FAQs

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For a detailed explanation of our scoring policy, see How we score. To read more about our wine reviewers, see Our Team.

To search tasting notes, click on Tasting notes in the main menu bar and use the search box on the left. You can enter keywords, and then use the dropdown menus to narrow your search criteria – for example, country, region and vintage. These menus will automatically adjust to your other search criteria.

For a comprehensive explanation of our tasting notes search, please see this article.

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To search for articles, click on Articles in the top menu, and use the search form. You can type any keywords into the box across the top of the page, and/or filter the results by selecting the author, article category, publication date and/or tags on the left-hand side. In mobile view, click the Show filters button to reveal these options.

For a deeper dive into getting the most out of our 15,000+ articles, see this Guide.

To search tasting notes, use the dedicated search form by clicking on Tasting notes in the top menu. You can also search our online version of the Oxford Companion to Wine by keyword.

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Sometimes the same wine will get tasted several times over the course of its life, and we think it is interesting to see how a wine might show differently at these stages. A wine may also be tasted by more than one taster at the same stage in its life.

Wines change over time, and two bottles of the same wine may vary considerably, either because of the storage conditions or the closure.

Young wines, particularly wines such as red bordeaux, can taste very different from what they will be like once they have fully evolved and matured, and the wines that need cellaring can often be very difficult and closed/tannic/tight when young. In the case of any wines tasted en primeur, ie before they are bottled and even before the final blend has been made, the wine can sometimes taste very different from a wine that has been in bottle a few years. (NB: We always make it clear if we are tasting an unfinished wine (eg by noting ‘cask sample’), with the caveat that it is only a provisional score and note.)

In addition, any bottle can be affected by how it has been stored, which affects how quickly the wine has developed in the bottle.

The temperature at which the wine is served, the temperature of the room in which it is being served, the food with which it is being served, and how long the bottle has been open can also make a difference.

Tasters can also be affected by environmental and physical factors – even the wines tasted before and after can affect our perception of a wine. Such factors affect the wine drinker as well as the critic, so it would be a little misleading to iron out any differences between tasting notes and assert that one tasting note is the absolute summary of the wine.

We could, for the sake of simplicity, delete any duplicate tasting notes that do not concur with each other, but Jancis's policy has always been transparency and honesty, and the reality of wine, which is effectively a living liquid that is constantly evolving and changing, is that it doesn't taste exactly the same every time it's poured and to everyone who tastes it. Furthermore, some fine wines such as bordeaux, burgundy, Barolo and white Rhône wines often go through ‘closed’ phases during their evolution – usually in the first three years.

All of this serves to underline that wine tasting is not an exact science, and a wine cannot be measured with precision. This is one reason we really don't like scoring, and we encourage the reader to read the tasting notes, and to find the taster whose palate aligns most closely with their own.

While we are thrilled that you are interested in writing for us, and we are interested to hear your ideas and read your thoughts, we regret that the high volume of unsolicited manuscripts and queries we receive means that we cannot reply to each and every one. We will reach out should we want to pursue a query any further.

Please note that we do not accept tasting notes from anyone other than our own stable of critics, and that we do not publish freelance pieces generated from paid/press trips, or anything of an advertorial nature. Queries that show a knowledge of and sensitivity for the style of the site and the coverage already given a subject will be prioritised.

There is no pay-to-play at JancisRobinson.com. There is never, and has never been, any fee for submitting samples.

While we endeavor to taste as much and as widely as possible, we discourage wineries and distribution companies from sending unsolicited samples and reserve the right to ignore them. If you are interested in submitting wines to us, please email tastings@JancisRobinson.com for permission and directions. Understand, however, that due to the large volume of wines we receive, we cannot confirm delivery; please check with your carrier for delivery confirmation. Reviews will be at the discretion of the reviewer and editorial; we do not guarantee coverage.

Many of our reviews are generated from formal tastings set up by a regional consortium, importer, retailer, winery group or winery. We do accept invitations to such tastings, but we do not accept any payment to attend, nor do we promise coverage of an event and/or its wines.

At times we will request wine samples according to our editorial needs. When doing so, we ask for single bottles of each wine, and discourage the use of Styrofoam/polystyrene packaging. We will send shipping instructions with those requests.

Please note: all of our tasting notes are behind a paywall as they are there for the benefit of our readers. If you would like to access the reviews, please join our Purple Pages. Permission to share or reproduce the notes for commercial purposes (whether online or in printed materials) is enjoyed only by those holding a current Professional membership. Please see here for more information on the advantages of a Professional membership.