With Howie's permission, I posted his story in the French Wine column I write for Examiner.com. It's his story about his special bottle of Chateau Lafite, which he told here on WLDG.
And naturally, I gave props and links to the WLDG!
I thought Howie's story was heartfelt, touching, and spoke to the emotional connections we all have with wine.
Howie Hart lives in upstate New York, close to Buffalo. He has been a lover of wine---and a maker of his own wine---for many years now. He’s also a much beloved frequent contributor to Robin Garr’s Wine Lover’s Discussion Group, the earliest dedicated wine site on the Internet (and still going strong). Like many of us, Howie had an early fascination with the Great Growths of Bordeaux.
This is Howie’s story about his beloved wife Janet, a special case of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, and a family tradition:
Sunday would have been our 35th wedding anniversary, but my wife, Janet, passed away 6 years ago.
In 1978 we purchased a case of 1975 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild upon release, with the intention of opening a bottle every 5 years on our anniversary. So, the tradition continued as my mother-in-law, brother-in-law and 4 of my sons came over for dinner.
We started with shrimp cocktail and some of my home made 2006 Sparkling Chardonnay. This was followed by red pepper and green onion consommé and two more of my wines: 2007 oak aged Chardonnay and 2009 Pinot Noir.
I had asked my son Andy to open those bottles and in the process, he knocked the Lafite off the counter and it bounced on the floor, but remained intact. So much for standing the bottle upright for 3 days prior.
After allowing the bottle to re-settle for 15 minutes, I opened the Lafite. The capsule was slightly puffed up on the top (my three remaining bottles are still tight) and I removed it completely and wiped down the neck and cork, which had been raised above the neck about 1/16 of an inch.
The cork came out smoothly, intact and damp. I chose to not decant, but pour carefully from the bottle for fear of too much exposure to air.
The Lafite was served with Boeuf Bourguignon, buttered and parsleyed potatoes, green beans and homemade French bread (I used 2 parts unbleached flour and 1 part Tipo 00 flour – nice chewiness).
We all raised our glasses to Janet. Very deep clear garnet color, no browning at all. The generous aroma was captivating and complex. Hints of saddle leather, cigar box and spices. The finish was pure velvet – soft integrated tannins and it seemed to go on forever.
Over dinner, I explained to my 92-year old mother-in-law the story behind our wine and mentioned that the wine would probably be selling for $300 per bottle.
“Wow!” she said. “I’ve never had a $300 wine before. Can I have another glass?” She repeated that a bit later.
Finally, I poured the dregs into my glass and slowly rotated the glass so the sediment would remain behind in the glass. And then…it was all gone. I had some dessert wines on deck, but everyone was happy to sip the other opened wines and finish with coffee and Key lime pie. It was a memorable dinner and the Lafite was wonderful.
Note: I believe that "$300 wine" would be considerably more than that today.
If you would like to read the entire message thread response to Howie’s post, you can go to the Wine Discussion Forum of Robin Garr’s Wine Lovers Page to see it in its entirety.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=35168&p=295167
You can also learn more about Howie Hart, and his wines, by going to Howie's Facebook page.
And if you would like to learn more about Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, go to their website. To learn more about Bordeaux and the Classified Growths of the Haut-Medoc. go to the official Bordeaux website.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Howie Hart's French Wine Story: a special bottle of Chateau Lafite - National French Wine | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/french-wine-in- ... z1FefcTKqK
