Indeed, a high-profile tasting in Berlin in 2004 saw the likes of Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Margaux bested by two wines from Chile's Errazuriz wineries.
Yet none of these contests has generated quite the hullabaloo of the 1976 tasting -- until now.
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of Spurrier's original brainstorm, a bigger, more elaborate event is to be held on May 24 when two panels of nine judges each will participate in a "simul-tasting" starting precisely the same time on both sides of the Atlantic.
One tasting -- chaired by Spurrier -- where judges include British wine writers Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, as well as Michel Bettane, France's pre-eminent wine critic, will take place at London's storied Berry Brothers and Rudd wine shop.
The other, featuring former New York Times wine columnist Frank Prial and original judge Christian Vanneque will be at the Copia Centre for Wine, Food and the Arts, in Napa Valley, California.
This time, the tasting will consist of five "flights": the first will consist of the original red wines -- six California Cabernets and four Bordeaux (even if they could be found, white wines from the early 1970s will almost certainly have degraded far too much) and subsequent flights of more recent vintages of California Chardonnays, Cabernets, Burgundies and Bordeaux.
But neither Taber nor Spurrier expect any huge surprise this time around.
"Of the original wines, I'll be very surprised if more than one California wine comes within the top five," said Spurrier, referring to the original tasting when two California Cabernets came in first and fifth.
"And it will be fascinating to see whether the judges will be swung by their palates. When it comes to the younger wines -- the Europeans in London will probably favour the French wines, while the Americans will go for the California wines."
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