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The KROW (Key Review of Wine), an honest review of every wine tasted by Tony Keys and occasional guest reviewers.
The KROW is an original, unbiased, insightful and independent review of wines currently available in Australia, the UK and the US. Prices and websites included.
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Scoring:
Marking wines can be an emotive issue and there is no enforceable rule on what scale should be used.
The Australian show system uses marks out of 20; Several writers use stars or symbols, many out of five. The American critic Robert Parker created the 100 point system and this is what we use.
Tony Keys explains: 'To understand the true meaning of my approach to marking out of 100, accept a wine I consider of average quality to be 85; and believe me, there is nothing wrong with a wine with 85 points.
'In truth the value of a wine is directly related to the wealth of the drinker; those with untold millions in the bank may think nothing of drinking bottles worth hundreds of dollars/pounds/Euros while those with an overdraft and more pressing financial matters might not find spending over $15, £5 or €10 a justifiable expense.
'In regards to value for money, wine divides roughly into two sections: those up to 100 Dollars/Euro/Pounds and those over. Once a wine is over this amount then scarcity, fashion or plain pomposity is what is being paid for.
'Up to that amount there really is a quality to value ratio. The hard part is expressing the value. I've experimented with charts, held long debates about a critic's role in pricing; many reviewers make no comment, others use symbols. The most honest system is for me to give a wine the retail price I would pay e.g.: it sells for $25 but I say it would still be good value at $35. The difficulty with this approach is that it's not up to me to dictate pricing therefore I have decided on the softer approach of just a few words of comment.
'When I say 'works better with food' it's because I have tasted it on the bench and then with food, as certain wines often taste better in this context. What food? Doesn't matter - that's up to you and I find it both a waste of time to just give one word examples as guidance (pork chop, tuna, quail) and a touch precious on the writer's part. Also, I really don't care what tucker you like, what I do know is a decent plate of food, enjoyable glass of wine and good company is enough.'
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