The Systematic Approach to Tasting & 100 Point Scale... Do you need both?

First and most importantly...

Sorry if that came off aggressive. I just need to make it very clear that everyone tastes, interprets, and prefers different flavor profiles. This difference in palate preference is what makes wine so fun! The Robert Parkers, James Sucklings, Jeb Dunnucks of the world all critique wines based on their own palates. I don't always agree with the reviews they give, and you don't have to agree with me! If you really enjoy it when you are drinking a particular wine, and I didn't happen to like it, I promise I won't take it personally, and neither should you!

Even though we all have different preferences, there are "standards" in wine, which most critics and writers use to equally assess wines across the board. The Systematic Approach to Tasting is something I learned in my WSET (Wine Spirit Education Trust) course, where we learned to taste in a logical, systematic approach. We take into consideration the following criteria:

- Appearance

- Nose

- Palate

- Conclusion

Using the above helps generate a progressive thought process to move through a glass of wine. I find this method very helpful to organize my thoughts and keep me focused as I try wine, especially when I am tasting through many wines. This method enables you to focus on individual aspects/attributes of the wine to really get a holistic sense of the varietal style and what the winemaker is portraying. Of course, you don't have to use The Systematic Approach to Tasting. I don't analyze every wine I drink, sometimes I just want to open a bottle to enjoy a glass or occasion.

Famous Wine Critics of the world have their own personal evaluation methods ultimately derived from The Systematic Approach to Tasting. Speaking of Wine Critics and their scoring systems, does anyone actually know what a score truly represents? A wine score is the quickest way for a Wine Critic to communicate their opinion about the quality of a wine. There are multiple methods and scales for rating wine, but the 100-point scale is the most common. The 100-point scale was popularized by Wine Spectator magazine and mainly by Robert Parker in his Wine Advocate newsletter. The Wine Spectator, other critics, writers, and wine reviewers, amateur and professional alike, use this scale system.

• 95-100 Classic (A great 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

What's hard about the ratings above is understanding what that score really means. There are a few things I have an issue with regarding the 100-point rating system and perception it gives consumers. Firstly we need to recognize that there are lots of wines that are never tasted for scoring. So there are plenty of fantastic wines that haven't been rated by a Famous Wine Critic. Not only that, but almost no winery would proclaim any score under 80-points. So how is it that we get to the 100 points? The current scoring scale can look like this, derived from the University of California-Davis 20-point scale:

• It's wine--> Everyone gets this (50 points)

• Color and Appearance--> How does the wine look (5 points)

• Aroma and Bouquet--> How does the wine smell (15 points)

• Flavor and Finish--> What do you taste and how long it lasts (20 points)

• Overall quality--> Subjective to your experience of the wine (10 points)

TOTAL Available 100 points

With this in mind, I'd say we should really be looking at wine on a lower scale 20-50 points. Giving half the points just because it's a wine doesn't leave much room to honestly evaluate the wine characteristics. Another issue with this scale is that it isn't relative for comparing other types of wine. A 94 point Cabernet Sauvignon tastes different than a 94 point Pinot Gris. One of the most significant issues I have brings us back to my first statement of this piece, WINE IS SUBJECTIVE! Various critics have different palates, so one critic might rate a wine more highly if it fits their tasting profile. Some winemakers have changed their winemaking style to meet the palates of said famous critics. This sucks! I've noticed that some producers have started tasting similarly across the board, and I believe that this has something to do with it. Winemakers are incredibly skilled at their craft, and marketers have learned the palates of the famous critics giving winemakers direction on the wine style they are looking for. The wines will probably get scored well, but if you don't have the same palate as the critic who is scoring, you might not like it just the same! Give me variety, give me differentiation!

So what should you do? My advice is to not take the score you see at full value unless you know your palate is along the lines of the critic. If you are new to the world of wine, try everything you can to figure out your preferences. Once you figure out what you personally like, then I would say you can "chase the scores" once you've figured whose preferences you align more with. As someone who is on the Marketing side of the business, I'll let you in on a little secret, scores for us are purely Marketing effort. I'm not saying highly scored wines aren't great wines, I'm suggesting you take it all with a grain of salt.

People ask me all the time, "Lauren, can you recommend a good wine for me ?" or "Is this a good wine?" I'm always happy to share my recommendations like I am doing here; just remember there will be wines I enjoy based on my preferences. Ultimately, if you enjoy a wine, then it's a good wine, regardless of the score, famous critics' opinions, or price point. All that matters if you enjoyed it or not!

Cheers!

Lauren

#WSET #winetasting #rateingwines