phillisc wrote:Two, which I cannot split Being at Wynns cellar door the day the 82 JR was released and the 55 Michael that I drunk in 1984. Cheers Craig
Craig, I was at a wine show at the Exhibition Building in Melbourne tasting and buying the '82 JR at or not long after release, must have been '84 or '85, didn't buy enough ..... haha
veni, vidi, bibi also on twitter @m_j_short and instagram m_j_short
One other stand out earlier occasion. Bristol Wine Show in 81 when I was living in London for a period. Masterclass vertical tasting of 1970's Ch Giscours led by Steven Spurrier I think. Just a fantastic introduction to Bordeaux.
veni, vidi, bibi also on twitter @m_j_short and instagram m_j_short
1st wine I bought was a gift for a mate who drove us around the Barossa - a 1972 Wolf Blass Black that cost the grand sum of $5 and then popped it's cork in the car (which was probably 60 degrees C)! The 1st wine I loved was McWilliams Sauterne goon that we drank while playing cards in 1972 on a weekly basis. The 1st proper wines that I liked were Liebfraumilch and Blue Nun or Mateus Rose and then in 1978 I got hooked on 1975 Mount Pleasant Philip. At about the same time my wife's uncle told me i knew nothing about wine which made me determined to know as much as i could. I then used to stop at the fine wine counter at Bartletts liquor barn at the Gold Coast and Danny O'Sullivan used to ply me with all sorts of great wines. I think the wine that turned me into a soak and I've been trying to find the same greatness in every glass since was the 1955 Grange that I had in 1983 - it was sublime and still the one of the greatest sensory experiences of my life.
If you can remember what a wine is like the next day you didn't drink enough of it Peynaud
Gee. Thinking back the first wine that comes to mind is a 1998 Penfolds Bin 707. I think that was the wine that made me sit back in my chair. I was 20 at the time.
DJ1980 wrote:Gee. Thinking back the first wine that comes to mind is a 1998 Penfolds Bin 707. I think that was the wine that made me sit back in my chair. I was 20 at the time.
Luke W wrote:1st wine I bought was a gift for a mate who drove us around the Barossa - a 1972 Wolf Blass Black that cost the grand sum of $5 .....McWilliams Sauterne goon that we drank while playing cards in 1972 .....Liebfraumilch and Blue Nun or Mateus Rose and then in 1978 I got hooked on 1975 Mount Pleasant Philip....... the fine wine counter at Bartletts liquor barn ..... the 1955 Grange that I had in 1983.
Luke, I am stunned at how much of your 'experience' I relate to. The ice-cold McWilliams Sauterne Flagons with cards, the Blue Nun and Mateus Rose, and the Mt Pleasant Philip. I shopped at the Bartletts Barn outlet in Rockhampton, and my first great wine was one of the many Grange Hermitage vintages that I bought for about $20. in the mid '70s. I still reside in the area so you are almost a "neighbour".
Sort of a one-two punch. Dad had a couple of bottles with yellow labels, one was a 1959 and the other a 1961. I think it was the 1959 that was the sweeter one (although not very, to my teenage taste-buds in the late 1970's) and the other was dry. Obviously both Hugel and tasted within a couple of weeks of each other. Necessarily, I couldn't actually buy any myself for a few years, but I did manage to obtain a 1976 Ignatius from Seven Hill for my father, who duly kept it for 10 years (as specified to me by the winemaker - Brother John?) and the first ever bottling of Durus Linctus from one of the plethora of Hardy's in the McLaren Vale valley, in that era. I think it was called Ben Ellen(?) at that point.
Jonathan
"It is impossible to build a fool proof system; because fools are so ingenious."
One of the first was when I was 18 or 19 and spent big money (for a 19 yo) and took the girlfriend of the time to Lincontro's in Nth Sydney when they were open and managed by the original owners.
We had a '98 bin 407 with a great Italian dinner, it was awesome.
A recent discovery for me is aged Vouvray, after drinking plenty of the '05 Marc Bredif when it was available at Dan Murphy's I tried the '88 at The Dining Room in Sydney's Park Hyatt...mind blown!
Some may giggle. A Seaview 1978 McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon with a mate in a French restaurant in Brisvegas around 1980. A true lightbulb moment. Not sure if it was the food, company or both but it turned my head in the right direction.
Passing it's old home in McLaren Vale on regular trips there always brings a smile. They made some good solid wines at very reasonable prices and did a few upmarket wines that absolutely floated my boat. Just can't remember the labels. Anyone remember these?
And not to forget the Penfolds 1986 Bin 389 soon after we moved to Adelaide in 1990. Thought buying a 6 pack was going super long until they ran out and realising there was none left to buy. Now its by the case or 3.
Carl
Your worst game of golf is better than your best day at work
Chuck wrote:Some may giggle. A Seaview 1978 McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon with a mate in a French restaurant in Brisvegas around 1980. A true lightbulb moment. Not sure if it was the food, company or both but it turned my head in the right direction.
Passing it's old home in McLaren Vale on regular trips there always brings a smile. They made some good solid wines at very reasonable prices and did a few upmarket wines that absolutely floated my boat. Just can't remember the labels. Anyone remember these?
Edwards and Chaffey/Section 353 were the upmarket labels they tried to introduce.
Like many previous posters I've had a few defining moments, but there are four formative wines that really come to mind.
The first was the 1986 Wynns Shiraz (or the Hermitage as it was known then). My father had bought several cases on the advice of a mate and occasionally I'd knock one off. Being 17 or so I was generally interested in bingeing, but one night I remember having one that had had time to breathe and it was really good. It opened my eyes up to what a wine could taste like when treated the right way.
The second was a Ninth Island Rosé. I had it when I was about 24 over lunch in a very good seafood restaurant in Hobart. I wasn't a big wine drinker at this stage and would never have chosen it, but I found it's freshness and subtle dryness beguiling. Moreover it became a wine that I had to search high and low for, to find it again which meant I began going into more bottle shops "just in case".
The third was the 1990 St Henri. I had it with a mate over dinner in Perth in 1997 and it was superb. I'd been studying at Uni and had been drinking a lot of Emu Bitter and the occasional cheap red, so the St Henri was a massive step up in class. I remember sitting there and rolling it around in my mouth to savour as much of it as possible. I started working part time at Vintage Cellars soon after that...
The last one was a bottle of 1996 Tahbilk Marsanne that I had in 2013. A magnificent wine, but most importantly it was the first wine I bought at auction. I'd first tasted Tahbilk Marsanne when I worked at VC's, but I never liked it young because I find the lemon pith flavour to be too prominent. I'd had a taste of a couple of older examples and I'd heard stories about its aging potential. I'd also known about wine auctions for many years, but never quite got around to it. I remember putting in a bid on my phone 15 mins before the auction closed because I had to go and see a film and then being quite surprised to be the winning bidder when the film ended. Then after having the wine delivered safely and drinking it I thought that to pick up an almost 20 year old wine, that was mind blowingly good, for $20 or so... It was money for jam. I'd say that wines from auction now make up about half my collection.
Last edited by Duncan Disorderly on Sun May 14, 2017 2:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Duncan Disorderly wrote:Like many previous posters I've had a few defining moments, but there are four formative wines that really come to mind.
The first was the 1986 Wynns Shiraz (or the Hermitage as it was known then). My father had bought several cases on the advice of a mate and occasionally I'd knock one off. Being 17 or so I was generally interested in bingeing, but one night I remember having one that had had time to breathe and it was really good. It probably opened my eyes up to what a wine could taste like treated the right way.
The second was a Ninth Island Rosé. I had it when I was about 24 over lunch in a very good seafood restaurant in Hobart. I wasn't a big wine drinker at this stage and would never have chosen it, but I found it's freshness and subtle dryness beguiling. Moreover it became a wine that I had to search high and low for, to find it again which meant I began going into more bottle shops "just in case".
The third was the 1990 St Henri. I had it with a mate over dinner in Perth in 1997 and it was superb. I'd been studying at Uni and had been drinking a lot of Emu Bitter and the occasional cheap red, so the St Henri was a massive step up in class. I remember sitting there and rolling it around in my mouth to savour as much of it as possible. I started working part time at Vintage Cellars soon after that...
The last one was a bottle of 1996 Tahbilk Marsanne that I had in 2013. It was the first bottle of wine I bought at auction and it was magnificent. I'd first tasted Tahbilk Marsanne when I worked at VC's, but I've never liked it young because I find the lemon pity flavour to be too prominent. I'd had a taste of a couple of older examples and I'd heard stories about its aging potential. I'd also known about wine auctions for many years, but never quite got around to it. I remember putting in a bid on my phone 15 mins before the auction closed because I had to go and see a film and then being quite surprised to be the winning bidder when the film ended. Then after having the wine delivered safely and drinking it I thought that to pick up an almost 20 year old wine, that was mind blowingly good, for $20 or so... It was money for jam. I'd say that wines from auction now make up about half my collection.
Great read I reckon we need an ongoing defining moments or revelations post Every now and then in a life you have a wine that gives you a glimpse of a wine perception that you were unaware of! Well done
Chuck wrote:Some may giggle. A Seaview 1978 McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon with a mate in a French restaurant in Brisvegas around 1980. A true lightbulb moment. Not sure if it was the food, company or both but it turned my head in the right direction.
Passing it's old home in McLaren Vale on regular trips there always brings a smile. They made some good solid wines at very reasonable prices and did a few upmarket wines that absolutely floated my boat. Just can't remember the labels. Anyone remember these?
And not to forget the Penfolds 1986 Bin 389 soon after we moved to Adelaide in 1990. Thought buying a 6 pack was going super long until they ran out and realising there was none left to buy. Now its by the case or 3.
Carl
The Seaview McLaren Vale cabernet label was actually a good honest, good value wine, nothing wrong with that
veni, vidi, bibi also on twitter @m_j_short and instagram m_j_short
Chuck wrote:Some may giggle. A Seaview 1978 McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon with a mate in a French restaurant in Brisvegas around 1980. A true lightbulb moment. Not sure if it was the food, company or both but it turned my head in the right direction.
Passing it's old home in McLaren Vale on regular trips there always brings a smile. They made some good solid wines at very reasonable prices and did a few upmarket wines that absolutely floated my boat. Just can't remember the labels. Anyone remember these?
And not to forget the Penfolds 1986 Bin 389 soon after we moved to Adelaide in 1990. Thought buying a 6 pack was going super long until they ran out and realising there was none left to buy. Now its by the case or 3.
Carl
got my dad a dozen of that exact wine for his birthday all those years ago. The 78 was a very nice drop!!!!
Chuck wrote:Some may giggle. A Seaview 1978 McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon with a mate in a French restaurant in Brisvegas around 1980. A true lightbulb moment. Not sure if it was the food, company or both but it turned my head in the right direction.
Passing it's old home in McLaren Vale on regular trips there always brings a smile. They made some good solid wines at very reasonable prices and did a few upmarket wines that absolutely floated my boat. Just can't remember the labels. Anyone remember these?
And not to forget the Penfolds 1986 Bin 389 soon after we moved to Adelaide in 1990. Thought buying a 6 pack was going super long until they ran out and realising there was none left to buy. Now its by the case or 3.
Chuck wrote:Some may giggle. A Seaview 1978 McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon with a mate in a French restaurant in Brisvegas around 1980. A true lightbulb moment. Not sure if it was the food, company or both but it turned my head in the right direction.
Passing it's old home in McLaren Vale on regular trips there always brings a smile. They made some good solid wines at very reasonable prices and did a few upmarket wines that absolutely floated my boat. Just can't remember the labels. Anyone remember these?
Edwards and Chaffey/Section 353 were the upmarket labels they tried to introduce.
Thanks Ian. They were pretty good wines.
Carl
Your worst game of golf is better than your best day at work
E&E Black Pepper Shiraz. A friend came over to dinner in 1993 and brought a bottle with them. I had never really drunk anything like it before. And now 24 years later I can always find a couple of bottles of E&E Black Pepper Shiraz somewhere in the cellar. Looks like 1998 is the current vintage I am drinking. Having found that wine and that specific area in the north west of Barrosa I went on to further epiphanies discovering Torbreck and Two Hands.
Chuck wrote:Some may giggle. A Seaview 1978 McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon with a mate in a French restaurant in Brisvegas around 1980. A true lightbulb moment. Not sure if it was the food, company or both but it turned my head in the right direction.
Passing it's old home in McLaren Vale on regular trips there always brings a smile. They made some good solid wines at very reasonable prices and did a few upmarket wines that absolutely floated my boat. Just can't remember the labels. Anyone remember these?
Edwards and Chaffey/Section 353 were the upmarket labels they tried to introduce.
Thanks Ian. They were pretty good wines.
Carl
Try and recall the name of that French Restaurant! In New Farm we had a phillip johnson one called Le Bronx where I had my first Mondavi wine. Another at Milton off Park Road where I had the 82 Comtesse at- can't recall the name atm.
n4sir wrote: Edwards and Chaffey/Section 353 were the upmarket labels they tried to introduce.
Thanks Ian. They were pretty good wines.
Carl
Try and recall the name of that French Restaurant! In New Farm we had a phillip johnson one called Le Bronx where I had my first Mondavi wine. Another at Milton off Park Road where I had the 82 Comtesse at- can't recall the name atm.
Man that was almost 40 years ago!! I can barely remember what wines I drank yesterday. However I do recall on the night having my first taste of frogs legs and escargot. They were yummy and continued my food and wine journey that continues to this day.
Carl
Your worst game of golf is better than your best day at work
