of his wine criticism. Parker developed the technique to combat what he saw as ambiguous or exaggerated ratings by other wine writers, many of whom he accused of having a conflict of interest because they often had a financial stake in the wines they assessed.
Also read: Wine Cultures of Ancient Greece
The scale, which has since been widely duplicated by other publications such as Wine Spectator, assigns a score to each wine based on its odor, color, appearance, bouquet, flavor, and overall quality level or potential.
100-Point Wine Rating Scale:
- 96—100 – Extraordinary on a 100-point wine scale
- 90–95 – Exceptional
- 80–89 – Slightly above average to excellent
- 70–79 – Average
- 60–69 — Lower than Average
- 50–59 – Unacceptable
Parker is well-known for tasting and rating some of the world’s most prominent and expensive wines. He has undoubtedly sampled most of the world’s best wines.
The Nuts and Bolts of the History of the 100-Point Rating System
- Robert Parker is a wine critic and lawyer known for his influential wine reviews and ratings. He began his career as a wine critic in the 1970s and quickly gained a reputation for his in-depth and critical reviews of wines.
- In 1978, Parker founded The Wine Advocate, a newsletter and website that reviews and rates wines worldwide. The Wine Advocate has a large and loyal following, and it is widely regarded as one of the most influential wine publications in the world.
- Parker’s 100-point wine scoring system has become widely accepted in the wine industry, and many wine critics and publications now use it to rate and review wines. The system is based on a scale from 50 to 100 points, with 50 being the lowest score and 100 being the highest.
- The 100-point wine scoring system has been praised and criticized over the years. Some people believe that it is an effective and objective way to evaluate wines. In contrast, others argue that it is too subjective and that it oversimplifies the complex qualities of wine. Despite this debate, the 100-point wine scoring system remains popular and widely used in the wine industry.
Learn more about Robert Parker and the 100 point wine rating system: Biography of Robert Parker and His World of Wine Criticism
