We Asked 9 Wine Pros: What's the Most Memorable Bottle You've Ever Had?

“I was fortunate to taste the 2004 Domaine d’Auvenay Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet with one of our restaurant guests. I had high expectations, but this wine completely surprised me. The wine had amazing detail and a very long and resonant persistence to it. It was textural and at the same time seemed to have this energy to it that was amplifying all of these sensations and flavors of quince, flint, orchard flower, white peach, and lemon curd. I spent the next morning still processing the experience and how to put it into words. How could a wine taste like that? It’s something you wish you could share with everyone. I thought about this wine every day for at least two weeks. That was 13 years ago, and it’s like I tasted it yesterday.” —Robert Smith, executive wine director, Little’s Oyster Bar, Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, and Yiayia’s Greek Kitchen, Houston