Mira Winery Finishes 3rd at Judgment of Charleston

Mira Winery marked the 40th anniversary of the Judgment of Paris at their Napa Valley Education Center and Tasting Room in Charleston, SC with a blind tasting of eight highly rated top wines from Napa Valley and Bordeaux. The wines included two previously 100 point rated wines, according to Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate, from both Napa Valley and Bordeaux. Eleven judges from across the country gathered to compare these top wines and consider the stylistic evolution of the two regions since the Paris tasting.

[textEmphasized name=”Post & Courier”]“Mira’s Cabernet Sauvignon Schweizer Vineyard 2012 received a higher rating than any other California wine considered, but was outscored by a pair of French wines: a Petrus 2012 and Château Haut-Brion 2010.”[/textEmphasized]

“We included Mira because we were hosting the event,” said Mira Proprietor Jim “Bear” Dyke, Jr. “But today, Mira proved it belongs with elite wines from Napa Valley and around the world.”

Jean Pierre Giraud, director of sales at Chêne & Cie, and Rick Rubel, sommelier and wine director at Belmond Charleston Place, served as co-chairs of the Judgment of Charleston Wine Selection Committee.

“We selected top wines from Bordeaux and Napa that were very well rated by Robert Parker. Most of the wines are prohibitively costly for the average consumer,” said Rubel “And then we had a blind tasting, which means it’s virtually impossible to create bias.”

The 11 Charleston judges knew they were tasting both Napa Valley and Bordeaux wines, but not the mix or specific wines. The Judgment of Charleston used a 100-point scoring system. Additionally, each judge ranked each wine in order of preference. The wines were concealed until after the tasting.

Click here to view a full list of the wines included in the tasting.

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View the Judgment of Charleston Results Infographic

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The wines in the tasting finished in the following order:

1. Wine F – Petrus 2012
2. Wine C – Château Haut-Brion 2010
3. Wine G – Mira Cabernet Sauvignon Schweizer Vineyard 2012
4. Wine D – Screaming Eagle 2012
5. Wine E – Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard RBS 2010
6. Wine A – Château Latour 2011
7. Wine B – Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select 2011
8. Wine H – Château Angélus 2010

Below is the panel of esteemed judges:

Wayne Belding – Master Sommelier; owner, Vintage Advantage (wine education and training); author, Diving Into Wine (Denver, CO)
David Denton – Advanced Sommelier, Charlie Palmer Steak, Washington, D.C.; International Bordeaux Wine Educator (Washington, D.C.)
Barbara Ensrud – Wine Educator, Duke University; writer and wine judge (Durham, NC)
Pietro Giardini – Sommelier; General Manager, The Vendue Inn (Charleston, SC)
Craig Locascio – Certified Wine Educator; Certified Bordeaux Trade Educator (Charlotte, NC / Columbia, SC)
Shaun Page – Sommelier & Wine Director, Wolfgang Puck Cucina & Wolfgang Puck Steak, MGM Grand Detroit (Detroit, MI)
Richard Paladino – Advanced Sommelier, Virginia Philip Wine Shop & Academy (West Palm Beach, FL)
Greg Rivera – WSET Level 4 Diploma; Advanced Sommelier; Client Liaison, August Wine Group (Boca Raton, FL)
Glenn Siegel – Founder and President, Wine Spectrum (Sonoma, CA)
Sandy Strick – Wine Educator; Director, Wine and Beverage Institute (Columbia, SC)
Alex Young – Food & Beverage Director, Brays Island Plantation (Charleston, SC)