Robert Parker has over the course of 25 years almost single handedly ruined the diversity in the world of wines. His singular palate and numerical reviews are easy for the average person to understand, but cause all of the wines to be the same: Fruit forward, Big, Tannic and Simple. His career began as a democratic reviewer trying to break into a difficult world, and has morphed to a dictator ruling over a world comprised of thousands of similar and boring wines. I wrote an similar review for another Robert Parker Guide, as I truly feel that almost all of his wines are the same flavor profile. If you don't believe me, do an experiment. Try a highly rated California Cabernet Sauvignon and a Highly rated Bordeaux and try to pick out a difference!! Especially for wines produced with the help of Michel Rolland, who is best friends with Parker and fashions wines catering to his palate in order to get good scores, which of course increases sales and sale prices.

Watch a movie called "Monovino" by Jonathan Nossiter for more information.

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 VALUED 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, ESPECIALLLY 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.

The only problem with this edition is that it hasn't been updated since 2002. many fine wines have come out in the succeeding years. Parker likes to focus on French wines, particularly, and not those the average person can afford. While I don't dispute his ratings, most of the wines he reviews are beyond my means to afford. His descriptions of each country and its wine making history are terrific and makes the book worth the price for the education.