Robert Parker signs sets of 100 Pt Bordeaux in Rare Commercial Move

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If you’ve always wanted to take Robert Parker home with you, now is your chance! Making its debut at Vinexpo, which will be held in Bordeaux in a few weeks, consumers will have the chance to buy special cases of wine, known as The Robert Parker Selection.

A deal was consummated by Robert Parker, the new owners of The Wine Advocate and the negociant company, Bordeaux Wine Selections to offer a limited quantity of machine signed, numbered boxed sets that will be sold as 100/100. The name comes from the 100 Point scale popularized by Robert Parker. Only 600 of these collectible sets will be produced. The Robert Parker Signature sets are expected to carry a very high premium due to their limited production. The sets will sell at retail for a whopping 2,000 Euros retail, which equates to about $2,630 US dollars! As an added value bonus, the limited edition, Robert Parker Signature set will include a short film featuring Robert Parker talking about how he arrives at giving a wine 100 Pts. Purchasers will also get a free, one year subscription to The Wine Advocate.

The special, Robert Parker Signature box set contains wines from the now legendary 2009 Bordeaux vintage from producers that made wine scoring 100 Points. 2009 is considered a legendary Bordeaux vintage due to the unequaled amount of wines scoring 100 Points by Robert Parker. Parker awarded 18 red Bordeaux wines and 1 white Bordeaux wine, perfect, 100 Pt scores. Producers featured in the set are: Chateau Cos d’Estournel, Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Chateau Clos Fourtet, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte and Chateau Pape Clement. Pape Clement is one of the few white, Bordeaux wines to have received 100 Points from Robert Parker. The variety of chateaux allow consumers to taste wines from The Medoc, Pessac Leognan and The Right Bank. Each numbered box will feature as part of the inscription; 100 Points, 2009, Robert Parker Selection.

This type of commercialization of Robert Parker and The Wine Advocate is something new. It will be interesting to see how the public views the Robert Parker Selection on both the buying and selling end, as well as with long time subscribers of The Wine Advocate. It is clearly going to thrill the 600 wealthy buyers, while giving others more things to talk about on the Internet. As a guess, subscribers and fans of Parker are not going to care. Some bloggers and others that are not fond of Parker are going to scream bloody murder. You know how the old saying goes, you can’t please all the people all the time.

Robert Parker who is recovering from major back surgery, could not be reached for comment. However, in a post written on his website to clarify the offering, Robert Parker wrote:

“I am not actually “signing” anything. The usage extends to the autograph signature that is part of the logo all of you see on this site so frequently. Moreover we have no commercial relationship or financial incentive in this. It seems little different than the wine trade now using my scores to promote the sale of a wine.”

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