Читать книгу Wine Faults and Flaws - Keith Grainger - Страница 91

There are several different grading systems in use. Historically, a 0–7 scoring scale was often used, and of course, star ratings, from 0 to 5 stars remain a popular system. To many critics, the use of simple scales such as these means that expression cannot be given to the perhaps significant differences in quality between wines within one of the grading bands. Accordingly, the preferred systems now mark the wines out of 100 or out of 20 (possibly including fractions). The marks can, if deemed appropriate, be translated into a star rating, or descriptive band, e.g. ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Highly Recommended’. Both systems have strengths and weaknesses. The scores given can be a sum of the individual scores for appearance, nose, palate, conclusions, etc., and in which case, the assessor will mark within a framework or can be an overall score. Critics of the former method point out that simply adding the scores means that glaring weaknesses or flaws in one section can result in a wine still being scored rather highly. If scores are useful at all, it is only to people who understand the system. As much as low scores are not used in marketing materials, to the uninitiated, a score of 75 out of 100 would equate to 15 out of 20, and both would seem very good!