What is the best wine you have ever tasted?

[wgdanson]

41 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I guess I better chuck my chemistry diploma in the bin, I always thought you got ethanol.

Sorry, misworded it. You only get methanol if you collect the distillate at the wrong temperature. Got to be pretty exact to just get the ethanol. I do not distill my vino.  And it's the methanol that makes you bling..........apart from w'''king too much. Cheers. 

[Dap]

 A 55 Petrus @ Berns Steak House in Tampa, Florida back in the mid 70's.

[faraday]

Only ever had a few sips of Lao Khao, & found it tasted like petrol; quite disgusting, & stupidly strong.

 

What sort of alcohol is in this?

[Lacessit]

59 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Sorry, misworded it. You only get methanol if you collect the distillate at the wrong temperature. Got to be pretty exact to just get the ethanol. I do not distill my vino.  And it's the methanol that makes you bling..........apart from w'''king too much. Cheers. 

You're unlikely to get more than 200 mg/l of methanol in wine at worst. Most of the samples I used to analyse were around the 50 mg/L mark. It would only be in the first few millilitres of distillate.

There have been several cases of mass methanol poisoning in Indonesia, due to unscrupulous suppliers adding it to local distilled spirits. I certainly wouldn't trust Lao Khao either.

 

[Speedhump]

11 hours ago, melvinmelvin said:

When you say Barolo, good stuff, I must say Ripasso and Amarone, even better stuff, but often somewhat costly.

 

Malbec, yes.

Some pretty costly French wines have been mentioned the last couple of days.

 

Spaetlese was mentioned, yes please I'll have another glass if I may.

 

Have been a few times to Punta Arenas in southern Chile.

The hotel wine list was loooooong, no chance of drinking my way through, most days managed 2 bottles,

so many brilliant wines that I have never seen in Europe.

 

Even Italians fight over which is king of the reds. Depends where they were born. ?

Probably 30 years ago I put a personal embargo on French wines. Prices are IMO designed to attract wine snobs as much as people who really do believe they can taste 5000 Baht worth in each glass. And Nouveau Beaujolais had always (9 years out of 10) been an appallingly disappointing gimmick.

I had an insanely good local red in Malta 30 years ago, in The Arches restaurant. I smuggled a few home in my luggage, but never saw it anywhere else. Even online. That's the stuff that makes drinking wine fun. 

I had a couple of private Malbec tastings in an Argentinian restaurant in Dubai 4-5 years ago. So many styles, and all grapes so different depending on the wildly varying altitude, but all Malbec. A whole subject by itself. 

Edited September 13, 2018 by Speedhump
Paragraph added.

[melvinmelvin]

6 minutes ago, Speedhump said:

Even Italians fight over which is king of the reds. Depends where they were born. ?

Probably 30 years ago I put a personal embargo on French wines. Prices are IMO designed to attract wine snobs as much as people who really do believe they can taste 5000 Baht worth in each glass. And Nouveau Beaujolais had always (9 years out of 10) been an appallingly disappointing gimmick.

I had an insanely good local red in Malta 30 years ago, in The Arches restaurant. I smuggled a few home in my luggage, but never saw it anywhere else. Even online. That's the stuff that makes drinking wine fun. 

1

Man,

Beaujolais Nouveau is a gimmick, not intended to be anything else I think.

 

 

[Speedhump]

2 minutes ago, melvinmelvin said:

Man,

Beaujolais Nouveau is a gimmick, not intended to be anything else I think.

 

 

Yep used to just be an excuse for a 'Brazilian' lunch hour (as my colleagues used to call mine if I actually rolled back to the office - ah, the old days... ). 

[xylophone]

8 hours ago, kokopelli said:

I can't turn water into wine, but I can turn wine into water.?

Harold Schlumberg - An Inspiration To Us All

As we get older we sometimes begin to doubt our ability to "make a difference" in the world. It is at these times that our hopes are boosted by the remarkable achievements of other "seniors" who have found the courage to take on challenges that would make many of us wither.

 Harold Schlumberg is such a person.

 

 

He explained, "I've often been asked, 'What do you old folks do now that you're retired?' "

 Well, I'm fortunate to have a chemical engineering background, and one of the things I enjoy most is turning beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages into urine.

 Harold should be an inspiration to all of us.

 

Edited September 13, 2018 by xylophone

[xylophone]

12 hours ago, melvinmelvin said:

When you say Barolo, good stuff, I must say Ripasso and Amarone, even better stuff, but often somewhat costly.

Must say that of the Italian wines I like those produced by the "appassimento" method and have found one here which I am able to buy at a reduced price...…….so I've stocked up a little!!

 

And nowhere the high alcohol content of Amarone so leaves the brain cell intact the next morning!!

[xylophone]

1 hour ago, melvinmelvin said:

Man,

Beaujolais Nouveau is a gimmick, not intended to be anything else I think.

 

 

True enough, just another publicity seeking "event" and anyway it is meant to be drunk within 6 months, and from the Gamay grape which in general has no claim to fame apart from the occasional Beaujolais Grand Cru which can take on hues of a Burgundy after a few years...…...have had a few nice ones.

[ExpatOilWorker]

23 hours ago, xylophone said:

The "best wine I've ever tasted" is difficult to answer because tasting them at different points in one's life (ages) along with different foods and different company, so perhaps the memory gets a little faded, but here are a few that I remember as being very good indeed: –

 

– Château Grand Puy Lacoste (10 years old).

– Bourgogne Mdme Leroy (biodynamique).

– Corton Grand Cru.

– Nuits St Georges (Msieur Bocquanet)

– Frederico Paternina Rioja Gran Reserva 1964.

– Chapoutier Cote Rotie (various vintages).

– Château Mouton Rothschild 1970.

– Château d'quem 

– Grange (was Grange Hermitage). Plus many other good Australian reds.

– Older style Chateauneuf du papes (with less Grenache and more other varieties).

– Brunello de Montalcino

– Ravenswood Zinfandel

– Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon reserve 1984.

– A 10-year-old Bulgarian reserve red, made specially for the "Royal family", reminiscent of a fine older Bordeaux, and simply stunning.

 

Better stop here because the list could go on and on, and I've been fortunate enough to have been able to taste many wines from different countries, esp with the help of my French wine merchant friend.

 

Not a single Amarone or Barolo on your list?

Edited September 14, 2018 by ExpatOilWorker

[transam]

Chateau Lafite Red....?

[HAKAPALITA]

If ive realy enjoyed it i was too pissed to remember its name.[emoji485][emoji485]


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[beau thai]

puligny montrachet

[xylophone]

27 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Not a single Amarone or Barolo on your list?

I do like the full bodied Italian wines, esp those made the "appassimento" way (as with Amarone) but usually find them too high in alcohol content so stay away from them in the main.

 

However I did taste a Negroamaro from Salice Salentino which I found in a wine shop in Melbourne and it was lovely, with the sort of appassimento taste, so I bought 3 cases and shipped them back to NZ!!

 

As I said, could add many more if I sat down and thought about it...…….but those I listed come immediately to mind.

[dddave]

On 9/13/2018 at 12:10 PM, Krataiboy said:

A vintage Bordeaux called Margeau, consumed with indecent relish forty years ago and never forgotten. The same goes for my blonde drinking partner.

Wasn't the actress Margaux Hemingway,  granddaughter of the author, Ernest Hemingway so named because her father, Jack Hemingway claimed she was conceived in the afterglow of a bottle of Chateau Margaux, shared between he and her mother.

She was gorgeous and talented but died a sad end, a suicide just like her grandfather.

Edited September 14, 2018 by dddave

[dddave]

Totally situational, but a house red served in a small taverna, overlooking the ocean on the road between Venice and Trieste. 

The day was as beautiful as a day in May could be, My companion was gorgeous and the food; locally caught and simply grilled seafood, was amazing.  

We drank so much of the wine that the owners wife wouldn't allow us to drive away and gave us a room above the restaurant. 

It was a fun night.

[Krataiboy]

9 minutes ago, dddave said:

Wasn't the actress Margaux Hemingway,  granddaughter of the author, Ernest Hemingway so named because her father, Jack Hemingway claimed she was conceived in the afterglow of a bottle of Chateau Margaux, shared between he and her mother.

She was gorgeous and talented but died a sad end, a suicide just like her grandfather.

Interesting anecdote which I cannot verify - though I can verify that I inadvertantly missspelt the name of the wine in question. And , honestly, I hadn't touched a drop!

[marcusarelus]

6 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

Interesting anecdote which I cannot verify - though I can verify that I inadvertantly missspelt the name of the wine in question. And , honestly, I hadn't touched a drop!

I wanted a divorce.  My wife got me drunk on Lancers Crackling Rose and I crashed the car into a snowbank in Denver.  She had her way with me as we waited for the tow truck.  We stayed married and named my daughter Rosie.  It wasn't the best bottle I've ever had but it sure was the most expensive. 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2018 by marcusarelus

[xylophone]

1 hour ago, dddave said:

Totally situational, but a house red served in a small taverna, overlooking the ocean on the road between Venice and Trieste. 

The day was as beautiful as a day in May could be, My companion was gorgeous and the food; locally caught and simply grilled seafood, was amazing.  

Know the feeling, but the wine was a Rose and I was with friends on lovely day in a restaurant looking out to sea, near Marseilles.

 

Don't normally drink Rose, but thought this was exceptional, so bought a bottle to take home to NZ...……..just not the same when drinking it in Auckland!!!

 

Situational as you say.

[transam]

Think it was 1970 and 71 I stayed at a family run hotel in the north of Italy. The father of the owners made his own wine in the basement of the place to use at the hotel. One was a full bodied red and the other was a pink coloured wine they called Vermentino.  Cracking stuff.

 

We would sit outside after dark and the old boy would venture into his cellar and reappear with what looked like a gallon bottle of his pride and joy that got us all sozzled, the plus was no charge......?

[Paul Catton]

Being a predominantly "Beer Drinker" with very infrequent "Top Shelf" tippling,

My wine choices and not being an oenophile has to remain within ones budget.

Jacobs Creek, Cabernet Sauvignon..

Montana Marlborough, Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

As an aside, I was an avid brewer of wine and beer within my tenure in Saudi Arabia for the ex-pat community back in the 70's.

 

For cooking purposes, anything " Reduced to Clear". 

Edited September 14, 2018 by Paul Catton
Addition

[Sheryl]

Moved to Genera forum as hardly appropriate to the "Drink Too Much" forum which is meant for people trying to stop drinking.

 

[transam]

4 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Moved to Genera forum as hardly appropriate to the "Drink Too Much" forum which is meant for people trying to stop drinking.

 

Should be in the "Pub" really.....?

[Krataiboy]

3 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

I wanted a divorce.  My wife got me drunk on Lancers Crackling Rose and I crashed the car into a snowbank in Denver.  She had her way with me as we waited for the tow truck.  We stayed married and named my daughter Rosie.  It wasn't the best bottle I've ever had but it sure was the most expensive. 

 

 

Great story! I wonder how many more Forum members also have memorable tales to tell about the wines (maybe beers and spirits, too?) linked to unforgettable moments or events in our lives? 

 

For what it's worth, here's my highly-embarrassing contribution. . .  

 

In my early days as a newspaper reporter, I was invited to wine-tasting event at a top London hotel. I arrived late and had a clear run at the dozen or so bottles lined up on a table in ascending order of quality.

 

I started sipping and gargling, but quickly graduated to gulping my way down the line murming ever louder praise of each successive vintage I downed. As I drained a glass from the last bottle, the wine waiter raised a quizzical eyebrow.

 

"Ah!" I responded, smacking my lips in what I hoped was the style of a sommelier. "Now I know why they saved the best till last!"

 

The wine waiter and his mates started to giggle. One of them leaned across the table and announced in a loud stage whisper: "Sorry, sir, but somebody should have told you earlier. You started at the wrong end of the table."

 

Ouch!

 

Edited September 14, 2018 by Krataiboy

[Odysseus123]

7 minutes ago, transam said:

Should be in the "Pub" really.....?

Well...dammit..being patriotic and  all that..

 

The Douglas Lamb 'Hill of  Grace' (now Henschke) '68 or thereabouts..

 

Or the T'Gallant Flying Jib Pinot Noir vintages from 2008-2012.

 

This is,of course,a fight to the death-? 

 

Oh..Knight's Granite Hill's Estate back in the 80's...

[tutsiwarrior]

we had rented a holiday 'gite' in the perigord in southern france not far from the dordogne river, a small hamlet about 3 - 4 houses and a working farm together about 2km from the main road...and we bought some liter bottles of the local red plonk, no corks the bottles had coke bottle caps and return the empties to the local petrol station for a deposit refund...

 

and there was a nicely attended garden...and I sat there with gauloise disque bleu and didn't move except to go to the kitchen and get some bread, pate, saucis and fromage to snack on...it had been a hard year and sitting in that garden was like shaking out a crumpled blanket and setting it in the sun...never felt so relaxed and I wasn't even 40 y.o....

 

and the shutters on the window above opened and the then wife leaned out and said 'nice day...'...I didn't respond as I was in an alternate universe...she then took one of the push bikes from the shed and went to the plage on the river on her own...she knew better than to disturb me when I was in serious repose...

 

go get them liter bottles of local red plonk in southern france...can't be beat...just make sure that you have a nice garden available to enjoy them...

 

 

[Odysseus123]

Just now, tutsiwarrior said:

we had rented a holiday 'gite' in the perigord in southern france not far from the dordogne river, a small hamlet about 3 - 4 houses and a working farm together about 2km from the main road...and we bought some liter bottles of the local red plonk, no corks the bottles had coke bottle caps and return the empties to the local petrol station for a deposit refund...

 

and there was a nicely attended garden...and I sat there with gauloise disque bleu and didn't move except to go to the kitchen and get some bread, pate, saucis and fromage to snack on...it had been a hard year and sitting in that garden was like shaking out a crumpled blanket and setting it in the sun...never felt so relaxed and I wasn't even 40 y.o....

 

and the shutters on the window above opened and the then wife leaned out and said 'nice day...'...I didn't respond as I was in an alternate universe...she then took one of the push bikes from the shed and went to the plage on the river on her own...she knew better than to disturb me when I was in serious repose...

 

go get them liter bottles of local red plonk in southern france...can't be beat...just make sure that you have a nice garden available to enjoy them...

 

 

Beautiful..

 

I remember a Cotes du Rhone..in Arles..looking out from a restaurant where Vincent van Gogh used to sit...

 

Lord...memories...

[xylophone]

51 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Beautiful..

 

I remember a Cotes du Rhone..in Arles..looking out from a restaurant where Vincent van Gogh used to sit...

 

Lord...memories...

Agree with both you and Tutsi's posts...………...and want to go back and spend some time in the south of France.

 

Small villages, local bakeries, litres of very acceptable red wine, food to die for and a relaxing lifestyle. I will do it again...…………….I hope!!! Canal du Midi is on the cards.

[faraday]

Sometime in the early 70's, me & a good friend bought an Austin Cambridge for £45, & with our girlfriends, drive down to Bandol in the South of France. No motorways then, so we went most of the way on the N7. We drove continuously, & arrived there knackered (tired).

 

Discovered Bandol wine, & had many very happy nights drinking. We bought several bottles to take back for our parents, but unfortunately the roof rack fell off, breaking the it all.

 

It was such a happy time & so very long ago.

 

Haven't drunk any since then, & I wonder was it so good, or just the wonderful holiday we had, in a very different world?