A Judgment of Paris anniversary tasting sees Stag's Leap Wine Cellars jump ahead of the pack again.
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars has come top at a London re-run of the Judgement of Paris, 40 years on from the original tasting.
It was on 24th May 1976 that Steven Spurrier, then a long-haired young wine merchant in Paris, pitched American and French wines against each other in the tasting that made his reputation.
The 1973 Cabernet from the great
Napa vineyard was the winner of the original Paris tasting, with
Château Montelena coming top in the whites.
The events of that day – how the most influential French wine critics of the age scored Napa wines higher than their famous French counterparts – have passed into legend.
There have been many re-creations and anniversaries since then, most notably in 2006, when simultaneous tastings, with the original vintages, were staged in London and Napa.
In that tasting, against even the expectations of their winemakers, the California Cabernets – 1971 Ridge Monte Bello, 1973
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, '71 Mayacamas, '70 Heitz, and '72 Clos du Val – were voted superior to their rivals in Bordeaux.
Last week – on Tuesday 24th May – several dozen wine enthusiasts sat down to a $1100-a-head dinner at 67 Pall Mall, the upmarket members-only club beloved of the wine trade.
All the original wines, in various vintages from 2001 to 2012, were tasted blind and ranked from one to 10.
The 2005 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars SLV was voted best red, and the 2011 Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay came top in the whites. California dominated the white lineup, clinching four of the top five places. The only Burgundy to make the top five was the Domaine Roulot.
In the reds,
Château Haut-Brion took second place, followed by
Ridge Monte Bello, Freemark Abbey and Château Montrose.
In the original tasting, Napa's Château Montelena took first place, with the Domaine Roulot Meursault second; the red line up had Stag's Leap first, followed by Mouton and Haut-Brion.
Remembering that day 40 years ago, Spurrier recalled the accidental nature of it all. Wanting to promote the Californian wines on his list, he had hit on the idea of celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with a Franco-American tasting.
"We simply wanted to show that California could hold its own against the best of France. We had no idea they would be judged superior." He recounted the fury of some of the French judges, and how Odette Kahn, editor of La Revue du Vin de France (who had marked Stag's Leap and Montelena top) had demanded her notes back, accusing Spurrier of fixing the results.
He also remembered how the event might not have got any publicity at all had George Taber, the Paris correspondent for Time who coined the famous "Judgement of Paris" label, not turned up. "We invited him, and he said he'd come along if he had nothing better to do. So we were lucky it was a slow news day."
Richard Bampfield MW, one of the professional judges at the event, said it was hard to overestimate the effect the 1976 tasting had on the wine industry. "It was a massive boost to California, and a wake-up call to the French."
Of the wines, he said the tasting reinforced the notion that "great sites produce great wines – on both sides of the Atlantic".
Grant Ashton, the founder and CEO of 67 Pall Mall, said he was pleased with the way the wines showed on the night, although one of the Burgundies, the Leflaive Les Pucelles, was oxidized. "With white Burgundies of that age, premature oxidation is an occupational hazard," he said.
He added that he will be running an annual celebration of the Paris Tasting on May 24th, and had already booked Spurrier for 2017.
Wines in final order:
White:
2011 Chalone Vineyard, Chardonnay, Monterey, California
2010 David Bruce Winery, Los Gatos Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains, California
2002 Chateau Montelena, Chardonnay, Calistoga, California
2006 Domaine Roulot, Meursault 1er Cru Charmes, Burgundy
2012 Freemark Abbey Winery, Chardonnay, Napa Valley, California
2002 Joseph Drouhin, Beaune 1er Cru, Clos des Mouches, Burgundy
2010 Spring Mountain Vineyard, Chardonnay, Spring Mountain, California
2002 Domaine Leflaive, 1er Cru Les Pucelles, Puligny-Montrachet, Burgundy
2009 Veedercrest Vineyards, Ruhl Vineyard Chardonnay, Yountville, California
2000 Domaine Romonet, Grand Cru, Bâtard-Montrachet, Burgundy
Red:
2005 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, SLV, Stags Leap District, California
2001 Château Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
2005 Ridge Vineyards, Monte Bello, Santa Cruz, California
2001 Freemark Abbey, Bosché Vineyard, Rutherford, California
2001 Château Montrose, Saint-Estèphe, Bordeaux
2001 Château Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac, Bordeaux
2001 Clos du Val, Stags Leap District, California
2005 Heitz Wine Cellars, Martha's Vineyard, St Helena, California
2001 Château Léoville-Las-Cases, Saint-Julien, Bordeaux
2002 Mayacamas Vineyards, Mount Veeder, California
