ABOUT OUR RATING SCALE & QUOTED PRICES

Rating Bottled Wines

For wines that are bottled, we use a five star rating system as described below.

Perfection — A five star wine is perfect, the ne plus ultra.

Extraordinary — A four star wine is extraordinary and nearly flawless.

Outstanding — A three star wine is outstanding and a must buy.

Highly Recommended — A two star wine is highly recommended, with special qualities.

Recommended — A one star wine is recommended and has no significant defects.

Half stars are given to wines slightly better than other wines in a given category.

() Indicates potential given additional bottle age.

Wines are ranked on this star system on the basis of relative merit.

Wines not recommended are given no star.

Best Buy: A Best Buy designation is given if the wines are priced substantially less than other wines of the same type and quality.

Rating Wines From Barrel Prior To Bottling

Wines tasted from barrel before bottling are rated on a three barrel scale, based on potential.

Three Barrels — Exceptional Potential

Two Barrels — Outstanding Potential

One Barrel — Very Good Potential

Half Barrels are given to wines slightly better than other wines in a given category.

Wines tasted from barrel are accorded potential rankings: Exceptional Potential, Outstanding Potential and Very Good Potential. They are not “finished” wines and can change significantly during the wine making process prior to bottling. We do not believe in precise ratings for unfinished wines.

Quoted Prices

Unless otherwise noted, quoted prices are either prices we paid for the wines or are an approximate average of suggested retail prices.