Part III of the Robert Parker story finds our protagonist at the top of the wine-guru heap. The former experts had been revealed as spin-doctor lackeys of the elite wine producers and the wine-passionate masses were looking for a new source for their information. Parker, with his ethics, entertaining writing style and penchant for identifying new superstars, such as the 1982 Bordeaux vintage that he alone rated correctly as one of the best ever, was the logical and worthy choice to be crowned as wine savant and savior.
Yes, all was peaches and cream and we all lived happily ever after — well, almost.
For a good 15 to 20 years The Wine Advocate’s wisdom was pretty much unquestioned and Parker’s legion of followers grew in both number and zealousness. His ratings were make or break for producers, both established and new. Many Parker-made stars, such as Napa’s Screaming Eagle, still benefit greatly from the high ratings they received because they are still only available for the fortunate few and trade for multiples of their retail prices as soon as they are available.
Read Parts I & II
But as we all know, when one is on top, there are many who are happy to see it fall. The first round of shots came from critics who had lost their lofty placement as experts. They began to rumble that Parker was not a true wine expert because he only favored one style of wine: full-throttled, big-bodied, high-alcohol beauties. Whether this is true or not, what cannot be argued is that a big score from The Wine Advocate equaled big bucks for the winery, leading to many producers moving to producing blockbuster-style wines. This Parkerization of wine style offended the delicate sensibilities of said commentators, although they did not seem offended when they had been getting payola for always approving of the wines from their previous benefactors.
For a good 15 to 20 years ,The Wine Advocate’s wisdom was pretty much unquestioned, and Parker’s legion of followers grew in both number and zealousness. His ratings were make or break for producers, both established and new.
One thing is sure, the majority of consumers of expensive wines loved the wines that Parker loved and really what is more important than satisfied customers?
Among the systemic changes was the popularization of blind tasting, where the taster/reviewer cannot see the bottle of the wine poured into his or her glass. While not unheard of previously, it was now the gold standard in rating wine. Another great change was the 100-point rating system, which is a specific metric, that along with the narrative description, gives consumers an objective comparison of wines. Also, The Wine Advocate bought wines at retail whenever possible. This prevented the winery from submitting, shall we say ringers.
Parker, now retired, was a dynamic game-changing, ethical force, as well as a powerful tastemaker in the world of fine wine and for fans of fairness, a hero.
