Perfect Wine

I have a difficult time understanding the concept of the perfect wine (100 point wine) as I am relatively a new comer and I find the learning curve is steep. For those people lucky enough to have experienced drinking the “perfect wine”, how long before you found it, what was it, what made it perfect? For now, I have to live this experience vicariously and hope that I get to enjoy it some day.

Thanks for your response.

If you never had your wisdom teeth removed, then the “perfect” wine will send a tingling sensation through your wisdom teeth that almost feels like torture.

[Come to think of it, “perfect” wines are not necessarily fun to swallow.]

Its one of those “You know it when you taste it” kind of things. I’ve had the experience rarely; even more rarely with wines critics’ have rated 100 points. That’s not so much a criticism of the critic–as has been said many times over, there are no perfect wines, only perfect bottles.

When you encounter a “perfect” wine–and I think it means different things to different folks as well as the setting–you really do know it. Keep tasting. You’ll experience it; then you’ll know it.

Its really hard to put into words!

For me it was a 1958 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo Riserva. I thought my head was going to explode.

I am not suggesting that I have tasted a “perfect” wine, but I would say that I have had nearly perfect wine drinking experiences. They always include impressive wines, but also a combination of great friends, a good mood, and other atmospheric qualities that make wine drinking such a pleasure. This may not be the most academic response you get to your question, but it speaks a great deal to why I drink and try to learn about wine.

Brad nailed it - a peak wine experience can be as much about everything surrounding the bottle as the bottle itself.

I don’t know if I’ve told this story before, but, just in case…

Though/since I grew up drinking wine because of my father, I only became aware of Parker and his ratings very late - probably in '99 or '00 when I started participating on an American consumer website where many kept mentioning him. Before that, I didn’t even know wines were being rated with points. Never paid them heed though since I already had favorite makers and was already quite familiar with Médoc and Graves.

In around 2003 or 2004, I started drinking regularly with the Doc and Stockbroker who are avid Parker followers and used to buy mainly on his point system. One day, Mrs. Doc said we should all try Parker’s 100 point wines just to see what they are all about.

I then bought a mixed case of 12 of Parker 100 pointers (plus an additional 6 bottles of 98/99 pointers as well) and opened each one in rapid succession over a series of lunches mostly with just the Doc and Stockbroker. Among these were the '82 Latour, '90 Cheval Blanc, '82 & '86 las Cases, '90 Montrose, '82 Pichon Lalande, etc.

Long story short, while they were very pleasing, I didn’t find them worth their prices (not by a long shot) and never bought more of any of them except the '90 Cheval Blanc (which I had had before and already liked a lot anyway). I’ve had many more of the Parker 100 pointers quite a few times since then, but those subsequent ones were bought and shared by friends, not me*****.

*****I’ve noticed since then that, for Bdx rouge, I tend to favor those Parker rates 89-91, 93 tops, even in blind tastings.

As with Brad, I’ve had some wines that I consider as close to perfection as I imagine a wine could get, but these are inextricably tied in with the circumstances in which the bottles were enjoyed.

For example, I’ve had several '75 Pichon Lalandes, but the only one of them that I thought was absolutely beautiful was one enjoyed with a few friends during a warm summer night in Bordeaux, after dinner, under the stars at a friend’s home. Same with the '78 PL.

Another, more telling example is that a “lowly” '99 Cheval Blanc I brought to the 16th wedding anniversary of two of my best friends (a small dinner at their house) was much more memorable than any '90 Cheval Blanc I’ve ever had.

For me, it’s much more who I am with, where I am, etc. that make a wine exceptional - so much so that, these days, I usually decline invitations of the “let’s get together and open only 100 point wines”. I get the feeling in these situations that the bottles/labels/points matter more than the company. Those kinds of events I don’t need.

N

Or forget the experience and just open a 2001 Chateau d’Yquem.

Make sure you set aside some of them to try when properly aged.

I’m in good shape.

If the wine you’re drinking right now isn’t the perfect wine, then…you should be drinking something else.

That is all.

Brad and Bone have it right.

There are no great vintages, only great bottles. No great bottle has ever been emptied without great friends.

No doubt that there are great wines made all the time or resting in bottles undisturbed - but they can only find greatness when the room is filled with intelligent laughter, great discussions and people who you say goodnight too and wish the evening would never end.

I’ll take all of my great memories with wines that may not be perfect in the eye of critics and say, “That was an evening I’ll never forget.”

That’s 100 points.

So, thankfully, in my life, and my short wine-life, I’ve had many, many bottles of ‘100’ point wines.

My life, like all of ours, when we compare it to the options, are full of ‘100 point’ wines.

To my drinking friends, I tip the cap to you, as you make my wine worth drinking.

Don’t chase points. Chase memories.

I’d say Chris has it right, too.

I think Oprah has an opening this Tuesday. You’re local, right?

Well said Framontaine…well said.

You should be drinking Tequila.

On a serious note, I agree with everyone that the environment, company, and general moment that a wine is consumed in is what creates those 100 point wines and experiences. I’ve had some 100 pointers that were really good, but I’ve also had some that I was not as thrilled with. Someone’s 100 pointer will always be someone else’s 90 pointer. Context is everything.

Well said Fremont. Too many memories of decent wines shared with 100 point company.

Bingo.

And Freemott, are you opening up a New Age clinic or something? Should we all get together, give a group hug, and sing Kumbaya? [gheyfight.gif]

Seriously, though, I’d agree with both Wilfred and Brad and the others who explain that it’s not the wine itself, but the experience that counts. Though for me, I’d say the closest I’ve come to a “perfect” wine is the 1989 Haut Brion, which I had with some generous friends outside of Seattle a few years ago. Here, again, it was about the experience as a whole, not just the wine. The fact that it also was a 100-pointer is a bonus, not the prime focus, of my memory.

Kumbaya indeed.

Talk about understatement

Well, with my apologies for interrupting the bromance…

Ive had some great wine experiences in only 4 years of serious collecting, but only three wines have made me think that I would change nothing about them. Last year a SQN The Other Hand that seemed to evolve with each sip, and this year a 1983 Yquem that just made me forget everything else and everyone else on the table. Finally a few weeks ago I had a SQN Atlantis that well, had the best nose I can remember in a wine, and had the desired effect on a friend who needed a big time pick me up. I think its a combination of the wine and situation with the wine carrying more than 50% of the responsibility for that perfect moment. I had a similar experience where I thought :this could not be better" with a bottle of 1973 Macallan so go figure…