(Wine-Searcher) - The most influential wine critic passes the baton to the next generation – at least for Bordeaux en primeur.

Robert Parker announced Wednesday that he will no longer cover Bordeaux's en primeur tastings, handing over the reins instead to Wine Advocate team member Neal Martin.

On the eRobertParker bulletin board, Parker wrote: "As just part of the planned coverage for this year, Neal will review the 2014 en primeur releases from Bordeaux. Meanwhile I plan to review the newly bottled 2012 vintage wines and produce a comprehensive 10-year retrospective on the incredible 2005 Bordeaux vintage."

Parker has covered virtually every Bordeaux vintage since 1978 and said change was inevitable.

He went on to say that, as it was Bordeaux that made the Wine Advocate famous, it was important to ensure the continued unrivaled coverage of the region. He described Martin as "a natural and, coincidentally, the best prepared for the job... I have total confidence in Neal's independence, work ethic, and abilities."

Martin joined the Wine Advocate team in 2006, after spending three years writing his own independent website, wine-journal.com, which garnered 100,000 followers. He has also written a book on Pomerol.

Shortly after the statement was put on the bulletin board, a press conference was held in London with Parker and all the Wine Advocate team present. As one writer present reported: "The message is that Team Wine Advocate is more than just Bob."

Lisa Perotti-Brown, the Wine Advocate's editor-in-chief, talked on the future of the publication and its activities before the main news of the event was given about the change in the en primeur coverage. Parker was quoted on Twitter as saying: "I'm going to miss en primeur, the challenge of getting my head around a new vintage."

At the event Parker made it doubly clear that while a new generation was taking a more important role, "I have no intention of retiring".

One thing is certain, with Parker planning a full report on 2005 Bordeaux, the interest 10 years on in this already highly praised vintage is sure to go up even further.