Your 12 Most Special Bottles?

WINE TALK
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Posted by Jay Miller
1989 Trimbach “Hors Choix”
An insane purchase but this is the only wine that made such an impression that I actually dreamed that I drank it again. No idea if it’s still as good as it was 15 years ago but it’s set as my 60th birthday wine.

Had this after a great Madeira tasting earlier this year. More mature but still drinking well. I’ve a couple bottles left as well.

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1959 Ch. d’Yquem. Bought as a poor student. Was kicking myself afterwards because I couldn’t afford it and had to eat ramen noodles for two weeks afterwards.
1959 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Feinste Auslese. Last of 6 bottles although the last one was corked!
1974 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard. Bought by my father at release from the Heitz tasting room.
1975 Beaulieu Private Reserve. One bottle left from three cases which belonged to my father. This is the wine I learned the most from by tasting frequently over many years.
1978 Leoville Barton. My last bottle from my first ever case purchase when I turned 21.
1989 Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune Hors Choix. Bought at the domaine from Jean Trimbach.
1989 Romanee Conti. Another purchase from my father at release.
1990 Dom Perignon. Purchased at the Ramstein Airbase Class VI for the ridiculous price of $28. It was a closeout.
1991 Ridge Montebello. Purchased at the winery because Paul Draper said so.
1992 Gunderloch TBA. Because Fritz Hasselbach also said so.
And two Madeira, 1802 Oscar Acciaioly Terrantez and 1862 Borges Terrantez because these are two of the greatest wines I’ve ever had.

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Just a great list and notes to go along with it. Good stuff man.

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Some very good wines on that list. Any reason you chose those? Have you had them or are you waiting to drink them?

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That is a cool list with some cool history. Buying those wines from Jean Trimbach and Paul Draper! Really neat!

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I gotta admit, I really don’t consider any of my bottles that “special” as I look at them for drinking only. Were I to fill up a case, I guess it might be the Juge Cornas, as we are coming to the end of that era, and the wine is a singular expression of Cornas that we might never see again. Most everything else, including some of my older Bordeaux, is imminently replaceable. Perhaps some unicorns like Gonon VV, older Rougeard (ok, I add these to the case, but we are over 12 now), some older Levet.

The only bottle that I do consider special, though it can be found in the marketplace, is a 1998 Petrus that my business partner got me as a thank you gift after I lined up his other company with a great business opportunity. That bottle will be popped with him, when ready, perhaps in celebration of some upcoming deals we are pursuing. So that bottle really is more special, not because of Petrus - though that helps - but because of the occasion and bond with my best friend and business partner.

My Berserker buddy Marc will tell you, I pop whatever, whenever. It’s juice to be enjoyed.

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Undoubtedly. No bottle is off limits if I’m drinking wine with friends and family. I chose 12 bottles that I’ve had. You’ve got to have 12 especially memorable bottles of wine that you can identify as either the 12 best you’ve had, the 12 most memorable bottles, or the 12 most affecting bottles. Or rather, a combination of those. I couldn’t care less about hoarding trophies for some fantastical future special occasion. But I can tell you about 12 bottles that I’ll probably always remember.

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Oh, I can definitely make a top-12 list of the most special or memorable bottles that I’ve had, but the question was regarding which are in your cellar.

1989 Petrus (2x 100 pts)
1982 Mouton (3x 100 pts)
1989 Haut Brion
2000 Lafite
2000 Cheval Blanc

I can add quite a few more, including some geeky stuff, but what made these bottles special beyond just who they were and how I scored them, I had all of them with my best friend and business partner, two of us sharing full bottles while our lovely wives enjoyed their whites, with no care or clue about our reds. I had a 1947 Haut Bailly with him at Bern’s a couple years ago, that was damn good and special as we were celebrating closing our first business deal together. The funny part is, he enjoys these classic Bordeaux producers, but has more of an affinity for Pavie, Valandraud, Harlan, Bond, Screagle, et al. He would never appreciate my thin, weedy, green, geeky wines from Chinon or N. Rhone.

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for various reasons:
2009-15 Cayuse Bionic Frogs
2012-2014 Cayuse Wallah Wallah Specials [mag]
1963 Domaine Gorges du Soleil Rivesaltes
2003 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Perignon David Lynch Label
2002-08 Quilceda Creek Cabernets
2012 Chateau Tour De Miraval Cahors
2008 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut Vintage Reserve
NV Alvear Pedro Ximénez Montilla-Moriles Solera 1927
2003 Fonseca Porto Vintage

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I have some prized bottles, but admittedly some I own but haven’t tried:

2010 Sin Qua Non Stockholm Syndrome (both the Syrah and Grenache) - haven’t tried either of these but liked other 2010’s from Sin Qua Non;
2012 Harlan - haven’t tried the '12 but really liked the '13 I tried - the famous '97 was good but didn’t blow my socks off; some 2005 Maiden which were wow but haven’t opened one in 7 years.
Every vintage of Myriad Dr. Crane and Elysian since it was released (2007) and the 2007 was truly my favorite and to this day about the best wine I’ve had. Still have three of that vintage.
Plenty of Schrader including some of the so-called 100 pointers - I did love the '13 CCS and have another.
2001 Lewis Cabernet (reserve)
Just about every vintage of Realm since 2006 and truly love the Dr. Crane and Bard, saving To Kalon’s for nice friends
Several vintages of Williams Selyem Estate Pinot, with the '10 and '12 being sublime.
Many vintages of Kosta Browne with plenty that wow me including several of the “K’s”
2012 Sojourn Proprietary Cuvee which is fabulous;
Several vintages of Rhys Swan Terrace which I have enjoyed each time they’ve been popped open.
And for one “prized” old world wine, 2006 Fantodi Flaccianello

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great great story Sanjay
is the Leroy a red burg?
the 2001 of that was awesome and the 78 should be damn special

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My first non-introductory post here, so… here goes :slight_smile:

Out of what I have in my “cellar” and in no order:

  1. 2012 Symington Altano Douro - just a really cheap wine that was the first wine in a while that was like, wow, that’s different. Got the last two bottles of it from where I work… stoked! Special because it’s cheap and different… but then, I haven’t had a lot of Portuguese wine.
  2. 2015 Nuy cabernet sauvignon - bought it on a trip to South Africa with my fiancee… totally unassuming - one of the wines one might just try to get through to get onto the better shit. So much fun and we loved it… and pretty much all the South African wines and spirits we bought back (40 odd) are special due to surviving the trip and us bribing our way out of $4000 of excess baggage… and then not having to pay duty in NZ. Yay!
  3. 2001 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 - one of my favourite wines I’ve tried (2 years ago) and I do seem to love Rioja. One of the first “monsters” (relatively speaking!) I bought and regret giving the third to my father-in-law…
  4. 2001 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva - bought the last bottle available in my store after learning about Ygay and the history online. The first bottle of good Rioja I bought and probably the bottle I’ve had longest in my posession.
  5. 2015 Parker Coonawarra shiraz - didn’t expect to find something really great at the supermarket. $15. Tried it and loved it.
  6. 2010 Rockford Basket Press shiraz - again, was a bit sneaky and got some of the last very cheap bottles at my work. Love that it’s old school and everything. Frothing!
  7. 2004 Vina Tondonia Reserva - had seen this label about online and everything… never seen it in person. Found it at my work… sneaky… and then read about it. I’m a bit of an old hermit in the making so traditionalism really appeals.
  8. 2009 Te Mata Awatea - my girlfriend and my anniversary vintage. We’ll drink it at our wedding on our ten year anniversary in 2019 :slight_smile:
  9. 2009 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron Les Tourelles de Longueville. Bit of a more naughty history here so we won’t go there…
  10. 2014 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir - just because NZ.
  11. 2014 Sacred Hill Deerstalkers syrah - has managed to get me into fizzing on sitting in front of a fire and kicking back to this.
  12. 2007 Il Poggione Brunello Riserva - absolute monster. A beast :smiley:

There you have it…
And memories of some of my favourite wines ever.

  1. The holy grail of wine for me - it’ll probably never be beaten because it was the first. 2009 Montes Alpha carmenere. Had a few bottles over it and every time I had it… it had that same “Oh, yep, there it is!” experience. Didn’t realise what a gem I had and sold too much to customers and then it was all gone.
  2. 2009 Te Awa cab/merlot blend - same as above. Just froffy.
  3. 2001 Luis Pato something… I think his top red. Dusty and shitty and on sale at my old work… “what’s this?” Magic.
  4. 2002 Drappier grand sendree - loved it.
  5. 2001 LRA GR 904 - above.
  6. 2015 Star Hill viognier. Similar experience to the Nuy.

That’ll do for now :slight_smile:

Cheers!

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Like for others, my most valuable bottles to me are the ones that have some special meaning to them beyond cost and current fair market value. I cannot limit it to bottles, but rather in a few cases I have to lump all my wines together by producer.

I have been fortunate enough to go to Burgundy several times in my life. Partially on my own and partially because of a dear friend, I have gotten to meet and taste with (and one time have dinner with) my favorite wine producer, Jacky Truchot, on several occasions. Because I love the wine and because of the visits, all of my bottles of Truchot, from Bourgogne Rouge to Clos de la Roche, are incredibly special to me.

Similarly, I have had a number of other wonderful visits in Burgundy. Wines from producers like Domaine Dublere, Mugneret-Gibourg, Rossignol-Trapet, Cecile Tremblay and Hudelot Noellat are incredibly special to me as a result of these visits.

A few other wines with special meaning to me:

2001 Comte de Vogue Musigny - a few of my friends chipped in to buy this for me for my 50th birthday. Makes the bottle incredibly special.
2011 d’Yquem. Bought this because I tasted it when I visited d’Yquem in 2014 when we were in Bordeaux and fell in love with the wine. Have more than one.
2001 Drouhin Romanee St. Vivant - Bought this in Burgundy in 2007. Had lunch with Jeremy Holmes and his lovely wife Heidi. Jeremy told me to check out a store down the street from where we had lunch (which I remembered the name of the store). Went there and bought this wine. Every time I think of this wine, I think of lunch with Jeremy and Heidi.
2013 Ridge Historic Vines Monte Bello. Given to me as a 60th birthday present by someone who I have been friends with since I was 9 years old.
2011 Edmond Vatan Sancerre Clos la Néore - Special because my daughter gave it to me as a birthday present.

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Resurrecting this thread.

1959 Huet Clos du Bourg Moelleux - library release bought from Auge (I know, I know) in 2003 and hand-schlepped home

1970 DDC - birth year wine and quintessential DDC purity - last of 3 from excellent auction lot - insanity that it used to fly under the radar

1970 Figeac - most recent purchase of these - couldn’t resist given how electrifying this can be

1970 Pape Clement - A bottle of red fruited Graves transparent goodness - first tasted with the inimitable Latin Liquidator and Dr. Katsman

1971 Cheval Blanc - this is probably top of the list if a perfect bottle and very very short for this world - another wine first tasted with the inimitable Latin Liquidator and Dr. Katsman

1971 Huet Le Haut Liu Demi Sec - recent penultimate bottle was relentlessly linear, was so pure, and had decades of life

1989 Cascina Francia - age 40 is the plan to open this beauty

1990 von Schubert Maximin Grunhaus Herrenberg Auslese 92 - close to my heart as my first single cask Maximin Grunhaus

1993 Rousseau Chambertin - my favorite burg at an auction price now off by more than a full order of magnitude

1995 Marcel Juge Cornas Cuvée C - my last bottle of Juge bought in 1990s and probably deserves a side-by-side with my last bottle of 1995 Verset

1996 Salon - among dozens of amazing 1996 champagnes I’ve had, the bomb - only one bottle left. It’s brother, opened last year, Gilman recently called the best and most perfectly conditioned bottle of 1996 Salon he could recall (sorry if I’m misquoting)

1998 Verset Cornas - bought on release - last bottle - enough said