Burgundy swept all five Chardonnay positions and Napa Valley's Vine Hill Ranch took the top Cabernet Sauvignon slot at the "Judgement of Singapore" blind tasting, held on the final day of the inaugural Singapore Wine Week to mark 50 years since Steven Spurrier's 1976 Paris event.

The 24-wine blind tasting drew 15 judges from 10 countries. Co-led by Master of Wine Lisa Perrotti-Brown and Master Sommelier Ronan Sayburn, the event received 26 submissions; two wines were excluded as out of condition.

How did the top reds score?

Vine Hill Ranch 'VHR' Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 from Oakville, Napa Valley scored 96.41 to lead the red ranking. Bordeaux filled three of the other four red slots:

• Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2019, Saint-Julien — 95.38
• Château Margaux 2019, Margaux — 95.15
• Harlan Estate 2019, Napa Valley — 94.72
• Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2019, Pauillac — 94.22

The Napa red came from Vine Hill Ranch's Oakville site; Harlan Estate is the Oakville producer owned by the Harlan family. Of the 15 judges, all 15 correctly identified Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 as New World, while 12 placed Château Margaux 2019 in the Old World.

Did Burgundy dominate the whites?

Yes. Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2019 topped the Chardonnay ranking at 96.25. Four other Burgundy houses filled the remaining positions:

• Coche-Dury, Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignères 2020 — 95.24
• Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Maltroie 2019 — 95.10
• Domaine Leflaive, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes 2019 — 93.50
• Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes 2019 — 93.27

Other Chardonnay submissions included Margaret River's Cloudburst, Oregon's 00 Wines from the Willamette Valley, and Domaine Muxin from Yunnan, China.

How accurately did judges read regional origin?

Judges correctly placed the entrants in New or Old World categories 64% of the time across both varietals. Accuracy ran higher for Cabernet Sauvignon at 69% than for Chardonnay at 58%. Beyond the Quilceda Creek and Margaux calls, the panel saw New World Cabernet representation from Margaret River's Cullen Wines and Chile's Gandolini from the Maipo Valley.

What does this mean for hospitality operators?

European sommeliers and on-trade buyers will read the all-Burgundy white top five as confirmation of current allocation-driven pricing on Côte de Beaune chardonnays. Coche-Dury and Domaine Leflaive allocations already trade at four-figure euro levels on release, and Bonneau du Martray's Corton-Charlemagne regularly anchors luxury hotel cellars. The 1.03-point margin between Vine Hill Ranch and Château Ducru-Beaucaillou keeps both styles viable on fine-dining lists at materially different price points.

Perrotti-Brown said: "Fifty years ago, a single tasting in Paris changed how the world thought about where great wine could come from. The map has grown considerably since then. What interests me is not who wins, but what these wines tell us, with the labels hidden, about how far quality has travelled and how much of it still comes down to place."

What happens next?

Singapore Wine Week organisers will publish the full Judgement of Singapore rankings on the event's official channels, and importers and restaurant groups in Europe and Asia are likely to revisit 2019 Bordeaux and 2019/2020 Burgundy allocations as the results filter through buying desks over the coming weeks.