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Useful Info
About Ratings


Wines are tasted and rated every year. The following are the average marks obtained by regions, on a scale of 0 to 20 for some recent vintages:


Vintages 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95
Bordeaux - Red 19 14 19 18 19 13 12 13 16 17
Bordeaux - Dry white 16 18 17 17 18 13 14 15 17 17
Bordeaux - Sweet white 18 13 19 18 19 14 10 8 14 18
Burgundy - Red 15 13 18 19 19 14 15 14 14 14
Burgundy - White 16 13 16 19 17 15 17 13 16 16

Magazines or wine critics also give their personal ratings. Among the most well-known:
Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator.

Vintage Ratings from
Robert Parker (RP)
Vintage Ratings from
Wine Spectator (WS)
96 -100 Extraordinary 95 -100 Classic
90 - 95 Outstanding 90 - 94 Outstanding
80 - 89 Above average to very good 85 - 89 Very Good
70 - 79 Average 80 - 84 Good
50 - 69 Below average to poor 70 - 79 Average
  60 - 69 Below Average
50 - 59 Poor

Serving Wine

The serving temperature of wine is a critical aspect.
In order to get the best of your wine, we highly recommend to use a decanter in order to air the wine, and to drink it in an appropriate wine tasting glass. The airing process will release the aromatic qualities of the wine.
Furthermore, a decanter is useful in order to seperate the wine from sediments. Many people do not accept the fact that wine carries sediment, which is a harmless natural element. A wine can be filtered in order to avoid sediment, but it is no longer a natural wine and of course filtered wines are less tannic and powerful than others.
Before decanting, leave the bottle in the upright position for at least 24 hours. To decant the wine, pour it into the decanter with a candle, until you see the first specks of sediment.

Champagne Ratings
Champagnes are tasted and rated every year. The following are the average marks obtained, on a scale of 0 to 20 for some recent vintages:

Vintage Rating Drinkability
1990 Outstanding Drink or Hold
1989 Outstanding Drink or Hold
1988 Outstanding Drink or Hold
1987 Good Drink
1986 Very Good Drink
1985 Classic Drink
1984 Average Drink
1983 Good Drink
1982 Outstanding Drink
1981 Good Drink
1980 Good Drink
1979 Outstanding Drink

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