The World's Greatest Wine Estates: A Modern Perspective [Hardcover]

Robert M Parker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2005

Over the past twenty-five years, renowned critic Robert M. Parker, Jr., has visited both legendary and fledgling wineries all over the world and has tasted hundreds of thousands of wines. Only a fraction of those wines have earned his highest ratings and are considered by him to be truly legendary. In his latest book, Parker brings together what he calls "the best of the best," taking readers on a personal tour of the wineries that have impressed him most with their dedication to quality, consistency, and excellence.

The World's Greatest Wine Estates pays homage to exceptional wines and the exceptional people who make them. These lavishly illustrated pages showcase 175 of the world's most accomplished -- and most spectacular -- estates. Parker goes be-yond the labels, bottles, and ratings to present the land, the history, and the dedicated artisans practicing their craft. Though they form a wildly diverse group, all of these producers "share an inexhaustible commitment to their vineyards, a passion to produce as fine a wine as is humanly possible, and a vision that the joys of wine are infinite and represent the pinnacle of a civilized society."

Parker begins with an overview of what makes a wine great -- the ability to please both the palate and the intellect, to offer intense aromas and flavors without heaviness, to improve with age, to reflect its place of origin as well as the skill of its producers -- and explains how he came to choose the profound wines he features here. He also offers insider tips for ordinary wine-lovers who want to get their hands on extraordinary bottles.

The heart of the book contains profiles of the greatest estates of Argentina, Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. Each region is illustrated with a full-color map and accompanied by an introduction explaining the general wine history of the country. In his profiles of individual estates, Parker offers essential geographical information such as grape varietals, average age of the vines, and density of plantation; details about the estate's history and techniques and the wines it produces; visiting information for those who want to see the process up close; and tasting notes on the best recent vintages from each winery. Each profile also includes photographs of the vineyards and the people behind the wines, and labels from their best-known vintages.

Complete with a list of up-and-coming wineries ("Future Stars") and a glossary of wine terms, The World's Greatest Wine Estates is a very special reference for amateurs and connoisseurs alike.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Famed wine critic Parker can make (or break) a winery with his strong, personal opinions. In the introduction to this imposing reference, he justifies his beliefs with a detailed definition of what makes a wine estate great. Parker's opinionated dissertation, both educational and meaningful even to the wine novice, outlines his method for deciding which vineyards and wineries to include here, plus an analysis of how the world of wine has changed in the past 25 years and a tribute to the skill and hard work of the producers. Though Parker has made room for some wines from Australia and the U.S., France dominates the book. The work is divided alphabetically by country (Argentina, Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, U.S.), with each section beginning with an overview and history of wine making in the area, followed by directory-like details and profiles of selected producers, and commentary on specific vintages, including Parker's trademark point system. In appendixes, Parker includes a glossary of "winespeak" and recommends prospects for the future. With 175 lush photographs, historical and visitor information, and maps and images of wine labels, this work belongs on any oenophile's coffee table. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

America's most powerful wine critic presents his comprehensive assessment of what he deems the world's most important wineries. For each of these he offers a directory, a short history, a description of its vineyards, volume of output, and a list of great vintages. He then exhaustively details the finest of the wineries' vintages, rating them on his well-known 100-point scale and predicting the years when each of these will achieve its peak quaffability. The bulk of the text focuses on the great French wineries of Bordeaux and Burgundy, with good coverage of Rhone Valley wines as well. Germany, Italy, and California comprise most of the rest of the book's scope, but Argentina, Australia, Austria, Portugal, and Spain attain some recognition. For the serious wine drinker, Parker's minute analyses of each wine are thoughtful and as grounded in the objective as any matter of aesthetic taste can ever be. This is a valuable and necessary resource for any wine collector or collection of wine books. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 704 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743237714
• ISBN-13: 978-0743237710
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.9 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert M. Parker, Jr., has been the author and publisher of The Wine Advocate for over twenty-five years. He has won countless awards, including two of France's highest presidential honors: in 1993, President Francois Mitterrand pronounced him a Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Merite. In 1999, President Jacques Chirac signed a decree appointing Parker a Chevalier dans L'Ordre de la Legion d'Honneur, and in 2005, elevated his title to Officier. He is the author of many books about wine, including Bordeaux, Burgundy, The Wines of the Rhône Valley, and Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide. He lives in Maryland with his wife, Patricia, his daughter, Maia, and numerous basset hounds and English bulldogs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice list but not much else, January 6, 2006

By 

G-Man "G-man" (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World's Greatest Wine Estates: A Modern Perspective (Hardcover)

This book is interesting in that it lists one man's opinions about the world's best wine estates (although many of the choices are obviously common sense and no-brainers). Granted this man is a formidable wine critic, so his opinion certainly carries a lot of weight.
What was disappointing with this book, as another reviewer wrote, is the disappointing quality of the photography in this book. For what looks like a coffee table sized book from the world's premier wine critic, you would expect organized, world class photography with some explanatory captions. This book lacks that.
I also have mixed feelings about the pages for each producer devoted to tasting notes--on the one hand they are informative, but on the other hand it's too much nitty gritty detail for a coffee table type book such as this.
I really enjoyed Parker's Bordeaux book, which is more like an encyclopedia, but very helpful in sorting out the myriad producers in that region.

Bottom line--decent book, but not great.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ROBERT PARKER'S BEST BOOK EVER, December 3, 2005

By 

Linda Johnson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World's Greatest Wine Estates: A Modern Perspective (Hardcover)

Ten years ago I was primarily a California chardonnay and cabernet drinker, but then I discovered Robert Parker, and my wine world opened up to so many different kinds of marvelous wines.
Parker has many notable qualities, and aside from his unimpeachable integrity, and sterling work ethic, is his true love of so many different kinds of wines from around the world. Because of him, I have become a regular fan of tempranillos from Spain, malbecs from Argentina, grenaches from Southern France, and some amazing wine values from unkonwn grapes in Southern Italy.
His newest book focuses on the world's greatest wines and it is not only beautifully produced but flushes out so many of the wizards and brilliant men and women behind the wines, and in his very democratic way, gives recognition to many producers and regions ignored for decades, especially the great Chateauneuf-du-Papes that are my favorite wines today because of what I have learned from Parker.
I have all of Parker's books but this is his finest work to date, and one I predict will leave all of us who love wine an important work of reference as well as legacy to all wine producers who strive for excellence. Very Highly Recommended!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderfully entertaining, February 22, 2006

By 

arends oog "erick" (Gormley, On) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World's Greatest Wine Estates: A Modern Perspective (Hardcover)

I was thrilled to receive this book as a birthday present from my wife. After leafing through and reading some of it, I was even more thrilled.

You gotta love Parker. The man loves controversy. Here, he writes a definitive book on the World's Greatest Wines Estates about 175 of them. What first came to my mind was, will my favourite wines make it on his list, or for that matter, what list will he compile as to not to offend anyone.

I for one am certainly not disappointed. He starts off by providing a guideline as to what makes a wine great. For instance, he tells us that wine has be both sensory and intellectually appealing, and that each sip has better than the previous, as well as other criteria, all very helpful.

The Bordeaux section alone is great. Imagine, leaving out Chateau Le Pin as one of the World's Greatest, when the Wine Spectator in 1994 declared Le Pin as #3 on their Bordeaux Greatest Estates. Hmmm. On the other hand, Chateau Leoville Poyferre did make it.

The US list is also not without any controversy. For instance, among notables that did not make the list were Joseph Phelps, Silverado, Stag's Leap, and Duckhorn , while Berringer and Shafer made the grade.

All in all a wonderful book. I was not too much bothered by the photography, which some reviewers thought were of bad quality.