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Next to Robert Parker, the next most trusted source for wine ratings, wine news, restaurant wine list ratings, wine travel information, etc. is the bi-weekly Wine Spectator. Unlike Parker, the Wine Spectator is a commercial magazine with advertising. Their editors palates' are trusted almost as much as Robert Parker, except that you have ratings from a group of tasters whose opinions can be different from one to another. But they have separated eight editors geographically so that if you are looking at Australian wines, for example, the same editor will be tasting most of the wines. The Wine Spectator has three pieces to their monthly buying guide: Top Picks of the New Releases, all the ratings in the issue, and the Best in Market pullout card. The Top Picks of the New Releases are separated into four sections:
| Spectator Selections |
are the highest recommendations in each issue. |
| Highly Recommended |
are noteworthy bottlings selected from the higher scoring wines in the issue. |
| Cellar Selections |
are wines they believe will improve most from additional bottle age and show the greatest potential as collectables. |
| Best Buys |
are wines of value with solid scores, modest prices, and wide distribution. |
Their 100-Point Scale, like the rest, really only starts at 50 and goes to 100.
Here's how they define it:
| 95-100: |
Classic; a great wine |
| 90-94: |
Outstanding; a wine of superior character and style |
| 85-89: |
Very Good; a wine with special qualities |
| 80-84: |
Good; a solid, well-make wine |
| 70-79: |
Average; a drinkable wine that may have minor flaws |
| 60-69: |
Below average; drinkable but not recommended |
| 50-59: |
Poor, undrinkable; not recommended |
The wine rating systems we use at WineLegend.com are some of the toughest of the wine industry rating systems. They are also the common and the most valued by many wine enthusiasists all over the world.
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