Open AccessThe Impact of Gurus: Parker Grades and En Primeur Wine Prices *
Author(s) -
Ali Héla Hadj,
Lecocq Sébastien,
Visser Michael
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the economic journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.683
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1468-0297
pISSN - 0013-0133
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02147.x
Subject(s) - wine , library science , political science , art , art history , economics , law and economics , computer science , visual arts
This article looks at the impact of Robert Parker's oenological grades on the so‐called en primeur prices of young Bordeaux wines. The Parker grades are usually published in the spring of each year, before the wine prices are established. However, the wine grades for 2003 were published much later, in the autumn, after the determination of prices. This unusual reversal is exploited to estimate a Parker effect which we find to be, on average, worth 2.80 euros per bottle of wine. We also use grade‐specific effects to predict what prices would have been had Parker attended the 2003 spring tasting.