I thought the question concerned Bordeaux and I saw answers with many wines except Bordeaux.
I have some rare wines :
And I have a curiosity that I would like to open once : a white wine of Lafite 1959. The color looks perfect.
In other regions, I have some rarities, but it was not the question if I understood well.
2006 Hirtzberger Singerriedel
2007 Ramonet BBM
I would take some liberty with the interpretation of best here. This should be the best white in your cellar not based upon your assessment but based upon your perception of the group’s assessment, perhaps tempered by the setting and format of the tasting. If you’ve been tasting with these folks for a long time and you pretty much know preferences and cellar composition, you should be able to do this, regardless of what you personally prize. This isn’t about making the event a maximum sacrifice for you, is it?
Personally, I’d be leaning toward a Champagne, but if I knew that it would be hard to get it served in an appropriate glass/temperature or create logistic hassles with the reception format, I’d go to a Riesling next. Assuming that a magnum would be preferred, I’d do the '96 Gimonnet Vintage Collection magnum from my cellar as first choice. For Rieslings, the '99 Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten VDP Auction Spatlese would be my choice. Both will likely be better with time. I have more of the Loosen in other formats (only a single magnum) and the Gimonnet is only made in magnums, and a precious few of those at that. Both would fit my perception of the format and expected caliber of wines served. Take magnums off the table, and I’d look at '88 Krug (delicious, but I expect most of the group has had this numerous times, so maybe boring - gasp!), '08 Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiseilles, or maybe a 07 FX Pichler Gruner Veltliner Smaragd “M”. I think white Chave would be lost in the mix of a bunch of white burgs and domestic bigger is bigger Chardonnay.
Cheers,
fred
probably the 1811 Yquem . Bought it directly from Hardy , in pristine condition .
Otherwise , a 1992 Montrachet from Leflaive .
Francois, just to clarify, the theme of the dinner was (a) “best white” without regard to origin, followed by (b) first-growth red Bordeaux.
I have a question for those who say you would not “waste” a great white wine in a setting such as this: What would you do? Would you skip this month’s dinner altogether? Or would you bring something lesser, something more “expendable,” and come to taste everyone else’s great wines?
Everyone who organizes wine get-togethers, whether the deal is for each person to bring a bottle or whether a rotating host provides the wines, you have to deal with the folks who are reluctant to contribute their really good wines to the group. There are always those who wish to “skate by” and just do the minimum to get by. I don’t know how your wine group feels about this issue, but both groups I belong to feel the same: If you don’t have great wines and don’t really have a lot of wine knowledge, but you are doing the best you can do, we cut you a lot of slack. If you have the ability to do better, but are reluctant to be generous toward the group with your fine wines, then (a) you are not fooling anyone and (b) you soon are no longer valued as an important pillar of the group.
Not counting the wines that would get me killed if I brought them to a tasting (e.g. the Donnhoff esiweins), I would likely bring 2001 Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese. Either that or 1996 Krug.
Lew, you are obviously a man of good taste and open mind. Around here, there are too many people who will accept only Burgundy as “great” wine, and nothing else. A great Austrian Riesling or Gruner might be welcome as a novelty diversion, but it would be just that. I believe this comes down to two reasons: a) much less familiarity with the wines, so not able to understand and respect the producers and terroir; and b) you just can’t spend enough on an Austrian wine (for example) to satisfy the need of some to demonstrate their wine prowess through spending $$.
I didn’t say that I’d consider any contribution a waste, but I did say that I’d temper my contribution to the setting. The intent is to have maximum effect, not to hold back. If you know, for example, that the group universally detests Champagne, why contribute a '96 Clos de Mesnil even if it is your most prized bottle of white wine? Similarly, knowing that the whites will be served without food, before several flights of reds, why would you bring your '76 d’Yquem? I get that the point of the call was to bring top-shelf wines and to not hold back on things you have been afraid to open because they’re part of the crown jewel collection in your cellar. I don’t have a single wine in my cellar that would stand out as “the best” above all others. Within that group, I would be selecting based upon what I think the audience will respond well to and will be well suited for the circumstance it is being served in.
I don’t think anybody I’ve tasted with would consider me cheap in my contributions to tastings. I do not have a regular group that I taste with because of time and lifestyle changes. If I did, I expect that we’d have to have some common ground on what we prize in wine or else we’d always be bringing wines others don’t really like. That’s a formula for an unsustainable group.
If you were speaking to me with the question, there’s my rebuttal. If you weren’t then consider this clarification.
Cheers,
fred
Fred, my question appeared below yours, because we were both typing at the same time, but I was not speaking to you, and had not yet read your post. I like your approach. But there are several others posting in this thread who would seem to be fundamentally incompatible with the objective of this wine group, which doesn’t make them wrong or bad or anything like that. I posed my question to them. Sorry for any confusion on that.
This may be a topic for a separate thread, but I do sort of see what H Wallace is referring to. In the wine tasting groups that I participate in, one thing that often happens is that we start with a Champagne, but the Champagne is inevitably lost in people arriving, initial greetings, people taking their first look at the menu, etc. There isn’t any food yet, and it becomes a nice way to start but ends up a bit of an afterthought as far as the Champagne. Which is why it is nice to have one, but it’s not really the time to open a special bottle, or one that you hope to receive the full attention of the group.
Sometimes the whites are next, but they also often end up getting drunk before everyone has settled in, ordered food, and the first dishes finally arrive. Obviously, this could be solved with some better organization and advanced planning, but we haven’t hit that stage yet.
Anyway, I know that may not apply to your group and this gathering, but I think that is probably the reason that he had that reaction, as often “reception wine” means something you have in your hand as you’re greeting arrivals one by one, figuring out where to sit, getting your bottles out and instructing the somm on what to open, chill or decant, taking a look at the menu, etc.
without knowing the attendees -
If there was to be food served with it, I would pull a Chaptouier hermitage Blanc le meal or le oree - either 98 or 00 - maybe an older huet? If no food, probably champagne or GC white burg (batard?).
If I knew the attendees, I would try to open something that I know someone else in the group or a few folks in the group really wanted to try or had never experienced before.
I think we’re all identifying our “best wines”…rather than “agreeing” to bring that wine to such an event.
Personally, if I went, I’d bring something fitting and not likely to disappoint, rather than my “best bottle”.
But, I don’t like events like the one described…great wines get lost in the mix…great wines are compared to other great wines…and some “lose”, etc.
I probably would say “no thanks.” That’s almost always what I’ve done when invited to such events. Grab bags…even with great wines…don’t provide much gratifcation for me…sensory overload/triggers the ADHD. Mix food into the mix…and …a wine’s “greatness” can easily disappear for me.
Ummm…Dry Pfälzer Riesling?
Haut Brion Blanc or Chave Blanc.
I recently brought an 89 Trimbach Clos Ste Hune VT to an event and it certainly is among my best whites though it did not show particularly brilliantly.
Probably a 2000 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne
My best white is 2001 Yquem, but that is probably not appropriate. I also thought about a 2007 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes or a 2003 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Blanc Les Granits.
Finally! I would probably bring the 2004 Aubert Lauren, which is much better than my non-premixed 1999 and 2000 Magnien Corton Charlemagne. Or the 1998 ZH Clos Jebsal SGN if sweeties count.
+2
Anyway, most of my best whites are waiting on more time so they’re not really ready to drink. I might sacrifice a 1995 Clos Ste Hune for the sake of science but would probably pull the perfectly mature 1993 Ampeau Meurseult Perrieres.
But ask again in 5-10 years…