A Pigeon and A Pichon.

Was treated to lunch today at Choi's Garden, a new Chinese restaurant I'd been hearing good things about - specifically, it serves good roast pigeon with toasted salt - one of my favorite Cantonese dishes. Who better to have a good Cantonese lunch with than IWFS directors Oscar Ong (who hosted the lunch) and Bernie Sim (who brought the red wine)?

With the shrimp and dim sum courses, I opened yet another 1997 Tokay Pinot Gris Comtes d'Eguisheim by Léon Beyer (which I set aside when having the excellent shark's fin soup so I could concentrate on the soup's delicately complex flavors and textures).

With the pigeon (which, I must say, was likely the best I've had in the Philippines), Bernie opened a 1990 Pichon Baron - Beautiful bouquet of ripe, sweet red cherry/raspberry/kirsch/camphor/cedar over warm, earthy cassis with touches of menthol, graphite, licorice, truffle and violets. A handsome dark ruby-red wine that flowed languidly in the glass, it displayed its generously ripe flavors in exquisite layers. Multi-faceted, complex, healthy extraction (but not overdone) and most admirable balance. Luscious mouthfeel, it exists for sheer enjoyment. A textbook in hedonism without being loud, heavy-handed or over-the-top.

I must note, as well, that it wears its almost 18 years superbly. Not even a hint of tiring here.

Some may recall that I've always had difficulties with pairing Chinese food with red wine. Well, I must bow to the master. I felt that Bernie's red was a wonderful match with the pigeon. The wine had enough power not to get lost in the pigeon's juicy, oily richness yet did not over power the same. The lush, sweet ripeness served as a wonderful counterpoint to the dish's earthy-and-salty savor.

I've never experienced such a wonderful pairing of red wine with Chinese food. If that were not enough, it was a pairing with one of my favorite Chinese dishes.

Many, many thanks guys. I'll always remember this lunch.