France triumphs once again at world blind tasting contest

On Saturday 10 October at Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Pessac-Léognan, the French blind tasting team agreed to put its world championship title on the line once again. Psychoanalyst Eric Bordas, air traffic controllers Emmanuel Oliver and Christophe Boyet and wine shipper François Breteau, coached by retired school teacher Vincent Mercier, matched their 2019 feat, once again topping the podium, ahead of the Chinese. The Swedish and Finnish teams came joint third.

This is the first time a team has won the world blind tasting championship twice in a row, and it is France's third victory in eight events. The twenty or so competing teams first had to recognise the main grape variety in the blend, the producer country, the vintage, the appellation, the producer and the names of twelve wines.