Reviewing Unfinished Wines

New score ranges provide more flexibility, accuracy

Thomas Matthews

Posted: Friday, March 28, 2008

Wine Spectator primarily reviews finished wines—that is, wines that are bottled and ready for sale—in blind tastings in our offices around the world. These wines are scored on our 100-point scale.

However, in some cases, our editors evaluate wines before they are finished and bottled. For example, James Suckling is now reviewing hundreds of 2007 Bordeaux, which are still aging in barrel. In this case, we believe a broader score range is a more reliable indicator of the wine’s future potential.

Now, in order to give the tasters more flexibility and describe the wines more accurately, we are changing the score ranges we use for unfinished wines to rolling four-point spreads. For example, one wine may be scored 85-88, another 87-90, another 89-92. We believe this will better reflect the subtle differences between wines, and give our readers better information for their buying decisions.

To learn more about Wine Spectator's tasting procedures, tasting format and tasters, read About Our Tastings.

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