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
Academic 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 Cms 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 Mont-helena '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 . Jim Barrett, Monthelena's general manager and part
owner, said: “Not bad for kids from the sticks.”
