About the wine ratings

The rating scales

The wine scores (1 to 5 stars) listed on GrandCruStore are mainly derived from The Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator ratings. These ratings, which are also included in the wine details pages of GrandCruStore, are on a 100-point scale. The higher the score, the higher the perceived quality of the wine. The ratings can be described as follows:

5 stars or 95-100 points

An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase, and consume.

4 stars or 90-94 points

An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. In short, these are terrific wines.

3 stars or 85-89 points

A very good wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavor as well as character with no noticeable flaws. These wines generally offer great value.

2 stars or 80-84 points

An above average wine displaying various degrees of finesse and flavor as well as character with no noticeable flaws.

1 star or 70-79 points

An average wine with little distinction except that it is a soundly made. In essence, a straightforward, innocuous wine.

60-69 points

A below average wine containing noticeable deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or tannin, an absence of flavor, or possibly dirty aromas or flavors. These wines are of course not part of the GrandCruStore assortment.

50-59 points

A wine deemed to be unacceptable. Also these wines are of course not part of the GrandCruStore assortment.

How to use these ratings

The ratings alone are not sufficient to determine whether you will like the style and personality of the wine. To support you in your choice, GrandCruStore lists concise tasting notes which are based on the full tasting notes as published by their reviewers on their web sites or in their books.

Sources:

Robert Parker: © The Wine Advocate, full reviews available on eRobertParker.com. Although the wine reviews are written by a team of people from Wine Advocate, most people refer to these rating as "Parker points".

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