Ranked 4th of top ten in a field of hundreds of American and French Chardonnays
April 2, 2026 (Napa Valley, CA) — Smith-Madrone’s 2021 Estate Chardonnay was ranked 4th out of the top 10 Chardonnays at The 76 ReDo, a recreation of the 1976 Paris Tasting recently staged in New York at the restaurant Smithereens by winemaker and sommelier Patrick Cappiello. “Five decades after the Judgment of Paris wine tasting put American wines (and Napa in particular) on the map, we’ve geared up for a renewed showdown with our French rivals to showcase the new generation of American winemaking,” Cappiello explains.
Over the course of almost two years hundreds of wines were submitted by wineries in either Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah categories. A panel of distinguished judges narrowed the contenders to 10 wines each (per varietal) and a final judging was conducted in New York on March 24. Patrick explained that “Judges ranked the wines based on perception of quality and typicity. The scores were tallied to determine a group ranking.”
The judges were a mix of sommeliers and wine experts, including Pascaline Lepeltier, Josh Entman, Ryan Mills Knapp, Vanessa Price, Kenneth Crum, Nikita Malhotra, Josh Nadel, Victoria Taylor, Missy Neill, Hristo Zisovski, Jodi Mixon, Andre Mack, Lauren Hoey, Etinosa Empkae, Vicki Denig and Miguel de Leon.
“There is nothing like a blind tasting to level the playing field and to find the real truth,” commented Victor Schwartz, owner of VOS Selections in New York and Smith-Madrone’s NY distributor.
“We are honored to have been recognized by this distinguished panel of judges,” said Stuart Smith, who founded Smith-Madrone on top of Spring Mountain in 1971. “In addition, this recognition hearkens back to when our first Riesling, the 1977, was awarded the ‘Best Riesling in the World’ in 1979 at an international competition sponsored by Gault-Millau in Paris,” Smith adds.
The 10 Chardonnay contenders were (in ranked order):
- 2021 Flaneur Bon Vivant, Willamette Valley
- 2022 Roulot Meursault
- 2020 Lafon Meursault
- 2021 Smith-Madrone Chardonnay, Spring Mountain
- 2021 Donelan DeVoto Vineyard, Genevieve’s Block, Sonoma Coast
- 2021 Parea Wines, H. Klopp Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
- 2021 Raveneau Chablis
- 2022 Coche Bourgogne Blanc
- 2021 Birichino, Peter Martin Ray Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains
- 2021 Dauvissat Chablis.
The “original” Judgment of Paris was a wine competition organized in Paris, France on May 24, 1976 by British wine merchant Steven Spurrier and Patricia Gallagher. An expert panel of eleven French judges participated in two blind tastings consisting exclusively of French and California wines. The white wine tasting focused on Chardonnay, while the red wine tasting featured classic Bordeaux from France and Cabernet Sauvignon from California. The results of the blind tasting sent shockwaves through the industry as little known (at the time) California wines from Napa Valley were rated the best in each category and won the competition. Top honors went to the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
Smith-Madrone is one of Napa Valley’s authentically artisanal wineries, founded in 1971 by Stuart Smith. Winemaking and grape-growing are handled entirely by the two brother-proprietors, Stuart and Charles Smith, iconoclasts known for their staunch adherence to dry farming on their mountain vineyard on the top of the Spring Mountain District AVA. All of Smith-Madrone’s wines come from the 38 acres of estate vineyards surrounding the winery, at elevations between 1,300 and 1,900 feet, on slopes angling up to 34%.
The winery’s current releases are the 2021 Estate Chardonnay, 2021 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2022 Estate Cabernet Franc, 2021 Estate Riesling, 2025 Estate Rose and 2018 Cook’s Flat Reserve. The winery is open by appointment only by contacting www.smithmadrone.com.
