Half a century ago this summer, a single wine tasting started a revolution.
For centuries, many wine experts considered France the pinnacle of the wine world, the best of the best.
Then, in 1976, a British wine merchant held a blind wine tasting in Paris in honor of the United States’ 200th birthday. The tasting featured some of the best French wines versus some of the best American wines.
Nicknamed the “Judgment of Paris,” the results became their own shot heard round the world… or perhaps the pop of a cork that shattered everything.
The judges who participated in the tasting declared two California wines the best in both categories — red and white.
Suddenly, there were new kings of the wine world. And both of them could be found in Napa Valley north of San Francisco.
This was big news at the time. The New York Times and Time magazine both reported the results.
Recently, I thought it would be fun to re-create that iconic wine tasting.
This time, there were two clear winners in both categories in my recent tasting.
The results? Keep reading.
And hope you enjoy.
More background
British wine merchant Steven Spurrier organized the famous wine tasting with the help of his American colleague Patricia Gallagher. They invited nine people to participate in the tasting — all French and all involved in the French wine industry in some way, including winemakers, sommeliers, wine writers and several top Paris restaurant owners.
The blind tasting was held in Paris on May 24, 1976. In these types of tastings, the judges have no idea what wines they’re tasting. That way, the judges are not influenced or biased towards certain wines. The best ones win based simply on taste.
The 1976 results
The 1976 tasting featured 20 wines — 10 white wines and 10 red wines. Judges assigned a score to each wine on a scale of 0 to 20, with 20 being the best score.
The white wines featured Chardonnay wines from California’s Napa Valley against ones from France’s Burgundy region. The winner was the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay from California with a score of 132 followed by the 1973 Roulot Meursault Charmes from Burgundy with a score of 126.5
The red wines featured Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Napa Valley against blended red wines featuring Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from France’s Bordeaux region. The winner in this category was the 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (127.5) from California, which narrowly defeated the 1970 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (126) from Bordeaux.
The panel of judges, all French, at the 1976 “Judgement of Paris” wine tasting. (Bella Spurrier)Bella Spurrier
Recent wine tasting
In a perfect world, I would have recreated the 1976 tasting with more recent vintages of the same 20 wines. Unfortunately, I didn’t recently win the lottery, and my editor would probably need an oxygen mask if I submitted receipts for such a decadent tasting. (Some of the wines now cost thousands of dollars per bottle.)
So instead, I did my best and recently put together a blind wine tasting that closely resembled the original one — on a smaller scale. I picked out two great white wines and two great red wines — one each from California and France — and pitted them against each other.
And instead of 11 judges, there were just three of us — myself and two other judges. And instead of assigning a score, we each picked our favorite red and white wines. Let me add that the identities of the other two judges will remain anonymous at their request. (I told you that you could trust me, Leo and Brad.)
Recent featured wines
My recent blind tasting featured two Chardonnay white wines – the 2019 Flowers Sonoma Coast Chardonnay ($50 Suggested Retail Price) from California’s Sonoma County against the 2015 Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet ($100 SRP) from France’s Burgundy region.
As for the red wines, the tasting featured two Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines – the 2019 Beaulieu Vineyard (BV) Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($40 SRP) from California’s Napa Valley against the 2019 Chateau Gloria ($55 SRP) from France’s Bordeaux region.
And the winners are…
Myself and the other two judges spent nearly two hours tasting all four wines. Let me add right up front that all four wines were outstanding. So, while there were definitely two clear favorites, the other two wines more than held their own and would be a pleasure to drink anywhere, anytime.
So which wines won the tasting?
For the two whites, by score of three to zero, the 2015 Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet took top honors. This wine’s flavors began with hints of apricot, lemon and other vibrant citrus fruit flavors. Over time, though, those flavors became more subtle, denser and took on foggier, mist-like notes.
The second judge described the wine as flinty, citrus-like and buttery. And the third judge used words like citrus, lime, olive and “mold — in a good way” to describe the Puligny-Montrachet.
Let me add that all three of us agreed that this wine was our favorite wine of the tasting. I’m not surprised. The village of Puligny-Montrachet produces some of the best white wines in the world in my opinion.
The 2019 Flowers Sonoma Coast Chardonnay had brighter, livelier, tart fruit flavors at first, followed by hints of lemon and other citrus flavors.
The second judge described the wine as “acidic – in a good way,” herbal and milk like. The third judge found the wine floral-like with hints pear, butter and rubber. Yes, you read that correct. Rubber.
As for the red wines, the wine that won by another unanimous vote of three to zero was the 2019 Beaulieu Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I was thoroughly impressed by this California wine’s flinty, vibrant flavors with hints of pepper and black licorice. An hour or so later, those flavors were spicier, then smoother and even more subtle and vibrant.
Judge two praised the wine’s very dry, ripe plum-like flavors along with hints of sage. Judge three described the wine as lovely, velvet-like, inviting and filled with strong fruit flavors, especially plum.
As for the 2019 Chateau Gloria, this wine took me for a wild ride. At first, the flavors were almost too light, too soft. But as the wine started to open up, there were subtle, pepper-like notes that just kept building over the next hour or so.
Judge two loved the hints of anise, spice and rosemary in the wine. Meanwhile, judge three noticed a leather-like taste, along with hints of chocolate and oregano.
Judge three also found the Chateau Gloria to be a little standoffish. I know exactly what this judge meant. This wine — and frankly all of them to some degree — made me wonder what they’ll taste like in another 10, 20 or even 50 years. Which is a long way of saying I’m all up for another France versus California wine face-off in the future.
Cheers!
Wine Press by Ken Ross appears on Masslive.com and in The Republican’s Weekend section.
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