SCORE 100-98: Profound quality! These wines reveal a surreal combination of fruit, power, opulence, and a lasting impression in the mouth, while showcasing depth and complexity that is rarely found. Wines rated at this level are extraordinarily complex, rare, and long-lived. Few wines reach this level.

SCORE 97-96: All of the key characteristics are found, beautifully integrated, and impressively pronounced. Wines at this level are amazing in quality showcasing some impressive lingering of flavors.

SCORE 95-94: Combines a compelling combination of complex aromas, fruit-mass, and depth of fruit. At this level wines are beautifully structured, harmonious, and sublime, leaving a lasting impression of flavor and pristine elements.

SCORE 93-92: A harmony of delicious flavors with excellent balance of fruit and tannin. Not as potent as higher rated wines but sound in quality. Wines at this level are still complex in aroma and flavor. This quality offers great appeal and depth.

SCORE 91-90: Reveals deep aromas, with enough integration of sweet fruit and tannin to create a terrific drinking experience. At this level the taster will not find any austere or over-extracted flavors. These wines are attractive in aroma, deep in fruit, and full of delicious charm. Here, the wine is balanced and super-clean in the back-end.

SCORE 89-88: Outstanding wines of lighter-texture and fruit-mass. There is a tendency to be silky-textured, and deep to-concentrated on the palate, with generous fruit and solid structure. These will always be a charming wine to drink and cellar.

SCORE 87-86: An easy drinking, straight-forward effort, with less fruit and concentration than the upper-score ranges. They still posses a solid structure, and display enough depth of fruit and complexity. In some cases the wines tend to be silky-textured, and tart to ripe in fruit intensity. At this level wines are cellar-worthy and still provide pleasurable drinking. In some cases the wines can reveal some flaws, but can boast enough fruit and depth.

SCORE 85-84: These tend to lack interest as the wine starts to show tart to plump-fruit, and a lack of balance in flavor and tannin. They can be dominated by earthy aromas with less complexity of flavor than higher-rated wines. Here, the wine is attractive to the taster but does not provide the same attachment and dimension of flavor found in other wines at a higher-level.

SCORE 83-82: These lack either dimension or fruit intensity. They typically possess earthy/vegetable flavor, and usually offer only plump aromas and mouth-filling texture.

SCORE 81-79: These have major flaws and show one or more of the following deficiencies: extremely herbaceous in flavor: lacking a big portion of fruit-intensity: unbalanced with high-acidity: severely astringent and gritty on the back-end. Wines in this range are best suited for consumption in the first two years after bottling.

SCORE 78-below: Unacceptable, lacking in each important component. While void of flavor, they lack charming characteristics, and pleasurable qualities. Wines at this range are unsuitable for consumption and offer little or no hope to the taster.