Ratings can be very useful in comparing the quality of different wines, but without an explanation to what the numbers mean, they really are not very helpful at all. My rating system is a simple 100 point scale that is similar to Wine Spectator’s.
However, as an added bonus at the end of every review I post the answer to the question “Is It Worth It?” This is where I get to say stuff like, “yeah, even though it’s complex and it’s got all the right things going for it, it’s three times the price of a wine that’s just as good or better.” Here is where the concept of real value comes in. I try to rate my wines on the 100 point scale according to quality without much influence based on the price, but in the end I like to focus on what you get for what you paid. Quality wines are not always a good value and bargains sometimes aren’t, but with my dual rating system I think we can find the real gems out there. There are three types of wines in my rating scale:
“Not Worth It” Wines:
Ultimately when you’re buying wine it comes down to a yes or no decision. You either decide that the wine in the bottle is worth the price on the tag and you take it home, or you don’t. These are the wines that I personally (and this is only my opinion) do not feel offer enough quality for the price. Even if I give a wine 90 points, it may cost $50+ and if I think I can find a wine that offers just the same quality at half the price, that wine can still be “not worth it.” The whole purpose of this rating system is figuring where the real values are, and in the case of wines like these, where they are not.
“Worth Trying” Wines:
These are wines that are either good values offering the right quality for the right price (again, largely based on the answer to the question: “Can you find a wine of this quality for the same price or less elsewhere?”), or they may be wines that are more expensive than their competition but have something about them that is so unique that they are still “worth trying.”
“Worth Buying” Wines:
These wines are solid values. They may not be cheap but the price you pay will be absolutely worth it. A $50 wine may not be inexpensive, but if it drinks like a $80-100 bottle of wine, it’s a major value and it’ll fall into this category. At the same time, if a wine costs $2 and it drinks like a $8-10 wine, this too may also be a wine that is “worth buying.”
One Last Very Important Note: Everyone and I mean everyone is entitled to their own opinion. These ratings are mine. There is absolutely no right or wrong answer when it comes to whether or not you like something. NEVER let my ratings or any other critic’s ratings and statements make you feel insecure about your own feelings, which are always the most important things. You should never feel like you have to like a wine you don’t or that you should not like a wine you do. Everyone has their own palate, preferences, and expectations that define their standards for quality. My goal is to increase people’s exposure to wines they may not otherwise have heard of, bring high quality values into the spotlight, and most importantly try to uncover what every wine that gets reviewed can teach us. Every wine tells a story and every consumer is an expert when it comes to their own palate. Remember that.
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Here’s the 100 point scale breakdown in case you’re interested:
98-100: Near perfection to absolutely flawless wines, welling with complexity, perfectly balanced, and thought provoking. Extremely rare models of what all wine aspires to be. (Call me a tough critic but I’ve yet to give a rating this high, ever.)
95-97: Excellent quality wines that do not achieve the legendary status of a 98+, but are incredibly complex, nearly flawless in structure, and please the senses as well as the mind.
90-94: Wines that standout for one reason or another. They may not be as complex or perfectly structured as the 95+ wines, but they will display greatly superior quality to 85-90 point wines. These are complex, well structured, and can often have one component in particular that makes them especially good.
85-89: Very good wines that are clearly well made. They may not be as complex or well structured as the 90-94 wines but can still offer solid, high quality wines.
80-84: These are good quality wines. They are often simple or lacking some depth of flavor or structure. They can be good for everyday drinking but will not be necessarily inspiring.
75-79: Acceptable wines for everyday drinking. These wines are either very simple or have some character flaw that makes them only basic table wines.
75 and under: Poor to absolutely terrible wines as you descend down the scale. Life is too short for these wines.
