'Spanish Wine Scores'

What are Wine Scores?

The practice of assigning 'scores' has had an extraordinary effect on the wine market. Unlike tasting notes, they can be understood universally and can guide potential wine buyers all over the world.

Scoring enables new, good, wine producers to make a name for themselves and their wines very much faster than ever before.

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 writers scores in their wine descriptions and wineries use them to market their wine.

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:

Score Explanation
96-100		An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. I consider these terrific wines.
90-95		An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. I think wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase and consume.
80-89		A barely above average to very good wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavor, as well as character with no noticeable flaws.
70-79		An average wine with little distinction except that it is soundly made. In short a straightforward, innocuous wine.
60-69		A below average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavor, or possibly dirty aromas or flavors.
50-59		A wine I deem unacceptable.

Robert Parker's influence on fine wine prices cannot be overstated. As one observer once noted, "When Robert Parker spits, the world listens".

Peñín Guide To Spanish Wine

For over 25 years José Peñín has written about the wines and wine growers of Spain and in 1980 created Spain’s first wine magazine Bouquet. As a freelance author today he works for prominent Spanish media such as El Pais and Tiempo, as well as many culinary magazines. In 1990 he published Guia Peñín de los vinos de España which has become the market leader in its field.
His totally independent and honest opinions have decided the success or failure of the wines he tastes and year in year out the sommeliers world-wide check his views and criticisms.

His system of marking wines is simple and straight forward and is the 100 point system favoured by Robert Parker. Spanish wines are rated with a system of evaluation which takes account of the purchase price and the quality hence the final equation is a favourable cost-performance ratio.