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In 2015, the journal of Wine Economics defined it as follows : “Jean-Marc Quarin and Robert Parker are the most influential experts, with a 10% increase in their scores leading to about 7% higher prices. Jean-Marc Quarin, though less known, has in-depth knowledge of the Bordeaux market, a region in which he lives, and is widely regarded as one of the most authoritative experts on Bordeaux wines in France.” 45 000 Bordeaux wines are rated on his website:www.quarin.com
HIS BOOK “GUIDE QUARIN DES VINS DE BORDEAUX” WAS PUBLISHED BY EDITIONS SOLAR IN 2011
800 pages, 5500 bottles commented and rated from the vintages 1994 to 2010.The introduction gives the keys to understand Bordeaux wines and vineyards. An award-winning guide, this book was given the Nadine de Rothschild Prize in 2011 with the following comment: “On behalf of the jury, I would like to point out the extreme intelligence of the introduction. 50 pages that will definitely set a new benchmark in the history of our understanding of Bordeaux wines”. “This is a tour de force of information, opinion, and clarity; a work of scholarship, scope, sensitivity, and innovation; a major contribution to the literature of Bordeaux—a triumph, no less.” Michael Schuster in the World of Fine Wine 2012.
HE HAS DEVELOPED HIS UNIQUE TASTING METHOD « PALATE OVER NOSE »
Jean-Marc Quarin has developed a unique approach, radically different from the usual clichés about the taste of wine. He sheds a new light on the way the winegrowers of yesterday assessed their wines using their palates rather than theirs noses to rank the sensations that could help them detect quality. This expertise was lost when the tulip-shaped tasting glass was put on the market, leading everyone to comment on the nose, without really knowing what to say about the palate. “We would be better advised to pay more attention to what happens in our mouths and identify the mainly tactile sensations, which are a clear indication of the level of quality of a wine's constitution. Perception of smell turns out to be very personal and practically impossible to communicate or transmit.”
HE CREATED THE CONCEPT OF «OUTSIDER».
« Outsiders are wines that punch above their weight…where the taste is better than the label suggests.» This rare award distinguishes the wines which stand out during their followed and repeated tastings for more than twenty years.
HE WAS THE FIRST CRITIC TO HIGHLIGHT THE GREATNESS OF THE 2016 VINTAGE IN BORDEAUX
A month before the start of the En primeur 2016 campaign, he wrote: “Within some days, with the official opening of the tastings, I predict a shockwave will go through the vineyards, palates, cellars, and merchants. So, reserve, reserve, reserve! Never have I tasted such grand wines, rich, noble, complex, juicy and yet unspittable in Bordeaux, apart from 1982. “ A month later, he awarded les Carmes Haut Brion 2016 a perfect score of 100 points for the first time in its history.
THE CORK, THE ULTIMATE DIMENSION OF WINE
As early as 2004, he was the first critic to stress the importance of the cork in relation to differences from one bottle of the same wine to another, and how one might begin to address the problem. “I am not talking about cork taint, which is quite clear. What I am saying is that bottles from the same original wooden case taste differently. The worst ones always show a drier finish and a lack of sweetness (harsh tannins).”
Today, in 2025, now turning in his 27th year as wine critic, Jean-Marc Quarin has written over 17 000 pages about Bordeaux wines and his unique data base contains more than 50 000 wine tasting reviews.
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