Wine critics in 2019

Wine criticism: the post-Parker era

Robert Parker, the undisputed wine guru, was for many years THERE reference for the wine ratingIndeed, he founded Wine Advocate in 1978 and launched its famous 100-point rating system. A simple system allowing consumers to have an indicator of a wine's quality or a vintage. Very quickly, his method gained popularity and crossed borders. He rated Bordeaux En Primeur wines while they were still aging, then gave a new rating upon bottling. Bordeaux châteaux trembled before his new ratings because a link between price fluctuations and Parker's ratingsA 100 Parker score and everyone wants to buy this wine!

But his comments are sometimes criticized, as in 2011 when, even before arriving on site, he described the vintage as "of no interest"! A major blow for the 2011 En Primeur campaign. He had, of course, retracted his remarks, which were heavily criticized by the Bordeaux wine trade, and his final rating was far from bad.

He withdrew from rating Bordeaux En Primeur wines starting with the 2014 vintage, handing the reins to his protégé and successor. Neal Martin (who has since left Wine Advocate), then announced he would no longer review Bordeaux wines, and finally officially retired in early 2019. To date, no critic has the same influence than Robert Parker.

Who are the wine critics in 2019?

Lisa Perrotti-Brown - Wine Advocate

Lisa Perrotti-Brown is a undisputed lover of Bordeaux wines who has long worked in marketing, sales, and purchasing for wines from this region. She was born and raised in the United States before beginning her wine career in London over 20 years ago. In 2008, she completed her Master of Wine in Singapore and began working for the Wine Advocate of which she becomes the editor-in-chief In 2013, she published her first book in 2015, titled *Taste Like a Wine Critic: A Guide to Understanding Wine Quality*. She then moved to Napa, California, where she established a new agency for Wine Advocate. 2017 marked a significant milestone for the American writer, who was promoted to... Bordeaux critic position in order to replace Neal Martin who left for Vinous.

Neal Martin – Vinous

Neal Martin is considered the worthy successor of the renowned critic Robert Parker. Originally from England, Neal Martin studied management science at the University of Warwick. In 1996, he joined a Japanese import company in Tokyo specializing in Bordeaux and Burgundy wines. He regularly travels to France, where he has visited all the major Bordeaux châteaux and the essential Burgundy estates several times. He began writing a personal website : wine-journal.com. The large readership of his writings caught the attention of Robert Parker, who offered him a position in 2006. review at Wine AdvocateNeal Martin's book, Pomerol, was published in 2012 and is the result of three years of research. Then, in 2017, he left Wine Advocate, where he was a critic of the Bordeaux region, to join VinousIt covers the Burgundy wines and Bordeaux, as well as wines from South Africa and New Zealand.

Antonio Galloni – Vinous

American wine critic Antonio Galloni is the founder of VinousBorn in Venezuela to an American mother and an Italian father, he grew up in Florida where his parents sold Italian wines. Antonio Galloni began his studies in music before pursuing business at the Sloan School of Management. In 2004, he began publishing Piedmont Report on Piedmont wines. As the only Italian wine critic writing in English besides James Suckling, his writing attracts readers worldwide. Robert Parker then offered him a position as Italian wine critic for The Wine Advocate, which he accepted in 2006. He also covers California, Champagne, Chablis and the Côte d'Or. Finally, in 2013, the American critic decided to create his own website and launched Vinous. A year later, he partnered with Stephen Tanzer of the "International Wine Cellar," who became his editor-in-chief.

James Molesworth - Wine Spectator

James Molesworth is writer for Wine Spectator Since 2004. Born in New York, he grew up in a wine-loving family before studying anthropology at the University of Massachusetts. He took his first job at Burgundy Wine Company, a wine retailer. James Molesworth joined Wine Spectator in 1997 as a tasting coordinator. He is tasting manager in the Bordeaux region, of the Loire, of the Rhône Valley And for ports. The Wine Spectator publishes a Top 100 wines every year since 1988, which is eagerly awaited by the entire wine industry.

Jean Marc Quarin

Jean Marc Quarin was born into a family of winegrowers from Italy on his father's side and... Languedoc Roussillon on his mother's side. After studying to become a Special Education Teacher in Bordeaux, where he also began his first wine tasting courses, he joined the Institute of Oenology and brilliantly obtained his tasting diploma. In 1985, he completed an internship at Domaine of Chevalier on the vinification of the 1985 vintage in Léognan and participated in the blending tastings of the 1984 vintage. In 1998, Jean Marc Quarin creates the "Tasting Notebooks"a guide independent aimed at Bordeaux wine lovers. The success of his guide stems from his informed judgment; Jean-Marc Quarin is convinced that the potential of wine results from the work in the vineyard. Thus, he was able to declare just one month after the harvest that 2000 was a great vintage. He was also the first to announce that 1998 was a great year for... Pomerol wines. This ability to anticipate And the accuracy of his predictions earned him praise from the press in 1998. great taster publishes its analyses and offers training courses and conferences worldwide.

James Suckling

James Suckling is a wine and cigar critic originally from Los Angeles. After studying political science and journalism, he moved to San Diego and developed a passion for wine. In 1981, he joined Wine Spectator who tasked him in 1984 with creating the company's European office. He then lived in Paris, where he covered European wines, particularly Bordeaux, Italian, and Port wines, tasting approximately 4,000 wines a year. The American has an emotional approach to tasting and believes that wine consumers should think less scientifically. For him, "wine is like music": a good wine should evoke emotion. Today, James Suckling resides in Tuscany and left Wine Spectator to focus on his charitable wine projectHis website, JamesSuckling.com, created in 2010, is a collection of his reviews and videos featuring prominent figures in the wine world. He is known for giving rather generous scores to the wines he tastes.

We have only presented a few wine critics but have tried to highlight those with the greatest international influence. The quality of French tasters such as La Revue du Vin de France or Bettane & Desseauve is undeniable, but to date it focuses on the French marketWe would apply the same analysis to English critics like Jancis Robinson or Decanter magazine. It is always riskier to trust a single critic rather than a set of reviewsThat's why we suggest our customers take a closer look at the average rating. Wine Decider which compiles the ratings of several international critics.