Our event for August was a replication of the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, dubbed as the "Judgment of Paris 1976", a wine competition conceived and organized by Steven Spurrier, an English wine merchant in Paris, which was held in the same city on 24 May 1976 and judged by France's leading wine advocates, pitting Burgundies and Bordeauxs against Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons from Napa Valley. What resulted is now an historical milestone which changed the wine world: California wines placed first in both categories - Chateau Montelena 1973 for Chardonnay and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 for Cabernets.
On the tenth anniversary of the original Paris Wine Tasting in 1986, the French Culinary Institute conducted a similar tasting for the same set of reds (the Chardonnays were considered too old then) and, again, the California wines once again came out on top: Clos du Val Winery 1972 and Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 - followed by Château Montrose 1970, Château Leoville Las Cases 1971, Château Mouton Rothschild 1970, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973, Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970, Mayacamas Vineyards 1971, and ChâteauHaut Brion 1970.
In 1996, a 30th anniversary re-tasting simultaneously organized by Spurrier was held in Paris and London. With the votes from both sides of the Atlantic combined, Ridge Montebello 1971, Stag's Leap 1973, Mayacamas 1971, Heitz 1970, and Clos du Val 1972 took the first five places ahead of the highest-ranked Bordeaux - Mouton- Rothschild 1970, followed by Montrose 1970, Haut-Brion 1970, and Leoville Las Cases 1971. Freemark Abbey 1969 placed 10th.
Similar to the "Judgment of Paris" of 1976, which was named after a Greek mythology that depicted a beauty contest of three goddesses which Paris, a Trojan mortal, was called upon to judge, our version featured two Chardonnays each from Burgundy and California (Napa and Santa Cruz), and three Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines each from Bordeaux and Napa Valley. In selecting the wines, our criteria were: (1) to have as many of the 1976 participating wineries in the line-up but available locally; (2) price (hence, no Mouton, Haut Brion and Las Cases), (3) vintage, and (4) appellation.
The results of the competition, based on the historic tasting event held in 1976 in Paris and repeated 30 years after, showed the same conclusion---California Chardonnays and Cabenet Sauvignons beating Burgundies and Bordeauxs. Here are the rankings;
Chardonnay/Burgundy:
- Beringer Vineyards Private Reserve Chardonnay Napa Valley 2011 (44 pts, 7 x 1st place votes, 2 x 2nd place votes, 5 x 3rd place votes)
- Mount Eden Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay Santa Cruz 2008 (41 pts; 3 x 1st, 7 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
- Olivier Leflaive Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 2009 (34 pts; 4 x 1st, 2 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
- Louis Jadot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Garenne Domaine du Duc de Magenta 2004 (22 pts; 0 x 1st place, 3 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
Cabernet Sauvignon/Bordeaux:
- Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Estate Cask 23 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2005 (76 pts; 5 x 1st; 6 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
- Château Leoville Barton St.-Julien 2008 (75 pts; 4 x 1st, 5 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
- Heitz Cellar Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2006 (54 pts; 4 x 1st, 1 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
- Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2008 (47 pts; 2 x 1st, 3 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
- Château Rauzan-Segla Margaux 2006 (46 pts; 0 x 1st, 1 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
- Château Montrose St.-Estephe 2006 (40 pts; 1 x 1st, 0 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
An excellent dinner followed with excellent wines brought by attendees including a bottle of Château Leoville Las Cases 1998 (courtesy of Jorge Araneta) the 1971 vintage of which was amongst those originally tasted in 1976.
As it was a small group seated around one table making conversation easy, the whole session was filled with a lively exchange of thoughts about the wines that were served blind. The chardonnays were quite easy to guess but the reds showed the evenness and consistency in their quality which made guessing - whether it was Bordeaux or Napa - difficult.
We thank Jay labrador and Rene Fuentes (Jr) for orchestrating such a wonderful event.