Some Wines: 11-21 April 2008, Mostly Burgs and a '66 Palmer

Lunch of April 11 at Aubergine:

1997 Jadot Morey St Denis - with Robert Burroughes and Lawrie Martin, after yet another well-chilled bottle of '99 H.Bourgeois Sancerre "La Bourgeoise" (can't seem to get enough of the stuff lately) with a bowl of excellent prawn bisque. I've posted on the '97 Jadot Morey St Denis late last February and those old notes state:

The cork was absolutely pristine and the wine immediately offered up a seductive bouquet perfumed with violets and the slightest hint of vanilla cream. Wide open and generous, ripe dark cherry and raspberriy layers dominated the palate with, again, slight undertones of violets, and, some plumminess underneath, all on a lushly curved medium body.

This wine had a feminine touch and delicacy to it, unlike the earthier, masculine Dujacs previously mentioned. Focus could have been much better and the flavors did display some separation towards the back. Length was adequate at best. Still and all, it was a very enjoyable bottle, and, at around the equivalent of $55 for an immediately available Morey St-Denis fix, I cannot reasonably complain. On the contrary, I am going back for more.

What I can clarify is that, though feminine compared to the Dujac's Morey St of the same year, this wine still maintains the fuller, earthy, somewhat rustic charcter of Morey St Denis. Smooth but not, say, truly refined, neither ethereal nor "aristocratic" (for lack of a better word) - which I do not look for in Morey St Denis anyway. Still, very enjoyable with my seared magret. Purchased at Bacchus Int'l at around P2600 before discount.

Dinner, 18th April, again at Aubergine: a 1999 Jadot Chambolle-Musigny and a 1966 Château Palmer.

1999 Jadot Chambolle-Musigny - After a generous, well-rounded, oaky, typical '04 Saintsbury "Brown Ranch" Carneros Chardonnay with the first two courses (from Premium Wine exchange at around Php2800 before discount - my wife really likes this stuff so I most always have some on hand). This unassuming village Chambolle-Musigny had definite charm in its supple, lithe mid-medium-body. Cherry, strawberry, some wild red berries dominate with very subtle dark plum and dark berry undertones and mild brown spice notes. Decent length to its finish, moderate complexity.

What struck me most about this wine was how flavorsome it could be on such a proportionately light frame. Much smaller-boned than the above-mentioned Morey St Denis, less emphasis on the middle, more of a consistent performance from attack to finish and very noticeably more refined in over-all character.

Purchased at the Bacchus Int'l at around Php3200 before discount, I think it is a good deal for an immediately available Chambolle-Musigny and would definitely buy again.

I had it with an, unfortunately, less-than-stellar stuffed quail main course. Be it as it may, the Chambolle-Musigny was a fair match for the quail but would be too delicate for a roast pigeon or even duck I'd expect. I, personally, favor Morey St Denis with pigeon.


1966 Château Palmer - This bottle was brought by Mike T. I don't get to see much of him or Anne or the rest of this group these days, maybe a 2-3 times a year at most, but it is always most enjoyable when I do. After successive daughters, they finally have a son, hence, I expect, this special occasion bottle - one from his birthyear, a gift from his younger brother.

Not decanted, I had it opened and let it stand until our main courses were all served. The cork was intact, not crumbly or brittle, though a bit wet. Occasional sniffs from the bottle confirmed it to be fine. It smelled as it should, no off odors at all, even immediately after opening, so I did not decant lest its bouquet tragically dissipate.

Once poured, it was easy to tell it was an old wine - clear, medium-dark brick-red, gradually turning more red-orange towards the rim, with tinge of mahogany. As I've said before, with old wines (say 30 years and up), individual flavors have melded and fused so much that I find it terribly difficult to breakdown the flavors on the palate. But, as always, I will give it a shot.

Its bouquet was a properly reserved (i.e., as opposed to overly showy or mindlessly obvious) perfume of sweet, old violets, cream, some rose, over discreet dark fruit and a hint of cherry. Medium bodied aspiring to full; texturally, a fine, light silken elixir of pure dark cherry essence over discreetly earthy cassis, violets, mere whispers of dark spice. Pure elegance, complex, contemplative and seductive. This is the kind of wine that doesn't attempt to bowl one over with buxom curves; rather, it beckons, with a hint of its charms, the taster to delve deeper - to explore and further discover its exquisite favors.

Excellent wine.

Last night (April 21) at CAV with the Doc, Edouard, Miguel and our wives: 2001 Jadot Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru and 1996 Jadot Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru.

CAV is a restaurant and wine bar that has undoubtedly the most customer-friendly wine prices in Metro Manila with mark-ups at a fraction of retail cost (approximately 30%-40%) - as compared to the usual 200% to 300% of most all other restaurants. Aside from an impressive enough cellar with many marquee names from Tuscany, Bordeaux and california, it also has one of those new-fangled machines that dispenses wines by the glass and, by the use of some gas injected automatically in each bottle after each pour, is claimed to keep wines from oxidizing for several days. Its kitchen is overseen by Marcus, who has run many of my most favored restaurants in the past, and the food is good and very reasonably priced.

2001 Jadot Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru - My bottle, purchased at Bacchus Int'l at Php6100 before discount. Initially austere/tight aromas/flavors of white minerals, toasty oak, clean/fresh not-quite-ripe apple/honeydew and a whisper of vanilla-like lees opened up and broadened (comparatively much more on the palate than in the nose) as the wine warmed down (I had it placed in a bucket of ice-water and mingled with some people a bit too long).

It was a right proper Corton Charlemagne to me, unlike those from hotter or more famous recent vintages. Firm yet gentle, the fruit took more of a somewhat baked/creamy nuance as the wine broadened in glass, the toasty oak and leesy notes stepping to the background. Decent length, its leesy notes trailing behind the mellow fruit. Over-all, it is a nice, competent Corton Charlemagne, one that will, in my opinion, probably improve over the next 2-3 years.

A quick look at http://www.wine-searcher.com shows this to go for US$104 in Ithaca, NY. Considering 1-2 day delivery costs and air-freight to the Philippines, the resulting price difference between importing and buying locally becomes pretty negligible. If one likes Corton Charlemagne, this will do very nicely.

1996 Jadot Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru – The Doc’s bottle. Lots of finesse in this medium-bordering-on-full-bodied wine. There seemed to be comparatively more dark/black fruit/berry/plum than red (cherry, red currant, raspberry), as well as notes of kirsch, the faintest hint of cola, and dark spice to this dark, warming wine. Unquestionably (but not unexpectedly) more heft, breadth and complexity than the aforementioned village Chambolle-Musigny and Morey St Denis – good as they were.

It may be a bit of a stretch, but it was something like a more muscular combination of the two, more masculine and earthy than the Chambolle-Musigny yet lighter on its feet than the Morey St Denis and (like the Chambolle-Musigny) seemingly more generous in flavor than one would expect from its aspiring-to-full body. Very nice, indeed.

I had it with a seared magret de canard over risotto topped with a whorl of crispy, ultra thin strands of fried potatoes. I must mention that the crisp of the potato whorl gave this somewhat ubiquitous dish a great contrast in texture and, perforce, made it memorable. Nice touch.

We couldn't leave without trying out the wine-dispensing machine, so the Doc and I shelled out around Php2800 (approximately US$70) each for half a glass each of the 1994 Château Margaux after dinner. Edouard kept trying to dissuade us saying it would not be worth the price, but we didn't listen. I, personally, wanted to compare it to the '94 Angelus and '94 La Mission Haut Brion the Doc and I recently had.

While I do not think it fair to evaluate a wine from a dispensing machine (no matter how good the machine is claimed to be), for what it may be worth, I will factually describe it as: a wine with interesting dark spicy notes to its cedar and camphor laced nose; barely full-bodied, the fruit seems a bit unripe, tannins a bit green, fruit a tad too unripe, good minerality, hints of violets, clean feel. Aside from the somewhat drying tannins, I detected a disturbing, kind of metallic nuance to the wine as a whole.

We were far from impressed. The Doc thought the wine was a bit oxidized. Edouard couldn't help but say "I told you so". Not having had this wine from a full, fresh bottle, I will reserve final judgment until I do - if that ever happens. Admittedly, this experience makes me reluctant to buy this wine. Finding out if it was really the wine or the machine hardly seems worth the US$300+ and up for a bottle.