Once in a lifetime wine.....

[Bill Elsey]

I was able to attend a pretty remarkable wine tasting yesterday. This tasting group, made up of collectors and local sommeliers, meets about once a month and has provided me the opportunity to taste some of the best wines of my life. 95 & 96 Salon, all of the Guigal La La's from 88, 89, 90, all of the first growths, Phelps, Screaming Eagle, Quilceda Creek, Ramonet Chassagne, Tignanello, Gaja, to name a few.

Tasting the icons is a blessing, but tasting wines that are not considered to be the big boys often prove to be the most interesting. The winner of the day? 1983 Joseph Phelps Ice Wine from Scheurebe grapes. I could have sworn it was a beerenauslese from the Mosel. When is the last time anyone has even heard of Joseph Phelps IceWine made from Scheurebe, let alone taste one, especially one that old?!!

The bottle was still kicking and tasted phenomenal by the way.

Oh yeah, as a little trivia piece: Chateau Ste Michelle made an ice wine in 1978, apparently this was the first ice wine produced in the US. It was pretty good too....