"Judgement in Paris" in Beijing

In a blind tasting of Bordeaux and Ningxia, China Bordeaux-type wines Chinese and French wine experts favored the Chinese wines. Only caveat, a big one, all wines cost no more than $62 in China after they add their 48% import duty to the cost. So maybe it’s only really important to Chinese consumers.


China beats Bordeaux

Not surprising: “All the wines in the contest were produced in 2008 or 2009”… how many '08 or '09 Bordeaux are even remotely ready to be drank already???

I was able to correctly identify two Chinese cabs and one wine made by Jean Luc Thunevin as ringers in a GJE Bordeaux session double blind. The Chinese wines tasted like syrah no varietal characters.

Maybe the “BDX” wines were Chinese plonk counterfeits?

Chris

A little more info on the wines and the judges

http://www.grapewallofchina.com/2011/12/14/grace-under-pressure-ningxia-tops-bordeaux-in-beijing-wine-challenge/

Great news if this is a realistic result. I’d be shocked if in such a big country with such a varied climate there weren’t at least a few places where world-class wine could be grown.

Interesting, but they price matched. The french wines were… modest

Other wines tasted (alphabetical order): Calvet Reserve De L’Estey Medoc 2009, Cordier Prestige Rouge 2008, Kressmann Grande Réserve St-Émilion AOC 2008, Mouton Cadet Reserve Medoc 2009 and Silver Heights Family Reserve 2009.

I understand why they did this (it’s what Chinese customers will see as prices), but it’s hardly a Judgemnt of Paris level result where the French competition was LLC, Montrose, Mouton, Haut Brion.

For what it’s worth, it is the “Judgement OF Paris” because that makes it a pun.

Paris was the judge of a beauty contest between 3 goddesses. Aphrodite/Venus won. Then they had the Trojan War.

The fact that the famous contest between American and French wines was held in Paris made the pun possible.