What's it worth to ya?

At our local Bella Vino, there's this bottle of 2005 Amon-Ra Shiraz that Robert Parker rated as a 98 which is selling for $94. Without going into too much winefan detail, what this translates to is that it is an incredible example of a particular kind of big burly, jammy, fruit forward rich wine. Web prices range from $120 to $240/bottle. 98 rated wines are rarely available for under $100 in our part of the country, so this could represent a great value. On the other hand, it got me thinking about what the relative value of a 98 (out of 100) rated ANYTHING is. Wine is more ephemeral than, say, a top rated bourbon just because of how you drink it. I don't know that I can even taste the difference between a Parker 98 and a Parker 94, in which case, I'll get more enjoyment out of 2 $50 bottles of 94 rates wines, which are relatively easy to get my hands on.

[Poll #938867]

For any of you who are obsessed about the relative value of wines, I can highly recommend http://bluebookwines.com/. I've pimped them before, but they are one of my favorite sites. They endeavor to answer the question "Is this wine worth this much money?"