"I've chosen a 1964 Comte de Vogüé Musigny, which I drank on February 13, 1975 – the day my son, Guy, was born. I was by myself, but I drank the whole bottle (my wife was otherwise occupied). I don’t think I could have prepared a meal; I probably had it with cheese.

It tasted like the best wine in the world. It was velvety, it went on forever, it had flavors of raspberry and tobacco and roses. It was just amazing. I was in the mood to appreciate and receive a great wine, and what that tells me is that 60 percent of enjoyment has everything to do with how you feel, and the occasion and the ambience and the mood.

I was living in London at the time, working as a broadcaster and writing about wine on the side. We had an apartment in a mansion block right opposite the Beatles’ studio in Abbey Road. If you look at the Abbey Road album with the famous picture of the pedestrian crossing, you can actually see our building on the right-hand side.

In 1981, I started writing full time and I’ve now written 16 books on wine. I also write murder mysteries; I have a detective who gets involved in murders in wine country.

I have had the 1970 vintage of Comte de Vogüé Musigny, but it was not as great as that original bottle. That was just a supreme wine."

As told to Diana Goodman

Fast Facts from Wine-Searcher's search engine:

1964 Comte de Vogüé Musigny

• Average price: $1,317
• Grape variety: pinot noir
• Critics' score: 84
• Earliest available vintage: 1919 ($8,107).

* Tony Aspler's most recent publication is "Tony Aspler's Cellar Book: How to Design, Build, Stock and Manage Your Wine Cellar Wherever You Live," published by Random House at $27.95.