What Was Your Epiphany Bordeaux?

[OrlandoRobert]

I still remember mine fondly:

1990 Ch. La Louviere, Pessac-Leognan.

I thought about it recently when my local retailer found some and listed it for $100. I have not had it in quite some time, but tempted.

I had just graduated from law school and had some extra coin in my pocket, plus I was all cocky like that, thinking my sophisticated butt deserved sophisticated red wine. I grew up on wine in my family home and consumed wine through law school, but I had not ventured into Bdx. When I graduated, the wonderful '89 and '90 vintages were out. I still think about all those classified growths for $40 and under. I bought Pichon Baron, Lynch Bages, Las Cases, and others, in addition to that certain 94-rated wine with a cool looking, antiqued label: La Louviere.

I remember bringing it home to my parents for Thanksgiving dinner, along with some other wines and the 1991 Caymus SS, the most I had ever spent on a wine, $80, at that time. We popped many wines that weekend, but the La Louviere stood out not just to me, but to my Father and Bro-in-Law. I recall the sweet red fruits, tobacco, slightly toasted earth. A wonderful musky nose. I went out and bought more. All of $24.99. Sadly, I drank them all way too early, but 1990 did show well early.

A think I just convinced myself to buy some more for that little trod down memory lane with an old friend.

Cheers all.

Robert

[RDD]

1982 Talbot

[JimHow]

1986 Chateau de Lamarque, Montreal, January 4, 1997.

[Outlier]

'88 La Mission Haut Brion, Thanksgiving, 2001
I drank it with an avid Bordeaux enthusiast. After the first sip my friend burst out laughing - it was so good it was almost ridiculous. The same day I had '90 Trotanoy, which wasn't far off.

[JCNorthway]

Pichon Lalande - 1970, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1986, and 1989. I attended a vertical tasting with multi-course dinner. For a then Bordeaux novice, it was a mind-bending (and life changing) experience. Never been the same since!

[DavidG]

1975 Haut Brion in 1978. Housemates in med school had a standing Monday night bring a bottle to dinner thing, and one night someone brought this. Even at that young age, the earthy gravelly smoky components were unlike anything I'd ever experienced from wine. And I liked it! It wasn't until 7 years later that my interest in wine was rekindled, but I still remembered that Haut Brion. It remains a favorite chateau.

[Harry C.]

1976 Giscours. Served in 1979 with Lamb. The match was etherial.

[Claret]

1982 Poujeaux bought at Bilancio's Liquor's in The Burg section of Trenton, NJ in 1991. The Burg had Guido's long before any TV show.

A 1982 horizontal in 1992 was a seminal experience with Cheval Blanc setting an elevated standard.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

1968 Caves Velhas Garrafeira. I think I had it in 1984 or 1986, picked it up for like $4 at the now defunct Eagle wines in Georgetown, DC. A 16 or 18 year old wine, it was the velvet glove thing. That's when I realized it was suboptimal to drink those then normal, now "old school," Bordeaux (the cheap ones like I can only still afford now) at age five.

[pomilion]

Nine or ten years ago my now wife, then gf, and I had another two couples over to our house for dinner. I was starting to really get into wine but didn't know much about bordeaux (more into CA wine at the time). One of our friends was really into bordeaux, and I was in charge of wine for the evening, so on an expensive whim I went out and got '82 Gruaud Larose, '82 L'Evangile and '90 Angelus.... What an evening, never looked back! Three or four years ago, when my interest in bordeaux inexplicably briefly started to wane, I had an '85 Lynch Bages that blew me away.

[robertgoulet]

'01bahans haut brion....incredible for a second

[JonoB]

I'd drunk quite a lot of Bordeaux, but the search for greatness started when I tried 61 Mouton... Rather than simply a nice fruity drink, I started to see wine as something altogether more magical. I'd been tasting wines simply because I liked the differences, but that set the "hole in the wallet" wide open!

[stefan]

1962 La Lagune, drunk in 1970. My wife and I had drunk a lot of cheap wines, including Chablis, Piesporter Goldtropchen, generic Bordeaux, CA cabs, and were looking to expand our horizons. We went to a good wine store in Houston, where the owner recommended that we try the La Lagune. "How much?" "Five dollars," was the reply. Wow! That was a lot for a bottle of grape juice. But we bought it, drove home, and drank it that evening. It was sooo good that we went back to the store for more. Alas, that was the last bottle, but it began our love affair with La Lagune.

[JonB]

1945 Mouton Rothschild from magnum in 2003. A friend owed a favor to several buds and invited us over to his house for dinner, and then showed us his cellar and offerred us to pick what we wanted to drink. There was another wine geek who selected the magnum, and the friend said "ouch, that hurts." It was silky, classy, cassis and cigar box....I can still taste it!

[Gerry M.]

Mine was a group tasting to try some older vintages in anticipation of the 2000 release to see which "house styles" we preferred.

A 1927 Giscours, while obviously having seen its' best days, was still alive and still quite enjoyable. the 1990 Pavie was right in it's wheel house at the time and really captured my attention. But the knockout punch was a 1955 Figeac that smacked me upside the head saying this is what bordeaux is all about. It just had a wonderful balance, texture, complexity and layers of taste that I've been chasing ever since. The closest thing since then was a 78' Pichon Lalande a couple of years ago.

[OrlandoRobert]

1962 La Lagune, drunk in 1970. My wife and I had drunk a lot of cheap wines, including Chablis, Piesporter Goldtropchen, generic Bordeaux, CA cabs, and were looking to expand our horizons. We went to a good wine store in Houston, where the owner recommended that we try the La Lagune. "How much?" "Five dollars," was the reply. Wow! That was a lot for a bottle of grape juice. But we bought it, drove home, and drank it that evening. It was sooo good that we went back to the store for more. Alas, that was the last bottle, but it began our love affair with La Lagune.

Love La Lagune. Was one of the first '09s I ordered. Popped an '82 recently with BobbyGoulet, and it was oh so yummy once it blew off the funk.

[sdr]

1970 Ducru - drunk about 1980. I liked 'em "old" even then. I still like '70 Ducru, which is autumnal, but not fading (although the last 2 bottles were spoiled by VA).

Stu

[Ken]

When I was in my doctoral program in public health, back in 1981, I was also working half time at a research institute and on the weekends at a very good gourmet and wine shop (A Southern Season) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. At the wine shop, I waited on a physician who had just moved south after selling his practice, and he had a very large, and very good wine collection. He invited several of us from the wine shop to his home and when we walked in the door, he and his wife presented us with a menu that is reproduced below ( I still have a copy). Been stuck on wine and food ever since.

-Ken

Apertif
Fineau des Charentes

Appetizer
Oysters Caribbean
Chevalier-Montrachet "Les Demoiselles"
1970, L. Latour

Pasta
Borgono Barolo Reserva, 1961

Entree
Veal Condon Bleu
Carrots a la Orange
Broccoli aux Herbes
Chateau Latour, 1959 Chateau Palmer 1959

Dessert
Reine de Saba
Coupe aux Marrons
Chateau Suduiraut 1961 Bernkastler Badstube BA, Myerhof 1971

Coffee or Espresso
Associated Liqueurs

[hautbrionlover]

1976 Chateau Latour, at Le Pre Catalan in Paris, in 1982. I knew nothing about wine. I took a stab at this one, which - I learned after my epiphany - was horribly mismarked in price (in my favor).

[stefan]

Ken, with customers like that doctor, who needs friends?

[Claret]

Appetizer
Oysters Caribbean
Chevalier-Montrachet "Les Demoiselles"
1970, L. Latour

Pasta
Borgono Barolo Reserva, 1961

Entree
Veal Condon Bleu
Carrots a la Orange
Broccoli aux Herbes
Chateau Latour, 1959 Chateau Palmer 1959

Dessert
Reine de Saba
Coupe aux Marrons
Chateau Suduiraut 1961 Bernkastler Badstube BA, Myerhof 1971

Sounds like a night of multiple epiphanies.