Some wine bottles have labels with scores. What do they mean?

Wine scores or ratings were first used by American wine critic Robert M Parker jnr in the 1980s. Before that, wine writers used phrases such as “good” or “very good” or lengthy tasting notes. Using the American standardised grading system, Parker scored wines from 50-100 points. In reality, most received scores of 80-95 – 100 is a perfect wine and 70 flawed and undrinkable. Other critics use stars (five stars being the best) or score out of 20 points.

The system was enthusiastically received by consumers as it meant they no longer had to decipher complicated tasting terms and read copious notes. High-street and online retailers simply displayed the score beside the price. In many cases a good score from Parker could make (or break) a wine, bringing a huge increase in sales and often prices too.

There are now other publications such as Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast and jancisrobinson.com who grade and score thousands of wines every year, always giving a tasting note as well. There are also user-generated websites such as Vivino and CellarTracker that use consumer scores and notes.

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Scores can be a useful aid to buying wine. However, it is important to remember that the scores and notes are simply the opinion of one person (or sometimes a panel of judges) and they are not a guarantee that you will like the wine. Tasting wine is a subjective process, and wine drinkers have different likes and dislikes. Robert Parker, who has now retired and sold his magazine, the Wine Advocate, was known to favour big, ripe, extracted oaky wines and score them highly. As I prefer lighter, less powerful wines, I tended to ignore his recommendations when buying my wine.