I use a 100 point scale, one similar to Wine Advocate’s and Wine Spectator’s. I’m using it as an absolute scale, not in a relative sense – that means great reds score higher than great roses, for example. I also rate the current performance of the wine, not its estimated best.

• below 80: poor or faulty
• 80-83: acceptable; well made simple wines or ambitious ones with balance or other issues
• 84-86: a good wine, one that can be enjoyed and liked, but one for the midweek; if price is good, I buy several bottles; think a villages wine from a coop in France
• 87-89: very good wine: a mid-class wine offering a lot of enjoyment, I might even love it; would be Cru Bourgeois quality in Bordeaux
• 90-92: outstanding wine, it’s serious stuff; often the top wine of a good producer; rarely costs less, than 20-25 Euros; it might come from a premier cru
• 93-95: exceptional wine, grand cru quality; as good as it gets for most variety and wine region
• 96-100: magical – perhaps the very best of Bordeaux, Burgundy etc. in a great year