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2011 Wine in Context: Your Turn

I'm delighted that this year as last year, Winedoctor readers have been sending their favourite wine in context moments of 2011, and the second batch are published here.

If you aren't sure what Wine in Context is all about, think of it as your favourite wine-related moment of 2011, but where instead of focusing on an intrinsically great wine, we look at the synthesis of life and wine. So it's not about those magnums of 2000 Le Pin and 2001 Yquem you knocked back with last Saturday's burger and fries, it's more about that bottle of Touraine Sauvignon which just sang with your little pyramid of Valençay goat's cheese, as you lay stretched out on a blanket on the sandy banks of the Vienne, or perhaps the time you spent with good friends, old or new, over some special bottles. Maybe you made your own wine for the first time? Or maybe the wine was there to lubricate some great celebration? Whatever it is, it's about context, not just the wine.

Why not send me yours?

So here is my second batch of 2011 submissions, with several 'holiday' moments, from tours through Western Australia lubricated by Art Series Chardonnay to bottles 'smuggled' in through customs, and of course a common theme in wine in context - good food and wine, with friends and family. (5/1/12)

2011 has been an excellent year for wine-related moments! Happily I have numerous nominations for wine in context moment of the year, from discovering the spicy Agiorgitiko in Milos, to the Chateau Clinet vertical (2000, 1996 & 1985 showing very well) at Guy Savoy restaurant. Then there was the 1996 Léoville-Poyferré at the Chaines Des Rotisseurs dinner in Singapore. And sharing the stunning 2005 Branson Coach House single vineyard Greenock Shiraz, with my Dad at a BBQ!

But the wine moment I want to share with you only happened a couple of weeks ago (therefore fresh in my memory)! My girlfriend & I spent a week in Margaret River in Western Australia. The entire week was fantastic: an epicurean adventure! The highlight was a visit to Leeuwin Estate winery. We started with a tasting before having lunch at their restaurant which overlooks a lush garden and vineyards. The tasting included their other-worldly Art Series Chardonnays. We knew the wines were going to be top notch but didn't expect to have the meal of the week there! We had a lovely table on the verandah. The sun was shining. I ordered the 2009 Prelude Chardonnay and paired it with grilled Marron (a type of freshwater crayfish) followed by pan-fried Dhufish. Divine. And the Chard was singing! All in the company of my beautiful girlfriend Cheryl. Ah that could be my Groundhog Day!

Thanks for this Alex, your first appearance in my annual Wine in Context event, and a very memorable one too. I'm glad the 1996 Léoville-Poyferré showed well (I have a couple of bottles) but more than that I'm glad you had such a great time - all washed down with wine of course - in Margaret River - Chris.

Thanks for the wonderful website, keep up the good work! Best wishes for 2012.

My wine in context moment would be the magnum bottle of Guy Charlemagne Brut Reserve Blanc de Blancs Champagne my wife and I enjoyed after she had fully recovered from a broken ankle that kept her sitting down and unable to do anything at all for three months. There was no better wine-moment for me, in 2011.

Thanks Ralph, always great to see the end of something like this, so I'm glad the celebratory bottle went down well - Chris.

Bookend moments:

New Year's: Sylvain Bouhelier Celtisimme Crémant de Bourgogne, carried in our luggage the previous June. Strawberries on toast. Unfortunately it's not available outside France.

December: Dinner with son and in-laws. Filet of beef stuffed with mushroom and sunchoke duxelles, served with 1990 Chateau Figeac - what Bordeaux is about. Followed with Dow 1963 Port with the cheese course. Would that I could age as well.

Perfect, thanks Frank. One bottle bring back memories of a holiday in France, the second great wine with great food and family - both perfect examples of what wine in context is about - Chris.

So many pleasant moments this past year but the one wine that stood out was the 2001 Domaine de Haut-Bourg Muscadet which had spent seven years on the lees. This was my first experience of tasting an old Muscadet, from a domaine that is not all that well-known. The cost was around $22 Cdn and I still have another bottle in the cellar. I am a huge Muscadet fan and thus qualify as a true Loire-head!

Readers will have to understand that wine selection in the stores up here can be hit and miss and sometimes vintages are a couple of years behind everyone else but shopping around can produce some real gems. I think that reading about wine is an important moment too, with much education to be gained. This website ranks right up there in my opinion and I thoroughly enjoy all the writings and resulting comments from blog visitors. Here`s to more great moments in 2012!

Bob, thanks indeed for your comments on Winedoctor, and I'm happy to induct you into the 2012 Society of Loire-Heads! Glad you have discovered the joy of good Muscadet with a little bottle age - one of my most memorable wines of 2011 was a 2004 from André-Michel Brégeon - Chris.

Wine in Context moments don't have to concern only great or expensive wines to qualify, it's the context that I'm looking for! So send me your best wine moments of 2011, and I will post them online (I am assuming your consent for that!). Email them to me here.