Robert Parker = The Wine Advocate

Known as the most influential wine critic of all time, Robert Parker revolutionised the world of wine criticism. Focus on this man who has left an everlasting mark on the world of wine.

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Robert Parker ou The Wine Advocate

A famous American wine critic

Both feared and esteemed, Robert Parker embodied both influence and power in the wine criticism market. A celebrated American wine taster and enologist, he is best known for his wine guides, in which he comments on his tastings. Born in Maryland, in the United States, Robert McDowell Parker Junior was not predestined for a career in the world of wine. After training in history and art history, followed by a doctorate in law in 1973, he worked as a lawyer for ten years before devoting himself fully to his passion: writing about wine.

Discovering wine during a stay in Strasbourg

Robert Parker discovered wine at the age of 21, in 1967. He had a revelation during a stay in Strasbourg, when he was drinking a red table wine because it was cheaper than a Coke! This trivial event was to be the beginning of a great passion for our American. Over the next few years, he spent his summer holidays in France, devoting himself to discovering French vineyards and winegrowers, and went on numerous wine tastings. When he returned from his travels, he brought back pages full of comments and anecdotes about tasting the wines of France. His first published text on wine dates back to 1975. In 1978, he began publishing a newsletter called "The Baltimore-Washington Wine Advocate", in which he wrote tasting reports. The following year, he created the bimonthly publication "The Wine Advocate".

The 1982 vintage, a turning point in his career

1982 was a key year in Robert Parker's career. The wine critic gained an international reputation for his prediction of the 1982 Bordeaux vintage. Unlike other critics who had difficulty seeing the potential, he had no hesitation in praising this vintage, which he tasted en primeur, describing it as exceptional and judging it to be the vintage of the century. One year after his prediction, the 1982 vintage of Bordeaux wines (Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Pauillac, etc.) did indeed reveal itself to be of great gustatory quality. Since then, Robert Parker's reputation has grown among wine lovers and professionals alike. His influence on the wine market continues to grow, and can make or break a wine's success and a winemaker's reputation. And you'll never guess...Robert Parker has had his nose and palate insured for a million dollars.

bordeaux wines rated 95+/100 by robert parker

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Robert Parker = The Wine Advocate

A veritable benchmark for wine enthusiasts, the independent magazine The Wine Advocate was created to give unbiased opinions on wines from all over the world. At the time of its creation, wine criticism was particularly influenced by the relationship between wine producers and wine critics. The Wine Advocate sets itself apart by focusing on quality, integrity and objectivity. Over the years, the magazine has become the bible for discerning wine consumers. In 2012, Robert Parker's independent bi-monthly The Wine Advocate changed hands. The wine critic sold it to a Singaporean consortium, without withdrawing completely. He resigned as editor-in-chief to make way for Lisa Perrotti-Brown, his Singapore correspondent. However, Robert Parker retained his role as editor of the magazine and continued to taste wines in his favourite regions. After more than thirty years in the world of wine criticism, Robert Parker anounced his retirement at the age of 71, in 2019.

The Michelin Guide, sole owner of the Wine Advocate journal

In 2017, the French group Michelin acquired a 40% stake in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. The aim of this acquisition was to strengthen and develop the group's experience in the gastronomy sector, in order to offer customers selections with high added value. In 2019, the group, known for its famous Michelin Guide, acquired the entire company, thus becoming the sole owner. This acquisition guarantees long-term synergies between gastronomy and enology, notably through the creation of experiences based on food and wine pairings.

The Parker 100-point rating system

As well as discovering and tasting countless wines, The Wine Advocate is also renowned for its 100-point rating system created by Robert Parker for evaluating wines. Over the years, this system has become the standard for wine criticism. This system was adopted by other competing American publications, and then by most of the world's influential wine critics. As well as reflecting the quality of a wine, the tasting notes issued by the American wine critic drove bottle sales up and down. His opinion was particularly important to producers of Bordeaux wines (Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Émilion, Saint-Julien, etc.), but also in other wine-growing regions such as the Rhône Valley (Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Hermitage, Côte Rôtie, etc.). Although Robert Parker has retired from wine criticism, the 100-point rating system is still used by The Wine Advocate.

Champagnes rated by Robert Parker

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wine advocate notes

Behind the scenes of the tasting

All the wines are tasted blind and scored comparatively. The famous Parker rating is a scale of 50 to 100 points. These are divided up according to different criteria, such as nose, colour, bouquet, palate and potential for development.

The wines are described as very good, with excellent value for money between 87/100 and 89/100. The (rare) wines rated over 90/100 are, according to Robert Parker, the best in their category and exceptional cuvées:

from 50 to 59 = wine not accepted
from 70 to 89 = below-average wine
above 90 = highly sought-after wine
from 91 to 100 = very rare wine (which can reach staggering prices)

Parker wanted "the score to allow the reader to situate the general quality of a wine within a category, as assessed by a professional critic". Its influence is enormous: a good score can increase the price of a wine. For example, some Bordeaux wine producers with a score of 100 points have seen the value of their wines rise by more than 140% thanks to 2009 vintage wines. These include Château Beauséjour (Saint-Émilion AOC) and Château Smith Haut-Lafitte (Pessac-Léognan AOC).

Although Robert Parker has now retired, he has left it to young tasters with the same demanding palates to keep The Wine Advocate going.

A team of experienced tasters

For many years, Robert Parker was The Wine Advocate's sole critic. However, as the magazine's field of action has expanded, he has not hesitated to call on other critics to replace him in not only the ratings of Bordeaux wines, but also to cover other wine-growing regions. Antonio Galloni, Neal Martin and Lisa Perrotti-Brown are among the wine critics who have already joined the group. Since then, The Wine Advocate's team of tasters has been expanded to include hand-picked personalities covering all the wine regions of France (Rhône Valley, Burgundy, Languedoc-Roussillon, etc.) and the world (Napa Valley, Italy, South Africa, Spain, New Zealand, China, etc.). These critics include:

Joe Czerwinski
Guillaume Kelley
Erin Brooks
Yohan Castaing
Luis Gutiérrez
Atsuhide Hoshiyama

Erin Larkin
Monica Larner
Anthony Mueller
Edouard Ragg
Stéphane Reinhardt
Mark Squires

ROBERT Parker's Favourite Inexpensive Wines

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Robert Parker's World Wine Selection

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RobertParker.com: access to tasting notes online

Until 2002, The Wine Advocate was only available in print and by subscription. However, in 2002, the bi-monthly also became available online with the launch of the eRobertParker.com website, which has since become robertparker.com. It is one of the most consulted websites devoted to wine. Available by subscription, the online database provides access to more than 450,000 wine ratings and reviews from a variety of countries and wine-growing regions. Every month, wine lovers and professionals can consult between 2,000 and 6,000 wine reviews. A subscription to The Wine Advocate also provides online access to every issue of the magazine since 1992.

Today, even though Robert Parker is no longer with the magazine, The Wine Advocate remains a benchmark for wine analysis and evaluation worldwide. A practical and effective guide to help you in your decisions to buy wines from France or elsewhere!