And the smell appeared to be in addition to all the other smells and tastes you might expect from red wine: so it tasted like a red wine, and smelled like a red wine, and it was actually quite nice... and it smelled of Star Wars figures as well, on top. That bit wasn't so nice, but it was so unusual that I could somehow separate it in my mind. Like I was drinking wine with a Star Ways toy under my nose, or something like that. It was a very strange experience.
Anyway, perhaps this is the same chemical, or one related.
After a couple of glasses the smell mostly dissipated.
http://www.decanter.com/features/the-misunderstood-world-of-...
In my case my dad was into wood-working so my childhood memories include all sorts of solvents and other chemicals that had complex aromatics. So when I pick up a memory when I'm drinking wine, I know there's "something" going on at the molecular level, I just don't know what it is.
I don't think anyone knows in some cases, I mean the wine industry employs chemists, obviously, but no one can really put their finger on how wine develops and changes over time. That's why it's more of a craft than a science.