Wines That Resound in Memory

I've not tasted any of these wines mentioned, but I do go out of my way to try a Charbono - when you can find one. Likewise, I also will drink an ocasional CA Barbera - when offered. Sadly, both are obscure, but enjoyable when a big wine is called for and as of way paying homage to the the State's winemaking past.

The wine is very stylised drinks and One of the greatest happiness in the world.

most memorable white -- Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett 2015 m m red - Ridge Estate Merlot 2009 with thanks for all who have contributed to disaster relief in California -- and anywhere in the world

I must say that the writer can surely "sling it" with the very best! Incidentally, why would one want a taste, hint, or soupcon of tobacco or herbs in one's beverage? Why not add burnt cork and old truffles to the mix? Yeccch!

It´s a column about "Wines That Resound in Memory" - and it´s a comment section about "Affordable Wines That Offer a Convincing Price-Benefit Ratio". As it used to be. Yes, USA is not Europe and conditions are different. But when it comes to this aspect there is no difference. The only the differenc is Americans raise this issue all the time while Europeans don´t care so much. We are able to avoid exaggerated prices by an reasonable offer of excellent "economy wines" here and let the big labeled bottles go to label drinkers in overseas. This seems not to be possible in USA but Americans seem to want to do the same in their home country. Alright. So it´s clear: Americans crave for the same thing like Europeans but have a fundamental overiding issue with general price level in their domestic wine market. No doubt about it. You can write about wine what you want to - the next fith comment will be an "I bought a perfect wine per 9 $ a bottle" item anyway.

I have had 2 wine cellars over time at different houses that owned. The best wine I have ever had was a JOSEPH PHELLPS INSIGNIA 1992. It was $36 a bottle. I had one and came back and bought a sleeve of 6 and the remaining 3 bottles they had in inventory. Taste aside( this was in ? 94) the wine poured like a thick liquid. It was heavenly and wonderful, such richness. The guy at the store offered it since I would normally some in and buy several cases at a time . My "cellar" had about 400 bottles at the time. Party wine was under$10.00 , dinner wine under $20.00 and cellar wine to be held for year, generally over $30.00. I miss those days.

Thanks for a great column. I am on my fourth "Bruno" book, inspired by your earlier column. I am especially enjoying it since my wife and I move to Lyon, France this year. Centered between Burgundy to the North, the Rhone Valley to the south, Beaujolais to the west, and Jura to the east, I am in wine heaven. We are visiting the US for the holidays and I brought back several bottles of Macconais Chardonnay and a white Beaujolais to share with family and friends. Hopefully, it will create some great memories for them. JimLockardOnWine.com

I remember visiting Chateau de Tiregand about 25 years ago. I didn't know anything about the winery, but we were spending a week in the area and decided to stop in. The wines were very enjoyable, and I believe we brought a bottle or 2 home.

About as pretentious as any review of anything i have ever read--name dropping par excellence along with no pricing--for the hedge funders or the world

Fully agree that "best" holds little meaning w/ respect to wine. Prices, however, do. Would be more convenient if they were included (even more polite).

Best wines I had this year: 1. Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 (Columbia Valley): Had this at Thanksgiving, exceptional despite its youth. 2. Calera Ryan Pinot Noir 2012 (Mt. Harlan): Exceptional Pinot Noir from Calera. I hope they don't lose any of their magic now that Duckhorn has bought them. 3. Intrinsic Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 (Columbia Valley): Rich and jammy Cabernet from Columbia Valley, exceptional value for the price. 4. Boedecker Cellars Stewart Pinot Noir 2011 (Willamette Valley): Had this at a tasting at my local wine shop and was immediately impressed by its depth of aromas and flavor. Bought 3 bottles. 5. Marietta Gibson Block Syrah 2014 (McDowell Valley): Had this at a tasting at another local wine shop, excellent estate Syrah and a good value for the quality. Shared the bottle I bought among friends a couple months later. 6. Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 (Napa Valley): This bottle of Napa Cab aged extremely well, despite having difficulty removing the old cork! 7. Dreisigacker Riesling Trocken 2014 (Rheinhessen, DE): Excellent German Riesling from Rheinhessen. 8. Piedrasassi PS Syrah 2014 (Santa Barbra County): Very bold Syrah with a rich earthiness never tasted anything like it before. 9. Soter Brut Rose Mineral Springs Ranch 2011 (Willamette Valley): Bought this for a celebration. Best American sparkling wine I ever tasted. 10. Mailly L'Intempirelle 2009 Champagne Grand Cru

As a farmer of vegetables and lover of food, I think the point of the article is to enjoy wine as part of the experience of life. Even something as "mundane" as the humble Radish tastes different grown at different part of the year and in different places and by different growing practices. There are specific varieties that I love for saute more than stir-fry or raw and crunchy and vice-versa. Speaking to wines, as a Californian who learned to enjoy wine as a child from the vineyards of our state, I first love a BIG California Zinfandel like the three cases of the 1984 Pesenti dry farmed late harvest I drank. But also the delicate but sweet German high quality Reislings are amazing. The least pretentious California wine grape might be French Columbard, but I remember having a delightful glass of a well made wine that was a perfect salad companion on a summer day. And a wine from the 1980s I still remember fondly was the Christian Brothers cold pressed Chenin Blanc - excellent with pasta and white fish and a discussion about history. Enjoy life, eat well (both in terms of foods produced that way and imagined), exercise enough for you and for heavens sake make connections with wonderful people and places!

What happened to Rebecca Marshall's photo credit for the Pécharmant pic? And was the vintage on that top bottle Photoshopped out, or Liquid-Papered out IRL? And in either case: why?

The wine that resounds in my memory is the last wine I drank. I just drank my daily glass of wine a half hour ago. It was Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé from South Africa. I'll definitely buy it again.

Mr Asimov reminds us of the old proverb: Good company will do more for bad wine than good wine will do for bad company.

I appreciate reading about less common wine styles and Mr. Asimov offers many to explore in this article, across a wide range of prices. Unfortunately for the pricey wines, the average wine enthusiast could likely not afford to taste. The 1999 Grand Cru Dujac Clos de la Roche is a prime example. While I'm sure it's a heavenly Burgundy; can NY Times readers afford a bottle that costs between $640 and $1,600? I aspire one day to buy an amazing vintage Burgundy but for now, I'll look for and expect to enjoy the $27 2013 Napa Charbono from the Calder Wine Company.

That wine bar in Beaune wouldn't happen to be Caves Madeleine? Great list of affordable and little known Burgundies--along with comfort cooking and warm service--

10 memorable wines, and 1 from California. Either Mr. Asimov needs to get out more, or he needs to check some preconceived notions and biases at the door.

I find it inexplicable that the author makes no mention of price. Does he not think that this is important to the reader?

Wine, the most pretentious of drinks. If it didn’t have any alcohol no one would care.

How about ten reds under $15 to try? I can't afford $750 wine.

Roulot is hard to beat for white Burgundy. I’ve ne er had the aligote, as it’s too hard to find here. But an amazing producer given the vineyards he owns, none the less. Re the Dujac 1999 Clos de la Roche, Dujac killed it 1999, and no where more so than the CdlR. I’ve only had two bottles from my case, the last one two years ago. I think they’re still five years from being fully ready. But they WILL be glorious.

So is it possible to buy Pecharmant in the US? I'd love to taste it but the price of a trip to Bergerac makes the bottle very dear.

If this article/advertisement isn't satire, it should be. Sales will increase because this guy likes the taste of something? "Wines like this are inspiring, giving birth to ideas and relationships..." Could pomposity be any more alarming? The pour is down the drain........

You go to Italy. Why not travel also to the Barossa? Or the Clare Valley, or the southern vales? Or anywhere, South Australia, Australia? I drank your best wine, it made me ill. DEsperately ill. Homesick..

I appreciate this column. While it may be impossible for most Americans to taste most of the wines listed, due to lack of availability here, vintages no longer available and of course price, I hope it will inspire readers to try new things and to find their own memories. Dan Kravitz

Memorable wine is certainly better then the "best" wine. My father, who came from what I will describe as a NYC Irish working class background, knew little of wine growing up or into his adulthood except to occasionally have some jug burgundy to accompany the food that my Italian mother made or for Thanksgiving. At some point in time, he decided to try better wines and began to experiment and bring them home. Though still in my teens I became his assistant in this venture. Around this time some of the California growers who had previously been making low end wines began to produce better wines so it was easy for us to follow them through the years as they improved their products and we improved our knowledge of wine. Some of my best memories of my father are those where I drove him to the store, he didn't drive, and collaborated with him as we selected wines to bring home for Thanksgiving or Christmas and then enjoying them with my family. . einfg we selected ise I have some the best memories of my father while That journey reminas some Hat

prices would be helpful for those of us on a budget and with limited discretionary time available to look all of these up.

There are countless wines and varieties, but subjectivity exceeds all of them, as this column demonstrates. Cheers!

How marvelous that the Calder Wine Company can manage the extraordinary feat of bottling a taste that manages to ". . . capture past and future, sadness and sweet hope." Quite the polymath, this grape. I have read poetry and literature that endeavors so, music, too. But never a grape. I'll take a few cases.

I've traveled many times to the SW of France and paid several visits to the Chateau de Tiregand to sample the remarkable Pecharmant made there. Sadly, this wine, a staple of Perigord and the Dordogne, can scarcely be found in the States. Which is why I try to bring home a case whenever I manage to make the trip because I know it cannot be found outside of France (although there is a single distributor in Chicago who has a limited supply). I'd also suggest a rounding off any rich southwestern meal with a delicious Monbazillac (a worthy and much less expensive rival to a lovely sauterne) to accompany dessert.

I had forgotten that I'd been to Pecharmant before. Reading your column triggers many fond memories of my own wine tourism in France, Italy and Germany (but mainly France). The best wine is always the local wine, and it only tastes best right there where it comes from. Possibly it's a predisposition on my part, in combination with the good spirits of being there, but I know that if I go to my local wine store and buy something with a similar pedigree, it never tastes as good as I remember. Maybe it's just a question of what travelling does to the wine. If you would be so kind as to send me the application form for your job, please.

Why shouldn't wine taste like the grape it was made from?

Dear Eric, that’s a good year! What a charmed life you have. Congratulations!

A wine memory. About 40 years ago, I had the opportunity to drink one glass of Grand Vin de Chateau Latour (if memory serves me correctly, it was a 1966). To this day, I can still remember how amazing it was and wishing I could have more. Way out of my price range these days, unfortunately.

This line really made me think: "When a wine no longer tastes like a grape and tastes like a place instead, that is memorable." As a long term wine collector, I have preferred a wine that at least can be recognized as to what grape it came from, rather than having been over processed. Terroir yes. But still maintaining the character of that grape as well.