Rating and 3 of the best wine rating sites

The concept of applying a numerical rating to wine is familiar to the majority of wine consumers but it is a relatively recent one. Two influential American publications, The Wine Advocate and The Wine Spectator both use the 100 point scale, as does the Burgundy specialist Burghound.

William Kelly

William Kelly, FINALLY! My prediction is that in William we finally have a worthy successor to Robert Parker. William Kelley is the Deputy Editor of The Wine Advocate and reviews the wines of Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne, as well as Madeira and English Sparkling Wine. During his time at Oxford University he served for four years as the president of the Oxford University Wine Circle, the world’s oldest tasting group of its kind, arranging weekly tastings with the world’s most celebrated wineries. He is particularly passionate about the wines of France, California, Germany and Piedmont.

In 2016 he was short-listed for the Louis Roederer Emerging Wine Writer of the Year Award, and in 2017 he was awarded the Frank G. Prial Fellowship to the Professional Wine Writers’ Symposium at Meadowood, Napa Valley, as well as being shortlisted for the Louis Roederer Emerging Writer Award and Feature Writer of the Year Award. 

Robert Parker

Robert Parker, who launched The Wine Advocate in 1978, has had the status as the world’s most influential wine critic, mainly due to his scores for Bordeaux wines which had the ability to move the market, specifically in Bordeaux. Parker by now is retiring and has handed over responsibility to a growing team of colleagues. Robert Parker has been one of the world's most influential wine critics to date. A high score from the Wine Advocate could instantly boost a wine's reputation and, in many cases, its price. Parker spent 10 years working as a lawyer in Baltimore before making the full-time switch to wine writing in 1984. Today, a 100-point Parker score can make or break a wine brand.

The Wine Advocate/Robert Parker 100-point wine-scoring scale:
  • 96–100 – Extraordinary
  • 90–95 – Outstanding
  • 80–89 – Barely above average to very good
  • 70–79 – Average
  • 60–69 – Below average
  • 50–59 – Unacceptable

CellarTracker

The CellarTracker site is collecting ratings of litteraly hundreds of thousands of wine enthusiasts and has proven to be one of the most reliable sources for rating wines.
  • 98-100: (A+) Extraordinary
  • 94-97: (A) Outstanding
  • 90-93: (A-) Excellent
  • 86-89: (B+) Very Good
  • 80-85: (B) Good
  • 70-79: (C) Below/Average
  • 50-69: (D) Avoid