2003 Shafer HSS. Don’t know why but the nose, taste and the finish just hooked me on wine for good. The finish was something I can still remember, and if you left the wine sitting in the glass for a few minutes it was amazing. Swirl it and it changed to something different and amazing.
1988 vintage Krug. First wine that I’ve loved, but simultaneously knew I wasn’t appreciating enough. I’m hoping to have a chance to revisit something similar again
a Palo Cortado from Domecq called «Sybarita»
2002 Kiedricher Gräfenberg Spätlese from Weil – could still taste it after their Auslese, the Beerenauslese, Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese one summer afternoon in the Rheingau
Drank in 2005 or 2006 from double magnum. It was clearly wotn in a tasting of 17 vintages of ZH Rangen.
1990 Margaux. My epiphany wine. I was blown away by it. For whatever reason I am drawn to Chateau Margaux in general but the 1990 was probably what pushed me over the edge.
Château L’Évangile
Château d’Yquem
1995 Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. My first love. Poured in 2001. Served in the back tasting room in Napa. The wine world went from black & white to color in that instant.
1983 Rousseau Chambertin
1989 Lynch-Bages (in top condition. a few years ago)
1795 Barbeito Terrantez is high on my lifelist, thanks to you.
'69 La Tache, tasted in the late 90’s. The juxtaposition of weightlessness and power, and the mind blowing, face enveloping nose I will never forget.
1990 and 1999 DRC RC side by side…the two greatest wines I have ever had (don’t even remember the other RC’s with them!)
The first sniff of a just opened bottle of 1865 Bouchard Père & Fils Volnay ‘Santenots’ - I knew then the wine was going to be something special…
And - standing tasting Liger-Belair’s '16’s in the cellar with him, then getting to the amazing’16 La Romanee - just an otherworldy profound experience.
1950 Yquem would head my list. Very early in my wine obsessed life - when it was 27 years old. A great, great Yquem (for me the best of the 18 vintages I’ve tasted), & the 1st wine that opened my eyes to what truly great wine was. The intensity of this wine was completely off the charts (& unfortunately, no modern Yquem will likely even come close in that aspect)
Other runners up in no special order …
'49 & '64 Cheval Blanc. Certainly more CF in both than many modern CB’s, & did the '49 still have some Malbec in it … ?
'62 Haut Brion (outrageous, insane, Pomerol-ish richness; best till the '89. Still kicking myself 40+ years later for not grabbing a '64 La Tache at the same shop. Pre winesearcher days, & sometimes I’d drive around Long Island on a Sat afternoon looking for wine deals. )
'61 Latour (the bottle was not in perfect shape, but showed the mind-blowing intensity & richness)
'59 Huet Le Haut-Lieu Sec (tasted when it was 29 - if tasted blind, I would have guessed no more than 5 years old)
'75 E Muller Scharzhofberer Auslese (my 1st exposure to off-dry-ish German Riesling; 12.5% ABV & drank @Kabi of the time residual sugar, if not size, structure, shape)
'75 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese (still a standard candle for me, even though the ground beneath it has traveled a bit)
'88 Krug Clos du Mesnil & '96 Krug (if Champagne can get better than this, you’ll have to prove it by popping corks!)
'67 & '71 Yquem
'69 Mayacamas Cab
'74 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard (transcendent Cali, even with the American oak)
'69 Chappellet Cab
'04 Koehler-Ruprecht Saumagen Auslese Trocken R & '07 Saumagen Spatlese Trocken RR
69 Chave Hermitage Rouge from Mag with JL and some friends in Mauve with delicious charcouterie and local breads. Second bottle was a Mag of 96 Chave Hermitage Rouge.
Barrel tasting 2015s with Emmanuel Reynaud at Chat Rayas and tasting from a mason jar from a thief that was as black as tar. Great grenache though.
It is hard to pick just one. In the order I tasted them and all on separate occasions:
1982 Dom Perignon given to me as a wedding present
1998 La Mondotte early on in my wine journey (don’t judge)
1966 Romanée-Conti RC
1967 d’Yquem (the 2001 will lap it though in a few decades)
2005 SQN 17th Nail
1964 Salon from Magnum
1992 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne
1993 Domaine Leflaive Montrachet
1999 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti
1865 Bouchard Père & Fils Volnay ‘Santenots
1985 Sassicaia
1963 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port Nacional
Never heard this before as one of the great HBs, and I have a couple. Sounds like something to drink at Thanksgiving!
I’ve got them etched both ways, 4 of which came from this tasting:
Good/Great
1983 Jaboulet La Chappelle - right wine on the right night in which I had to cancel on a big Marcassin tasting due to pressing family issues
1997 Harlan - perfect bottle in a tremendous lineup. A true standout and so distinct I knew what it was despite never having it before
1982 Pichon Lalande - same lineup as the Harlan, and perhaps the most enchanting wine I’ve ever had
1989 Haut Brion - An ageless beast, and a rare wine I’m convinced will be outstanding at any age
Disappointment
1976 Petrus - I crushed this blind, noting decayed green notes, tomato plant, and what tasted like dusty underripe fruit. A wine that became “much better” after the reveal to some at the table once it “opened up”. It was not good at all, and dead last by a long margin for me.
1966 Latour - Perhaps the most distinct note I’ve ever caught on a wine. Deer blood. I’ve hunted, killed, and processed many deer, and the smell of deer blood has a sickly sweet note mixed with carcass that is not particularly pleasant. I couldn’t shake that in this old Latour. It was dense and enjoyed by some, but not my cup of tea at all.
2006 Alban Reva Syrah - A very educational experience. I was so excited to try this 100 pointer. I found that the wine was viscous, had a fruit profile that leaned hard to over-ripeness, was fat, and a bit hot at 16.5% abv or so. I flat out didn’t like it. Nice confirmation that perfection in wine is totally subjective, and that ‘bigger is better’ doesn’t work for me.
1961 Latour, directly from the Chateau at a vertical tasting 20 years ago. Presented at the end of a daytime tasting that ran a little long, and my tablmates took off after a taste, leaving me a half a bottle. I spent the next 45 minutes alone with the bottle. Sublime
1982 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou: I was just stepping into Bordeaux’s at the time and ordered at a restaurant, which was the first time I ordered a non-Napa wine at a restaurant. I’ve had significantly better wines since, but you always remember the first.
Definitely my first Ch. d’Yquem, with about 20 years’ age and coupled with a wonderful Stilton. Mind blowing revelation.
Next would be my first La Tour and '63 Fonseca, both with proper age.