Robert Parker (wine critic)

522:—to soften tannins. These widespread changes in technique have been called "Parkerization", also sometimes known as "The International Style", and have led to fear of a homogenization of wine styles around the world as Parker's "tastes are irrevocably changing the way some French wines are made", according to the BBC's Caroline Wyatt. Indeed, certain low-producing "boutique" wineries, among others, have received high scores from Parker for wines made in this style. Parker disputes the notion of growing homogeneity and argues for the opposite: "When I started tasting wines, in the 1970s, we were on a slippery slope. There was a standardization of wines, where you couldn't tell a Chianti from a cabernet. That's pretty much stopped now." 609:, for instance, Parker ratings alone account for 33 per cent of the variance in release price and a staggering 50 per cent of the variance in increase in release price between 2004 and 2005. Very similar effects are seen for the Médoc classed growths, with Parker score alone accounting, again, for just over a third of the total variance in release price and 38 per cent of the variance in increase in release price between these consecutive vintages. Moreover, even if we control for position in the official classification, with which Parker ratings are strongly correlated, they account for an additional 8 per cent of the variance in release price and an additional 9 per cent of the variance in increase in release price. 825:. Ashenfelter devised a formula for predicting wine quality based on weather data such as rainfall and temperature that Parker characterized as "ludicrous and absurd." Ashenfelter was able to show that Parker's initial ratings of vintages had been biased upward, requiring him to revise his rankings downward more often than not. Says Ayres, "Both the wine dealers and writers have a vested interest in maintaining their informational monopoly on the quality of wine." Ayres pointed out that Ashenfelter's predictions have proven to be remarkably accurate, and claimed the wine critics' "predictions now correspond much more closely to simple equation results." 621:, where—as in Saint-Émilion—the official system of classification is more flexible and less prestigious. But it also suggests how Parker scores may play a crucial role, alongside well-established and highly respected classification systems (as for instance in the Médoc), in building up and, in particular, restoring the reputations of châteaux generally regarded to have fallen below their official place in the classification. In this respect, rather than overturning local classificatory schema, Parker's external influence may well work in parallel with them. 529:, was once outraged at Parker's evaluation and asked Parker to re-taste the wine. Upon his return, Hebrard's dog attacked Parker as the manager stood by idly and watched. Parker says that when he asked for a bandage to stop the bleeding from his leg, Hebrard instead gave him a copy of the offending newsletter. Hebrard denies that Parker was bleeding. Wine critic Prial says "The Bordeaux wine establishment feels threatened by these new-style wines... and is engaged in an increasingly bitter fight against Parker and his influence." 470:; others have bought additional vineyards far away. The original winemakers are long dead. Parker says that this state of affairs was responsible for creating an injustice for consumers, causing mediocre wine to be sold at too high a price, and good wine to be sold at too low a price. He says of the 1855 classifications, "At most, these classifications should be regarded by both the wine connoisseur and novice as informational items of historical significance only." 490:" and he believes that there are still undiscovered regions and wines that can successfully challenge the wine establishment. Critics such as Golo Weber claim that Parker likes less-acidic, riper wines with significant amounts of oak, alcohol, and extract. This supposed "Parker taste" may be less the result of Parker's own preferences than of a trend initiated by 376:, launched in 1972, Finigan offered consumer-oriented, independent wine criticism, just as Parker did after him. Finigan helped consumers make decisions by developing standard evaluation criteria; his qualitative comments were straightforward and understandable, and each wine was ranked on a quality scale (exceptional, above average, average, below average). 40: 414:, argue that numerical rating systems are questionable—given the subjectivity of wine tasting and the variance in scores that a wine's age and the circumstances of tasting can cause—similar 100-point scoring systems are widely used by American reviewers. Many British reviewers, such as Jancis Robinson and 477:

Parker is considered an unusually fast taster, and during an initial assessment he may keep a wine in his mouth for only four or five seconds before determining whether it is potentially a wine of 80 points or above. Mediocre wines will then be dismissed while those with potential are tasted twice or

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Davies, not by himself—yet Parker has repeatedly stated that an impartial wine critic should taste wines alone. Davies advised Parker not to publish his comments on the 2004 Bordeaux in issue 164, as Parker had planned, because they would have suffered from their comparison with the much better 2003

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stated "Robert Parker has no interest, direct or indirect, financial or any other, in importing, distributing or selling wines." In the late 1980s, Parker invested in an Oregon vineyard with his brother-in-law, Michael G. Etzel, called The Beaux Frères Vineyard ("The Brothers-in-Law"), which would

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and father of the so-called "international wines". In the 1970s, winemakers avoided the late harvests, when the grapes were mature, in order to avoid the risks of end-of-season rains. Peynaud proposed that winemakers should wait to harvest until the grape was fully mature, or even over-mature. He

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But, perhaps strangely for someone who studied mathematics at Oxford, I'm not a great fan of the conjunction of numbers and wine. Once numbers are involved, it is all too easy to reduce wine to a financial commodity rather than keep its precious status as a uniquely stimulating source of sensual

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Scores, however, do not reveal the important facts about a wine. The written commentary that accompanies the ratings is a better source of information regarding the wine's style and personality, its relative quality vis-à-vis its peers, and its value and aging potential than any score could ever

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that might ensue from this close relationship was accepted by consumers, as they consulted wine reviews to gain an introduction to the world of wine, and not necessarily for advice on getting good value for their money. Hence, before Robert Parker, wine critics almost always had some link to the

698:. It was eventually discovered that the difference in taste that Parker identified was due to improper storage of the wine at the American importer's warehouse, causing the wine to be "cooked." Parker delegated coverage of the Burgundy and Alsace regions to Pierre-Antoine Rovani in April 1997. 228:

in December 2000. Among other claims, Parker told the author that he tastes 10,000 wines a year and "remembers every wine he has tasted over the past thirty-two years and, within a few points, every score he has given as well." Yet, in a public blind tasting of fifteen top wines from Bordeaux

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One of the most influential and controversial features of Parker's wine criticism is his 100-point rating system, which he popularized in conjunction with his friend Victor Morgenroth. Parker designed the system to counter what he believed to be confusing or inflated ratings by other wine

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2005—which he has called "the greatest vintage of my lifetime"—Parker could not correctly identify any of the wines, confusing left bank wines for right several times. (In general, "left bank" wines are grown in regions west of the Gironde Estuary, and "right bank" in the regions east.)

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Retailers in North America often mark wines with Parker's point scores, using printed cards attached to the shelves. Parker cautions buyers that they should read the tasting notes to determine whether or not the wine is made in a style they will like; he states on his website:

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and his books, that his advice stands on high ethical standards, and that independence and impartiality constitute his two most important values. By abiding by these standards, he says, he seeks to guarantee that his valuations will be pro-consumer, and not pro-industry.

391:, Parker has inadvertently made becoming a wine critic in the future almost impossible, since— in part because of the success of his scoring system—it is now prohibitively expensive to taste the very wines one should criticize. If it behooves a critic to understand, say, 410:), ranks wine on a scale from 50 to 100 points based upon the wine's color and appearance, aroma and bouquet, flavor and finish, and overall quality level or potential. Therefore, 51 rather than 100 different ratings are possible. Although some critics, such as 2060:

For Stephen Browett at Farr Vintners: 'Customers buying solely or mainly for investment will always follow Parker for as long as they see the market following him. Those who buy for their own drinking and who know what they like are much less likely to be

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Parker has admitted that emotions do matter, contrary to the seeming objectivity of the 100-point scale: "I really think probably the only difference between a 96-, 97-, 98-, 99-, and 100-point wine is really the emotion of the moment."

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No scoring system is perfect, but a system that provides for flexibility in scores, if applied by the same taster without prejudice, can quantify different levels of wine quality and provide the reader with one professional's judgment.

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Parker disclosed at the end of 2012 that he would sell a "substantial interest" in his newsletter and step down as editor in chief. His new partners were a trio of Singapore-based hedge fund investors. Parker formally retired from

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and is the first wine critic to have received such recognitions in France and in Italy. His Gran Cruz de Orden Civil from King Juan Carlos in August 2010 made him the first wine writer to receive Spain's highest civilian honor.

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The first issue was sent free to consumers from mailing lists Parker purchased from several major wine retailers. Six hundred charter subscribers paid to receive the second issue published later that year.

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According to a 2005 economic analysis, Parker's scores would inflate the prices of already highly rated wines but, for the less good ones, it would not decrease their sales nor even increase their prices.

362:'s charisma inspired Parker. Like his contemporaries, Balzer rarely wrote negative statements about wines. He even once published a book under his name that had actually been written by wine grower 160:, where Patricia, now his wife, was studying. For over ten years, he was assistant general counsel for the Farm Credit Banks of Baltimore; he resigned in March 1984 to focus on writing about wine. 725:

about MacArthur Liquors and its manager, Addy Bassin. That article fails to mention that Mr. Bassin sold Parker a list of MacArthur's customers for use in mailing out the first, free issue of the

686:, Parker reported that "the Faiveley wines tasted abroad would be less rich than those one can taste on the spot ". In other words, Parker accused Faiveley of cheating. Faiveley sued Parker for 2564: 2159: 404:

writers—many of whom he accused of a conflict of interest, as they often had a financial interest in the wines they rated. The scale, now widely imitated in other publications (such as

198:, who felt it was too low-acid and ripe. While there is still debate about the timelessness of the vintage, prices of 1982 Bordeaux remain consistently higher than other vintages. 1320:

he thought the actual L'Eglise to be Cos, a wine that is not only from across the river, but from St. Estephe, an appellation known for the extreme tannic structure of the wines

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has over 50,000 subscribers, primarily in the United States, but with significant readership in over 37 other countries. While other wine publications have more subscribers,

2477:"Real Decreto 1085/2010, de 20 de agosto, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Civil al señor Robert M. Parker, Jr., crítico vinicultor estadounidense" 1152: 486:

Parker's impact on the style of fine wines has generated controversy. Parker is highly critical of "those who make 'industrial wines with little flavor and no authenticity

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There is evidence that Parker's rating scale has a dual effect on prices and sales, with claims from the wine industry that a Parker top score is valued at potentially

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Parker argues that he scores wines on how much pleasure they give him. He, and others, have said that it is the obscurity, corruption, and other problems of the

1184: 736:, Parker wrote a long article about Jeffrey Davies, a wine trader based in Bordeaux. As Hanna Agostini and Marie-Françoise Guichard point out in their book 2569: 395:

1982, 2000, 2003, and 2005 before assessing the latest vintage: the critic must drink wine worth tens of thousands of dollars before beginning the review.

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Whatever his influence, Parker alone cannot impact the market price for a wine if he is alone against the mainstream. The famous controversy around the

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When his brother-in-law bought a vineyard in Oregon, Parker informed his Advocate readers and promised never to review any wines produced there.

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Hay, Colin (2007). "Globalisation and the institutional re-embedding of markets: The political economy of price formation in the Bordeaux

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Until January 1, 2007, David Schildknecht spent half of his time importing and distributing wines, and the other half critiquing wine for

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He says he can describe the more than 200,000 wines he's tasted… and his hypersensitive nose and palate are insured for $ 1 million.

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Two of Parker's tasters had, or still have, an interest in the distribution or the sale of wines, according to published accounts.

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Robert Parker n'a pas d'intérêt, direct ou indirect, financier ou autre, dans l'importation, la distribution et la vente de vins.

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and has been critical of most wine critics, who traditionally have been part of the wine industry and have had vested interests.

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Among the books and films that have focused on the influence and effects of Parker on the global wine industry are the 2004 book

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However, there can never be any substitute for your own palate nor any better education than tasting the wine yourself.

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When Parker declined to review the 2002 Bordeaux vintage "in barrel," the vintners were forced to drop their prices.

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soon after become a commercial winery under the same name. He promised never to review any wines produced there in

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According to one Bordeaux shipper cited by McCoy, "the difference between a score of 85 and 95 was 6 to 7 million

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are influential in American wine buying and are therefore a major factor in setting the prices for newly released

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is still considered to exert a significant influence on wine consumers' buying habits, particularly in America.

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Several published sources offer accounts that may call Parker's independence and impartiality into question.

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a bottle, saw its 1998 vintage rise in price in half a day to 125 francs after Parker gave it a 92 rating.

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Robert Parker is one of only a few foreigners to have received France's two highest Presidential honors,

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Parker is an avid fan of Bordeaux, and some of his critics observe that his focus is largely limited to

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2003 is an example of this: despite Parker's positive ratings, the wine in bottle sold 30% cheaper than

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and 2005. Parker followed Davies' advice, and published those comments in the following issue instead.

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Judgement of Paris: California vs. France and the historic 1976 Paris tasting that revolutionized wine

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