This internationally most frequently used system became popular through the wine critic Robert M. Parker (*1947) from the beginning of the 1980s. It is especially common overseas and has become internationally accepted. The acceptance in the USA is also due to the fact that it corresponds to the grading system of high schools. Every wine gets 50 points from the start. A wine up to 75 points has a more or less pronounced wine defect. In the case of certain defects, this is tolerated to a lesser extent in simpler wines, but not without exception in quality wines. Only above this limit do the good qualities begin. The rarely awarded 100 points are reserved for a very few "grandiose" wines, which are also called century wines. If one considers wines as capital investments, for which there is a collector's scene, then one concentrates on top wines with at least 90 points.
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The glossary is a monumental achievement and one of the most important contributions to wine knowledge. Of all the encyclopaedias I use on the subject of wine, it is by far the most important. That was the case ten years ago and it hasn't changed since.
Andreas Essl
Autor, Modena