Thirty Years Later, California Won Again: The Judgment of Paris, Settled in Two Tastings

The 1976 Judgment of Paris blind tasting famously saw California wines triumph over French Bordeaux, a result initially dismissed by critics. A 2006 re-tasting thirty years later proved California wines possess genuine aging potential, solidifying their place in the global wine hierarchy.

Olivier Dubois

June 9, 2026 · Updated October 15, 2026 · 4 min read

Here's the short answer: in 1976, a blind tasting in Paris put California's Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon above Bordeaux's most prestigious châteaux, and when the same red wines were re-tasted thirty years later in 2006, a California wine—Ridge Vineyards' Monte Bello—won again. That second result matters more than the first, because it answered the one criticism the French judges could still cling to: that California wines wouldn't age. They did. Let me pour you the whole story.

The Blind Tasting That Shook the Wine World

Picture Paris in 1976, the American Bicentennial year. Steven Spurrier, a British wine merchant and founder of the Académie du Vin, and Patricia Gallagher, the Académie's director, arranged a blind tasting pitting French wines against California's upstarts. Nine French wine experts—educators, winemakers, writers, and sommeliers—did the judging, tasting California Cabernets beside Bordeaux's most prestigious châteaux, and California Chardonnay beside Premier and Grand Cru White Burgundies.

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, whose own estate account describes the event as having "a revolutionary effect, like a vinous shot heard around the world," notes that the results shocked the wine world. The upstart S.L.V. Estate Cabernet outscored Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Haut-Brion; among whites, the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay took top honors. Napa Valley's fate, as the winery puts it, was established that afternoon.

The Original Upset: 1976 Red Wine Results

So which reds actually competed, and how did they finish? Ten wines: six from California, four from Bordeaux. The scores tell the story of a photo finish at the top—Stag's Leap 1973 edged out Château Mouton-Rothschild 1970 by a whisker, 14.14 to 14.09, with Château Montrose 1970 and Château Haut-Brion 1970 close behind. Ridge's Monte Bello 1971 sat fifth, and the rest of the field trailed.

What's striking is how narrow the margins were. This wasn't a rout; it was a coin-flip victory by a three-year-old Napa Cabernet over first-growth Bordeaux in front of French judges who didn't know what they were drinking. Small wonder the result stung. And the French response, as Ridge Vineyards recounts it, was immediate and pointed: the California wines would not age, and the French wines would win if tasted again in thirty years.

That challenge—thirty years, same wines, same question—hung over the event for three decades. It's the reason we're still talking about it.

The Judgment of Paris: 1976 vs. 2006 Red Wine Rankings

Here is the side-by-side comparison of both tastings—the clearest way to see who rose, who fell, and who held steady across three decades. Use it to trace any single wine's trajectory, or to compare the two lists as a whole: notice how the top of the 2006 table is dominated by California, while the Bordeaux that led the French charge in 1976 slid down the order.

Red wine rankings from the 1976 Judgment of Paris and the 2006 re-tasting
Wine	Vintage	Region	1976 Rank	2006 Rank
Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello	1971	California	5th	1st
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V.	1973	California	1st	2nd
Mayacamas Vineyards	1971	California	9th	3rd (tie)
Heitz Cellars "Martha's Vineyard"	1970	California	6th	3rd (tie)
Clos Du Val Winery	1972	California	7th	5th
Château Mouton-Rothschild	1970	Bordeaux	2nd	6th
Château Montrose	1970	Bordeaux	3rd	7th
Château Haut-Brion	1970	Bordeaux	4th	8th
Château Léoville-Las-Cases	1971	Bordeaux	6th	9th
Freemark Abbey Winery	1969 (1976) / 1967 (2006 list)	California	10th	10th

Read the table as a before-and-after. The biggest mover is Ridge's Monte Bello, climbing from fifth to first. Mayacamas leapt from ninth to a tie for third. Meanwhile, every one of the four Bordeaux wines fell: Mouton-Rothschild from second to sixth, Montrose from third to seventh, Haut-Brion from fourth to eighth, Léoville-Las-Cases from sixth to ninth. Only Freemark Abbey anchored the bottom in both tastings. (Note that Ridge's own records list Freemark Abbey's vintage as 1969 in 1976 and 1967 in 2006, a discrepancy I've preserved rather than smoothed over.)

The synthesis is the point: juxtaposing the two lists shows California wines improving or holding their standing while the French entries declined—precisely the opposite of the 1976 prediction. That's the definitive answer to the aging question, documented by Ridge Vineyards, a participant in both tastings.