Rating: 
Summary: Reads like several different books
Review: As has been alluded to in other reviews, the usefulness of this book varies with Parker's commitment to any given wine region. For Bordeaux, Rhone and Languedoc I believe he is excellent. For California and NW United States wines, the book is helpful but also frustrating because so many of the entries are "cult" wines with 500 or so case production. I noticed that some of the more widely available California producers that were included in the fifth edition are left off of this one. While many of the French wines are available in a good wineshop--good luck finding any of the Calfornia ones he raves about. If you start now, you may be able to get on some of the winery mailing lists in five or ten years. In many cases the amount of wine produced is not mentioned, which can be a cause for frustration.I think this book is an invaluable resource used in connection with other guidebooks and a trustworthy retailer. It's a truism that Parker is the most influential wine critic in the world. Many would argue that wineries are crafting their wines to win his high ratings. That being said, it's helpful to read his views as they give a clear snapshot of the state of winemaking in our era.
Rating:
Summary: Reads like several different books
Review: As has been alluded to in other reviews, the usefulness of this book varies with Parker's commitment to any given wine region. For Bordeaux, Rhone and Languedoc I believe he is excellent. For California and NW United States wines, the book is helpful but also frustrating because so many of the entries are "cult" wines with 500 or so case production. I noticed that some of the more widely available California producers that were included in the fifth edition are left off of this one. While many of the French wines are available in a good wineshop--good luck finding any of the Calfornia ones he raves about. If you start now, you may be able to get on some of the winery mailing lists in five or ten years. In many cases the amount of wine produced is not mentioned, which can be a cause for frustration. I think this book is an invaluable resource used in connection with other guidebooks and a trustworthy retailer. It's a truism that Parker is the most influential wine critic in the world. Many would argue that wineries are crafting their wines to win his high ratings. That being said, it's helpful to read his views as they give a clear snapshot of the state of winemaking in our era.
Rating: 
Summary: Caution: This Book May Lead to Addiction!
Review: Back some 15 years ago my wife got me started on what has become a passion -- fine wine. We had always enjoyed wine but knew very little about it. Then my wife bought me my first wine cellar -- and a copy of an early (and much thinner) edition of Robert Parker's Wine Buying Guide. I recall reading the book from cover-to-cover -- TWICE. As I read it, a whole new world unfolded. I started making lists of wines that I felt I had almost already tasted through Parker's amazingly descriptive writing. I just HAD to try the 1985 Chateau Montelena, the Groth Reserve and the Heitz Martha's Vineyard. Could Chateauneuf du Pape really taste the way Parker described when he wrote about Chateau Beaucastel? I had to find out! Before I knew it my cellar was full. Time for a bigger one. No, I didn't end up mortgaging the house or selling my wife and children into slavery but wine did become a deeply important part of our life (my wife is as "hooked" as I am). So beware. If you aren't prepared to really get to know wine perhaps you shouldn't buy this wonderful book. If you are, I can't think of a better place to start! It begins with the basics -- but from the point-of-view of the world's greatest expert: How to buy wine and how to store it. When and how to serve it. It then moves on to Parker's own unique, always provocative and singularly honest view of the world of wine and the wine industry. Modern styles of wine making. The dishonest and mis-leading practices of producers, importers and distributors. The production techniques that make a great wine -- or destroy it. The real focus of the book is on the wines themselves. Over 8,000 are reviewed from all of the major wine producing regions of the world. It is true (as other reviewers have complained) that many of these can't be purchased in stores anymore. That isn't the point, at least to me. As with anything else, a real appreciation of wine can come only through study of the details. And Robert Parker IS the master of the details. The bottom line. No one book can claim to be "a wine library in one volume". But for what you need to know to be an intelligent, self-confident wine consumer there is only one place to start -- and this is it!
Rating: 
Summary: True Wine Expert
Review: Bob is a great wine critic. Unfortunately, Pierre Rovani does not know Burgundy, and that taints this book. His unflexibility regarding his initial impressions of vintages - 1993 and 1998 are two examples where he was dead wrong - and his addiction to overly extracted wines that taste more like fruit bombs than a classy, elegant, well constructed wine. He said 1995 is a great Burgundy vintage; compare, Domain by Domain with 1993, and you will see the major difference, long chain tannins in 1995 that will never allow the fruit to show, versus short chain tannins that are fading away revealing the greatness of 1993. Many knowledgeable collectors (this is important, as we taste wine often and not only upon release, and collectors understand older wines much better due to superior available resources) consider the 1993 Burgundy vintage to be the best of the decade followed by 96, 90, and 99. Because of this affiliation, Bob, the greatest Bordeaux and Rhone palate, loses Burgundy credibility to Tanzer and Alan Meadows of Burghound. Rovani is not even going to review 2001 Burgundy, a tough vintage, but nontheless, how can he have a reference standard if he just ignores what he wants. Pierre is a lot of dead weight for Bob and his standard of excellence.
Rating:
Summary: True Wine Expert
Review: Bob is a great wine critic. Unfortunately, Pierre Rovani does not know Burgundy, and that taints this book. His unflexibility regarding his initial impressions of vintages - 1993 and 1998 are two examples where he was dead wrong - and his addiction to overly extracted wines that taste more like fruit bombs than a classy, elegant, well constructed wine. He said 1995 is a great Burgundy vintage; compare, Domain by Domain with 1993, and you will see the major difference, long chain tannins in 1995 that will never allow the fruit to show, versus short chain tannins that are fading away revealing the greatness of 1993. Many knowledgeable collectors (this is important, as we taste wine often and not only upon release, and collectors understand older wines much better due to superior available resources) consider the 1993 Burgundy vintage to be the best of the decade followed by 96, 90, and 99. Because of this affiliation, Bob, the greatest Bordeaux and Rhone palate, loses Burgundy credibility to Tanzer and Alan Meadows of Burghound. Rovani is not even going to review 2001 Burgundy, a tough vintage, but nontheless, how can he have a reference standard if he just ignores what he wants. Pierre is a lot of dead weight for Bob and his standard of excellence.
Rating:
Summary: Encyclopedic Guide Michelin for the best wines and prices
Review: Could not believe the amazing amount of information about 8,000 wines available on the shelf. At a high level, wine types from all over the world are discussed in local context, the important and less important producers are identified, and specific wines are reviewed. This book not only tells me what the wine in the bottle tastes like, it gives me the Wine Advocate's quality judgement. (The Wine Advocate is widely acknowledged to be the single best authority on wine criticism. My own experience agrees with that judgement). The best part is that tons of the reviewed wines (same vintage even) are on the shelves at the shop for sale. So I can read about exactly what's in the bottle before spending my money. I got a coupon mailer from Total Beverage in my area and loaded up on great wines (all with 90+ scores) at big discounts! Avoided the losers; why buy losers when great stuff is on sale, too? Any way, this book is really useful to me as I'm stocking up the cellar for the holidays and beyond. BTW, saved in coupons on an order - so the book paid for itself twice over the first time I used it. IMHO, this is a great research tool for anyone who wants current information to help them buy wine now. I don't know how they can publish this much, this timely, at such a reasonable price. Kudos to the authors for a superb buying guide. After tasting the wines I just bought, their reviews get my top marks.
Rating: 
Summary: AN ERROR OF OMISSION
Review: I enjoy Robert Parker's writing. Of course, that assumes that it is, in fact, Robert Parker's writing. In the Sixth Edition of his Wine Buyer's Guide, however, his assistant is responsible for much of the writing. Perhaps that accounts for the fact that the section on Burgundy fails even to mention the superstar negociant, Dominique Laurent, on whom Parker lavished almost endless praise in the Fifth Edition. I bought a copy of the recently-released Sixth Edition today, and I saw that Laurent had been dropped completely!!! Who knows how many other omissions will crop up as I read this mammoth tome? I am glad to have the book, and I expect many hours of enjoyable reading, but I certainly did not expect such an immediate disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: A curious combination of the invaluable & the useless
Review: I find myself very much in agreement with other reviewers, and I am relieved to discover that I was not alone in this. On the one hand, when one reads Parker's chapters (on Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley in particular), one recognizes the invaluable nature of the guide. On the other hand, one then turns to the incomprehensible gobbledygook that is the chapter on Burgundy. Proceeding on, one encounters the appalling 11-page chapter on Germany, written by someone who evidently despises most german wines on principle, and which includes absolutely no tasting notes whatsoever. One also gets to enjoy complete howlers like the Loire chapter, which starts with the question "Why are the Loire's wines so little known?" Gee, maybe it is because of 12-page chapters that offer no useful information. All of this is thanks to the rather inept contributions of Pierre-Antoine Rovani. The result is a wildly uneven guide that should be used with some caution. Parker's chapters for the most part are quite informative. For the reviewer that complained that most of these wines are long since off the market, one only has to read the Bordeaux chapter in regards to the 2000 vintage, which is still available in abundance. If one is looking for good sleeper wines among the 2000 Bordeaux, this guide is worth the price. However, reading Rovani should be regarded as complete waste of time. Like someone else said, he is just deadweight.
Rating:
Summary: A curious combination of the invaluable & the useless
Review: I find myself very much in agreement with other reviewers, and I am relieved to discover that I was not alone in this. On the one hand, when one reads Parker's chapters (on Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley in particular), one recognizes the invaluable nature of the guide. On the other hand, one then turns to the incomprehensible gobbledygook that is the chapter on Burgundy. Proceeding on, one encounters the appalling 11-page chapter on Germany, written by someone who evidently despises most german wines on principle, and which includes absolutely no tasting notes whatsoever. One also gets to enjoy complete howlers like the Loire chapter, which starts with the question "Why are the Loire's wines so little known?" Gee, maybe it is because of 12-page chapters that offer no useful information. All of this is thanks to the rather inept contributions of Pierre-Antoine Rovani. The result is a wildly uneven guide that should be used with some caution. Parker's chapters for the most part are quite informative. For the reviewer that complained that most of these wines are long since off the market, one only has to read the Bordeaux chapter in regards to the 2000 vintage, which is still available in abundance. If one is looking for good sleeper wines among the 2000 Bordeaux, this guide is worth the price. However, reading Rovani should be regarded as complete waste of time. Like someone else said, he is just deadweight.
Rating:
Summary: Intimidating... drink it in slowly
Review: I've never read more than a few hundred words about wine, but after only 50 pages of this book I feel I already have substantially improved by BS detector. Parker's refusal to accept freebies and self-professed "no holds barred" approach to criticism lend immediate credibility to his opinions. And much of it is just flat-out fun to read. But when you think about how long it takes just to read about Alsace, the first region covered in detail in this 1600-page tome, you realize that there is entirely too much information here. Whole vintages will come and go before you can finish this book. Despite the helpful comments about matching wine with food, and the characteristics of various grapes, this is not appear to be a practical way for someone interested in wine to find the best bottle at the best price. The more I read and boggle my mind, the more I want to go to a great wine shop and put myself in the hands of an expert. At least now I'll have a better sense of whether she or he really understands how to match a bottle to the customer's tastes and budget, and isn't just going by the latest trends. Supplemental Comments after reading more and shopping: The book is very selective: only the highest scoring wines are listed. This makes it difficult to know if, say, the 1998 wasn't listed because it was nasty or because Parker didn't taste it. One would have to subscribe to his website and see. One other point is that the highest scoring wines tend to be quite expensive: although there are a few under $25, most are over $50. I didn't see any of them at my everyday stores. A wine shopper on a budget could glean helpful information about a winery's philosophy and style, so this is better than a blind guess, but if you're looking for a shortcut for holiday shopping, this isn't it.
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