Why South African Wine Scores Can Be So Different
If you follow South African wine, you will have noticed that the same wine can receive very different scores from different critics.
One might give it 96 points, another 92.
Who is right?
Possibly both.
A wine score is an opinion expressed as a number, not a scientific measurement. Critics bring their own preferences, experience and expectations to the glass, which inevitably influences the final score.
This becomes particularly interesting when South African wines are judged by critics from different wine cultures, with different ideas about what makes a great wine.
South African wine does not always fit the traditional mould
The South African wine industry has developed its own identity.
Our Chenin Blanc is an obvious example.
South African Chenin can be made in many different styles – from fresh, inexpensive wines intended for immediate drinking to serious, complex wines made from old vines and capable of ageing for many years.
The same applies to Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and the increasingly important varieties and blends coming from the Cape.
A critic looking for a particular traditional expression may respond differently to a wine that takes another approach.
This is one reason why South African wine ratings can vary between critics.
Vintage makes a difference
The vintage is another important factor.
A critic may taste a wine relatively early in its life and assess it according to what is in the glass at that moment.
Another may place more emphasis on its potential to develop.
This can produce very different scores.
A young red wine with aggressive tannins may not be particularly enjoyable today. But if the fruit, structure and acidity suggest that it will develop beautifully over the next decade, an experienced critic may score it highly.
The consumer drinking it tonight may have a completely different reaction.
The critic’s preference matters
Wine critics are not machines.
They have preferences.
Some favour:
- Power and concentration
- Freshness and acidity
- Elegant, restrained wines
- Ripe fruit
- Savoury complexity
- Oak influence
- Minimal-intervention winemaking
- Traditional regional character
None of these preferences is inherently right or wrong.
But they influence scores.
A critic who loves restrained, high-acid wines is unlikely to score a very ripe, powerful wine in exactly the same way as one who prefers richness and concentration.
Should you ignore South African wine ratings?
No.
But you should stop treating them as absolute.
A high score can be useful. It tells you that an experienced critic considers the wine to be of a certain standard.
But the tasting note is often more useful than the number.
Look at what the critic actually says.
Does the wine have the flavours you enjoy?
Is the style one you normally drink?
Is it ready to drink now?
Will it benefit from ageing?
Is the critic describing a wine that you would actually want to drink?
These questions are far more useful than simply asking whether the wine has 92, 94 or 96 points.
South African wine consumers should look beyond the score
South Africa produces an extraordinary range of wines at very different price points.
A 90-point wine that costs R180 may give you considerably more pleasure and value than a 96-point wine costing R1,200.
The score tells you what the critic thought.
It does not tell you what you will think.
That is the point that is often lost when wine becomes a numbers game.
Wine is ultimately about drinking and enjoyment.
The critic’s score is useful information.
It is not the final word.
And when two critics disagree, that disagreement can actually tell us something interesting about the wine – and about the people doing the tasting.
