The Wine Rematch of the Century

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The Wine Rematch of the Century [1], officially known as "The Tasting that Changed the Wine World: 'The Judgment of Paris' 30th Anniversary," was conducted on May 24, 2006.[2] In the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, leading French wine experts blind tasted both red and white wines.

The historic Paris wine competition of 1976, called "history’s most important wine tasting" [3], shattered the myth of French wine superiority and revolutionized the world of wine. However, some critics suggested that the French red wines would age better than their California counterparts.

This hypothesis was put to the test in two separate tenth-anniversary replications of the original Paris tasting (French Culinary Institute Wine Tasting of 1986 and the Wine Spectator Wine Tasting of 1986). However, it was not supported because California wines maintained or increased their rankings. In the original test for red wine, French wines won 2nd through 5th place, but in the rematch, the same wines now won 6th through 9th place.

The 30-year anniversary was held simultaneously at COPIA (The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts) in California and at Berry Bros. & Rudd (Britain’s oldest wine merchant) in London, in association with Steven Spurrier, who created the original Paris event [4]. 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 [5]

The results showed that additional panels of experts again preferred the California wines over their French competitors. These are the results of both the original tasting and the anniversary wine competitions. [6]

1 Original tasting
2 Anniversary tasting
3 Criticisms
- 3.1 Other wine competitions
4 External link
5 Sources

[edit] Original tasting

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

[edit] Anniversary tasting

1 United States - Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971
2 United States - Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973
3 United States - Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 (tie)
3 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

[edit] 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 ageing 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" [7]. Another official French authority, the Office Interprofessionnel des Vins, rates the 1971 vintage as "excellent" [8].

The Bordeaux Wine Office rates the 1970 vintage for

Pessac (Chateau Haut-Brion) as the best between 1966 and 1978 [9],
Pauillac (Chateau Mouton Rothschild) as the best vintage between 1961 and 1982 (tie with 1975) [10],
Saint Estephe (Chateau Montrose) as the best vintage between 1961 and 1982 [11], and the 1971 vintage for
Saint-Julien (Chateau Leoville Las Cases) as good.

The French wine producers had hundreds of years experience making wine, whereas the California producers typically had only a few years experience; the 1970 vintage was Clos Du Val's very first, yet it performed better than any of its French competitors.

[edit] Other wine competitions

In all of the above competitions, tasting was performed blind and wines were ranked from high to low with only one wine per rank.

[edit] External link

"The Judgment of Paris: What the French didn't learn from the legendary wine-tasting." 30th anniversary article from Slate.com.

[edit] Sources

Rose, Anthony. Thirty years after a shock defeat, French wines lose again to Californians in the great taste test. Belfast Telegraph, May 25, 2006. [12]
Finfacts Team. Judgment of Paris: 1976 France v US winetasting duel to be recreated on 30th anniversary. May 24, 2006, 09:49 [13]
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. [14]
Yadegaran, Jessica. Do the French grow old gracefully? Contra Costa Times, May 17, 2006. [15]
Yadegaran, Jessica. Napa v. Bordeaux, Round Two: Vintners re-enact famous '76 tasting. Contra Costa Times, May 25, 2006 [16]