More About the 20 Point System

Now that the Wine Advocate has come out with Dr. Jay Miller's reviews of Washington wines, the 100 point wine rating system used by that and other publications has come into increased focus. It is a compelling testimony to the strides that Washington wine making has made to have 338 wines score 90 points or more and 810 recommended in the Wine Advocate. That said, this event reinforces my belief that the 20 point system is a more precise gauge for evaluating wines.

The first thing I must state is: do not multiply 20 point scores by five to get the equivalent 100 point score. The 20 point system has very different gradations. I have written before (Sept. 4, 2009 and March 2, 2010) about the Davis 20 Point System which was originated by the University of California at Davis in the late 1950's. Here is a recap from these articles.

The Davis 20 Point System was commonly used in evaluating wines until the Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator came along with the 100 point system (I have used 20 points ever since I started Esquin in 1970). The Davis faculty experimented with 100 points in the 1940's, then came to the conclusion later that a 20 point system provided more precise results. The Davis system assigned points on a form with the following standards.

Clarity (2 points) - Brilliant, near sparkly, clear with no haze or particulates.

Color (2 points) - Appropriate color for varietal/type and age.

Bouquet (4 points) Distinct varietal characteristics, balanced bouquet ("corked" is a defect here).

Total Acidity (1 point) - Proper balance, appropriate for varietal/type and age.

Sweetness (1 point) - Appropriate sweetness, well enhanced/well balanced.

Body/Texture (2 points) - Appropriate body for varietal/type and age.

Flavor/Taste (2 points) - Complex flavors, appropriate for varietal/type and age.

Acescensy (Bitterness) (1 point) - Well balanced, no perceptible bitterness.

Astringency (1 point) - Appropriate levels of tannin for the varietal/type and age.

Overall Quality (4 points) - Wine's of "noble" quality with distinct and distinguishing character. (It is here that there is room for subjectivity. Wines that are "charming" with some special character get 3 points. Typical or unexceptional wines get fewer points.)

The scores are totaled for a given wine to obtain the following ratings:

17 - 20 points - Wines of outstanding characteristics having no defects.

13 - 16 points - Standard wines with neither outstanding character or defect.

9 - 12 points - Wines of commercial acceptability with noticeable defects.

5 - 8 points - Wines below commercial acceptability.

1 - 5 points - Completely spoiled wines.

One interesting thing about the U.C. Davis System is that wines scoring 17 - 20 points are considered "wines of outstanding characteristics having no defects." This must mean that some wines are more outstanding than others. This is what the 17 - 20 point range means to me:

17 points - Very good, above average wines.

18 points - Exceptional, fine wines.

18.5 points - A step higher, more complex and nuanced.

19 points - Outstanding wines with much complexity.

19.5 points - Great wines that show extraordinary character.

20 points - Wines that are not only flawless, but possess superlative depth and complexity.

Occasionally (but not often) I will use a + to indicate a wine that is a notch above it's point level in complexity.

The beauty of the 20 point system is its simplicity which reduces (but does not eliminate) the influence of subjectivity in the evaluation process. Wines get rated on the basis of their overall balance and total performance. This is what I strive for.

Initially, when I started the Review of Washington Wines, I was going to use the 100 point scale as it seemed to be the one most widely understood by wine consumers. But in talking with Chris Camarda of Andrew Will on a visit to his winery on Vashon Island, he convinced me to do otherwise. Chris pointed out that almost no one will buy a wine that gets 85 points, even though using school grading that would be a B and hence very good. Most 100 point scale ratings peak out at about 92 points, so there is a range of 89 - 92 points for most Recommended / Highly Recommended wines, a level of precision that is actually lower than that of 17 - 20 points. Under the 100 point system, few wines get 93 or more points which becomes a Holy Grail that wineries strive for. In sum, the 20 point system, in my opinion, delivers a more precise estimation of a wine's overall quality than the 100 point system.