Americans abroad have been boasting for years about
California wines, only to be greeted in most cases by polite
disbelief – or worse. Among the few fervent and respected
admirers of le vin de Californie in France is a transplanted
Englishman, Steven Spurrier, 34, who owns the Cave de la
Madeleine wine shop, one of the best in Paris, and the
Academie du Vin, a wine school whose six-week courses are
attended by the French Restaurant Association’s chefs and
sommeliers. Last week in Paris, at a formal wine tasting
organized by Spurrier, the unthinkable happened: California
defeated all Gaul.
The contest was as strictly controlled as the production of a Chateau Lafite. The nine French judges, drawn from an
oenophile’s Who’s Who, included such high priests as Pierre
Tari, secretary-general of the Association des Grands Crus
Classes, and Raymond Oliver, owner of Le Grand Vefour
restaurant and doyen of French culinary writers. The wines
tasted were transatlantic cousins – four white Burgundies against six California Pinot Chardonnays and four Grands Crus Chateaux reds from Bordeaux against six California
Cabernet Sauvignons.
Gallic Gems. As they swirled, sniffed, sipped and spat, some judges were instantly able to
separate an imported upstart from an aristocrat. More often, the panel was confused. “Ah,
back to France!” exclaimed Oliver after sipping a 1972 Chardonnay from the Napa Valley.
“That is definitely California. It has no nose,” said another judge – after downing a Batard
Montrachet ’73. Other comments included such Gallic gems as “this is nervous and agreeable,”
“a good nose, but not too much in the mouth,” and “this soars out of the ordinary.”
When the ballots were cast, the top-soaring red was Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars’ ’72 from the
Napa Valley, followed by Mouton-Rothschild ’70, Haut-Brion ’70 and Montrose ’70. The four
winning whites were, in order, Chateau Montelena ’73 from Napa, French Meursault-Charmes
’73 and two other Californians, Chalone ’74 from Monterey County and Napa’s Spring Mountain
’73. The U.S. winners are little known to wine lovers, since they are in short supply even in
California and rather expensive ($6 plus). Jim Barrett, Montelena’s general manager and part
owner, said: “Not bad for kids from the sticks.”
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