Recently, a very cool event took place. One that has a lot of significance in the wine world. Us wine drinkers have been drinking new world and old world wines and enjoying them. But years ago there was and event that helped shape the wine world as we know it now. Especially for the American perspective and surely the French.
On May 24, 1976, Steve Spurrier, who owned a small wine shop
and a respected wine school, L'Academie du Vin, in the heart of Paris, wanted
to shine a light on the quality of wines coming out of California to the French
wine community and he played it out to the wine world at large covered by Time
magazine. The results of this contest he created changed the wine world
forever.
Nine respected, French judges including representatives from the AOC regulatory board, Institut Oenologique de France (The Wine Institute of France), and a several of top Paris restaurant owners and sommeliers, all representing the top of the French wine industry, got together to participate in a blind tasting that in essence put California Chardonnay against the cream of the crop of white Burgundy and California Cabernet against the esteemed top Grand Crus from Bordeaux, two of which were the famous first growths of Mouton Rothschild and Haut Brion.
Steve continues to be so very high regarded in the wine
world…
Well, the American wines won the competition. It was like “the
shot heard around the world”!
It is now 30 years later and the idea to re-taste the group
of wines came about.
This time there were judges on both sides of the Atlantic
and the wines tasted blind on this anniversary.
Here are the wines:
1972 Clos du Val Cabernet, 1969 Freemark Abbey Cabernet,
1970 Heitz Martha's Vineyard Cabernet, 1971 Mayacamas Cabernet, 1971 Ridge
Monte Bello Cabernet Blend, 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet, 1970
Château Haut-Brion , 1971 Château Léoville-Las-Cases, 1970 Château Montrose and
1970 Château Mouton-Rothschild.
…and here are the complete results from the blind tasting.
I have listed the points from the scoring next to the wine.
The top wine for each panelist received 10 points, the second ranked 9 points
and so forth. The number of points were then added up and summed for the final
count. By the way they call this ‘Borda Count system’.
#1 - 1971 Ridge Monte
Bello (67 points)
#2 - 1973 Stag's Leap
Wine Cellars (63 points)
#3 - 1970 Heitz
Martha's Vineyard (62 points)
#4 - 1971 Mayacamas
(60 points)
#5 - 1972 Clos du Val
(53 points)
#6 - 1970 Chateau
Mouton-Rothschild (46 points)
#7 - 1970 Chateau
Montrose (39 points)
#8 - 1970 Chateau
Haut-Brion (36 points)
#9 - 1969 Freemark
Abbey (35 points)
#10 - 1971 Chateau
Leoville-Las-Cases (34 points)
#1 - 1971 Ridge Monte
Bello (70 points)
#2 - 1970 Chateau
Mouton-Rothschild (59 points)
#3- 1973 Stag's Leap
Wine Cellars (56 points)
#4 - (TIE) 1970
Chateau Montrose and 1972 Clos du Val (53 points)
#5 -
#6 - 1971 Mayacamas
(52 points)
#7 - 1970 Heitz
Martha's Vineyard (50 points)
#8 - 1970 Chateau
Haut-Brion (46 points)
#9 - 1971 Chateau
Leoville-Las-Cases (32 points)
#10 - 1969 Freemark
Abbey (24 points)
California won again!
After all these years, what we all
know is obvious…California produces overwhelmingly fantastic wines. Wines of tremendous quality. This event was great to expose that. The wine world is very
lucky! Thanks to Linda Murphy in San Fran for covering this...