Judgment of Paris

by George M. Taber

  Dickenson brought along to Paris a bottle of Chateau Montelena Chardonnay for Gallagher, which was soon uncorked. Bottle by bottle Gallagher and Spurrier were becoming more familiar with California wines. Thanks to Finigan and Dickenson, they had now tried wines from many of the new wineries and from several different areas.

  On December 30, 1975, Gallagher scribbled a note to Dickenson, thanking her for the wine and saying that the California wine tasting was going to be one of the top priorities of the new year at the Caves de la Madeleine. “The only problem involves getting the wine over here without great expense,” she wrote. “If you have any ideas, please let me know.”

  Early in 1976, the pace of correspondence between Gallagher and Dickenson picked up. In a February letter, Gallagher proposed holding the tasting of California wines while the Tchelistcheff group was in Paris. But that suggestion never got very far. The tour had its own very tight itinerary, and no one was anxious to complicate things.

  Then in March Spurrier went to California with his wife, Bella, to make the final selection of the wines that would be tasted in the bicentennial event. It was his first trip ever to California. By this time, Spurrier already had some definite ideas about the wines that he wanted to include. He had been particularly impressed when he tasted wines from Ridge and Chalone, two wineries located south of San Francisco. He also wanted to meet some of the California wine people who had stopped in the Paris shop over the previous few years.

  Staying at the Alta Mira, a luxury hotel in Sausalito just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, Spurrier and his wife made forays into Napa and Sonoma counties as well as into wine-growing areas south of San Francisco. He surprised some of his hosts because unlike many people in the wine trade, who are always looking for a wine handout, the very proper Englishman always paid full retail price for his wines. He didn’t make any fuss about what he was planning to do in Paris, and David Bruce, whose Chardonnay would be included in the tasting, didn’t even know until years later that Spurrier had visited his winery.

  The reception Spurrier received at the various wineries was good—except at Heitz Wine Cellars. Joe Heitz was well known in the Napa Valley as a charming curmudgeon, and when Spurrier called to make an appointment to see him, he got the classic treatment.

  Heitz first barked at him, “I don’t receive people. Are you a journalist?”

  “No,” Spurrier replied, a bit taken aback.

  “Are you a wine merchant?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I don’t export. And anyway, I don’t have time.”

  “Mr. Heitz, I’d like to come and see you anyway. You are a great name in California wine, and I’d like to meet you.”

  So with his style of just showing up that had worked so well in Paris, Spurrier went uninvited to Heitz’s winery on the Silverado Trail east of St. Helena, hoping his charm would get him by.

  After a few minutes of casual conversation, Heitz offered his visitor a glass of his Chardonnay and then quickly asked, “What do you think?”

  “It reminds me of a Meursault Charmes,” Spurrier said, referring to one of the great white Burgundies.

  “Meursault Charmes is my wife’s favorite wine, and that’s what I try to make,” replied Heitz.

  Suddenly the doors of Heitz Cellars flew open, and Spurrier went on to taste several other wines. Heitz the curmudgeon had turned into Heitz the charmer.

  During his California travels, Spurrier kept picking up bottles of wine, and by the time he was ready to go he had more than he could carry with him as luggage on his return trip. He had already decided to have six California Cabernet Sauvignons tasted with four Bordeaux red wines and six California Chardonnays matched with four Burgundy whites. He figured he needed two bottles of each wine, which meant he needed at least twenty-four bottles. Only one would probably be enough for the tasting, but he wanted an extra in case a bottle broke or the judges asked for retests. Plus there were some other wines he wanted to take back.

  By this time Spurrier had also determined that if the wine were shipped to Paris via a normal transportation company, it could be stopped at customs. He didn’t want a repeat of the troubles he had getting the English wine into France for Queen Elizabeth II’s dinner for President Pompidou. Finally Spurrier decided the safest way to get the wine to Paris was to have people on the Tchelistcheff tour bring it along as accompanying baggage, so he called Dickenson to see if she could handle it.

  After agreeing to help, Dickenson phoned a TWA representative with whom she was working on her upcoming tour and asked if that would be okay. TWA was then trying to establish a relationship between the wine-producing areas of the world that it called a “Wine Bridge,” and the representative said he would be delighted to handle it.

  Several days later, Spurrier’s wine was delivered to Dickenson’s home and left in a hallway. Then two days before he was leaving California, Spurrier phoned Dickenson again and inquired if she could also bring two bottles of Chalone Chardonnay. Dickenson called the winery and asked that the wine be brought to the Napa Valley. A company representative said she would have to pick up the bottles at the company’s San Francisco office. So on her way to San Francisco Airport to start the trip to Paris, Dickenson made a detour to pick up the Chalone wine.

  Once back in Paris, Spurrier, with the help of Gallagher, scurried to get everything together for the event. The date was set for May 24, and there was a lot to do. The classroom at the Académie du Vin was too small to accommodate the tasters, so they looked for a bigger location. Ernst van Dam, the food and beverage manager at the Paris InterContinental Hotel on the Rue de Castiglione, was a friend and client of Spurrier. The hotel was only a few blocks from the Caves de la Madeleine, so Spurrier asked if he could use a room. Van Dam told him that on May 24 between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. he could have a room located next to an interior courtyard where drinks and light food were served. But the group had to be out by 6:00 because after that the room was booked for a wedding reception. Van Dam then corrected himself and said they would have to be out of the room a little before 6:00 because the staff would need time to set up for the reception.

  Now that he had selected the California wines, had a way to get them into France, and had a location and firm date for the tasting, Spurrier set out to get the judges. He relied on the connections he had built up so assiduously over the years to get an outstanding group of French wine experts, and their participation reflected the prestige he had achieved with influential members of the French wine business. It would have been hard to come up with a better group of judges; with only one exception, they were widely known and respected. When Spurrier invited them he told them it was for a tasting of California wines; he did not say that they would be tasting both California and French wines at the same time. The tasting panel:

  Pierre Bréjoux, Inspector General of the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée Board, which controls the production of the top French wines. Bréjoux was also the author of several books on French wine.

  Michel Dovaz, teacher of wine courses in French at the Académie du Vin and the supposed president of the Institute Oenologique de France. There is actually no such organization; Dovaz made up the name as a joke to look like he belonged to the august group. He was invited because of his connection with Spurrier but would later go on to write several books on wine as well the chapter on Champagne for the annualHachette Guide des Vins.

  Claude Dubois-Millot, sales director ofGaultMillau . Dubois-Millot was the only inexperienced judge. In fact, this was his first wine tasting. Despite the slightly different spelling of their names, he was the brother of Christian Millau, one of the cofounders ofGaultMillau . Dubois-Millot had spent twenty years in the automobile industry before joining his brother’s business in 1973. Spurrier had tried to getGaultMillau to cover the California wine tasting, and the publication at first had agreed. Later, though, the editors changed their mind and sent Claude Dubois-Millot as a gesture to their friend Spurrier.

 
Odette Kahn, editor of theRevue du Vin de France (Review of French Wine) and also of its sister publicationCuisine et Vins de France (Food and Wines of France). TheRevue du Vin de France was started in 1927 by Raymond Baudoin, a former wine dealer whose goal was to “instruct and defend the consumer.” His crusading magazine carried stories about wine scandals and unscrupulous wine merchants that helped foster the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée system. Kahn was named editor of the two publications in 1970.

  Raymond Oliver, chef and owner of Le Grand Véfour restaurant. Spurrier chose Oliver because he came from Bordeaux, where his mother had a famous restaurant. Le Grand Véfour, then and now, was one of France’s great restaurants, dating back to the late eighteenth century. Located under the arcades of the Palais Royal, it has long been a favorite of French politicians and artists. Napoléon ate here, as did Voltaire, Colette, and Sartre. When Victor Hugo dined at Le Grand Véfour, which was often, he always ordered the same meal: vermicelli, breast of mutton, and white beans. Oliver took over the restaurant in 1948, and in 1976 was at the apex of his career. Le Grand Véfour had three stars in theMichelin restaurant guide—the highest possible rating—and an 18/20 score in the rivalGaultMillau guide. Oliver also hosted a very popular cooking show on television. Le Grand Véfour naturally had an outstanding wine cellar.

  Pierre Tari, owner of the Château Giscours and Secretary General of the Association des Grands Crus Classés, the organization of the wines classified in 1855. Château Giscours is a Third Growth. Tari’s father bought the property in 1955 and together with his son brought it back from near oblivion.

  Christian Vannequé, head sommelier of La Tour d’Argent, another three-star restaurant. Probably the most famous restaurant in Paris, La Tour d’Argent also has an extraordinary wine cellar, which privileged guests can visit after a meal. The building where it is located was built in the thirteenth century and has a tower constructed of stone laced with mica that glitters in the sun, hence its name La Tour d’Argent or “The Silver Tower.” The royalty of nations, Hollywood, and politics have all dined at La Tour d’Argent. The restaurant is famous for its roast duck and has been keeping track of the number of people ordering it since the 1890s. The one millionth duck was served with great fanfare in 2003.

  Vannequé was only twenty-five years old at the time and had been at La Tour d’Argent for seven years. He had gotten to know Spurrier in Paris wine circles and they were talking about starting a business that would sell wines under the brand Académie du Vin Sélection. Vannequé had been introduced to California wines in 1971 by the movie director John Frankenheimer, when he was then makingThe French Connection in France and living in the same building as La Tour d’Argent. The two often discussed wine, and when Frankenheimer left Paris he gave Vannequé about 150 bottles from leading California producers, including Clos Du Val, Freemark Abbey, and Chalone.

  Aubert de Villaine, co-owner and co-director of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Some of the world’s most expensive—and most sought after—wines are produced on the four-and-a-half-acre patch of stony, dark red soil of the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The vineyard has been held in almost sacred awe for centuries. When La Romanée-Conti was auctioned off after having been seized during the French Revolution, the catalog described the vineyard as “the most excellent of all those of the Côte d’Or and even of all the vineyards of the French Republic.” Aubert de Villaine, who was married to an American, also had some experience with California wines.

  Jean-Claude Vrinat, owner of the Taillevent restaurant, another of the stars of French gastronomy. The restaurant was started in 1946 by André Vrinat, his father, and won its first star in theMichelin restaurant guide in 1948. It picked up its second star in 1954, and its third in 1973. Taillevent, which is named after the court chef to King Charles V in the fourteenth century, has long been considered the epitome of Parisian cuisine. The decor is classic and restrained, with wood paneling and deep blue velvet banquettes. Jean-Claude Vrinat began working at his father’s restaurant as a sommelier and had taken over direction of the restaurant in 1973.

  After the judges were selected, Spurrier and Gallagher set out to get the press to cover the event. A very simple press release went out to the leading media organizations in Paris announcing a tasting of California wines and inviting coverage. They paid special attention to invite the wine writers from the two most important Paris newspapers,Le Monde andLe Figaro .GaultMillau received a personal invitation from Spurrier.

  On May 7, Spurrier drove out to Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport to meet the Tchelistcheff group on the overnight flight TWA 810 from Boston’s Logan Airport. The flight was due to arrive at 9:25 a.m. The weather was unusually hot for Paris in May, so Spurrier wore a white summer suit. He was very anxious to get his hands on the California wine the tour members were bringing. The event was now only two weeks away, and without that wine there would be no tasting.

  The tour group had flown first from San Francisco to Boston, and the wine traveled with them in the cabin. In Boston they changed planes, and the wine was transferred to the baggage compartment.

  Joanne Dickenson had no trouble spotting Spurrier in his white summer suit when he arrived at the baggage area with a cart to pick up the cartons of wine. Before long Spurrier and Dickenson saw three boxes coming around the carousel with the other luggage. Spurrier was elated; Dickenson was horrified. Spurrier saw his wine; Dickenson saw a case with a red stain all over it. At least one bottle had obviously broken during the flight or in the baggage handling.

  Later when he examined the contents of the cases, Spurrier discovered that a bottle of Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon had broken. There was still the extra bottle of that wine, which was enough for the tasting. No winery was going to be excluded because of a broken bottle.

  After the members of the group retrieved their luggage, Spurrier helped them through customs where officials, as expected, stopped them to ask about the wine. Spurrier explained to the customs agents that the group consisted of thirty-two people, and together they were carrying less wine than they were legally allowed to bring into the country. French customs allowed travelers to carry one bottle of wine, and the officer waved them through. The group had actually slightly more bottles than the legal limit. They had thirty-six bottles—or more correctly thirty-five bottles and one broken bottle. But the customs officer didn’t count.

  Spurrier and the group left for the Chemin des Vignes, the wine storage cellar on the outskirts of Paris that Spurrier co-owned, where they tasted several French wines and had a light lunch. After that the Californians went to their hotel. The next day they started their study trip.

  Two weeks later, and a little more than a week before the planned tasting, Spurrier and Gallagher sat in the Académie du Vin offices and discussed a serious problem. No one from the press was going to attend their tasting! NotLe Monde, notLe Figaro, notGaultMillau ! A tasting of California wines? No one in the French press saw a story there.

  How could they get some journalists to attend, they wondered? After all, publicity was the main purpose for staging the tasting. It then occurred to Gallagher that I had taken their wine course and might be interested in covering the event.

  She picked up the phone and called me at theTime office, located just off the Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées.

  I had received the press release but paid little attention to it. People were always trying to getTime reporters to come to events in the hope that they would have stories written about them. This appeared to be just another one of these nonevents: it seemed almost absurd to compare the best French wines with California unknowns.

  After Gallagher explained more about the tasting, however, I reconsidered and said I’d try to get there, without promising anything. The InterContinental Hotel was not far from theTime office, so it wouldn’t be a major time commitment. A wine tasting was always interesting and I knew little about the California wines. If something more important—or interesting—came up that da
y, I could always drop out.

  Gallagher put down the phone and turned to Spurrier, “That’s wonderful. Taber will come.”

  THE CALIFORNIA WINERIES

  Chapter Seventeen

  California Wines at the Tasting

  To take wine into our mouths is to savor

  a droplet of the river of human history.

  —CLIFTON FADIMAN

  The twelve California wines—six Chardonnays and six Cabernet Sauvignons—that Steven Spurrier selected to participate in the Paris Tasting all came from wineries started or reopened in the 1960s and early 1970s. Nine of the twelve wines came from the Napa Valley, and three came from the Santa Cruz Mountains. Grapes that went into some of the wines, though, were also grown in Sonoma County. The wines came from a total of eleven wineries: Napa Valley’s Freemark Abbey was the only one with entries in both the red and white categories.

  The wineries were all very representative of the new age of California wine. They were generally small operations still run by the founders, who were often on a second career. Most of the winemakers had been strongly influenced by the work done at the University of California, Davis, but they didn’t just slavishly follow the dictates of professors. They were always experimenting, trying to discover what could be done with their unique land and the northern California climate. They freely shared their successes as well as their failures. These new wineries concentrated primarily on just two grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, although they might produce some others as well. And in their search for excellence, France was their model. They tasted the best French wines regularly and candidly compared their own to them.