So...Who Is Robert Parker Anyway?

Written by Ian Robertson on 26th February 2007

Imagine the scene, if you will. A small wine producer, nervously twitching as he pours samples of his latest and greatest vintage, as well as all past vintages for comparison – the red/purple liquid sloshing around the glass as he lines them up on the tasting table for review. In walks a tall, broad, round American – not short on confidence. After a small amount of small talk (stilted, nervous on the side of the producer, stilted and almost dismissive on the part of the Ameerican) the Yank sits at the tables and systematically works his way through 15 odd wines – looking, swirling, sipping, sucking, spitting. He works at immense speed – it seems to take no longer than ten minutes and he is done. His scribbled notes seem to take longer than the actual tasting. He says nothing about his opinions – he might ask a pointed question like “How long was this in oak?” or “Was this filtered/”

And then, with a quick thank you, he is gone. The results will be out in the next issue of “The Wine Advocate,” arguably the most influential wine journal in the world. If the Yank gives 90+ points on any of the wines, the producer will smile – and more than likely start to plan a price increase on his wares as a sudden up surge of interest occurs. If the wines are panned, he will nervously ignore the writings and go about his business.

Such a man is Robert M. Parker, Jnr.

Wine criticism was a spotted game prior to the arrival of Parker. Wine writers were often Food Journalists or sometimes even the sports writers who had an interest. They would write about what they liked, give a review here and there, and almost never write a negative. They were wined and dined by the trade, given free trips, and generally looked after. Reviews consisted of general tasting notes and often a loose, metaphorical description – quite often referring to the gender of the wine. (ie Very Feminine or very masculine.)

Parker, a lawyer from Maryland, became enamored of wine after a trip to France. Seeking real buying information to help him make his decisions, he became disgusted with the level of wine journalism, and decided to take it upon his own back to become wine’s consumer advocate. Using a strict 100-point rating scale to score wines, he created a revolution in the way many (especially Americans) think about wine.

After his assessment of the 1982 Bordeaux vintage as the ‘vintage of the century,’ Parker’s legend grew. Many other critics were not so sure – Parker was very certain of the quality of the vintage he was tasting while still in barrel.

Parker is a polarising figure in wine – he certainly seems to be possess an excellent ability to taste, although I am highly skeptical myself of anyone’s ability to critique a wine after tasting more than seven or eight wines before hand. Parker often tastes over 100 in one sitting!! His 100 point scale divides the wine world into very strict lines – lines that call into question a person’s individual tastes. And lastly, there is no doubt that Parker likes his red wines big, fruit forward, round and ballsy with alcohol. If a wine is rates at more than 95 points by Parker, it will fall into this style almost certainly.

He has built an admirable empire for himself in the Wine Advocate – from nothing to money and influence. That is certainly something admirable. Whether one man influencing wine price and wine style in the world is such a good thing is the area where the debate about the man often starts.