Fine wine is subject to rigorous and
constant review by a number of wine critics, and journalists
worldwide. A handful of the world’s best known and most highly
acclaimed critics have the power to make or brake a particular wine
or vintage – sometimes before it is even released onto the market!
We have included a brief bio for some of the notable wine critics –
in particular, those that typically have the most profound effect on
the prices of investment-grade Bordeaux wines.
Robert Parker Jnr
The
American-born wine writer and critic is considered by many to be the
most influential name in the fine wine business. His 100-point
scoring model and uniquely styled tasting notes in his publication
The Wine Advocate are without doubt the most widely used by firms
and collectors worldwide.
Having previously studied Law, Parker practiced as an attorney in
Baltimore MD for ten years, writing a wine guide book in his spare
time. In 1978, he sent out the first issue of his publication The
Wine Advocate (The Baltimore-Washington Wine Advocate at the time)
free of charge, accumulating six hundred paid subscriptions before
the second issue was sent out two months later. More than 20 years
late, the bi-monthly WA has over 50,000 subscribers worldwide, with
Parker labelled as the man with the “Million Dollar Nose” – his nose
and palate being insured for $1 million.
Jancis Robinson is a British wine critic and journalist, with the
highly respected title of Master of Wine. One of the leading
commentators of the wine community, she composes numerous articles
and tasting notes through her website as well as contributing a
weekly column for the Financial Times.
Robinson studied Mathematics and Philosophy at Oxford University,
briefly working for a travel company after leaving university. Her
writing career began in 1975, when she became the assistant editor
for Wine & Spirit Magazine. In 1984, she became the first person
outside of the wine trade to become a Master of Wine – the highest
recognized qualification in the wine trade.
Probably considered by the majority of people as the second most
influential authority in the world of fine wine, Robinson’s 20-point
rating scale has become increasingly important in recent years, in
reaffirming – and in some cases countering – the corresponding
scores from her ‘senior’ counterpart Parker..
Formerly Senior Editor and European Bureau Chief of Wine Spectator
magazine, Suckling is an American wine journalist and critic. Having
started out with Wine Spectator in the early 80’s, he was at the
magazine throughout it’s expansion from a small publication with a
meagre 800 subscribers in 1981, to its current standing as one of
the top-selling wine magazines worldwide.
In 2010, Suckling officially announced his resignation from the
publisher M. Shanken Communications (where he was also European
Editor of Cigar Aficionado). A short period after his retirement
from M. Shanken, Suckling launched his new website in October 2010,
stating that it would mainly focus on the video content featuring
“key wine figures around the world”. The inclusion of ‘tasting
videos’ on his website is what makes his reviewing style unique and
this innovative visual aspect of wine tasting has proved insightful
and popular in recent times, with a number of other reviewers
following suit.
Suckling himself, is a noted supporter of Bordeaux wines and his
website continues to amass a wealth of tasting notes, which he rates
using the ‘Wine Spectator 100-point scale’ – nearly identical to
Parker’s.
A
protégé of Parker, Neal Martin is a journalist and critic for the
erobertparker website and The Wine Advocate publication. Since it
began life on eRP in March 2007, over 500 articles have been
published on Martin’s Wine Journal section, with tens of thousands
of tasting notes in the archive.
After attending Warwick University, Martin spent several years
dabbling in a variety of jobs before his first foray into the world
of wine, with a Japanese export company where he was responsible for
the likes of “Latour” and “Petrus”. To further his knowledge of this
new and fascinating world, Martin enrolled onto a WSET diploma
course, passing four years and many tasting notes later. “Bored one
rainy Monday afternoon” in 2003, he created an independent website,
wine-journal.com, which by 2006 had attracted the attention of over
100,000 readers and a certain Robert Parker, who requested Martin’s
skills for his own website, where the Neal Martin Wine Journal has
been an exclusive contribution since.
Tim
Atkin is a British wine critic, writer and Master of Wine. His
written articles are wide-ranging both in terms of the topics and
the variety of publications, but he can frequently be found
appearing on television, appearing regularly on BBC1’s Saturday
Kitchen. Atkin also teaches at ‘Tim Atkin’s Wine School’ based at
Vinoteca, London.
Having acquired a BA in Modern Languages from Durham University and
a Masters in European Studies from London School of Economics, Atkin
turned his attention to journalism and won the Glenfiddich Wine
Writer of the Year Award in 1988 – an award he would go on to win
another 4 times in ’90, ’93, ’04 and ’06. Other awards include:
• UK Wine Guilds Wine Correspondent of the Year ’91, ’92, ’94 and
’96
• Wines of France Award ’94
• The Bunch Award for Wine Journalism ’95
• Waterfood Crystal Wine Correspondent of the Year ’95
• Lanson Black Label Award ’99, ’02, ’03, ’04
• Wines of Portugal Award ’05
• International Wine & Spirit Communicator of the Year ’07
• World Food Media Awards Best Drink Journalist ’07
• Louis Roederer International Wine Columnist of the Year ’09
Atkin is the Editor of Off Licence News, wine columnist for Woman
and Home as well as writing for World of Fine Wine and Intelligent
Life magazine. Regularly attending tastings, restaurants and
vineyards of the world, Atkin publishes numerous reviews and tweets
of his experiences through his website, using a 100-point rating
system for wines.
