What was your most rememberable wine?

I always love asking this question to anyone who has been drinking wine for over a year.
When I was 19, I would have answered, Ripple in the 12 oz bottle.

Looking back, I would have to say that for me, it was the 1934 Mouton Rothschild and a 1955 Sandeman Vintage Port

What were yours?

[David M. Bueker]

I had all 3 of them the same night:

1970 Cheval Blanc
1970 Petrus
1945 Taylor Port

Lafite - 1967 in 1978 and 1975 in 2000.

House red at the little restaurant behind the Forum Nerva in Rome.

It's hard to narrow it down to a single bottle, but one of my most memorable wines was certainly the 1985 La Conseillante

[Robin Garr]

Among others, a 1948 Niepoort Vintage Port bought for, and sipped with, my bride at midnight on Dec. 31, 1999. I've had arguably "greater" wines, but to me, when you start talking about "most memorable," other factors than mere sight, smell and taste come into play.

I did have a horizontal of three 1945 Ports from major houses at an offline once. Graham, Dow and ... some other. That was pretty memorable, too, by more traditional wine-geek standards.

As Topsy put it so nicely: "Lawsy, lawsy"..... I've been tasting for a while longer than a year and trying to recall a single wine or even a handful of "most memorable" wines is beyond my ken. Too many wines made great by great moments....

Sam,

I've been to Italy about 3 times during the past 10 years.
While visiting Rome, one of my favorite spots was the Piazza Navona... I know spelling can change, but was that the spot you were talking about?
In 2003, it was beautiful, in 2009, they were in the midst of a government/student rioting, so, most of that beautiful plaza was closed up.

I'd have to say a Riesling 1976 Schloss Johanisberg Auslese (pink capsule) consumed in 1990 and thereafter.

I've been blessed to have the opportunity to taste probably tens of thousands of wines, with dry wines back to the 1920s and sweet wines to the 1860s. But most of the more prestigious or rare ones were in tasting situations, and as great as many of those are I'd hesitate to call any my most memorable based on one pour.

Better candidates might be great wines in great setting- my first 1983 Cheval Blanc with good friends, a 1993 Lafarge Chenes in Tokyo (ok, that was an offline, but I snagged three pours). Or maybe good wine in great setting (94 ZH Brand from half bottle at 11,000 ft in Rockies with my fiancee Betsy, or before than 1994 Poyferre with my friend Katherine's sister Betsy as I was grilling steaks- hey, she's really cute).

But if I have to choose one- 1982 Ch. Gloria, Easter 1991, with lamb. A friend's husband opened for dinner, I had never tasted anything so complex. My life changed (not immediately, but that's where interest started, and later turned to obsession), and all of the above wines were drunk because of that. For the record, while fading a bit , 82 Gloria well stored is still a nice drink.

"Memorable" cuts many ways. The first one that comes to my mind is a Rhone that was so bad that I wondered if I would poison the redwood tree that I poured it out beneath.

John

I've been drinking wine for fewer years than Rogov but I often respond the same way. I'm especially bad at picking those top wines of the year lists.

But if I think back on the most memorable wines, it is probably the early wines that forged deep impressions and in many cases functioned as the archetype for various categories. And, like many here have said, it was the atmosphere that made particular wines of those early archetypes even more especially memorable. The summer of 2002 that I spent in Tours was a particularly fertile time for these memories. Lots of new producers and regions for my palate (C&P Breton, Allemand, Puzelat, Clos Rougeard, Foreau stand out the most) and then of course carefree times with a lady while drinking these wines didn't hurt either...

What I was drinking on a chilly night in Tokyo when I found out I would be a father for the first time: 1995 Ridge Lytton Springs.

All the ones I've shared with my sweetheart/family.

Jeff

My memorable wines come from a variety of situations. These stand out.

Château Latour 1945; the last and best of three bottles bought in the early 60s drunk at my mother's in the late 80s.
La Tâche 1962; drunk at a friend's house in the late 80s.
Vouvray Huet 1947 (can't remember whether Le Mont or Le Haut Lieu) at a RVF millenium tasting in Dec 1999.
Corton Bouchard P&F 1929; same occasion.
Château Palmer 1961; at a Palmer vertical in about year 2000.
Dönnhoff Eiswein 1998; pulled out from under the table by Helmut Dönnhoff at a 2001/2 tasting; vineyard not noted.

Additionally I have a fond memory of a series of 1953 Bordeaux drunk in the early/mid 60s during several visits to that town. Châteaux like Cos d'E, the Léovilles, the Pichon-Ls, Ducru, Talbot, Lynch-B, all supremely elegant and at their prime and then available at accessible prices even in good restaurants.

Another note for the `95 Lytton Springs, drunk from a teapot!! Yup, a long story.

[James Roscoe]

Is Rememberable a word? This elementary school teacher thinks not! UGH!!! Did you use that word on purpose Ron? Am I missing something here? I know you are not from Indiana or Kansas (snarky comment directed at Ryan!) so I am sure you have a decent education. What is up with the title? Enlighten me.

As for my most memorable wine, I suppose it was the 1976 Lafitte I shared with Howie Hart and others at MoCool 2009. The story has been told elsewhere. There is also a 1955 Sudiraut (sic) shared with friends in 2006 that was an anniversary wine for the friends that shared it with us. This is always a wonderful topic by the way.

1993 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepage with my wife, sitting on a dock on the Choctawhatchee Bay in Niceville Florida at sunset...twas a moment!

The bottle of Merlot Gail and I drank from the bottle, watching the last colors of a typically gorgeous sunset as we sat in the sand on the Hawaiian beach where we had just gotten married not an hour before. The bottle is in storage now, full of sand from that beach, and will once again be displayed on a shelf when we build our house.

Vouvray Huet 1947 (can't remember whether Le Mont or Le Haut Lieu) at a RVF millenium tasting in Dec 1999.
Corton Bouchard P&F 1929; same occasion.

Tim,
I was there too and it was Le Haut Lieu! Sadly enough the Corton I got to taste was corked, but no one else present seemed to mind.

Greetings from Sweden / Fredrik L

James

rememerable = my way of saying it was something to remember for a long long time

I always love asking this question to anyone who has been drinking wine for over a year.
When I was 19, I would have answered, Ripple in the 12 oz bottle.
Looking back, I would have to say that for me, it was the 1934 Mouton Rothschild and a 1955 Sandeman Vintage Port
What were yours?

My most rememberable wines were these:
2003 Úri Borok Tokaji Eszencia
2003 Pendits Tokaji Aszúeszencia
1993 Úri Borok Tokaji Aszúeszencia
1990 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese
1996 Robert Weil Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Auslese LGK (AUCTION)
1990 & 1999 Etienne Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline
1999 Rene Rostaing Cote Rotie Cote Blonde
2002 Armand Rousseau Chambertin
1988 Georges & Christophe Roumier Bonnes Mares Vieilles Vignes
1985 Heitz Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard
1989 Château Haut-Brion
1968 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único
1982 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Collina Rionda
1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba
1990 Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune

Cheers,
Rainer

Seppelt Para Port 1888 - The vintage says it all.
Pichon Lalande 1985 - Got me started in fine wine. Before the Pichon it was Hearty Burgundy, Blue Nun and Cold Duck.

[James Roscoe]

James

rememerable = my way of saying it was something to remember for a long long time

Thanks, Ron, as a teacher, I get picky about these sorts of things. I know this site has others that can be picky about grammar and spelling. Perhaps a nice PM would have been better, but I suspect there are others who appreciate the explanation.

By the way, is no one going to call me on Lafitte vs Lafite? Pirates and aristocrats, is there really much of a difference?