May 24, 2026 marked the 50th anniversary of the Judgment of Paris, the landmark blind tasting where California wines were ranked against producers from Burgundy and Bordeaux and came out ahead.
Three days later, I had the opportunity to blind-taste 10 wines from producers represented at the original event. The lineup included 4 Bordeaux and 6 California reds, all from the 1975 vintage, served during a commemorative dinner at Manhatta in New York City.
With more than a decade of experience in the wine business, I’ve participated in plenty of industry tastings, but this was different. It was a chance to put the aging potential of current vintages from these legendary producers into context while tasting alongside collectors, buyers, and wine professionals with far more experience with wines of this quality and era.
Here's what I tasted, what surprised me, and what I brought back from one of the most memorable wine experiences I've had.
Inside the Judgment of Paris Tasting at Manhatta
After ascending 60 floors by private elevator and making my way through Manhatta’s beautiful dining room, I was greeted by the service team with a glass of Champagne Agrapart Avizoise Grand Cru.
While the rest of the guests arrived, I had the chance to introduce myself to a small group of interesting wine professionals and enthusiasts. This included the event’s organizer, Phil Barr, founder of VinSling wine cradles and creator of the Judgment of Paris 50th anniversary website, and Ray Isle, executive wine editor at Food & Wine and wine and spirits editor at Travel + Leisure, who helped guide the evening’s discussion as a guest speaker.
There were also buyers for private cellars, wine collectors, and consumers who were clearly familiar with tasting older wines at this level. That made the discussion especially useful. Everyone came to the wines with slightly different expectations, reference points, and personal preferences.
The 1970s Chardonnays That Opened the Tasting
After introductions and the first two courses, we continued with more Champagne and a small Chardonnay tasting to represent the Judgment of Paris.
The wines were a 1972 Sterling Chardonnay and a 1973 Delagrange-Bachelet Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet.
Both showed beautifully for their age. I initially favored the hint of fresh herbs in the Montrachet. The Sterling began with qualities that felt almost oxidative and fortified, but those notes tapered off as the wine had more time in the glass, revealing more tropical fruit underneath.
That made it a very close race and a good warmup for what came next.
Blind Tasting Ten 1975 Bordeaux and California Reds
It was then time to have ten 1975 reds put in front of me alongside a main course of Black Angus filet and make some tough decisions.
The full lineup included the following wines:
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1975 Château Haut-Brion
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1975 Château Montrose
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1975 Château Mouton Rothschild
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1975 Château Léoville Las Cases
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1975 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon
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1975 Ridge Monte Bello
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1975 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon
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1975 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon
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1975 Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
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1975 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon
One of the wines was noticeably maderized and showed signs of inconsistent temperature during its aging, so it became a competition between nine.
As we took our first sips and began sharing impressions, it was evident that the rest of the wines were showing a surprising amount of finesse and complexity despite being 50 years old.
The wines poured in the original Judgment of Paris were from vintages before 1975, so this wasn’t a recreation of the exact tasting. It was, however, an opportunity to experience the winemaking style of that era through the same producers and to compare how the Bordeaux and California wines had developed over five decades.
What Changed With the Food
As the entrées arrived and we continued tasting, additional complexities began to reveal themselves with the pairing.
We ranked the wines, discussed what we were finding, changed our minds in a few cases, and had some lively debate before the bottles were revealed. Once we knew what was in each glass, the group’s consensus top three were:
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Ridge Monte Bello
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Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V.
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Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard
My personal favorite was the 1975 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V.
It showed ripe, mature stewed-fruit notes on the palate, with bold aromatics of violets and old leather. There was plenty of maturity, as you’d expect, but the wine still had real presence.
Other standouts, among an already elite group of wines, included the 1975 Château Léoville Las Cases. It showed a little more tension on the palate, along with a minty note on the nose.
The 1975 Ridge Monte Bello also had a charming freshness throughout that truly surprised me. Among wines of this age, freshness can be just as impressive as power, and the Ridge continued to show it as the tasting went on.
What Fifty-Year-Old Wines Taught Me
I loved this tasting for the amazing food and wine in the moment, but also for the way it informed experiences I’ve already had and will contribute to experiences I’ve in the future.
Tasting these wines in this context gave me a better sense of the aging potential behind more modern vintages from the same producers. It also helped develop my understanding of what the 1975 vintage can show more generally in Bordeaux and California, and gave me a greater appreciation for the historic moment when these regions were first pitted against one another.
The value wasn’t simply in deciding which wines I liked best.
It was also an opportunity to absorb firsthand knowledge from buyers, collectors, and consumers who were more experienced with wines of this age and quality. We could discuss what we expected from each bottle, what actually appeared in the glass, and where differences in personal preference began to matter.
Some people responded more strongly to freshness and tension. Others were drawn to developed fruit, aromatic complexity, or the way a wine changed once food entered the picture. No one needed to agree completely for the discussion to be useful.
What I Brought Back to Community Wine & Spirits
I also felt it was important for me to be present at this tasting as a wine employee who works with clients at all price points.
Part of my job is being able to explain why certain wines are at a particular level. Price and branding are part of that conversation, but they’re not the entire conversation.
Historical relevance matters. Proven aging potential matters. So does the way a wine continues to express its place, structure, and winemaking style after several decades in the bottle.
Most people are not shopping for 1975 Bordeaux or California Cabernet on a regular basis. The experience still gives me a more informed way to speak about younger vintages, explain what someone may be paying for, and help customers decide whether a particular wine makes sense for how they plan to drink or cellar it.
That’s ultimately what made the tasting so valuable. It was an extraordinary evening, but the knowledge doesn’t stay in the room. I get to bring it back to Community Wine & Spirits and use it in conversations with people who are curious about why one bottle costs more than another, what makes a wine worth aging, or what those famous labels are actually capable of becoming.
