It’s not quite that simple, however, because things never are. I’ve gone into things a bit further below, with a cut and paste from Messrs. Red and Brown followed by my own observations.
2.5 Stars
RedtoBrown– An ok wine, quaffable if at the right price. Best left on the shelf if it is not in the ‘bargain’ price range.
Hughesy– Probably a corporate commercial quaffer, more than likely a blend of largely Riverland irrigated fruit in a multi-regional blend. Would need to be exceptionally cheap as anything beyond a by the glass option at the pub, and would probably be avoided in such circumstances if at all possible.
3 Stars
RedtoBrown– A nice, enjoyable wine. Safe, ‘drink now’ with minimal complexity and limited ability to cellar, though still very tidy. The kind of score we give to a good quality quaffer, though a somewhat disappointing score for a premium wine.
Hughesy– Moving a step up from the quaffers, this is the lower end of my look at as a possibility scale, though I’d rarely actually buy anything with this rating. One to look for on a by the glass list if there’s nothing else that looks interesting.
3.5 Stars
RedtoBrown– A good quality wine that is a bit of a step up in terms of structure, flavour and enjoyment from a 3 star wine. A great score for a quaffer, and a good score for a premium wine.
Hughesy– The wine is well-made with varietal or stylistic character. There’ll be something interesting on the nose, and the wine goes nicely across the palate, though it hasn’t made me stop and take a great deal of notice. Purchasing decisions would be price-driven and directed towards everyday drinking styles.
4 Stars
RedtoBrown– A very good to excellent wine. Delivers highly in terms of flavour, complexity and cellarability.
Hughesy– The sort of wine that I’d like to be able to afford to drink every day. Likely to be a purchase by the dozen (or as a substantial chunk of a mixed dozen).
4.5 Stars
RedtoBrown– Exceptional wine. Love it. If you can afford it, buy it.
Hughesy– Outstanding wine with pronounced varietal, regional or stylistic notes on the nose and in the palate, depth of flavour and length of finish. There may be other factors that preclude me from buying but I’m definitely looking that way.
5 Stars
RedtoBrown– A wine that leaves you a bit speechless, and forms the basis of wine drinking ‘war stories’ later in life.
Hughesy– Exceptional wine that you’re going to remember and reminisce about for a long time and would prompt you to look at spending far more than you’d like to, but you may not be able to afford. There may also be issues relating to cellaring space.
RedtoBrown also use some additional scoring features that represent some of the nuances of a particular wine. I haven’t progressed that far at the moment, but may extend my ratings into this territory at some point (I only really started using the 5 point scale consciously on our trip to W.A.)
* (The Asterisk) - An intangible quality to the wine that separates it from more industrial/ more predictable wines, or just a wine that has grabbed the attention in a particularly positive or beguiling way. Not necessarily a point of difference that everyone will like. Multiple asterisks = “Wow, massive (subjective) X Factor wine”
+ (Plus sign) – The commonly used plus sign indicates a feeling that this wine will get better with age. Will often be seen with cellar-worthy Reds with a history of surviving a decade or so in the cellar, though could apply to favourite Chardonnays, Semillons and Rieslings.