Judgment of Paris Revisited

On May 24, James and Marie Suckling re-created the Judgment of Paris tasting with a group of tasters in San Francisco. It was a blind tasting of the same wines tasted 50 years ago, and the results were very similar. A Napa Valley wine won against some of the best wines from Bordeaux, confirming again that American wines can be on the same quality level as the best of France. The top wine was Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1970, followed by Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 1971. For James, the point was not only that the California wines had aged well, but that the tasting again showed California and Bordeaux on the same quality level after five decades. The California reds had the structure and balance to improve with age. Watch the full video above to explore the tasting with James and hear his thoughts on what the Judgment of Paris means today.