Your top 5 wines ever (and why)

Ian Hampsted said:
I tend to agree with Alex it is just too difficult. But if you are going to do it you are probably better off listing most memorable - or epiphanous - rather than best.

Going down the latter route in particular might leave yourself open to accusations of being a wine bore, or even worse, a bit of a wanker.

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That’s maybe a bit harsh Ian! People have been asked to name their five best wines drunk and responded. Just saying…..

And I was thinking of putting some wines down but now feel I’d be judged harshly were I to do so.
 
jonathan points said:
That’s maybe a bit harsh Ian! People have been asked to name their five best wines drunk and responded. Just saying…..

And I was thinking of putting some wines down but now feel I’d be judged harshly were I to do so.
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Not on this forum Jonathan.

We've all drunk wines that are a near damn it 100 pointers. But are they the best at the time? The wonderful thing about wine, and in particular drinking it on this forum is the social element which is essential to making it the best wine drank in our memories.
 
In order to assuage your concerns Jonathan - I wouldn’t dream of thinking of you in those terms - and so as not to discourage others to post in this thread - my previous post was just designed to add a bit of humour to the thread by pointing out how difficult it is to compile such a list, and was really tongue in cheek – I will have a stab at it.

My wine epiphany was Penfolds Grange Hermitage 1981 which I purchased in Oddbins on Green Lanes Winchmore Hill in the late 1980s. The assistant helpfully suggested that I stand it up and open it five hours before drinking and I followed his advice to the letter. It knocked my socks off and was a life changing event.

I had mixed experiences early on with claret and remember going to a 1970 first growth horizontal at Imperial College in their chemistry lab – was anyone else there? – around the late 80s and remember being sorely disappointed with all the wines barring Latour and Cheval Blanc. The first Bordeaux that really rocked my boat was Ch. La Conseillante 1981.

As far as burgundy was concerned, I drank quite a lot of Chassagne Montrachet rouge when I just getting into drinking wine, but when I tried my first Chassagne Montrachet blanc it swept me off my feet. It was at a posh underground restaurant in the city around 1988 (can't remember the name now) and the wine was from the 1985 vintage, but I can’t remember the producer either. Soon after I was also absolutely smitten by a Vincent Leflaive Puligny Montrachet Les Combettes 1986 from a half bottle. Both were in a different class to some of the oaky Aussie chardonnays I had been drinking.

My most memorable early red burgundy experience was an extraordinary bottle of Ponsot Clos De la Roche 1985 at Les Millesimes in Gevrey Chambertin as it was then, around 1991. I remember the sommelier being ever so snooty with me. When it comes to Piedmont my most memorable early experience was drinking a sublime bottle of Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano 1974 around the same time, at Belvedere (now defunct) on the square at the pinnacle of the hill of La Morra. With grated truffle on the fresh pasta dish, the combination sent me into the stratosphere.

Over to you Mr Points. Mr Jonathan 100 points?
 
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Sean Hardon said:
Not on this forum Jonathan.

We've all drunk wines that are a near damn it 100 pointers. But are they the best at the time? The wonderful thing about wine, and in particular drinking it on this forum is the social element which is essential to making it the best wine drank in our memories.
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I listened to a very enjoyable interview on the radio recently. The guest summing up, that life is about creating memories.This thread has done exactly that , re ignited some very fond memories, so a big thank you for sharing all.
Im still recalling my top 5 which changes daily with further bangers popping up as I look through menus and dinner dates.More worrying is that the likely cut ! are wines I never owned but someone else generously invited me to share.
 
This is what comes to mind right now, what’s notable is that these are all from 15 years or so ago, it’s hard to imagine drinking so many of these wines nowadays, sadly

1989 Grivot Richebourg, brought off the shelf/cooler from the sampler, those were the days and was spellbinding
1988 Rousseau Clos St Jacques, the same dinner as the Grivot, from the man who always seemed to have a reserve Rousseau CSJ in his bag, the much missed Simon Beatty
1989 Haut Brion, ok this convinced me that Bordeaux was top draw, drank twice, both were brilliant, from another much missed friend
1985 La Rioja Alta 904 magnum, my first meeting with Mr Beatty
1966 Potinet-Ampeau Meursault 1er Charmes, off the list at Chez Bruce, opened my mind about what white wine can be
 
As everyone has indicated, quite a difficult task, although my tasting diaries have helped greatly. I think the most important trigger as to why these are my top (most memorable) wines, are the people that I shared them with.

1962 Grange Hermitage drunk with very good friends in Melbourne in January 1999 – for a thirty six year-old wine, still and incredibly deep, dark colour and a nose that combined exotic spice and Christmas cake fruit. Incredibly pervasive with gossamer fine tannins and a voluptuous mouthfeel.

1976 Hugel Riesling SGN drunk and not ‘tasted’ with Michael Davies (of wine importers J.T. Davies) at his south Devon home in June 1986, on a glorious sunny afternoon. Just astonishing Riesling with perfect balance. Memorable in every way.

1990 JL Chave, Hermitage ‘Cathelin’ 1990 with very close wine producing friends in Beaujolais In August 2015. Tasted alongside the Hermitage la Chapelle 1990, the Cathelin stole the show due to its amazing complexity, depth and length. Both the were at top of the tree but the Cathelin proved to be the fairy at the very top!

1970 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello at Gidleigh Park with Paul Henderson and the late Bill Baker, in 1992. Stunning 22 year-old Monte Bello which was so, so fresh and balanced. Great poise and length. Elegance and harmony personified. An afternoon of great laughs.

1988 Château d’Yquem with my old mucker, Ken Hunt (the then owner of Combe House Hotel) and my business partner and best mate, John Earle. Sitting on a bench in the hotel’s back garden, the sheer intensity and harmony of this great wine shut us all up – somewhat of a rarity! (drunk July 2012).

1982 Château Pichon-Longueville, Lalande (en magnum) again with old friends at our Ottery St. Mary office in 2022. Perfect condition having been immaculately stored. Still bags of life and so, so long. Great wine making from a wonderful wine-making team.
 
I'm not going to give a top five, at least for now (for one, my top five would be far more modest than many others on this forum) but one that almost certainly be in my top five is a port! Specifically, a Graham 1977, which was fabulous and started me off properly on wine.
 
Some of my favourite memories.

1986 Sauvignon Blanc, Montana NZ - the wine that got me hooked on the stuff (it was drunk in 87, so the vintage could have been 87 or even 85)

1976 Berenkastel Docter Auslesse, Deinhard - the Deinhard wines from this vintage were available in my local Bottoms Up and they just blew me away.

1986 Bin 707, Penfolds - from Wycombe Wines, which was just around the corner from High Wycombe train station. I didn’t drink reds until I tried a few top Auz versions.

1991 Batard Montrachet, Ramonet - the white burg that is always sitting somewhere in the back of my mind

1993 St Tamas, Royal Tokaji - could have been the 01 Yquem or a 67 Mufatlar Chardonnay, but there have been so many great desert wines over the years.
 
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I’ve gone for which five do I immediately recall with the most happiness. Happiness being a function of pleasure and meaning, context and subjectivity is all. One of these is objectively far from a great wine, but for other reasons possibly the best of them all.

85 La Tâche. Paradoxically this was tasted in some of the worst possible circumstances, opened on a what the hell basis by a terminally ill mentor and friend (he would die shortly afterwards) as part of an incredible generous and humbling farewell that also included 53 Latour, 61 Palmer, 76 Trotanoy, 80 Petrus, 63 Taylor… I believe the DRC, still young and on its super deluxe fruit, was selected by a man looking the end in the eye to represent the Olympus of youthful beauty and promise. Piam in memoriam.

62 Jaboulet CNDP Les Cedres. Bunking off from college to spend, ahem, practically a term’s grant on Sunday lunch at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons was my first experience of gastronomy and restauration at that level, ludicrously chintzy, gloriously baroque. I ate snails with mushrooms, pigeon stuffed with boudin blanc, brie de Meaux aux truffes, what a more modest Frenchman might call a declinaison was to chef a symphonie fantastique of apple... “Stay always with the Rhone”, said the sommelier, probably to this day the most valuable food and wine matching advice I’ve ever received.

83 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre. The fish soup at the now defunct Markwicks in Bristol, which chef developed from the Carved Angel with Joyce Molyneux and took to a new dimension, has to be a contender for my top restaurant dish ever. I tried many wine pairings over the years. This was the standout, a synergistic marriage, voluptuous but precise, all held together by saffron and rouille.

Retsina. The proper stuff, purchased for a few coins from a backstreet shop in Corfu Town, in a recycled plastic oil bottle, satisfactorily oxidised and honking with pine, consumed with a picnic overlooking the cricket ground, with my imminent fiancée.

83 Chave Hermitage. Not long after the Greek adventure we enjoyed this masterpiece, so complex and complete, intellectual and sensuous, at home with another Joyce Molyneux ditto, pot roast pheasant with celery and bacon. One of only two wines ever to receive a score of 10/10 from my wife.
 
1983 Chave Hermitage at the first superBOWL , generously poured into my glass by Toby Bailey.
1983 Yquem, first time I drank it , in 2000 with dear friends (some now no longer with us) at a millennium meal.
1991 Gentaz Dervieux Cote rotie, drunk over the last decade or so , one corked, 5 others were absolutely amazing pieces of vinous history.
2000 DRC Echezeaux, drunk with friends at a best wine you have lunch in the Peat Inn ( a bottle of the GD C-R was also at that table) - a truly great lunch.

So many others, largely due to the generosity of the folk on this forum.
 
Alex Lake said:
Goodness - that takes me back. I remember I was so pleased the 76 showed well. There was multi-muling involved there, after I'd bought the wine from Langton's in Sydney (I think) and one forumite took it to Paris, where he handed it over to another who brought it to London! We had some good dinners at Alba - I recall at least one of David Pope's Ridgeathons was there too.
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That mad Aged Aussie extravaganza also. I've rarely been that drunk on that much good wine... I fell in a hedge on the way home
 
kevin heatherington said:
Ch d’Issan 1961 (2012)
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This is a real outlier - tell us more!!

Simon Wheeler said:
This is what comes to mind right now, what’s notable is that these are all from 15 years or so ago, it’s hard to imagine drinking so many of these wines nowadays, sadly

1989 Grivot Richebourg, brought off the shelf/cooler from the sampler, those were the days and was spellbinding
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That Grivot on that evening was peak Burgundy for me. Quite amazing.

My other take outs from this thread. All one needs for a quiet night in alone is a bottle of 1961 Palmer and Haut Brion 1989
 
Paul J a i n e s said:
This is a real outlier - tell us more!!


That Grivot on that evening was peak Burgundy for me. Quite amazing.

My other take outs from this thread. All one needs for a quiet night in alone is a bottle of 1961 Palmer and Haut Brion 1989
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This was my note on it. Just a great wine. I think I got it at a Strakers auction around that year.

1961 Château d'Issan France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (16/12/2012)
Firm cork that came out whole. Slow oxygenated for 6 hours, though it smelt good when first opened it didn't really need it. On tasting still vigorous so I decanted it. Opened up magnificently over the next hour, has a clean, purity of fruit i have only really encountered in the 61 vintage. Not the most profound nose in terms of depth but still gorgeous blackcurrant. Pitch perfect cassis fruit, smoky, dense fruit aromas, subtle tannin still but in fabulous condition. Mid-weight perfection. (97 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
 
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Thom Blach said:
I still don't know whether I can do this but I may get there. What is common in my contemplation of all candidates is that I don't really need to have the wine again; it is not possible to arrive more than once at one's destination.
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Quite I don’t ever think I’ll ever taste any of my top five ever again and if I do, they arguably would not perform that well again given the time that has passed and variability in bottle. I suppose for me those are (along with a few others) wines that I have failed to forget… so memorable they would always be in my top 5… or top 10… and that was my criteria. However great or exceptional, have I remembered them precisely to this day. For example, I remember a number of WIMPs lunches but not necessarily the wines. My first, being on the Chave table, remember being blown away and remember a number of vintages that were presented but can I tell you about the wines (yes generically as to style, but not individually). Another was a South African wimps with just two tables. A wonderful lunch with great company… my memory is running to the nearest jeroboams to grab more Paul Cluver late harvest Riesling so everyone including non-Wimps guests could try it after it was a hit on my table… but other than tasting my first properly mature Boekenhoutskloof Syrah I can’t tell you anymore than that without reviewing old bug eaten notebooks!

And that is the beauty of it all. And hence why it’s so difficult, but I’ve never forgotten the wines on my list!
 
This is a list of most memorable rather than best.
89 Cos for my 40th birthday (2013).
Chave red hermitage with a few years age courtesy of Mark Cran at a Leeds offline. I drank too much of it!
2012 Roagna vv Montefico at the winery. Had to sit down and have a little cry it was so good. Enjoyed it more than the Crichet Pajes we tried!
04 Marchesi di Gresy camp gros for my 50th birthday. There has been a bit of bottle variation with these but this one was incredible.
86 Wynns Coonawarra Cab Sauv on holiday in Scotland in mid 90s. Bought from the local thresher I think. I was just getting interested in wine and this was the first bottle I had showing a bit of maturity. I was hooked.
Can’t decide between 2011 Jamet Cote brune drank last year and 2014 Raveneau Foret drank earlier this year for my final choice.

Reading through this thread makes me realise we’re a lucky bunch.
 
Most memorable for me:

1. An Alsace VT Gewurztraminer - no idea who the producer or vintage was, but this was the first wine I'd ever had that didn't just taste like generic wine. This was the night that first launched me down the rabbit hole.
2. Yquem 1996 - had this a few times, but the very first occasion (in about 2006ish) it just absolutely blew me away. Unbelievable depth and complexity on a level I'd never experienced before.
3. Mouton Rothschild 1989 - again, a wine I've been lucky enough to have more than once, but the first time was mesmerically good. So elegant and perfectly textured.
4. Lafite Rothschild 1990 - a perfect bottle, everything that claret could possibly ever be, and then some. Truly spectacular.
5. DRC Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Duvault Blochet 2002 - a completely unexpected glass of this was sent over to me in a restaurant (The Glasshouse) by another forumite who was drinking a bottle on another table - the complete surprise of being handed this, along with the fact that it was pretty bloody good, made this such a memorable moment.
 
Ed Wallace said:
I'm not going to give a top five, at least for now (for one, my top five would be far more modest than many others on this forum) but one that almost certainly be in my top five is a port! Specifically, a Graham 1977, which was fabulous and started me off properly on wine.
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Ed, I think I probably speak for the forum, in saying that feeling your wines are more humble should not be a block to posting. In twenty plus years of posting here, I've only seen one person pour scorn on another's drinking and he was summarily removed. Not everyone here has unlimited pockets , nor the fortune of being born when great wine was reachable by most if they chose to spend their disposable income in that direction. I for one would love to read your list and the reasons. I think the common thread is these are decisions of heart not head, which is as it should be.
 
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