NR vs Rating on CT

[Aleks_V]

I guess I’m in the minority but I do score wine, probably about 2/3 of the time. I’ll typically only not score if the wine is flawed due to some environmental factor or if I opened something up that’s way to young to drink. I’ll score wines on the other side of the plateau since older wines are typically fading.

For me it’s helpful to have a quick benchmark for a wine. My standard base score for an OK wine is about an 85-86, I’d put my QPR all stars around 90-92, etc. yes, it’s imperfect but it’s a helpful reference for me.

Just my $0.02

[Ian_Sutton]

I don’t score wines, but will say it’s a sad individual that complains about a score another wine enthusiast gives.

While I’m fortunate enough to get some positive feedback through CT comments, every now and then I get people saying my score is just too low (or I just don’t “get” the wine). When I explain that instead of using the 90-100 rating scale, I prefer to use the whole 50-100 scale, many often tell either tell me I’m wrong or I’m an idiot.

I would recommend apologising to them, advising that you will in future use the full 0-100 range

[John_Glas]

I always rate the wine as first and foremost it is data for me. It is enjoyable to see a review 5-10 years ago on a wine and see a note wait and you will be rewarded. Also I like to rate wines young to see if I want to buy more for longer term aging.

I don’t like just a score! That means nothing and shows laziness in my opinion but if the person is doing for themselves than more power to them.

[T_Melloni]

I score my wines so I can show friends that I only drink highly scored wines.
Yes, I am being sarcastic.

[T_Melloni]

When adding a tasting note in CT, I do add a general score, using my own made-up internal criteria. The score is for my own benefit and not to suggest to anyone reading my note that it is some objective valuation of a wine.
In large part, I agree with Dennis’ take:

I use a score often in CT, but I never post scores here and don’t think they have any value outside of my own clerical records. I use scores in CT so I can sort by score over a time period and see what I really liked.

I exclude my ‘score’ when copying CT Notes to this website. I will use my personal score to help define my Wine of The Year, or to share a very positive review of a wine or winemaker when that wine comes up for discussion on this website.

[Dan_Sch]

I rate wines often and appreciate those who do. Most of us recognize a general 85-100 type of range, as I never find an unflawed wine that I wouldn’t give a solid “B” grade to.

And while a rating of a few wines is not useful to me, I can certainly garner whether someone who’s palate I generally agree with preferred a/b/c better than the others. It is absolutely what I use to differentiate preferences and inform myself on how much enjoyment I got from the wine.

[Wes_Barton]

I post notes for my own reference. Back in the first years of CT I was regularly taking notes and quite often referring back to my notes while making buying decisions and for other reasons. Scores helped. These days I rarely take notes aside from a regular blind tasting group. There it’s utilitarian, so far from comprehensive good writing, with scores to help with ranking. I don’t generally transcribe those into CT. When I do write something there, it’s usually an impression after the fact that I think will be useful for me and others. If I feel comfortable in a score, I give one. If not, I feel throwing some number out there would be worse than useless.

I use the whole scale because it exists for a reason. I’ve had truly terrible wines and feel no need to be polite about it or whatever.

As noted above, in a group setting preferences vary greatly on wines. It’s far far beyond some linear style preference. With a decent sized group, most wines in a blind tasting get both first and last place votes. Some wines do generate broad agreement about being good or bad, but even then there can be a few people who disagree. It’s possible to have a healthy relationship with scores, seeing them for what they are: subjective snapshot assessment. Absolutely useless without a good TN, and more about drawing attention to the note or clarifying/supplementing a note.

It needs to be said, once again, critics don’t publish most lower scores and they don’t review most mediocre and gawd-awful wines. Don’t be deluded into thinking the range of quality reflected in their reviews is the range of quality that’s out there. If you use the ratings scale, please use it literally. Your notes should relate why you rated it where you did.

[Brady_Daniels]

I don’t like just a score! That means nothing and shows laziness in my opinion.

“93 - Drank with Nancy”

[John_Glas]

I don’t like just a score! That means nothing and shows laziness in my opinion.

“93 - Drank with Nancy”

Apparently, Nancy was not that good.

[Barry_L_i_p_t_o_n]

I use a score often in CT, but I never post scores here and don’t think they have any value outside of my own clerical records. I use scores in CT so I can sort by score over a time period and see what I really liked. Easier to do a quick- what did I like best in 2021-by looking at scores instead of reading hundreds of my own notes. That being said, I realize scores are pretty silly and I can care less what another person scores a wine. Unless I know that person and understand his/her palate.

Exactly.

I don’t enjoy writing tasting notes. I do some rudimentary stuff, but if it tastes like the last time I had it, don’t see a need. And I score almost all. Feel free to put me on ignore.

[Barry_L_i_p_t_o_n]

I always rate the wine as first and foremost it is data for me. It is enjoyable to see a review 5-10 years ago on a wine and see a note wait and you will be rewarded. Also I like to rate wines young to see if I want to buy more for longer term aging.

I don’t like just a score! That means nothing and shows laziness in my opinion but if the person is doing for themselves than more power to them.

Pretty insulting to me, but I don’t care.

[John_Glas]

I always rate the wine as first and foremost it is data for me. It is enjoyable to see a review 5-10 years ago on a wine and see a note wait and you will be rewarded. Also I like to rate wines young to see if I want to buy more for longer term aging.

I don’t like just a score! That means nothing and shows laziness in my opinion but if the person is doing for themselves than more power to them.

Pretty insulting to me, but I don’t care.

What is your cellar tracker name?

[Daniel_S]

If I am writing a TN and the wine is in a drinking window, I will score it. For the most part it is splitting hairs if it is above 85pts. Psychologically there is a barrier between 89 and 90 points (I blame wine marketing for this). I find that a wine needs to have delineated aromas, flavors, and nuance for me to break that 90pt score.

The CT Average score is only useful in the macro sense but only when there are enough reviews. Recently got burnt on a cheap CdR villages because the CT scores were high, but the TNs were sparse.

What CT really needs is a “Would I buy this again?” field.

[John_Glas]

If I am writing a TN and the wine is in a drinking window, I will score it. For the most part it is splitting hairs if it is above 85pts. Psychologically there is a barrier between 89 and 90 points (I blame wine marketing for this). I find that a wine needs to have delineated aromas, flavors, and nuance for me to break that 90pt score.

The CT Average score is only useful in the macro sense but only when there are enough reviews. Recently got burnt on a cheap CdR villages because the CT scores were high, but the TNs were sparse.

What CT really needs is a “Would I buy this again?” field.

Would that not be the like button feature?

[Robert_M_yers]

I stopped rating years ago because it can’t make any sense to anybody but me. Unless you know what I value in a wine the score means nothing. If you want to know what I value I guess one could read the note.

I’ve officially gone to the side of preferring a broader rating system like JLL where he goes to 6 stars and actually uses all of them. He finds praise (and may point faults) for wines that are given a mere 3 stars and I find the broader spectrum refreshing.

[John_Glas]

I post a score if I have something relevant to compare the wine to. I leave it blank if I have no point of comparison.

? Help me out on this one. Need an example.

[Michael_Martin]

I post a score if I have something relevant to compare the wine to. I leave it blank if I have no point of comparison.

? Help me out on this one. Need an example.

So… I drink a 2013 Santa Barbara County Syrah. I drink a lot of 2013 Santa Barbara County Syrahs, I have something to compare it to. I’ll give it a score.

I drank 2014 Aglianico the other night. I like Aglianicos, but rarely have had a ‘14, so I leave a tasting note because I have no clue how it compares to other ‘14 Aglianicos.

[William_Jones]

My CT notes are meant for me, put in CT as a searchable database as opposed to a leather bound diary style book(been gifted such). I know the difference between 87 and 89; 90 and 93 etc for me; and I don’t try to align my numbers with any published scores.
I don’t understand why folks think a score of 92 should be held to a objective, accurate/precise standard more than a descriptor like “oaky”, “high alcohol”, “full bodied” etc. These are all only judgements of a single taster attempting to convey impressions and suggest a degree of like/dislike. Putting more value or blame on a number you disagree with is a fallacy of numerical precision that only exists in the math world. Otherwise it is just a descriptor of approval, uncertainty or dislike.
I find that after many decades of exploring this fascinating beverage I write fewer CT notes, but when I do it’s both a number and sensory description- bread crumbs to guide my path should I wish to visit that wine/ region/producer again.

[John_Glas]

My CT notes are meant for me, put in CT as a searchable database as opposed to a leather bound diary style book(been gifted such). I know the difference between 87 and 89; 90 and 93 etc for me; and I don’t try to align my numbers with any published scores.

Always important to not align with the overinflated critic scores. A 94 should mean something!!!

[dougwilder]

On CT, some folks never rate, some rate sometimes, and some always rate. Seems that if the person does not like the style of wine but appreciates the quality, they do not rate. People seem much more willing to rate if there is a higher score. I try to rate as much as I can so I can look back on what I like/don’t like but there does seem to be a power to the CT rating that can impact a small winery’s business which I think about as well which might make me inclined to not rate. Why do you rate/not rate? Are you afraid of offending the winery/winemaker if you give a bad score? What do you do with your tasting notes? Do you look back at them?

'm pretty sure that a winemaker would not be offended (presuming they even care) by a ‘bad score’ from an individual post on CT. If you believe so then you propose to elevate that review to the same level as the top three or four opinions on the planet who make their living from being a professional critic. Even then, guess which one of those scores never gets mentioned?