There has been a progressive adoption of the 100-point system in wine shows and in reviews by other commentators. The majority follow the system outlined below, and which James Halliday used in precisely this form in the Wine Companion.
Wine Ratings
| 97-99 |
G O L D |
Exceptional Wines that have won major trophy/trophies in important wine shows, or are of that standard. |
| 95-96 |
Outstanding Wines of gold medal standard, usually with a great pedigree. |
|
| 94 |
S I L V E R |
Wines on the cusp of gold medal status, virtually indistinguishable from those wines receiving 95 points. |
| 90-93 |
Highly Recommended Wines of silver medal standard, wines of great quality, style and character, and worthy of a place in any cellar. |
|
| 89 |
B R O N Z E |
Recommended Wines on the cusp of silver medal standard, the difference purely a judgement call. |
| 86-88 | Wines of bronze medal standard, well produced, flavoursome wines, usually not requiring cellaring. | |
 |
Special Value Wines considered to offer special value for money within the context of their glass symbol status. |
|
| 84-85 |
Acceptable Wines of good commercial quality, free from significant fault. |
|
| 80-83 |
Over to You Everyday wines, without much character, and/or somewhat faulty. |
|
| 75-79 |
Not Recommended Wines with one or more significant winemaking faults. |
To 2028
Rather than give a span of drinking years, I have simply provided a (conservative) ‘drink-to’ date. Modern winemaking is such that, even if a wine has 10 or 20 years’ future during which it will gain greater complexity, it can be enjoyed at any time over the intervening months and years.
Cork
This is the closure used for this particular wine. The closures in use for the wines tasted are (in descending order): screwcap 90% (last year 88.4%), one-piece natural cork 5.3% (last year 5.8%), Diam 3.1% (last year 4.5%). The remaining 1.6% (in approximate order of importance) are ProCork, Twin Top, Crown Seal, Zork and Vino-Lok. I believe the percentage of screwcap-closed wines will continue to rise for red wines; 98.3% of white wines tasted are screwcapped, leaving little room for any further increase.
13.5%
As with closures, I have endeavoured to always include this information, which is in one sense self-explanatory. What is less obvious is the increasing concern of many Australian winemakers about the rise in alcohol levels, and much research and practical experimentation (picking earlier, higher fermentation temperatures in open fermenters, etcetera) is occurring. Reverse osmosis and yeast selection are two of the options available to decrease higher than desirable alcohol levels. Recent changes to domestic and export labelling mean the stated alcohol will be within a maximum of 0.5% difference to that obtained by analysis.
$95
I use the price provided by the winery. It should be regarded as a guide, particularly if purchased retail.