I have finally caved in to the suggestions of several of my mates and decided to post some scores on the wines as I go along. I will tag posts at the bottom of each – and an index of tags is down on the bottom right/bottom of the blog.

I have gone for a 20 point scale similar to those of elmundovino and JancisRobinson – in reality it ends up being an 8 point scale but I just felt that five was too few and the 20 or so of the supposed 100 point scale too many. In each case, the 20 points are awarded in the following categories:

• 2 for appearance
• 6 points for nose
• 6 for mouthfeel, balance and integration
• 6 for the flavours on offer

Broadly speaking, anything with 14 or above is a really good wine and anything about 15 was enjoyable along the following lines:

14 – interesting, don’t quite enjoy it though

15 – nice quaffing or quenching

16 – an enjoyable treat, better than most

17 – really enjoyable, worth looking for

18 – a really excellent wine by any standards

19 – superb, a really special wine you will probably not be offered a glass of

20 – a memorable experience about which I will be glad to bore you senseless

These scores are, frankly, not much use to anyone and should not be relied on for a number of reasons. First, they are wholly subjective: they are intended purely as an indication of which are my favourite wines. Second, the testing conditions could not be less ideal: sometimes a wine may get different scores on different days – it may have been better or worse, or I may have just been in a better mood, and I can’t rule out that some wines may be harshly treated due to circumstances beyond their control – the wrong stemware etc. Third, the scores are not permanent – I may revisit them from time to time. Fourth, I am biased: I am a fan of these wines, I have an idea of what I am looking for when I buy them and I like a drink in general so I fully expect some congestion at the top of the table.  Fifth, it will not be a comprehensive list: in the past when I didn’t like a wine I wouldn’t post it, and I don’t think I will be converting the blog into a series of hatchet jobs just to give the table some depth.

Despite all these limitations, I still think the scores are a good idea – they give me a mental framework on which to base my notes and require a little bit of additional discipline tasting wise. They also make it a little easier for anyone sufficiently interested to read between the lines of my occasionally rose tinted reviews.

In any event, my apologies in advance to aesthetes who object to the concept of points scores, the real experts who will probably disagree with me and, in particular, the men and women who have poured their heart and soul into making these wines and deserve a lot better than a numerical appraisal.