The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, also known as the Judgment of Paris, was a wine competition to commemorate the United States Bicentennial, organized in Paris, France, on 24 May 1976. In the competition, French oenophiles participated in two blind tasting comparisons: one of top-quality Chardonnays and another of red wines (Bordeaux wines from France and Cabernet Sauvignon wines from California). A wine from Napa County, California was rated best in each category, which caused surprise as France was generally regarded as being the foremost producer of the world's best wines.

By the early 1970s, the quality of some California wines was outstanding, but few took notice, as the market favored French brands. Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant, and his American colleague, Patricia Gallagher, organized the competition. Spurrier sold predominantly French wines and believed the California wines would not be favored by the judges.

The event's informal name "Judgment of Paris" is an allusion to the ancient Greek myth.

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):

Method Blind tasting was performed and 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 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, thus counting only grades of French judges.

The results White wines California Chardonnays vs. Burgundy Chardonnays

Official jury results: Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 132 Chateau Montelena 1973 2. 126.5 Meursault Charmes Roulot 1973 3. 121 Chalone Vineyard 1974 4. 104 Spring Mountain Vineyard 1973 5. 101 Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin 1973 6. 100 Freemark Abbey Winery 1972 7. 94 Batard-Montrachet Ramonet-Prudhon 1973 8. 89 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles Domaine Leflaive 1972 9. 88 Veedercrest Vineyards 1972 10. 42 David Bruce Winery 1973

Red wines California Cabernet Sauvignon vs. Bordeaux

Official jury results Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 127.5 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 2. 126 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 3. 125.5 Château Haut-Brion 1970 4. 122Château Montrose 1970 5. 105.5 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 6. 97 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 7. 89.5 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 8. 87.5 Clos Du Val Winery 1972 9. 84.5 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 10. 78 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969

Average Original grades: out of 20 points. Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 14.14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 2. 14.09 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 3. 13.64 Château Montrose 1970 4. 13.23Château Haut-Brion 1970 5. 12.14 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 6. 11.18 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 7. 10.36 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 8. 10.14 Clos Du Val Winery 1972 9. 9.95 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 10. 9.45 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969

Breakdown by judge The original grades (out of 20 points) are shown, in alphabetical order by judge.

Pierre Brejoux Original grades: out of 20 points. Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 17 Château Haut-Brion 1970 2. 16 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 3. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 3. 14 Clos Du Val Winery 1972 5. 13 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 6. 12 Château Montrose 1970 6. 12 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 8. 10 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 9. 7 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 10. 5 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969

Claude Dubois-Millot Original grades: out of 20 points. Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 17 Château Montrose 1970 2. 16 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 2. 16 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 4. 13.5 Château Haut-Brion 1970 5. 11 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 6. 9.5 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 7. 9 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969 7. 9 Clos Du Val Winery 1972 9. 8 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 10. 7 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971

Michel Dovaz Original grades: out of 20 points. Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 15 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 1. 15 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969 3. 12 Château Haut-Brion 1970 3. 12 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 5. 11 Château Montrose 1970 5. 11 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 5. 11 Clos Du Val Winery 1972 8. 10 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 8. 10 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 10. 8 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971

Patricia Gallagher Original grades: out of 20 points. Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 17 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 2. 16 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 3. 15 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 3. 15 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969 5. 14 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 5. 14 Château Montrose 1970 5. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 8. 13 Clos Du Val Winery 1972 9. 12 Château Haut-Brion 1970 10. 9 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971

Odette Kahn Original grades: out of 20 points. Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 15 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 2. 13 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 3. 12 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 3. 12 Château Montrose 1970 3. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 3. 12 Château Haut-Brion 1970 7. 7 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 8. 5 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969 9. 2 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 9. 2 Clos Du Val Winery 1972

Raymond Oliver Original grades: out of 20 points. Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 14 Château Montrose 1970 1. 14 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 1. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 4. 12 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 4. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 4. 12 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 7. 10 Château Haut-Brion 1970 7. 10 Clos Du Val Winery 1972 7. 10 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 10. 8 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969

Steven Spurrier Original grades: out of 20 points. Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 14 Château Montrose 1970 1. 14 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 1. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 1. 14 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 5. 13 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 5. 13 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969 7. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 8. 11 Clos Du Val Winery 1972 9. 9 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 10. 8 Château Haut-Brion 1970

Pierre Tari Original grades: out of 20 points. Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 17 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 2. 15 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 3. 14 Château Montrose 1970 3. 14 Château Haut-Brion 1970 3. 14 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969 6. 13 Clos Du Val Winery 1972 6. 13 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 8. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 8. 12 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 10. 11 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970

Christian Vanneque Original grades: out of 20 points. Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 17 Château Haut-Brion 1970 2. 16.5 Clos Du Val Winery 1972 2. 16.5 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 4. 16 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 5. 15.5 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 6. 11 Château Montrose 1970 7. 10 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 8. 8 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 9. 6 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969 10. 3 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971

Aubert de Villaine Original grades: out of 20 points. Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 16 Château Montrose 1970 2. 15 Château Haut-Brion 1970 2. 15 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 4. 14 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 5. 12 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 6. 10 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 7. 9 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 8. 7 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969 8. 7 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 10. 5 Clos Du Val Winery 1972

Jean-Claude Vrinat Original grades: out of 20 points. Rank Grade Wine Vintage Origin 1. 15 Château Montrose 1970 1. 15 Château Haut-Brion 1970 3. 14 Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 3. 14 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 5. 13 Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 6. 12 Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 7. 11 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 8. 9 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard 1970 9. 7 Freemark Abbey Winery 1969 9. 7 Clos Du Val Winery 1972

Interpretations and replications

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

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars '73 Montrose '70 Mouton '70 Haut Brion '70 Ridge Monte Bello '71 Heitz Martha's Vineyard '70 Leoville-las-cases '71 Freemark Abbey '69 Mayacamas '71 Clos du Val '72

In a 2026 analysis, Richard Ballantyne MW identified arithmetic errors in the white wine totals published in Taber's 2005 book, finding that Château Montelena and Meursault Charmes scored identically on the official nine-judge panel, making the white flight a tie rather than a clear Californian victory. Applying ordinal ranking, Borda count and the Condorcet method to the red wine scores, Ballantyne found Château Haut-Brion to be the most consistently preferred wine on the panel, placing first on three of four aggregation methods.

Tasting replications Some critics 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.

On 11 January 1978, evaluators blind-tasted the same Chardonnays tasted earlier in Paris. – 1974 Chalone Vineyard – 1973 Chateau Montelena – 1973 Spring Mountain Vineyard – 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 12 January 1978, evaluators blind-tasted the same Cabernet Sauvignons tasted earlier in Paris. – 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars – 1970 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha's Vineyard – 1971 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello – 1970 Château Mouton Rothschild. Ranking lower were Château Montrose 1970, Château Haut-Brion 1970, and Château Leoville Las Cases 1971.

French Culinary Institute Tasting of 1986 Two tastings were conducted by the French Culinary Institute (now called the International Culinary Center) 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 – Clos Du Val Winery 1972 – Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971 – Château Montrose 1970 – Château Leoville Las Cases 1971 – Château Mouton Rothschild 1970 – Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 – Heitz Wine Cellars 1970 – Mayacamas Vineyards 1971 – Château Haut-Brion 1970

Wine Spectator Tasting of 1986 Four of the judges were experts from Wine Spectator and two were outsiders. All tasted the wines blind.

Results – Heitz Wine Cellars 1970