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The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 or the Judgment of Paris was a wine competition organized in Paris on 24 May 1976 by Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant, in which French judges did blind tasting of top-quality chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon wines from France and from California.[1] California wines rated best in each category, which caused surprise as France was generally regarded as being the foremost producer of the world's best wines. Spurrier sold only French wine and believed that the California wines would not win.[2]

Contents

The wines

Red wines

California Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage Bordeaux Vintage
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970
Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 Château Montrose 1970
Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 Château Haut-Brion 1970
Clos Du Val Winery 1972 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971
Mayacamas Vineyards 1971
Freemark Abbey Winery 1969

White wines

California Chardonnay Vintage Burgundies Vintage
Chateau Montelena 1973 Meursault Charmes Roulot 1973
Chalone Vineyard 1974 Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin 1973
Spring Mountain Vineyard 1973 Batard-Montrachet Ramonet-Prudhon 1973
Freemark Abbey Winery 1972 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles Domaine Leflaive 1972
Veedercrest Vineyards 1972
David Bruce Winery 1973

The judges

The eleven judges were (in alphabetical order):

Methodology

Blind tasting was performed so that none of the judges knew the identity of what was being tasted.

The judges were asked to grade each wine out of 20 points. No specific grading framework was given, leaving the judges free to grade according to their own criteria.

Rankings of the wines preferred by individual judges were done based on the grades they individually attributed.

An overall ranking of the wines preferred by the jury was also established in averaging the sum of each judge's individual grades (arithmetic mean). However, grades of Patricia Gallagher and Steven Spurrier were not taken into account, counting thus only grades of French judges[3]

The results

Red wines

California Cabernet Sauvignon vs. Bordeaux. In alphabetical order of judges.

The original grades (out of 20 points) are shown.

Pierre Brejoux

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 17 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
2. 16 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
3. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  United States
3. 14 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  United States
5. 13 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  United States
6. 12 Château Montrose 1970  France
6. 12 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  United States
8. 10 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
9. 7 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  United States
10. 5 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  United States

Claude Dubois-Millot

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 17 Château Montrose 1970  France
2. 16 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
2. 16 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  United States
4. 13.5 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
5. 11 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
6. 9.5 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  United States
7. 9 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  United States
7. 9 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  United States
9. 8 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  United States
10. 7 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  United States

Michel Dovaz

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 15 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
1. 15 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  United States
3. 12 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
3. 12 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  United States
5. 11 Château Montrose 1970  France
5. 11 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  United States
5. 11 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  United States
8. 10 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
8. 10 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  United States
10. 8 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  United States

Patricia Gallagher

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 17 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  United States
2. 16 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  United States
3. 15 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
3. 15 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  United States
5. 14 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
5. 14 Château Montrose 1970  France
5. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  United States
8. 13 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  United States
9. 12 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
10. 9 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  United States

Odette Kahn

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 15 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  United States
2. 13 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  United States
3. 12 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
3. 12 Château Montrose 1970  France
3. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
3. 12 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
7. 7 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  United States
8. 5 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  United States
9. 2 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  United States
9. 2 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  United States

Raymond Oliver

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 14 Château Montrose 1970  France
1. 14 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  United States
1. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  United States
4. 12 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
4. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
4. 12 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  United States
7. 10 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
7. 10 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  United States
7. 10 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  United States
10. 8 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  United States

Steven Spurrier

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 14 Château Montrose 1970  France
1. 14 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
1. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  United States
1. 14 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  United States
5. 13 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  United States
5. 13 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  United States
7. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
8. 11 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  United States
9. 9 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  United States
10. 8 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France

Pierre Tari

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 17 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  United States
2. 15 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  United States
3. 14 Château Montrose 1970  France
3. 14 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
3. 14 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  United States
6. 13 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  United States
6. 13 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  United States
8. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
8. 12 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  United States
10. 11 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France

Christian Vanneque

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 17 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
2. 16.5 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  United States
2. 16.5 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  United States
4. 16 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
5. 15.5 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  United States
6. 11 Château Montrose 1970  France
7. 10 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  United States
8. 8 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
9. 6 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  United States
10. 3 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  United States

Aubert de Villaine

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 16 Château Montrose 1970  France
2. 15 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
2. 15 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  United States
4. 14 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
5. 12 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  United States
6. 10 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
7. 9 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  United States
8. 7 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  United States
8. 7 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  United States
10. 5 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  United States

Jean-Claude Vrinat

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 15 Château Montrose 1970  France
1. 15 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
2. 14 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
2. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  United States
5. 13 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  United States
6. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
7. 11 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  United States
8. 9 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  United States
9. 7 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  United States
9. 7 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  United States

Average

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. 14.14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973  United States
2. 14.09 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970  France
3. 13.64 Château Montrose 1970  France
4. 13.23 Château Haut-Brion 1970  France
5. 12.14 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971  United States
6. 11.18 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971  France
7. 10.36 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970  United States
8. 10.14 Clos Du Val Winery 1972  United States
9. 9.95 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971  United States
10. 9.45 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969  United States

White wines

California Chardonnays vs. Burgundy Chardonnays

Average

Original grades: out of 20 points.

Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin
1. Chateau Montelena 1973  United States
2. Meursault Charmes Roulot 1973  France
3. Chalone Vineyard 1974  United States
4. Spring Mountain Vineyard 1973  United States
5. Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin 1973  France
6. Freemark Abbey Winery 1972  United States
7. Batard-Montrachet Ramonet-Prudhon 1973  France
8. Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles Domaine Leflaive 1972  France
9. Veedercrest Vineyards 1972  United States
10. David Bruce Winery 1973  United States

Controversies

Subjectivity of taste

Some critics suggest that wine tastings lack scientific validity due to the subjectivity of taste in human beings. The organizer of the competition, Steven Spurrier, said, "The results of a blind tasting cannot be predicted and will not even be reproduced the next day by the same panel tasting the same wines."[4] In one case it was reported that a "side-by-side chart of best-to-worst rankings of 18 wines by a roster of experienced tasters showed about as much consistency as a table of random numbers."[5][6]

Statistical interpretation

Without calling into question the abilities of the tasters, scientific concerns have been raised about the methodology used by individual judges as well as the validity of any statistical interpretation. The heterogeneity of the grades given by individual judges was seen as a consequence of the lack of a common grading system among tasters, and the data sample was deemed too small for meaningful statistical interpretation. Steven Spurrier, the organizer of the tasting, acknowledged in Decanter in August 1996 that he tallied the winners by "adding the judges marks and dividing this by nine (which I was told later was statistically meaningless)."

Orley Ashenfelter and Richard E. Quandt analyzed the results of all 11 judges instead of only 9 and proposed a slightly different ranking (see below). They also stated that only the scores of the first two wines in their ranking were statistically valid, and that the seven other wines could not be differentiated statistically.[4]

  1.  United States Stag's Leap Wine Cellars '73
  2.  France Montrose '70
  3.  France Mouton '70
  4.  France Haut Brion '70
  5.  United States Ridge Monte Bello '71
  6.  United States Heitz Martha's '70
  7.  France Leoville-las-cases '71
  8.  United States Freemark Abbey '69
  9.  United States Mayacamas '71
  10.  United States Clos du Val '72

Tasting replications

Some critics[7] argued that French red wines would age better than the California reds, so this was tested.

San Francisco Wine Tasting of 1978

The San Francisco Wine Tasting of 1978 was conducted 20 months after the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976. Steven Spurrier flew in from Paris to participate in the evaluations, which were held at the Vintners Club.[3]

On January 11, 98 evaluators blind-tasted the same Chardonnays tasted earlier in Paris.

  1.  United States – 1974 Chalone Winery
  2.  United States – 1973 Chateau Montelena
  3.  United States – 1973 Spring Mountain Vineyard
  4.  France – 1972 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles Domaine Leflaive.

Ranking lower were Meursault Charmes Roulot 1973, Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin 1973, and Batard-Montrachet Ramonet-Prudhon 1973.

On January 12, 99 evaluators blind-tasted the same Cabernet Sauvignons tasted earlier in Paris.

  1.  United States – 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
  2.  United States – 1970 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha’s vineyard
  3.  United States – 1971 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello
  4.  France – 1970 Château Mouton Rothschild.

Ranking lower were Château Montrose 1970, Château Haut-Brion 1970, and Château Leoville Las Cases 1971.

French Culinary Institute Wine Tasting of 1986

Two tastings were conducted on the tenth anniversary of the original Paris Wine Tasting. White wines were not evaluated in the belief that they were past their prime.

Steven Spurrier, who organized the original 1976 wine competition, assisted in the anniversary tasting. Eight judges blind tasted nine of the ten wines evaluated. The evaluation resulted in the following ranking.

Results

Rank Wine

  1.  United States - Clos Du Val Winery 1972
  2.  United States - Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello
  3.  France - Château Montrose
  4.  France - Château Leoville Las Cases 1971
  5.  France - Château Mouton Rothschild 1970
  6.  United States - Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973
  7.  United States - Heitz Wine Cellars 1970
  8.  United States - Mayacamas Vineyards 1971
  9.  France - Château Haut-Brion

Wine Spectator Tasting of 1986

Four of the judges were experts from the Wine Spectator and two were outsiders. All tasted the wines blind.

Results

Rank Wine

  1.  United States - Heitz Wine Cellars 1970
  2.  United States - Mayacamas Vineyards 1971
  3.  United States - Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello
  4.  United States - Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973
  5.  United States - Clos Du Val Winery 1972
  6.  France - Château Montrose 1970
  7.  France - Château Mouton Rothschild 1970
  8.  France - Château Leoville Las Cases 1971
  9.  United States - Freemark Abbey Winery 1967
  10.  France - Château Haut-Brion 1970

The Tasting that Changed the Wine World: 'The Judgment of Paris' 30th Anniversary

A 30-year anniversary re-tasting on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean was organized by Steven Spurrier in 2006. As The Times reported "Despite the French tasters, many of whom had taken part in the original tasting, 'expecting the downfall' of the American vineyards, they had to admit that the harmony of the Californian cabernets had beaten them again. Judges on both continents gave top honours to a 1971 Ridge Monte Bello cabernet. Four Californian reds occupied the next placings before the highest-ranked Bordeaux, a 1970 Château Mouton-Rothschild, came in at sixth."[8]

The Tasting that Changed the Wine World: 'The Judgment of Paris' 30th Anniversary was conducted on 24 May 2006.[1]

After the original tasting, some critics suggested that the French red wines would age better than their California counterparts.

The 30-year anniversary was held simultaneously at COPIA (The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts) in Napa, California and at Berry Bros. & Rudd (Britain’s oldest wine merchant) in London, in association with Steven Spurrier, who created the original Paris event.

The panel of nine wine experts at COPIA consisted of Dan Berger, Anthony Dias Blue, Stephen Brook, Wilfred Jaeger, Peter Marks MW, Paul Roberts MS, Andrea Immer Robinson MS, Jean-Michel Valette MW and Christian Vanneque, one of the original judges from the 1976 tasting.

The panel of nine experts at Berry Bros. & Rudd consisted of Michel Bettane, Michael Broadbent MW, Michel Dovaz, Hugh Johnson, Matthew Jukes, Jane MacQuitty, Jasper Morris MW, Jancis Robinson OBE MW and Brian St. Pierre.[2]

The results showed that additional panels of experts again preferred the California wines over their French competitors.[3]

Results
  1.  United States - Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971
  2.  United States - Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973
  3.  United States - Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 (tie)
  4.  United States - Heitz Wine Cellars 'Martha's Vineyard' 1970 (tie)
  5.  United States - Clos Du Val Winery 1972
  6.  France - Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970
  7.  France - Château Montrose 1970
  8.  France - Château Haut-Brion 1970
  9.  France - Château Leoville Las Cases 1971
  10.  United States - Freemark Abbey Winery 1967
Criticisms

One observer has argued that Bordeaux was in a qualitative slump in the late 1960s through the early 1970s, and that the sample size (six Californian wines vs. four from Bordeaux) was not large enough to support a generalized conclusion of California wines aging better than French wines.

However, three of the Bordeaux wines in the competition were from the 1970 vintage, identified by the Conseil Interprofessionel du Vin de Bordeaux as among the four best vintages in the past 45 years or more. The fourth Bordeaux was a 1971, described by the Conseil as "very good". Another official French authority, the Office Interprofessionnel des Vins, rates the 1971 vintage as "excellent".[4]

The French wine producers had many years experience making wine, whereas the California producers typically had only a few years experience; the 1972 vintage was Clos Du Val's very first, yet it performed better than any of its French competitors.

Implications in the wine industry

Although Spurrier had invited many reporters to the original 1976 tasting, the only reporter to attend was George M. Taber from Time magazine, who promptly revealed the results to the world. Leaders of the French wine industry then banned Spurrier from the nation's prestige wine-tasting tour for a year, apparently as punishment for the damage his tasting had done to its former image of superiority.[2] The tasting was not significant for the French press who almost ignored the story. After nearly three months, Le Figaro published an article titled "Did the war of the cru take place?" describing the results as "laughable," and said they "cannot be taken seriously."[3] Six months after the tasting Le Monde wrote a similarly toned article.[3]

The New York Times reported that several earlier tastings had occurred in the U.S., with American chardonnays judged ahead of their French rivals. One such tasting occurred in New York just six months before the Paris Tasting, but "champions of the French wines argued that the tasters were Americans with possible bias toward American wines. What is more, they said, there was always the possibility that the Burgundies had been mistreated during the long trip from the (French) wineries." The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 had a revolutionary impact on expanding the production and prestige of wine in the New World.[2] It also "gave the French a valuable incentive to review traditions that were sometimes more accumulations of habit and expediency, and to reexamine convictions that were little more than myths taken on trust."[3]

Films

Bottle Shock, a feature film that dramatizes the 1976 wine tasting, debuted at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. A second film (Judgment of Paris, based on George Taber's book of the same name) is in production, and there has been controversy between the makers of the two films with allegations of defamation and misrepresentation.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Paris Tasting". National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. http://americanhistory.si.edu/doubtles/d00.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-05.  
  2. ^ a b c Peterson, Thane. The Day California Wines Came of Age: Much to France's Chagrin: a Blind Taste Test 25 Years Ago in Paris inadvertently launched California's fine wine industry Business Week, May 8, 2001. Retrieved 19 July 2006.
  3. ^ a b c d e Taber, George M Judgment of Paris: California vs France and the Historic Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005. ISBN 0743297326.
  4. ^ a b Orley Ashenfelter and Richard E. Quandt Analyzing a Wine Tasting Statistically
  5. ^ Roger Downey Wine snob scandal Seattle Weekly
  6. ^ Frédéric Brochet Tasting. A study of the chemical representations in the field of consciousness
  7. ^ Murphy, Linda (May 25, 2006). "California wines beat the French -- again Taste-off proves California wines age best, too". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/25/MNGRBJ1OS530.DTL. Retrieved 2008-08-15.  
  8. ^ Alan Hamilton and David Sanderson California reds win by a nose in tasting rematch The Times 25 May 2006
  9. ^ Willsher, Kate, The Guardian (August 1, 2007). "Hollywood goes nose to nose over French wine's darkest moment". http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2138929,00.html.  
Other
  • Asher, P. The Judgment of Paris. In Reichl, Ruth (Ed.) History in a Bottle. NY: Modern Library, 2006.
  • Hinkle, Richard Paul. The Paris tasting revisited. Wines & Vines, August 1996, 77(8), 32-34.
  • Hulkower, Neal D. The Judgment of Paris According to Borda. Journal of Wine Research, 2009, 20(3), 171-182.
  • McCoy, E. The Emperor of Wine. NY: harperCollins, 2005
  • Peterson, Thane. The Day California Wines Came of Age: Much to France's Chagrin: a Blind Taste Test 25 Years Ago in Paris inadvertently launched California's fine wine industry. Business Week, May 8, 2001.
  • Prial, Frank J. Wine talk: California labels outdo French in blind test. New York Times, June 9, 1976.
  • Prial, Frank J. The day California shook the world: May 4, 1976, blind tasting in Paris with U.S. winning highest scores. New York Times, May 9, 2001.
  • Rice, William. Those winning American wines. Washington Post, June 13, 1976.
  • Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris. NY: Scribner, 2005. ISBN 9780743247511.
  • Winiarski, Warren. Zut alors! The French like California wine. Wines & Vines, April 1991. 72(4), 28.
30th anniversary
  • Rose, Anthony. Thirty years after a shock defeat, French wines lose again to Californians in the great taste test. Belfast Telegraph, May 25, 2006.
  • Finfacts Team. Judgment of Paris: 1976 France v US winetasting duel to be recreated on 30th anniversary. May 24, 2006, 09:49 [5]
  • Murphy, Linda. California wines beat the French—again: Even after 30 years of aging, state's Cabernets still tops. San Francisco Chronicle, May 25, 2006. [6]
  • Yadegaran, Jessica. Do the French grow old gracefully? Contra Costa Times, May 17, 2006.
  • Yadegaran, Jessica. Napa v. Bordeaux, Round Two: Vintners re-enact famous '76 tasting. Contra Costa Times, May 25, 2006

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