The threshold is simple. Each wine shows the scores we hold from the critics we follow: The Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Decanter, James Suckling, Jasper Morris for Burgundy, Tim Atkin, Andreas Larsson, Jeannie Cho Lee, Gilbert & Gaillard and the Guía Peñín for Spain. As soon as one of those scores reaches 95, the wine appears here. We do not average the scores, and we do not choose: one score of 95 or more is enough.

A score is one taster's view of one bottle on one day. It says something about the wine, and nothing about whether you will like it more than a wine scored 92. We show it because it is useful information, in the same way we show the vintage or the appellation, and we keep the critic's name next to it so that you know whose palate it is.

For a wider net, the Critics' Choice page applies the same test at 90 points. To look at the wines by place instead of by score, see the Burgundy, Champagne or Bordeaux pages.

The wines above are the current selection. See also the collector wines or the new arrivals.