Robert M. Parker, Jr.

“Life is too short to drink bad wine.”

“There can never be any substitute for your own palate nor any better education than tasting the wine yourself.”

“Wine is, above all, about pleasure. Those who make it ponderous make it dull.”

“There's no question that a great wine is a complex wine. The complexity comes from the soil.”

“What's in the bottle is ultimately all that counts.”

“I follow my nose. It’s as simple as that.”

“Too many wines are technically correct, but they have no soul.”

“Great wine is great art. I think that's a given.”

“The role of the critic is to be a consumer's advocate.”

“Bordeaux is my first love. I was 20 when I had my first claret.”

“A great wine should make you feel something. It should move you.”

“My scoring system is a guide, not a bible.”

“The finest wines are restrained and have a sense of elegance.”

“A wine is not an investment, it's a drink.”

“I have no preconceived notions about a wine. I taste it for what it is.”

“Terroir is the fingerprint of a wine.”

“You don't need a great education to appreciate a great wine.”

“The wine world is so much more diverse than it was 30 years ago.”