Wine Ratings | What Are Wine Scores?

February 15, 2022

A wine score is the quickest and easiest way for a wine reviewer to express their judgment on a wine's quality. Wine ratings, which are frequently presented alongside tasting notes, assist customers and collectors in deciding which wines to purchase and can be a great marketing tool.

100-point Wine Scoring Scale

While almost every wine critic and journal utilizes a 100-point scale to score wines, you'll rarely find a wine rated lower than 70 or 80 points. Wine experts usually start with a 50-point rating and work their way up, adding points for certain quality characteristics until the total possible points equal 100. Any wine with a rating of fewer than 75 points has a problem, and you won't find many of those reviews published.

What is a good wine score?

Basically, scores can be summarised as the following.

95-100: Classic, perfect wine

90-94: Outstanding, a wine of superior character and style

85-89: Very good, a wine with special qualities

80-84: Good, a solid well-made wine

75-79:: Mediocre, a drinkable wine that may have minor flaws

50-74: Not recommended

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Is there a 100 point wine?

The Wine Enthusiast tasting panel uncovered ten wines that met these criteria this year, each receiving a perfect score of 100 points. Most come from the iconic and historic regions of Bordeaux and Brunello, where years of tradition have paved the way to perfection. New World innovation, on the other hand, must not be overlooked. Two single-vineyard Chardonnays from Napa and Sonoma achieved peak perfection, while an Australian fortified wine that was 100 years old bridged the gap between tradition and modernity. A flawless 100-point wine isn't only determined by the geography, vineyard site, or vintage quality, however, these factors definitely play a role. The wine should have depth and intensity, as well as perfect balance and delicacy, and should appear ethereal and unified.

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How do you score in wine tasting?

While experienced sommeliers have a lot of wine tasting expertise, no one palate rules them all, and just because a wine earned a 92 doesn't mean you have to like it. All of the scores are subjective and based on the individual's preferences. Furthermore, limiting wine to a number and eliminating the world's unnumbered bottles does not do it credit. The low spring temperatures the grapes encountered that vintage; the seventh-generation winemaker experimenting with skin contact in the cellar; the acacia barrels used for maturation are all part of the story. The appearance, aromas, texture, and flavors of wine are all influenced by its backstory.

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How do you read wine ratings?

The most important thing is that a good wine score does not guarantee that you will enjoy the wine. Wines are graded in comparison to classic specimens of their category, and if that classic style does not appeal to your palate, you are unlikely to love it. Look for terms that speak to you in the wine review to obtain a sense of the taste.

Look up your favorite wines on the internet and see if they have any reviews. If they do, read the tasting note for keywords to keep in mind and search for in other reviews. Make a mental note of the reviewer as well. Tasting is subjective, and even the most seasoned professional tasters have preferences, so find out who shares your tastes. If you like a wine with a high Decanter score, you might want to look at additional top-scoring wines from that publication in the same category.

Finally, wine ratings and reviews can assist us in our decision-making, but they do not provide complete information. Exploring wine requires practice, and using wine ratings to aid your exploration takes even more practice. It's possible that you'll come across a few ugly ducklings before figuring out which wines are your swans, but it's all in the name of education.