Singular wines

The Muller-Catoir Scheurebes produced under Hans-Gunter Schwarz.

Certainly distinctive; in quality beyond anything else I've ever tasted from that grape in any other soil or hands; for my tastes singular and one of the most thrilling wines I've had the pleasure to enjoy.
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:

I hate to say it but trying to think of something truly singular, the main candidate that comes to mind is almost boringly obvious and certainly gets me no points for hipness. But it's d'Yquem. A wine you can ID blind time and time again and never confuse another Sauternes for it. At least the ones that say Lur Saluces on the label.
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Do you really think so? What about Fargues? Or Lafaurie-Peyraguey when they started fermenting in new wood. There's a lot of transferable technique there.
 
originally posted by Ned Hoey:
Domaine Belluard Vin de Savoie Blanc Gringet Le Feu

Literally no peers.
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True, although I didn't want to list any SM wines. I also second Clos Tibouren. If there's another wine like it, I've never tasted it.
 
originally posted by Mark Davis:
Jim-

Now I understand why we are often bidding against each other at auction.

-mark
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Where do you live, Mark? We should declare a truce and drink them together. You've got to bring the Overnoy/Houillon Vin Jaune, though. I've never had a bottle last a month in the U.S.
 
Vote III for Movia Lunar. Though I couldn't drink it every day. Maybe the 1996 Cazin Cuvée Renaissance I could. But don't know how unique. Maybe if I had tried enough Cornelissens.

ps: Brad, would you call Lunar a terroir wine or a winemaker wine?
 
originally posted by Yixin:
originally posted by Ian Fitzsimmons:
originally posted by Yixin:
There are very few wines listed thus far which I'd like to drink every day, bearing in mind that I import some of them.
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In inviting 'singular' entries, I think Levi was not asking for favorites or wines you'd drink all the time, given the chance.
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Precisely. On the surface, it seems like there's a dichotomy between fucking Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt (depending on your persuasion, taste notwithstanding) versus fucking your partner(s). But with love and thoughtfulness, I think that fucking one's partner(s) is more likely to lead to sex "of exceptional quality, but also wholly different".
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Well, taste is like sex at the other end of the spinal cord, without the potential for collateral reproduction.
 
originally posted by Ned Hoey:
Domaine Belluard Vin de Savoie Blanc Gringet Le Feu

Literally no peers.
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I have just pulled a bottle to try this weekend.

And what about Bourdy's Galant des Abbesses? Is macvin (or things like it) eligible for inclusion? Certainly singular and excellent.
 
Sébastien David's Kézako is kinda unique (carbonic in barrel), I like it so much I could drink it more than often, like Emile Hérédia's Verre des Poètes and Thierry Michon's Cuvée Jacques.
 
Wow, what a thicket to wade through. Wines without peer and also of high quality? OK, Musar (all colors), LdH Rosado and Blanco, some of the Equipo Navazos bottlings (though I might just be ignorant of their peers). I'd also nominate Klein Constantia, though I have very limited experience with it. For a long time, Tyrell's Vat 1 Semillon would also have fit the bill, though Mt. Pleasant and Brokenwood now provide it with a peer group. And I'll through Rayas in there, too, as it is sui generis, as is Clos Ste. Hune. Like Salil, the Muller-Catoir Scheurebes from the Hans-Gunther Schwarz era would also seem to qualify.

Mark Lipton
 
For those saying Movia's Lunar, why that and not other orange wines?

Past fads be damned, I could still drink orange wine every day (if I could afford to).
 
Two whites stand out for me: Jermann Vintage Tunina and Pepe Trebbiano. The Quinta do Crasto Maria Tesresa red blend is a possibility, unfortunately based on a small sample size.
 
originally posted by Claude Kolm:
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:

I hate to say it but trying to think of something truly singular, the main candidate that comes to mind is almost boringly obvious and certainly gets me no points for hipness. But it's d'Yquem. A wine you can ID blind time and time again and never confuse another Sauternes for it. At least the ones that say Lur Saluces on the label.
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Do you really think so? What about Fargues? Or Lafaurie-Peyraguey when they started fermenting in new wood. There's a lot of transferable technique there.
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I've never thought the "baby Yquem" nickname for de Fargues was appropriate, but to the extent it fits the key word really is "baby". De Fargues never has the mass or concentration of Yquem. And I've certainly never had a Lafaurie-Peyraguey that I could confuse for Yquem.
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
For those saying Movia's Lunar, why that and not other orange wines?

Past fads be damned, I could still drink orange wine every day (if I could afford to).
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It just thrilled me more than the (not that many) Radikons and Gravners that I've guzzled, ditto the Suore Cistercencis. I am a dog howling at the moon.
 
Ca de Noci might qualify, though I am not really in a position to opine about how distinct they might be from their neighbors.
 
If one must play.

Rossesse, Testalonga.
Petit Rouge Blanc (not a mistake, it was a mutation in the vineyard), Vini Rari.
Mondeuse, Prieuré St. Christophe (Michel Grisard).
Prosecco Tranquillo, Frozza.

And many others - these were the ones I happen to be drinking. The world of wine is big and varied, if one cares to look.
 
originally posted by Chris Coad:
originally posted by Brad Kane:
It seems to me that should one find a singular wine, it would be so more because of winemaking style, rather than terroir.
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Care to elaborate on why that would be?
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Have you ever confused a Huet CDB with say a Foreau Reserve? How about an Haut Brion with a La Misssion Haut Brion? Can you correctly identify an old Ridge Monte Bello from an old Mt. Eden Cab? Unless your'e nailing these terroir driven wines blind on a regular basis, they can't be categorized as singular given Levi's definition.

Using Keith's Yquem example, first off, can you really tell it apart on a regular basis from say Climens? If you go by weight, or say oak use, that's not really terroir, is it? Personally, I don't find Sauternes terroir-driven wines.

Do you get terroir out of Radikon? I don't. I get a house style that's relatively easy to spot because I dislike it.

Thusly, I find any wines that maybe singular, and I'm not convinced there are many of them, to be based more on house style, than anything that might be found in the dirt.
 
Many of my picks are above. Since, unlike certain persons one might name, I'm not going to conveniently ignore the "exceptional quality" restriction I'll just add a few off the top of my head:

Trimbach's Frederic Emile (no less distinct than CSH)

The vintage designated solera bottlings (can anyone explain that to me?) that Byass comes out with every so often. I've only had 2 - the 1964 Oloroso and the 1979 Palo Cortado but they were both wonderful and unlike other Sherries I've had. Though perhaps Jesus will jump in and tell me all the other sherries that are similar :).

The Clos Roche Blanche wines. That amazing minerality and harmonious purity never ceases to enthrall me and is, at least to my palate, unique. But you knew that.

The ESJ southern Rhone blends. Grenache dominated wines that I not only like but often love? Talk about unique.
 
originally posted by Jim Hanlon:
originally posted by Ned Hoey:
Domaine Belluard Vin de Savoie Blanc Gringet Le Feu

Literally no peers.
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True, although I didn't want to list any SM wines.
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I have a few of these, but have yet to open one. Should I open one now or would that be a mistake, and I should bury these in the cellar?
 
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