our scoring system
You can't even imagine the hours we spent debating whether or not to score each wine and, if
so, what scoring system to use. It took us three bottles of Grüner Veltliner to decide
in the end.
People like scores. Indeed, we like scores. They are a very useful ready reckoner when assessing
and grading a whole bunch of similar wines. But we also know the danger of reading numbers
and ignoring tasting notes. Wine comes in infinite shades and cannot be reduced to numbers. But
in the final analysis, scores are useful, so we're using them.
We have decided on a 100-point system, because we believe it is now the most widely used and
readily accepted. If we were handing out gongs a wine scoring 85 would be worthy of a bronze
medal, a wine scoring 89 would be worthy of a silver and a wine scoring 93 would be solid gold.
But please always remember that our scores are 'absolute' not 'relative'. That means we are
scoring all wines, from the humblest £3.99 bottle to the grandest £399 Cru, on
the same scale. So a £3.99 bottle scoring 83 or 84 is a perfectly good wine and good
value too; if it scores 90 it is a truly remarkable wine for its price. On the other hand,
that £399 bottle would be disappointing if it mustered less than 90 points and the
best will smash through the 93-point barrier.
Finally, for those who prefer a 20-point system, we offer this conversion chart:
14.0 = 80
14 + = 81
14.5 = 82
15.0 = 83
15 + = 84
15.5 = 85 (bronze)
15.5 + = 86
|
16.0 = 87
16.5 = 88
16.5 + = 89 (silver)
17.0 = 90
17 + = 91
17.5 = 92
18.0 = 93 (gold)
|
18 + = 94
18.5 = 95
18.5 + = 96
19.0 = 97
19 + = 98
19.5 = 99
20.0 = 100
|
