What makes a “Great Wine?” Is it only the taste? Or is it something that gives you pleasure with all your senses AND your sensibilities? In other words, it needs to be something that not only has a unique and pleasing taste but also needs to have other qualities qualities that we appreciate, such as stamina/longevity, depth, value, beauty, and/or history.
This is why it is so difficult to answer when people ask about my favorite wine…. I sincerely do not have one. I enjoy most all wines for their intended purpose at hopefully their intended time. However, I can say with great emphasis that I tend to seek out the times to have a Bordeaux or other great Cab with a wonderful meal. I learned this from my father who started collecting wines around 1982 when he was infatuated with the fact that he saw a bottle of wine at the counter of his local liquor store once and wondered how any single bottle of wine could cost twenty-five dollars!!!! Seemed soooooo exorbitant! On the second visit, and out of pure curiosity he bought it, took it home and researched for months until he thought he knew enough about Chateau Lafite to be worthy of a taste. He tried the wine and promptly went to every liquor store in Little Rock to find the other 11 bottles of the case, and has been collecting, learning and enjoying wines ever since.
He found something more than just taste in his journey, and this is what makes a Great Wine!
Last night my parents had my wife and me to dinner to celebrate my 54th birthday – it was supposed to be a simple dinner (I like to think birthdays should be more about the mother now!) but when we arrived we saw what he had planned – a 1970 (my birthyear) Beaulieu Vineyard George Latour Private Reserve and a 1983 (one of the greatest years in Bordeaux) Chateau Latour (one of the 5 first growth wines of Bordeaux and arguably the “strongest” of the 5). It was a hell of a test and comparison – to see if the BV could last 54 years and then to compare it to a 41-year-old French master. My simple evening just turned incredible – one of the sincere joys of my life is to find these “great wines” through this type of search surrounded by my people.
The BV was incredible – could not believe that it made it the 54 years!!! It had definitely started on its downhill slide, but its taste and constitution and color were all extraordinary. I wish I had a better vocabulary when it comes to describing these wines – I will work on it! Next, the Latour. While the expectation for this wine was much, much greater, it did not disappoint. I described it at the time as “Plato’s form of the perfect wine.” It was everything I want in a red wine and nothing I don’t. For now, it has become that wine I will compare all others to, at least for a while. If you get the chance to try either of these, I highly recommend them both for completely different characteristics but the same reason – they are GREAT!
Thank you, Mom and Dad, for another memorable evening/experience, that I will do my best to savor.
En Vino Veritas!
Alex
