Robert Parker reveals scores for 2009 - with 21 getting top ratings
It's official - parts of the 2009 Bordeaux are the best heavyweight critic Robert Parker has ever tasted, which is likely to have an enormous impact on pricing for the vintage.
Harpers Wine & Spirit Trades Review has revealed that the writer, who recently published his rankings for the vintage, considers some Medocs and Graves to be the finest he has experienced in 32 years of Bordeaux.
No fewer than 21 wines have the potential to gain a perfect 100-point ranking from the critic, including Haut-Brion, Lafite-Rothschild, Cos d'Estournel, Cheval Blanc and Latour.
While Mr Parker did note that 2009's wines were less consistent than 2005's - widely considered to be the last exceptional year for wine - he commented that its "peaks in quality could turn out to be historic".
Mr Parker practised as an attorney in Baltimore for ten years before resigning from his position as Assistant General Counsel to the state's Farm Credit Banks in 1984 to focus on wine writing.