Of all your sensory detail and picture making, somehow that slightly heated brandy and Mary Renault are most vivid for me. I had a similar experience once with two lovers and snifters of Armagnac.

“The Last of the Wine" was the first novel I ever read (as a 16 year old plucking a book at random off a library shelf) by the incomparable Renault. That novel remains my favorite of hers, though I think these days she’s best remembered for her lovely Alexander trilogy.