QPR Assessment

The QPR in the title refers to "quality-to-price ratio."  A high quality-to-price ratio means that the wine has substantial value compared to its price.  I define a "high-QPR wine" as one whose taste I like very much (including body, structure, fruit, tannins, acid and complexity) and also offers exceptional value for its price per bottle.  Other critics place wines into categories such as (1) excellent QPR, (2) very good QPR, (3) good QPR, and (4) poor QPR.

There are many quantitative systems for assessing and evaluating different wines.  For example, Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson are two wine critics who assign numerical values to wines to indicate their inherent quality.  Parker uses a 100-point scale and Robinson uses a 20-point scale.  Stephen Tanzer and Wine Enthusiast also use 100-point scales.

Of the wines discussed so far, Parker gave 91 points to the 2007 Champauvins, 90 points to the 2007 St-Esprit, 88 points to 2007 Perrin Reserve and 2005 Mille Roses, and 87 points to 2007 La Vieille Ferme.  In Parker's scoring system, 80 points corresponds to a good wine, 85 points to a very good wine, 90 points to a superior wine, and 95 points to an exceptional wine.

To some extent, Parker takes the price of the wine into account so that a 90-point wine costing $100 is better than a 90-point wine costing $10.  But, in general, the cost differences are minor compared to the overall quality of the wine.

My own personal interpretation of QPR places a major emphasis on the price of a wine in relation to its quality.  For example, the normal price of the 2005 Mille Roses is $28-33 but you could purchase it recently from K&L for $15.  Similarly, the normal price of the 2006 Havens Napa Valley Merlot is $20-24 but you could purchase it yesterday from K&L for $7.

The current price of the 2007 Champauvins is about $17.  I would definitely purchase the Champauvins for $17 before I spent $20 for the Havens Merlot or spent $30 for the Mille Roses.  However, I think paying $15 for the Mille Roses yields a slightly better QPR than spending $17 for the Champauvins IMO.  Similarly, paying $7 for the Havens Merlot yields a better QPR than spending $17 for the Champauvins (even though I like the Champauvins about the same as the Mille Roses and somewhat better than the Havens Merlot).

For lower-priced wines, I think the 2007 St-Esprit ($10), 2007 Perrin Reserve ($8), and the 2007 La Vieille Ferme ($6) all present exceptional quality for their prices.  However, the three wines are somewhat different, and each person will have their own preferences and rankings.  These wines (and Havens Merlot at $7) are probably the best "bang for the buck" I can find at the current time.  For cellar-quality wines at a higher price point, I think the 2007 Champauvins and 2005 Mille Roses (at $15) offer the highest QPRs.

Occasionally, Parker gives a wine a "perfect" 100 point score.  However, the wine may cost $500 or more.  Each person has their own "wine budget."  My own personal perspective is that I would never pay $500 for a bottle of wine -- even if I loved the wine and thought it deserved a perfect 100-point score.  I can find wines under $25 that I think are excellent wines, and I can find very good wines under $12 a bottle.

To me, drinking very good wine at lower price points means that you can stretch your wine budget to purchase many more bottles of wine -- some to drink now and some to cellar and age for the future.  I personally want to have a wine cellar with (1) very good weekday wines (to drink now), (2) intermediate wines to age 2-4 years (sometimes called short-term cellaring), and (3) excellent wines that may require aging for five years or more (and brought out for special meals or for special occasions).  Plus a mixture of Cabernet Sauvignons, Pinot Noirs, Bordeaux, Cotes-du-Rhones, Syrahs, Malbecs, etc. to accommodate a wide range of food pairings.