The Original Tasting, 1976: A New Era of California Wine

On May 24th, 1976, Steven Spurrier, an Englishman running a wine shop and wine school in Paris, organized a tasting of six top California cabernets and chardonnays to celebrate the American Bicentennial. He added four Bordeaux wines and four white Burgundies to act as markers against which to evaluate the Californians. The judges were among the best tasters in France, and, to everyone’s surprise, chose a California wine over the French for both the red and white flights. The tasting became known as the Judgment of Paris. The response of the French judges to the results was that the California wines would not age and the French wines would win if tasted again in 30 years.

Results 1976

14.14 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973

14.09 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1970

13.64 Chateau Montrose 1970

13.23 Chateau Haut-Brion 1970

12.14 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971

11.18 Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1971

10.36 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard 1970

10.14 Clos Du Val Winery 1972

9.95 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971

9.45 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969

The Re-enactment, 2006: California Wines Prove their Longevity

On May 24, 2006, a 30 year re-enactment of the Judgment of Paris was organized by Steven Spurrier – this time with simultaneous tastings in London and in Napa at Copia. Paralleling the 1976 event, nine expert tasters at each location judged the original red wines, now over thirty years old. The winning wine in both the US and UK was the Ridge Monte Bello 1971. In the combined results, it was in a class by itself – eighteen points ahead of the second-place wine. 

Results 2006

137 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971

119 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973

112 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971

112 Heitz ‘Martha’s Vineyard’ 1970

106 Clos Du Val Winery 1972

105 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1970

92 Chateau Montrose 1970

82 Chateau Haut-Brion 1970

66 Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1971

59 Freemark Abbey Winery 1967