A Bottle of the California Wine That Won the Famed 1976 ‘Judgment of Paris’ Just Sold for a Record Price

Sure, wines evolve as they age, and wine collectors have shown they’ll pay a hefty price for “drinkable history,” even if the liquid inside the bottle is probably not anything anyone would want to actually consume, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that a 50 year-old bottle of Cabernet that won the famed 1976 “Judgement of Paris” would be a hot commodity at auction. In preparation for the vintage’s 50th anniversary, a bottle of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine that put California wine on the map by prevailing over its French competitors at the Judgment of Paris, was just put up for auction last week.

In case you don’t know, during the “judgment,” which took place in 1976, this 1973 Stag’s Leap Cab was selected by a group of French wine judges as the best red during a blind tasting of both American and French wines organized by British wine expert Steven Spurrier. A Napa Valley Chardonnay also topped the white wine category, and the event as a whole is regarded as the turning point for the reputation of California wines. A bottle of the 1973 Stag’s Leap is even a part of the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History.

And yet, you too can still judge a bottle of 1973 Stag’s Leap Cab for yourself, assuming you have an extra $12,300. That’s how much a bottle sold for — the most ever for the vintage, and three times the previous high price — at Heritage Auctions’ Wine Signature Auction held in Beverly Hills on March 10 and 11.

It’s not clear how many unopened bottles are still out there, however, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, which provided the bottle for this auction, apparently only has a “handful” remaining. “Each vintage, we set aside a small amount of our production to age and enjoy over time,” Marcus Notaro, winemaker for Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, stated. “This auction was the first time we’ve opened up our library at this level, and we are thankful to all the collectors and bidders who turned out and showed the pent-up demand for our high quality and age-worthy wines.”

Meanwhile, Frank Martell, senior director of fine and rare wines at Heritage Auctions, suggested that the lessons learned in 1976 are still true to this day. “With this auction, the two most expensive Cabernet-based wines produced in the last 61 years are wines from California, not France, including the first vintage of Screaming Eagle that sold at Heritage Auctions last September for $14,760,” he stated. “And, most important, with this auction we have single-handedly affirmed the Judgment of Paris — again.”

As for the future of this record-setting bottle, the anonymous winning bidder said they planned to give it to their wine collector father for his birthday, adding, “This is very special for us.” No word on if they plan to judge it for themselves.

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