John Szabo’s Buyer’s Guide to Vintages August 30th Release

If It’s in the Buyer’s Guide, It’s Worth Buying, and Navigating “Scoreflation”

By John Szabo MS, with notes from David Lawrason, Michael Godel, Megha Jandhyala and Sara d’Amato

Navigating the Scoreflation

First, just a brief word on the admittedly tired subject of wine scores. We know that you know this already, but considering the theme of the August 30 release and the fact that it gets recycled so frequently, I thought it perhaps worth reminding readers that it’s hardly taxing for a retailer to come by big scores for their marketing material these days. Search widely enough and you’ll find somebody, somewhere in the world who has given a wine 90+ points. In fact, a quick perusal of the Vintages catalogue reveals that are only two wines in the entire release of 87 products that have a published score below 90, with the lowest being 88 points (thank you Michal Godel!).

This invites the inevitable conclusion that the LCBO is not only one of the largest buyers of alcohol in the world, but also one of the most discerning and astute, tightly curating an assortment of only the world’s best, the top 10% as it were. Or you might just as likely conclude that scores in this case have become almost meaningless. I’m aligned with the latter conclusion.

You should know that “scoreflation” is real. From the consumer’s viewpoint, the 100-point scale has been squeezed to essentially a 10-point scale, from 90-100. This not only leaves little room for nuanced distinction but also saps the sway out of a big score, which are now as common as dandelions. And the dandelions are even more prevalent when ratings are cherry-picked from multiple sources, reputable and otherwise, and only the biggest are exploited.

Putting all one’s stock into randomly generated scores is not a terribly reliable buying strategy. One reviewer’s 95 is another’s 87 (there are plenty of examples from this release). If you were a retailer, which score would you choose to publish? The wine is the same, maybe even the reviewer’s appreciation for the wine is also similar. It’s just that the scale is different. There’s simply no way to index and line up the scales of multiple publications and multiple reviewers and adjust for inflation to make sense of it.

You can only compare one apple to another on the same apple scale. The consistency behind the numbers is what truly counts. If a reviewer does their job well, their scoring is consistent within their own set of standards, their own context. “Wine appreciation is subjective, but as with anything, a glowing recommendation from a trusted source goes a long way,” states the Vintages catalogue. The key word here is trusted — not all equal numbers are the same.

We’d like to think that our scores are generally more closely tethered to reality — how many sub-$20 wines are really 98% of the way to perfection? None of us thought so in this release. But that would be delusional. There is no universal reality to a number given to a subjective impression, outside of the beholder. This fact is the foundational premise of WineAlign — multiple critics reviewing the same wines and providing independent assessments and scores. We don’t always agree, which should be reassuring. But we strive to be as consistent and true to our own internal scales as possible. And when we do align, the impressions reenforce one another.

To be fair, the Vintage catalogue does share “the scoop on some of the sources we cite most often.” The list of seven publications includes WineAlign, surprisingly, since our scores are almost always lower than the average, along with well-established names like Decanter and the Wine Spectator. But even their scores have become increasingly inflated over the years, tracking closely to, well, inflation, like pretty much every wine-scoring publication, and their scoring methodology and scales are different.

What’s a consumer to do?

Identify a consistent and trusted source and align with them and filter out the rest of the dandelions. And if multiple voices align, so much the better.

John’s Chianti Classico Collection Report 2025 & Top Buys

Earlier this year I attended the Anteprime di Toscana, the annual release of new vintages from all the major Tuscan appellations (with the exception of Brunello di Montalcino, which hosts a separate preview tasting in November). It’s always a brilliant opportunity to catch up with producers, taste soon-to-be-released wines, and get a comprehensive sense of how the latest vintage measures up to the historic mean.

I’ve already published reports on some fine Chianti Rùfina Riserva Terraelectae 2021 wines, as well as a somewhat mixed bunch of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2022, Riserva 2021, and the First Release of New Top Tier “Pieve” Wines from the 2021 Vintage.

Next and last up is Chianti Classico, an appellation that has been moving from strength to strength over the last dozen years or more. I’ve been tasting the anteprime every year for almost 20 years now, and I can say with confidence that average quality has never been better, and the highs are at their highest level since Grand Duke Cosimo dei’ Medici III delimited the Chianti area in 1716. Click for the full report and Buyer’s Guide.

Buyer’s Guide Vintages August 30: White & Sparkling

Rustenberg Wild Ferment Sauvignon Blanc 2024, Stellenbosch, South Africa
$18.95, Woodman Wines & Spirits
David Lawrason – From a classic Stellenbosch estate comes a fine herbed and quite mineral sauvignon blanc spiced up by wild fermentation then ageing in barrel. Sauvignon herbal nuances are in-filled with spice and guava-like tropical fruit. As always with South Africa – so much for so little.
Sara d’Amato – A gently oak fermented, oak-aged sauvignon blanc crafted with ambient yeast—a thoughtful departure from the archetypal NZ style, this leans more toward Bordeaux in sensibility, though carrying a riper edge, yet stopping short of Napa’s exuberance, resulting in one that is wholly expressive of Stellenbosch. It hits a compelling middle ground: poised and balanced, with an ease of drinking that never veers into simplicity in this classy expression with genuine character and the structure to reward a few years in bottle.
…

There are 15 other Vintages recommendations this week that are currently only available to our premium members. This complete article will be free and visible to all members 30 days after publication. We invite you to subscribe today to unlock our top picks and other Premium benefits