Parker, Robert. Baltimore lawyer turned global overlord of wine-rating, at once respected by Snobs for legitimizing oeno-fetishism via his Wine Advocate magazine (begun in 1978) and his books (in particular 1985’s Bordeaux, since updated), and reviled for his power over winemakers, who, even in Europe, have tailored their product to suit his palate, which favors enormous, planet-sized, fruity, oaky, viscous, heavily EXTRACTED wines high in tannins and alcohol. Snobs especially love to bemoan Parker’s 100-point rating scale for wines, which impels lay consumers to avoid anything with a score lower than 90, and use the term Parkerize to describe the process by which wines and consumer tastes have changed as a result of Parker’s influence. Let us turn now to Chianti Classico, the last refuge of gracious, light, un-Parkerized Italian reds.