Questioning Wine Perfection: What Does A 100-Point Score Really Mean?

Mar 3, 2015

(Forbes) - What does a perfect 100-point score mean with regard to wine? I had an interesting conversation regarding this very question with winemaker Heidi Barrett recently. Barrett, who is no stranger to 100-point wines (having earned as many as five in her career), observed to me that a 90-point score for a wine that is meant to be consumed young (something fresh, like a Moscato) has as much meaning as a 100-point score. How so?  Well, Barrett noted, according to The Wine Advocate and Robert Parker’s quality rating scale, aka Parker Points®, the remaining ten points (from 90 to 100) reflect a wine’s ability to age.

Hence it would stand to reason that a wine made to be consumed young and fresh can really only merit 90 points. Consider Barrett’s La Sirena Moscato Azul Napa, which has repeatedly received 90 points. Barrett explained that Parker himself told her a wine such as her  Moscato Azul could never garner a 100-point score with his rating system.  It is arguably a “perfect” wine because 90-points is the highest score it can ever achieve according to Parker’s scale. (I contacted the Wine Spectator to get their take on this, because they do score things slightly differently, but did not receive a reply).

Just to be sure things were being interpreted correctly, I contacted Mr. Parker for confirmation. Parker confirmed that, “Yes-the last 10 points are given for potential longevity.” Regarding his system of rating wines, he has also previously written: “90-100 is equivalent to an A and is given only for an outstanding or special effort. Wines in this category are the very best produced of their type. There is a big difference between a 90 and 99, but both are top marks. As you will note through the text, there are few wines that actually make it into this top category because there are not many great wines.” (A full explanation of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate Rating System (including the excerpt above) is available here.

Indeed, a wine crafted to have tremendous aging potential needs to be highly complex, layered and structured. It takes painstaking attention to detail and quality (in the vineyard and the winery) to produce a wine for long-term aging. They are deserving of the high scores. But, for everyday living, those wines floating in the 88/89/90 range should probably merit more of your attention, especially if you are buying wine to pop and pour. I doubt I’m revealing any state secrets here; wine scores are always relative to the taster, the timing, and myriad other influences. The takeaway is that keeping an open mind about scores and wine will serve you well.

Barrett confesses that she doesn’t even know about the scores on her wines unless someone sends them to her. “I see [the scores] as a big distraction for me as a winemaker; I’m not making wine for one person, I’m making it for our customers. That’s what I focus on.” She does make a good point, no pun intended.


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