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Bernie and the Stockbroker
Refined and elegant interiors by Maja Olivares-Co
This area may be enclosed; ideal for meetings and privacy. It can seat up to 16 persons.
While primarily a wine bar, food is, naturally, served in Masseto - the kitchen ably headed by Tippi Tambunting. I've attended many, and even hosted some, meals by Tippi when she was still in the "private chef" business. Those included many fine wine pairing menus for our Blind Bordeaux Challenges and other winr events. Now, she leads Masseto's kitchen full time as Executive Chef.Those who were, in the past, unable to engage her services for private dinners, well, as the saying goes, if you snooze....
The menu, as one may easily see, is compact, well-thought out and wine-friendly...
...the items of which shall change every few months.
For starters, we shared platters of Sole, Brown Butter Lemon Sauce and French Beans...
...Goat Cheese Ravioli with Olive Butter and Bacalao Fritters Aïoli, enjoyed with...
2002 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros - The Stockbroker's bottle. Situated beneath the Preuses vineyards, bordered by the river Serein, the wine from the 12.6 hectare grand cru Bougros tend to be fatter, rounder, at times tropical, and generally show earlier than other Chablis grands crus. This, when first poured was leanish and exhibited clean, bright notes of calamansi (i.e., a small, green citrus fruit also known as "Philippine lime") over cold, steel, wet stone and oak/vanilla. With added aeration and warming, its grand cru heft came to bear with round, softer, moderately buttery, somewhat pillowy and creamy apple, pear, bit of melon, citrus, white minerality, bit of flint and a notable dose of oak.I liked this best with the sole as its butter-lemon sauce played nicely with the citrus notes and buttery character of the wine's fruit.
J-Lab then arrived and the reds began to pour.
It's not everyday one gets served at a posh CBD wine bar by one of the owners, albeit he be a good friend - so I enjoyed it while I could. I noted that the long black sofa behind J-Lab is pure, real-deal leather - absolutely no cheap-o, faux leather/leatherette for this wine bar. No, sir.
With my main course of Crispy Duck Leg (Confit) with Roasted Potatoes...
...I enjoyed a pair of grand cru red Burgundies from 1996.
1996 Domaine Armand Rousseau Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru Clos des Ruchottes - Bernie's bottle, from the slightly over 3 hectare northwestern climat of Ruchottes-Chambertin (bisected by a narrow road into Ruchottes du Dusses and Ruchottes du Bas), abutting the western portion of Mazis-Chambertin (i.e., Les Mazis-Haut). I understand that the Clos des Ruchottes is a monopole of Domaine Armand Rousseau (I don't know how large a clos it is though).This wine, though soft in fruit and well concentrated (typical earthy cherry, raspberry, underlying dark plum, old violets, a hint of Burgundy decay, dark spice - with a general resiny/sappy slant), had an evidently sturdy structure and acidity that jutted out noticeably. Its grip was also quite firm, to a point that it felt a bit uncomfortable. It came off as quite rustic to me - but in a charming manner - unlike many (sometimes overly) polished red Burgs I've encountered over the past 4 years. Its extremely subtle oak/wood notes are very submerged - I highly doubt much new oak was used in this (a good thing for me).
As it sat in the glass, its acidity became even more apparent and, within the fruit, emerged sour cherry and slight preserved Chinese tamarind notes (a.k.a., champuy) that followed through the finish. Somehow, judging from this bottle, I think the acids and tannin will far outlive the fruit. I appreciate, though, the opportunity to try a grand cru from this famous producer (the grands crus of which are quite rarified, to say the least).
1996 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes - The Stockbroker's bottle, from Morey-St-Denis' most famed clos, central-north in said the commune, abutting Gevrey-Chambertin. The Stockbroker said it had a bit of a musty scent to it, but I didn't notice that (I was using a huge bowl of a glass that I found difficult to sniff in). Very soft, barely medium-bodied, I, honestly couldn't get very much from it - certainly not the weight, stuffing or push expected from a grand cru of Morey-St-Denis, much less a Clos de la Roche. It was pleasant enough, though, don't get me wrong - it's just I expected much more.A slightly damaged bottle? Perhaps - but still pleasant enough and charming - nothing bothersome except that it wasn't as hefty or full as I expected, being what it is, of course. Again, however, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to try this wine and the fact that a friend chose to share it with me.
Nothing to worry, though, all these bottles are from the Stockbroker's and Bernie's personal collections and are not offered for sale in Masseto. From the bottles of California wines I saw available, there will certainly be no lack in hefty, powerful reds on the wine list.
For dessert, we had...
2005 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese - The Stockbroker's bottle, one I've had from him 3 months before, during his Chinese lunch at the Summer Palace in early September 2009. My notes then are still applicable:Bright, lively and playful. Lightly dancing on the palate with lifting acidity and minerality to its sweet peach, light honey, pear and candied lemon. Great purity and focus. Excellent sweet wine. No doubt about it.
Many thanks, my friends for sharing your wines and company; and congratulations on the new venture. Hail Masseto, long may she live!*I am in no way connected with Masseto and receive/accept no remuneration of any sort for posting on it. I paid for my lunch, we all did, and, though the wines were from Bernie and the Stockbroker, we are all friends and always share wines with each other - as my numerous entries easily and clearly bear out.
In the meantime, we chatted and had some blancos with pica-picas. It didn't take long, though, before Boozze called us into the dining room.
Don and Santi also attacked a full slab each, but, to the best of my knowledge, only Don managed to finish his all by his lonesome. Santi, valiantly though did he try, eventually shared a bit of his with Maite.
I brought a bottle each of 2007 Laxas Albariño and 2008 Bodegas Itsas Mendi Nº7 Txakoli to go with my chili-garlic prawns, as, knowing Boozze, Santi and Don, I figured there would already be more than enough Napa cab and Bordeaux rouge on deck. I wasn't wrong. Since I've written about these two favored Spanish whites so many times, I will forego repeating myself - mentioning only that the bright, dry, fruitier-styled ItsasMendi Nº7 Txakoli, I found, paired well with my prawns.
As the steaks were served, Boozze asked me what would best go. Since I love Tuscan and Piedmontese reds with grilled red meats, I, naturally pointed out the Barolo.
2001 Azienda Agricola Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Barolo - Don's bottle. This is a single vineyard Barolo (from the 14.5 hectare Falletto vineyard in the commune of Serralunga d'Alba, within the Barolo DOCG; the former wholly owned by Bruno Giacosa). As most everyone knows, 2001 was an excellent year for Barolo and Giacosa is deservedly reputed to be one of the most traditional, old-school producers of Barolo. How could I not have picked out this wine for the steak?
Next opened was another no-brainer choice for me...
1989 Château Cos d'Estournel - Again, Don's bottle, purchased for him by Dorothy during a recent trip to Hong Kong. I know I've had this not too long ago, but, this being my second post today, I can no longer find the strength to "dig" through my previous notes for comparison.
Later in the evening, after dessert and amidst a slew of stories about our children, we opened another Médoc...
2002 Château Malescot-St-Exupery - Santi's bottle. I've had this same wine once before - from Rene at 
Dessert was, well, indulgent, and I had a lot of it.
For cocktails/canapés and the initial course involving smoked salmon,...
...we had the Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Non-Vintage Brut (a.k.a., "Yellow Label") - This is the house's basic, signature non-vintage champagne - one of the more popular non-vintage bubblies served in Manila. I have found this consistently fresh, crisp, zesty and bright with telltale rounded lemony slant and slight floral and bready notes on a svelte, lightish-to-medium body.
Thereafter, with a bit of seared foie gras...
2002 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin "Vintage Rich" - The materially higher dosage of this vintage bottling makes it evidently sweeter and more complex than the brut, and, as such, a logical bubbly pairing with foie gras. There is more heft and a more rounded, creamy mouthfeel to this (with a more pronounced middle compared to the basic Yellow Label) with almond paste and white chocolate notes that indicate a good amount of fine pinot noir. Quite nice.
The soup course was a reasonably good pumpkin soup. I noted that this was not overly rich or creamy like many othe versions; it had a nice clean, gracefulness to it. Nice enough.
Next was an earthy, mushroom-laced risotto. I and the Stockbroker noted that ours were a bit too al dente, but the flavors were, nonetheless, very good. Though many reds were already opened, I paired this with...
1999 Louis Jadot Corton-Pougets Grand Cru - My bottle, one I've had a few times, the first being from Vancouver Vince during 
The main course of steak; excellent quality beef; which everyone enjoyed. It was paired with...
2002 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Rosé - I last had this at 
There were a lot of reds opened that night, but I don't think I got to ty them all. My notes on the others I did have are as follows:
2000 Le Petit Cheval - Doc's bottle. I tried this strong vintage 2nd wine of Château Cheval Blanc in early September 2006 from Bernie when I bumped into him at Je Suis Gourmand. We were having dinner with our respective families; I sent him a glass of 2004 Château de Puligny Montrachet's Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Folatières I was trying out (to see if I should buy more - and I did) and he sent me a glass of this. I didn't write any notes about it, unfortunately, but I do recall clearly that it was very concentrated, opulent, rich, meaty (hefty doses of espresso, leather and a bit of animal) and definitely full-bodied. Thus, it was great to try it again over 3 years later.
My next favorite wine of the night (together with my '99 Corton-Pougets) was the Stockbroker's...
1986 Château Lagrange (in Magnum) - The Stockbroker's bottle. I've had this a few times before but never in magnum, having opened a few bottles in 2007 - one of which I entered in our 
The surprise of the evening for me was the...
2003 Château d'Issan - I'm not sure who brought this bottle, probably the Doc since he mentioned he had some bottles of this, or maybe the Vigneron as Emmanuel Cruse is a good friend of his. I am somewhat familiar with this 3rd growth from Margaux, having tried quite a few of their vintages. I am also very fortunate to have attended 
After rounds of coffee and double espressos, most everyone trickled out leaving my wife and I to linger with the Stockbroker, Greg and Arnie. Over a few jokes and stories, I had 2 more wines: 2003 Château Haut-Bailly which I failed to photograph (and I never found out whose bottle this was); and...
2003 Château Talbot - Greg's bottle, popped-and-poured. Though still exceedingly young and tannic, I found this much more open than the 2003 Château Haut-Bailly (the latter a favored château of mine from Pessac-Léognan, which, together with Domaine de Chevalier, I consider great value for money from the appellation). Though still a little tight and restrained at this point, the 2003 Talbot showed off admirable structure and acid balance for the vintage (another notable in this regard is the 2003 Gruaud Larose) in its sleek, herb-flecked, roasted-ripe cherry/raspberry over cassis, sweetish cedar. The tannins are a bit rough and drying on the finish, but that's most likely its youth - nothing around 4-5 more years ageing shouldn't fix.
Excellent evening all around with good food, lots of fine wine and good friends. Everyone should have dinners like this all the time. Thanks to all, especially the Stockbroker for spearheading attendance to this event and organizing our table. Until the next!
...so we stated off with a bottle of...
2006 Celler Capçanes Mas Donís Rosat - I think Rene brought this, it's available at Premium Wine Exchange. From D.O. Montsant, a notably dry, predominantly grenache (80% + syrah and merlot) rosat/rosado. This is relatively hefty for a rosado, firm in its strawberry, raspberry, cherry flavors with a hint of underlying black currant.
We had a good number of bubbly, whites and rosado to choose from.
When the others trickled in, we moved to a bit of fine cava...
Bodegas Hidalgo Pastrana Single Vineyard Manzanilla Pasada - J-Lab's bottle, one we enjoyed over 
...so the tapas started to make their way to the table and whites began to pour. With the opening salvo of my favorite escalivadas (no meal in La Tienda is complete for me without this appetizer)...
2008 Naia Rueda Verdejo - Miguel's bottle, one he brought home from his most recent trip to Spain. Attractive with a nice nose that reminded me of honeysuckle over peach and green apple with a touch of freshly-cut, dewy grass, it was vibrantly mirrored on the mouth with white grapefruit hints. Fruitier middle than other Rueda verdejos I've tried. Very nice indeed, I really liked this and got several pours.
Order was restored, however, when Javi came out to see how we were doing and shared a quick glass with us.
2007 Marufuji Rubaiyat Kôshu Barrel Aged - Keiichi's bottle of course, according to him, the kôshu grape has been vinified in Japan for around 150 years but it was relatively recently that they started oak-ageing these wines. Light on the palate, quite dry, its very mild, somewhat linear white grapefruit/white mineral and citrus notes (whisper of lime) made it very food-friendly - lifting and giving the caramelized onion-stuffed squid center stage.
We also got to have a new albariño...
All either left open or decanted around 2 hours ahead of time...
We had 2 recent vintages of Bodegas Mauro Vendimia Seleccionada ("VS"), the 2004 and 2005, Miguel's and mine respectively (the latter a gift to me from Aaron since "Mauro" is my eldest son's name). We went with the logical choice and opened Miguel's 2004 - a heralded vintage and less young than mine to boot.
2004 Bodegas Mauro VS - Miguel's bottle from the Duero river valley at Tudela; this doesn't fall under the Ribera del Duero DOC. Bodegas Mauro was established and is run by Mariano Garcia and his sons. For those few unaware, Mariano Garcia was the winemaker of the legendary Vega Sicilia for over 30 years, until he left in 1998 - so these wines certainly do not lack in pedigree, cache or high ratings, and, are accordingly priced. To my sketchy knowledge, the VS bottling is just below their top of the line Terreus.
2001 Bodegas Muga Prado Enea Rioja Gran Reserva - Rene's bottle (sourced by Miguel in Spain); together with the immediately-below discussed wine, this was clearly my favorite red of the lunch. Comes off with firmer structure and better acidic balance, there is also a lot of wood, but better-integrated (it is 3 years older, after all) and not as forward. Still quite young, it is fullish in body, earthier and more savory with hints of cep and meat below the dark fruit. Admirable harmony and balance. Very, very nice.
1990 Bodegas Protos Gran Reserva - Yet another aged treat from the Stockbroker. Mellow, soft, mature, displaying bottle age-sweetened refined dark red fruit elixir (cherry, raspberry) over discreet, cassis, leather, cedar, dark spice and violets. Seamless and elegant. Wonderful to have a well-aged Ribera del Duero. Loved it. I drank it alone, enjoying the chuletón to the younger reds.
2005 Honoris de Valdubón - Aaron's bottle. I've tried this before from him at a wine dinner he hosted for 15 persons at 
I seem to recall there were one or two other reds, but, unfortunately, I wasn't able try them, or, if I did, I no longer remember. I was just having too much fun - it was a raucous lunch as usual with the Stockbroker's and Greg's stereophonic laughter resounding throughout.
1982 Bodegas Toro Alabalá Don PX Pedro Ximenez Reserva - Miguel's bottle. Very deep, mellowly rich, creamy dried figs and dark fruits, dark caramel, molasses, toffee, chocolate, vanilla, with whispers of cinnamon and anise. Mouth-coatingly full with a kilometrica finish. This is certainly on a way different level above all the other PXs I have tried before. It ran excellently with the dried dates.
What a lunch! Everything was great. Thanks to all; and, until the next!
Being on stage during most of the ceremonies to introduce each inductee with Felicia, I was, unfortunately, unable to take pictures of every single one of them as they were inducted.
Those whose solo photos I have, though are:
Naturally, Felicia and I had to, in turn, be introduced, so Mrs. Vigneron kindly did us the honor.
Thereafter, Emmanuel, as Grand Maître of the Grand Conseil, with sword in hand and uttering a few "magic lines" in French, formally inducted us into the Commanderie.
Formalities done, we all went to our seats to get down to the extremely serious business of eating and drinking.
2004 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - I drank a good bit of this at 
With the main course of roast duckbreast and pheasant...
1996 Château Lynch-Bages - I've had this many times, but, for some reason, my last notes were brief and from back in early December 2005 - too long ago to be relevant now. This is typical Pauillac and Lynch-Bages with the sturdy structure that marks the 1996 vintage. Fair depth, earthy, quietly muscular, serious in its dark, somber fruit, cedar, discreet spice, leather, touches of dark violets, "tar" and gravel. Very smooth and comforting mouthfeel, this is drinking youthfully for a 13-year old wine - a testament to its ageing capability. Then, as now, this is an excellent wine.
The cheese course with membrillo and dried fruit followed, paired with what I am sure was most everyone's most anticipated wine.
Because I enjoyed going wandering around, chatting with friends and taking pictures, I did not have my dessert - a small price to pay, and, anyway, I've been putting on weight lately, so it's not like I needed the extra calories.
Though I skipped dessert, I, of course, did not let the evening's nectar of Barsac escape me without trying a glass.
2006 Château Doisy Daëne - I've mentioned before that Doisy Daëne "is actually a Barsac wine (due to archaic political squabblings, wines from Barsac may be labeled as Sauternes but the reverse is not allowed), generally known to be less unctuous, rich and opulent compared to Sauternes, but lighter-footed and with better acidic balance and lift (an exception that immediately springs to mind is Château Climens, e.g., 1986). I've had several vintages of Doisy Daëne and found this one to be very fresh, nicely floral and well-focused with a notable acid lift/liveliness to its honeyed peach, pineapple and vanilla/oak flavors. I didn't need dessert at all - this wine was dessert in itself.
Being already conversant in the history of the estate and familiar with the Cazes family's wines, I had an interesting chat with J-M Cazes and Dave Celdran about agneau de Pauillac, the area's famed baby (milk-fed) lamb, and certain unscrupulous businessmen's attempts at passing on their inferior products as the real deal. In the meantime, some wines were already being poured:
2006 Domaine des Sénéchaux Châteauneuf-du-Pape - I first tried this over 
There being no white wines served, the 2005 Michel lynch Reserve, the least heavy among the reds present, was the logical choice to pair with the Pan-Seared Sea Scallops, Blue Cheese and Cauliflower Purée, Crisp Spanish Chorizo, Arugula and Black Truffle Oil.
2001 Château Cordeillan-Bages - This is the signature wine of Pauillac's very best hotel which boasts of a 2 Michelin star restaurant run by Thierry Marx. Cordeillan-Bages owns a tiny 2-hectare vineyard in the south of Pauillac, on the gravelly ridge of the plateau de Bages adjacent to the hotel and the wine therefrom is made by the Lynch-Bages team.
2001 Château Lynch Bages - I tried this at twice before if memory serves; surely once in an International Wine & Food Society function but I wrote no notes thereon. The 2001 harvest for the grand vin vineyards began on the 2nd of October starting with the earlier-ripening merlot with cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc following a few days later. The weather cooperated with sunny to cloudy days and high temperatures that allowed for healthy ripening.
A bracing double espresso during discussions on vine stress, vineyard density and the significance of the number of grapes on each plant brought a close to wonderful lunch. In all, it only remains to be said that we are all most fortunate to have a wide range of J-M Cazes' wines locally available through Bacchus International. In this, the essence of Pauillac, Bordeaux, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Languedoc-Roussillon is but a mere sip away.
The evening began with welcome glasses of 2 kinds of cava and Aaron's newly available albariño from Rías Baixas...
Freixenet Cordon Rosado Brut - I first tried this in 
Freixenet Cava Primer Cuvée Brut - A rather straightforward, fresh, crisp, bright and pleasant cava, this presents green apple, citrus (there's a bit of lime in there) and mere hints of pear, zesty yeasty topnote, frothy middle. Good acidity makes this come off as very fresh and cleansing. Very easy to drink a lot of this. Liked it with the mejillones (a.k.a., mussels) and croquetas.
Another fine, traditional/regional match for the mussels was...
2008 Vionta Albariño - From Rías Baixas in Galicia. I first tried this at 
Gene then stopped by our table and my wife re-introduced him to my brother-in-law who I first took to the original Café Ysabel (then on Wilson Street) when Topsy was around 9 or 10 years old. Topsy still remembers the giant chocolate chip cookies of the old Café Ysabel - that was over 20 years ago.
Gene then took the floor, welcomed everyone, introduced the new/first attendance members and guests, thanked Aaron and ADP Enterprises, and gave everyone a brief run-down of the night's menu.
The pica-picas and tapa courses done, dinner proper was served.
With some hot, freshly baked bread, we had my favorite of the evening's reds.
1999 René Barbier Gran Reserva - This is the third time I've had this wine, and I've liked it every single time. At around P1100-1200/bottle, this is an absolute steal for a good, mature Penedés tinto gran reserva. My previous notes are brief, but still applicable.
Next was a Soup of Bacalao with Cidacos White Beans...
..followed by a nice "Fideuà" of Gallo Maccheroni with Sauce Romesco with...
Cosme always used to be the one to serve Topsy in Café Ysabel back in the '90s, and until today.
2005 Château Trimoulet - A first for me. I'd never before had wine from this St-Emilion producer. At this early stage, the wine comes off as a bit rustic and old school. It exhibits typical dark plum and black cherry with minor notes of blackberry, espresso, violats, bit of cigar ash and slight spice . The wood/oak-related notes are very mild, leading me to suspect that little new oak is used in the ageing barrels and those have moderate/judicious toasting (good things for me as many seem to have gone whole hog on new oak in 2005 - probably thinking the extremely rich, ripe fruit of '05 could take a lot more of it). Nice balance, good typicity. At P2000/per bottle for a 2005 St-Emilion, it's good to go.
This was followed by my other favorite dish of the evening: Charred Lamb with Cidacos Lentil Salad & Fresh Peppercorn Sauce, paired with...
2005 Château Preuillac - Another new one for me, my first taste from this (Médoc) château. Relatively firmly structured, fleshy and definitely ripe-fruited - true to the vintage. This is obviously young and primary and, as far as I could see, was not decanted for aeration beforehand - so I don't think it was fully opened up. That said, its rounded and fleshy, almost chewy, dominant dark fruit (good amount of plumminess suggests a lot of merlot in the blend) and mild oak (like the Trimoulet, probably not much new oak used) on a slightly over medium body was quite pleasing.
Dessert then followed, an Orion Ice Cream Bombe. One doesn't get to eat the once popular bombes that often these days (the ones made in the old-style spherical molds). A pity, because I do enjoy them. With this we had...
2005 Château Romer - Yet another introductory taste for me. I've never had this producer's wine before. Rather straightforward at this point (as it is very young especially for a Sauternes) in its honeyed, moderately tangy apricot, candied lemon, canned cling peach and lightly creamy oak/vanilla notes. Good acidity, not at all cloyingly sweet. Medium-bodied, good enough focus and a user-friendly character to it. This has many years to go but is already enjoyable, especially when juxtaposed with the cold, creamy bombe.
Gene then called out his kitchen crew to receive our thanks.
I recall Greg particularly wanted to meet the one who made the lamb course. I could well understand as the lamb was my favorite dish of the evening as well.
Gene then offered us all a bonus eau de vie as a digestif...
Night deepened, encroaching on the day, most others had already taken their leave, with J-lab, my wife and I lingering with Gene over the Aqua d'Or and old stories. It was another fun evening with the WSCP thanks to Aaron and Gene. As always, until the next.
Discussions started with yet another beautifully crisp salad (with artichokes this time) and a report on the number of people attending.
Initially, it was planned that the inaugural dinner was to be for 100 people, but we wound up expanding to around 120, more-or-less, with a reported 30++ person waiting list. All of us who had committed a table of 10 each two meetings ago had already delivered and paid up. The Vigneron had delivered a lot more.
There was some nice, earthy pasta on the table, as well as a platter of seared corned beef slices. Alex offered to cook everyone up some burgers, but I declined. The foregoing was more than enough for me.
My personal favorites were the melt-in-your-mouth Smoked Magret de Canard...
...and the sinfully good seared-then-roasted foie gras. The latter, is, as I understood, a relatively new product they are selling at the Epicerie - a lot of individual single, serving-sized cuts of foie that are blast frozen and come in a resealable bag. Thus, one doesn't have to thaw and cook a whole foie every time serves it at home (like I have always done). Incredibly convenient. Easy to cook as well since you don't have to carefully slice up the foie and risk crumbling the stuff.
Per Alex and Clifford, you simply take from the bag as many slices you want each time, sear each side over medium heat until caramelized (approximately 1-2 minutes per side) and pop in a 350º oven for another minute or two. Voila - instant foie gras. The Stockbroker bought a whole bag for his wife right then and there. It is very good quality, and most convenient to have at home.
1998 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon - I think this is the first time I've tried an Aussie red from Bernie, and am sure this is the first time I've heard about this producer (not that I know much about Aussie wine). Bernie and the Stockbroker told me that it was a very Bordeaux-esque wine and could possibly be mistaken for one if tasted blind.
Bernie had one of Alex's burgers as his main course. What does a 6-term president and wine master of the International Wine & Food Society have with his burger, you may ask?
1997 Château Pavie Macquin - I do enjoy trying out so-called "off-vintage" Bordeaux from good makers - relishing finding ones that thumb their noses at professional reviewers' sweeping vintage assessments and, occasionally, precipitately dismissive notes. One such less than a year ago was a forgotten 
With the above-mentioned foie gras and as dessert, we enjoyed...
1989 Domaine André Ostertag Pinot Gris Sélection de Grains Nobles - Opulent, thick, luxuriously lush and rounded (it is botrytised after all), spicy-and-floral, sweet/honeyed kumquat, super-ripe peach, confited pear and pineapple with hefty, well-integrated vanilla/oak. Acidity was pretty much adequate, keeping the wine from being too cloyingly sweet. Very nice with the foie and well-suited as dessert in itself.
It is no secret that, though I do have very high regard for the real deal Kobe beef from Japan (it is so fatty that my palate tires after a few bites), my favorite beef is US prime-grade beef. I've tried countless others, including the touted Charolais from France (I must have eaten a lot of these white cows the first time I visited Burgundy), and, though, many are most acceptable, for me, nothing beats a thick, juicy, rare slab of US prime beef.
Our meal started off with Cured, 5 Pepper Crusted Sashimi of SRF Black Wagyu Tenderloin with Three Aïoli...
2005 Shea Wine Cellars Estate Bottled Pinot Noir - The fruit of this wine hails from Oregon's largest AVA the Willamette Valley. While I am by no means an expert at US pinot noirs, I've found those I've had from Oregon more to my personal taste than those from California. The former seems to possess generally better acid balance and the wine is not so in-your-face. Whether it is the cooler Oregon night temperature or the local winemakers' general style that is key to better acidic balance (or, at least, my impression thereof), I really wouldn't know.
2004 Bodegas Felix Callejo Reserva - A powerful, creamily oaked tinto from Ribera del Duero. I tried a bottle of this wine just a week shy of a year ago at 
...the empty bowls and quickly emptying glasses were ringing testaments to the goodness of the food, wine and marriage of the two.
This was undoubtedly my favorite dish and pairing of the evening. I knew the dish would be good - slow cooked Kurobuta belly (sous vide in this case - different from oublié au four because of the use of the vacuum-sealed plastic bag and immersion in water) then glazed under a salamander, how could it not be? Add to this a classic Teutonic touch of apple (apple cider in this case instead of the ubiquitous apple sauce), and the flavors couldn't go wrong.
I guess Peter Angliongto liked it as much as I since he seemed to be subtly hinting for more.
A Passion Fruit Granité cleansed and refreshed our palates of the pork's richness...
...to prime us for yet another indulgent dish: Grilled SRF Black Wagyu Steak and SRF Kurobuta Short Rib Hash on Roquefort Crushed Potatoes and Red Wine-Grain Mustard Mousseline.
In the interim between courses, I poured my bottle of 2001 Antinori Pian delle Vigne Brunello di Montalcino to go with the main course (after all, I had already opened it earlier in the day just to make sure it wasn't corked or otherwise damaged). Ever since 
2005 Long Shadow Vintners "Feather" Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - 100% cabernet sauvignon from Washington State. Randy Dunn is the winemaker here - I became aware of him because of Tina Caputo's short documentary entitled "Robert Parker's Bitch" (nb: made for Vineyard & Winery Management Magazine), where Dunn bravely lambasted the US Emperor of Wine (the film was made way after the 2005 vintage; Parker's Wine Advocate gave this wine a score of 93).
I took the lull before dessert as an opportunity to grab another quick smoke outside. By the time I returned, the alcohol had obviously taken its desired effect on most everyone.
Marc Aubry then walked in donning an elaborately designed shirt. I only then realized it was the first time I've seen him not dressed in his chef's whites. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of him.
Trio of 101 Desserts: Panna Cotta on Raspberry Coulis, Hazelnut Macaron with Frangelico Ganache and Green Tea Opera Cake. Those who dine with me regularly know well that I normally take just one or two small bites of dessert before abandoning it for a double espresso. However, I finished every bit of the above trio - all except for the chocolate base painted on the plate - and only because it was too difficult to scrape it all off without endangering the plate.
...2007 Csányi Pincészet Villány Prestige Cuvée, a Hungarian wine, the first red wine I have ever tried from Hungary. It was really not to my taste, and, apparently, everyone else's as I that saw nobody drank down their glasses of it.
1990 Tenute Cisa Asinari Dei Marchesi Di Gresy Camp Gros Martinenga Barbaresco - The Stockbroker's bottle. Dense, rich, very ripe, soft, somewhat meaty, jammy violets-and-old rose infused dark fruit/black cherry compote, hints of dried fig, truffles, aged balsamico, leather, well-integrated oak. Undoubtedly full-bodied, concentrated, deeply extracted, stylish, very broad, generous and expansive. Very round and hefty middle, velvety-molten tannins, good enough complexity, with a long, strong finish.
1998 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia Serralunga d'Alba - Miguel's bottle, brought home from his most recent trip to Piedmont for sure. Comes off with more typicity with brighter acidity, firmer structure (than the preceding wine - this is a Barolo after all) to its drier, more minerally, less fruit-forward character. Less dense, not as big or rich and lighter-footed than the preceding wine; there is no jamminess to its dark fruit, violets, black coffee, leather, "tar" and slight licorice/dark spice. Very fragrant, with clean and neat lines and admirable purity. Drinking very well now, but can undoubtedly gracefully age for many, many more years.
1989 Château Lagrange - Aaron's bottle. I know I've had it since then, but the last time I opened a bottle of this was over lunch with Miguel, Rene and Santi at Je Suis Gourmand during our 
2006 Mueggen Passito di Pantelleria (Salvatore Murana) - Miguel's bottle. Wild flowers and honeyed dried apricots, sultanas and concentrated cling peach. It is, of course, sweet and rich, but with good depth. Though I do like the Italian passitos I've tried before, they all seemed a bit simple to me. This is different in that there is a bit of complexity to this and it is notably graceful. Very nice indeed.
1999 Pio Cesare Barbaresco - Greg's bottle, popped and poured. Very classically cut Barbaresco, clean lines, well-defined, well-focused and firmly structured. A bit tight and austere initially, but it fleshed out a bit in the glass with added truffle, violets and a touch of meat in its tar-infused, darkly spiced black cherry on a body halfway between medium and full. Not anywhere as complex or deep as the above Martinenga Barbaresco or Cascina Francia Barolo, not as stylish as the 2001 Michele Chiarlo Barbaresco, but has notable typicity and is, undoubtedly, well-crafted old-school Barbaresco.
