This made me realize that while I never think of it as an epiphany wine, the wine that made me realize I should start exploring and learning about wine was a bottle of Domaine Weinbach Cuvee Theo a friend brought to Thanksgiving one year.
Some others were 1957 Bonnes Mares from Jadot in 1996, courtesy of Jasper Morris. 1990 Krug Clos de Mesnil, a purchase a friend and I went in on together as it was the most expensive bottle either of us had ever purchased and completely lived up to the billing.
1995 Rousseau Clos de Beze, doing inventory one night at the restaurant I worked at many years ago. I had left the restaurant to pursue winemaking, but was still friends with everyone there. The wine director came down with the flu, and inventory had to be done after the restaurant closed(midnight) on the every 4th Saturday. The GM called me and asked if I would come in and help out the cellar assistant(it was a very big list). I told him I would do it as long as I could open one bottle from the list.
Most recently it’s been a 1994 Brickhouse Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and a bottle of 1993 Bethel Heights Flat Block. Both wines were unbelievably good and well older than what most people, even industry people from the 90s, would expect for those wines being able to cellar. And neither were close to over the hill. It’s a little daunting in that as much as I love the recent string of vintages, the likelihood that I will be around in 25-28 years is an even money bet at best.
That is such a great wine. What a way to come upon it too!
One of my last gigs as a somm was taking care of a group of guys who were doing a Richebourg vertical. I knew a couple of them and was elected to do the wine service, and helped open and serve, and taste, an array of Richeborg wines from 1998 back to 1970. Primarily Anne Gros and DRC. There was a brief “palate cleanser” of 1985 Petrus and 1985 Le Pin in there as well. Towards the end of it, one of the guys I know calls me over and pulls a bottle from under the table and tells me I need to try it. 1990 Pousse d’or 60 Ouvrees. Easily my wine of the day, and like you I’ve had Gerard Potel on a pedestal ever since.
It’s really great to see some love for those wines.
2003 Merry Edwards Klopp Ranch and 2003 Talley Rincon Pinots at the same dinner. I didn’t know anything about wine but I was dead set on not getting drunk in front of my boss. The wines opened up over the course of the meal and it literally struck me as witchcraft. From that point on, I had to understand.
2005 Carter Cellars BTK Cab. Dinner at Flemings
Outstanding. Several years later visited Carter Cellars and asked if there was any available for purchase. Mark Carter was willing to part with 3 bottles. Had a bottle with dinner, not the same. Must have a lot to say about the meal and the company you are with.
1995 Sassicaia - at a business dinner. Was very young, but was the epiphany moment showing me how great wine can be…even though not the best vintage of Sassicaia, I was a complete novice at the time
1990 Krug - Granted, I don’t drink a lot of champagne (no real reason) but this still stands out as the best I’ve had
1970 Vega Sicilia Unico - had in 2010 and still drank youthful. Probaably still has a long life ahead of it.
1994 Dominus
For me there were some wines that showed me the potential of certain regions. I’ve had much more expensive wines that didn’t necessarily show me something I didn’t expect.
13 Ramonet Clos de la Boudriotte
Incredibly weightless with extreme transparency.
05 Rossignol Volnay 1er Chevrets
Crazy combination of power and grace, unexpected from this climat.
I have had lots of great wines that were exactly what I expected (drc, Rousseau, 1st growths, etc)
Great thread. I love hearing about people’s epiphany wines and the story behind it. It’s always something I ask when I’m hosting someone new for a tasting.
My first one was a 1999 Chateau Souverain cabernet back in 2003. I don’t remember if it was a reserve or not, but at the time I was a very broke college kid and only drinking things like Meridian and Charles Shaw. I was working as a midweek pianist at a cocktail bar, and instead of getting my usual comped drink the bartender gave me a glass of the Souverain. I hadn’t ever tasted a wine with that intensity and depth of expression.
I didn’t change majors or career right away. It took me a few years until I figured it out and started pursuing winemaking in earnest.
September 1996 at an outdoor restaurant in Sausalito. Waiter opened a 1989 Phelps Insignia (not considered a great vintage). As soon as the cork was pulled the perfume filled the area with beautiful cab fruit - just amazing. People at a nearby table commented (gave them a pour). Wine drank terrific as well.
Later I bought all I could find and no other bottle came close, although the wine was always ‘nice’. Taught me early that ‘there are only great bottles…’
Krug - splurged on NYE in my mid 20s. I don’t remember if it was NV or vintage but, “holy shit, now I understand the champagne thing”
2006 Leoville Barton - I’ve had 1st, 2nd etc growths before this, but this was the first one that gave me a great Bordeaux experience. Seemed like everything lined up at the right time for that bottle.
This is a great thread! I don’t have a top epiphany wine, but like many here, have a few wines that taught me important lessons. Interestingly, none of these are the fanciest/most expensive wines I’ve had. But these are the ones that have stayed with me the most, and probably enjoyed the best. In no particular order:
1967 Franco Fiorina Barolo- My first aged Nebbiolo. I’ve been hooked on old nebbiolo ever since, but have yet to have a bottle as good.
1989 Trimbach CFE- My first foray into appreciating minerality, and the value of aging whites as well as reds.
Paul Pernot Puligny Montrachet- don’t remember the vintage, but it was young. Village level Borgogne blanc from a good but not great producer. Nonetheless, this was the bottle that helped me “get” white Burgundy.
2010 House of Burke Pinot Noir- this is a weird bottle that I picked up last year for a discount; a weird one off collaboration Central Coast Cali Pinot that I got for $30. Shockingly, it was magnificent! Hard to believe, I know…I immediately went back to the shop, bought their only remaining bottle, which was good but nowhere close to the first bottle. I learned two lessons here: 1- As others have said, there are only great bottles, 2- To keep an open mind because greatness can sometimes be found when least expected.
In 2001 I had a 1995 Shafer Hillside Select. I was floored. I had been drinking red wines for a couple of years without really knowing much. That wine is still one of my greatest wine experiences. Drank it with a friend at the bar. I took two bottles to go and can honestly say, it’s THE bottle that took me where I am today
My wife and I always had a mini-rack of “decent” wines in the $30 range. But one time about twelve years ago on a trip to Hawaii we toured an organic farm that served lunch and encouraged you to bring your own wine. We stopped by the local Safeway and got a bottle of Stag’s Leap Karia Chardonnay. I don’t know what it was about it, but it wasn’t much more expensive that what we’d bought before, but it was so much better. After that we started buying much better wine.
My Bordeaux epiphany was shared by a 1959 Haut Brion and a 1993 Margaux. The Margaux was great and we drank the whole bottle with some really nice ribeye’s and let me know that this was what special occasion wines should be . . . but the Haut Brion (years later) was just a sip and was so magical that I will be chasing that dragon forever.
That wine has always showed me what Volnay is capable of. It’s so far from preconceived notions, which just goes to show that in the hands of great winemakers, great things are possible. I remember thinking while drinking it, “there’s so much minerality here - did I pour some of my Pellegrino into this by accident?” I hadn’t of course
It’s also a fun “if you know, you know” wine. I’ve brought a couple of my sadly dwindling stash to bigger dinners, and some people excitedly recognize it as a Gerard Potel wine, while others just shrug.
I once purchased a single bottle of 2012 Merry Edwards Flax Vineyard based solely on the tasting notes in her email offer. When the wine arrived, I hid it in the cellar. I wasn’t using Cellartracker at the time, so I forgot about it. A few years later, I tasted at Merry Edwards, and my favorite by far was the Flax Vineyard. I was so excited to rediscover that was the bottle I had cellared, and I went on to purchase a few more on Winebid.
I was working as a busboy at Cafe L’Europe in Saint Armand’s Circle in Sarasota Florida. Probably 1979. New Year’s Eve. 100 guests. Champagne at the door when the quests arrived. Ice swans danced around the tables with sorbet in between courses. I’m not sure what wines were served but I did notice “Pomerol”.
Of course a 22 year old busboy had no qualms with tasting the wines left on the tables. So! This is what wine can taste like? Been chasing that dragon ever since. Gotten close to that epiphany and even surpassed it but it’s been rare the “more” epiphany wine I’ve encountered.
Not so much an epiphany wine as a wine epiphany. 6 or 7 years into my wine journey, I was convinced that there was no bad wine, just stuff I didn’t like. I friend of my husband had a retirement party for about 60 people and hired a bbq place to cater and provide drinks. The 4 “wines” provided were the usual suspects, Cabernet, Pinot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The reds were the same pruny super sweet, undrinkable crap. If I hadn’t poured myself, I would have been sure they came from the same container. The whites were made barely palatable by the addition of 7up. I had no idea that such terrible wine was actually made and sold. Not good enough to be called plonk. It made me appreciate the vast majority of vintners who do their best.
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