Your best Pandemic bottle consumed?

We’ve been locked down in L.A. for 3-1/2 months now, getting hit financially, but we all still have a lot of wine. We’ve been drinking more wine and more crafty cocktails. We dedicated to dipping into better stuff on regular days, because we can and because it’s an available “plus” to these days. We have a tendency to save our best bottles for group dinners/offlines. Anyhow, what’s the best bottle you’ve had over the past few months?

Ours was actually brought over by a fellow berserker. Probably partly as we ALL have been isolated, and also to share a gem with us as my wife had just been laid off and lost her sister. That’s what makes a community of winos great. That was our best wine over this time, in gesture and quality. 96 Harlan. It may have not been in my very very top ever, but it was really fantastic and in its sweet spot.

Dom Perignon 1996 and Pegau 1998 , both with my family and birthday

Just did a wine dinner at our house over the weekend and someone was kind enough to bring a Vega Sicilia Unico 1970. Have to say that was pretty amazing, only wish there was more to go around as there were 9 of us sharing it along with many others bottles.

2017 Ramonet Clos de la Boudriotte.

I actually chose it for the opposite reason: my partner went to visit her parents and with me being laid off and her being freelance/work from home I had our small 1.5 bedroom apartment to myself for the first time in three months. It was a small personal treat, enjoyed alone.

It was beautiful, and I’m so happy I’ve got a couple more that I will definitely be sharing in the years to come.

I was blown away recently by a 2011 Brand Cabernet from Pritchard Hill. I could not believe how good it was!

Probably a 2000 Cheval Blanc.

I did La Paulee right before being locked down - those bottles will carry me through September at least.

1985 Cheval Blanc, that bottle was nearly a perfect wine.

2001 Philip Togni Cabernet…another decade for sure.

Yeah, for better or worse, I’ve been drinking a lot of wine since St. Patty’s Day, which was the day we went into “stay-at-home” here on the East coast.

Two of the best have been the 2000 Giacosa Santo Stefano and the 2010 Stella di Campalto Brunello Riserva. And the '86 & '82 Gruaud Larose that I had last weekend would also be in the discussion.

Had the 2013 SQN :male_sign:(Male, Syrah) back in early April, I see it is the wine that I’ve rated the highest since the shelter in place started.

Double decanted an hour before dinner. A dark purple core with no signs of age. Notes of blackberry, violets, spice box, roasted meat; hints of campfire and espresso. Powerful on the palate, with a lush mouthfeel, amazing concentration, but in perfect balance; great delineation and depth, with a long and heady finish. Amazing stuff!

Top 3 (Wines I rated highest in CT)
2013 SQN :male_sign:
1986 Cheval Blanc
1995 Pichon Lalande

Top 3 since quarantine:

2006 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard
2013 Richard Leroy Chenin Les Noëls de Montbenault
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 168eme

Definitely more YOLO these days. Top 3 in order:

2011 Cappellano Pie Franco
1996 Raveneau MdT
1998 Roulot Les Luchets

Maybe it’s the quarantine luck, none of the white burgs were ox’ed or premoxed.

Top 3:

2015 Salt Vine
2009 Schrader BTK
2007 Karl Lawrence Beckstoffer To Kalon

Some white, which tasted like chlorine bleach.

1990 Château d’Yquem, for sure.

The top three would be:

2008 Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé
2016 Tertre Rôteboeuf
2017 Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes

Believe it or not, a 2005 Quilceda Creek. I have found many of the older bottlings to go into a less than optimal oak/char dominant phase once the fruit fades a bit- still not sure if/when they will come out of that. On the other hand, the 2005 we had was very pretty. Still a good bit of fruit, but more nuanced, elegant, and balanced than any older QC I have had in a long time. I might have kept buying them if I knew I could expect that at 15 years past vintage.

With my parents, wife, kids and me all together on top of the cellar there was a healthy amount of consumption…
For me:
best QPR: marengo’s barbera from cool vintages (10 and 13) with pizza. Match made in heaven.
Best Barolo: I opened over 25 2007 cru barolos to get a sense of mature horizontal. Brovia’s 07 crus beat both G Rinaldis, both Cappellanos, vietti brunate and lazzarito, both Elio grassos, both clerico pajana and ciabot (I’d argue 99-07 was Domenico’s prime so that’s saying more than it would nowadays).
Most surprising: Poyferre 09, totally worthy of the hype and not at all parkerised/overblown/dying young by oxidation due to excessive winemaking

Some wines consumed during the Pandemic that stood out for me:
2003 Engel Clos Vougeot
1986 Pichon Lalande
2006 Saxum James Berry
1997 Giacosa Barolo Falletto