Initial blind tasting

Every wine is assigned to a “flight” based on a specific theme – such as region, style, or price point – to ensure it is judged against its peers.

• Flights (typically 8 wines) are tasted fully blind in a random order.
• When two tasters are involved, we usually taste in reverse order.
• Distinctive bottles are decanted into standard bottles, and suspected faulty bottles are immediately replaced.

Non-blind retaste

Immediately following the blind session, we conduct an open label-visible retaste.

• Usually only one taster goes through this second tasting, except in cases of disagreement between the two tasters.
• We cross-check results between tasters, and verify exceptionally high or low scores.
• We compare the wine against its tech sheet, and its previous vintages.
• We do not usually write a second tasting note at this stage.

Second blind tasting

Where possible, and especially in tasting notes or scores that raise questions during the non-blind retaste, a second fully-blind tasting is held.

• We revisit the same bottle 2–3 days later by placing it in a new, comparable flight.
• We only update the initial score/note if this second look yields a more enthusiastic result, but a full tasting note is still written.

Technical review & final edit

Before publication, we perform a technical check to ensure our tasting notes align with the reality of the wine.

• We cross-reference our notes with your provided tech sheets (e.g., verifying oak usage if the wine seems oaky).
• This is where we factor in “value for money” and “typicity,” adjusting the final score and note to reflect the wine’s position in the market.
• All internal notes are merged into a single, cohesive, and professional review that is honest yet constructive.