On May 24, 1976, the late Stephen Spurrier, an English Master of Wine, wine merchant and wine educator living in Paris, held a blind tasting of French wines vs. Californian wines in Paris with a panel of famous wine critics of the time. The ‘Judgment of Paris’* turned conventional wisdom about wine on its head.48 years later, on May 20 this year, at the London Wine Fair 2024, the ‘Judgement of London’** was held as a tribute to Stephen Spurrier, who passed away in March 2021, and to reflect on fine wines of the world today. The ‘Judgement’ paired European with Rest of the World wines considered representative in eight white and eight red categories, for 32 wines in all, which were judged by 21 experts. The total score of the European wines was slightly higher than the Rest of the World, (2,621.5 to 2,604.5 points). However, Ronan Sayburn MS (Master Sommelier), one of the organizers who selected the wines to be tasted, said: “From the beginning, it was never about a winner or loser, and the results show that... All these wines tasted on their own are amongst the greatest in the world, and we were asking our judges to choose amongst them.” Another organizer, Sarah Abbott MW (Master of Wine), added: “The results from Judgement of London highlight that great wine can and does come from all corners of the world.” With so many fine wines in the world today, it is a great honour to have a wine selected for this tasting. Out of the 16 ‘Rest of the World’wines, Village Cellars works with five of the producers whose wines were tasted.Category / WineRieslingGrosset, Polish Hill Riesling, Clare Valley, South Australia 2012ChardonnayFelton Road, Block 6 Chardonnay, Central Otago, New Zealand 2017TexturedPegasus Bay, Bel Canto Dry Riesling, Waipara, North Canterbury, New Zealand 2011RhoneTahbilk, Viognier, Nagambie Lakes, Victoria, Australia 2011SyrahTrinity Hill, Homage Syrah, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand 2018The results of the tasting saw Pegasus Bay Bel Canto Dry Riesling 2011 with the top score in both the White and Overall categories, and Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2012 second in the White category. Trinity Hill Homage Syrah 2018 was paired with Jean Louis Chave Hermitage Rouge 2012, the highest scoring red, and although the judges’ combined score wasn’t as high, Jancis Robinson MW who was one of the judges, said they both received the same score of 18.5 out of 20 points.* The ‘Judgment of Paris’ tasting was a watershed event in wine history. The name alludes to Greek mythology. The following article by Kotaro Hayama goes into detail, including the return tasting event in 1986. https://www.enoteca.co.jp/article/archives/6255/** LONDON WINE FAIR’S JUDGEMENT OF LONDON: THE RESULTShttps://www.londonwinefair.com/news/london-wine-fair-s-judgement-of-london-the-results/