The Stockbroker's Blind Cabernet Sauvignon Tasting.

Lunch today was back in Old Manila for the Stockbroker's Blind Cabernet Sauvignon Tasting. He, yet again, generously provided all the wines except for the welcome bubbly which J-Lab graciously supplied. All 6 reds were primarily made from cabernet sauvignon served blind, 2 from Bordeaux, 3 from well-known wine -producing regions and 1 from a country where wine is not traditionally made (hereafter referred to as the "outsider wine").

The Stockbroker's challenge for the group was to identify the Bordeaux and the outsider wines.

We were 10 in all including our host, the latter, of course, knowing what the wines were, but not which was which when served. It was a mixed group of the usual suspects with a few new suspects joining the fray: the Stockbroker, J-Lab, Keiichi, Johnny (who caught up later for the tasting), Arnie, Vince, Selina, Aaron, Greg and I. A recap of the clues we received on the reds:

1. All were predominantly cabernet sauvignon;


2. All were Parker rated around 91;


3. 2 were from Bordeaux (later he let on that 1 was Château Pavie Decesse); and,


4. 1 was from a country not generally known to produce wine.

NB: Since it was a big and fun group/gathering, I didn't/couldn't concentrate on the wines as much as I could or usually would. Thus, my notes will be much briefer than usual, but I endeavoured to capture their general characteristics nonetheless.

We kicked things off with a couple of bottles of...

Piper Heidsieck Champagne Brut NV - from J-Lab, as earlier mentioned, who so thoughtfully shared two bottles with us from the entire stock of Forth & Tay that he purchased (hindi man lang nagtira para sa amin).

I got to try this around a week-and-a-half ago from him at Aaron's Burgundy lunch at Sala. My notes then were as follows:

The champagne was appetizingly dry, presenting clean, lively and mildly yeasty/bready fresh green apple and Korean Iya pear notes. It's mousse was fine and it had a very pleasant character in its lightish frame. Very charming, and very good price-to-quality ratio (QPR) at only around P1800 per bottle from Forth & Tay. At said price, it is an absolute no-brainer to purchase in my book.

I add now that the wine has a nice, mildly creamy middle with a lively bready/slightly yeasty finish - a very enjoyable apéritif indeed!

Three sauvignon blancs were then simultaneously served, which I enjoyed with my lobster appetizer:

2006 Honig Rutherford Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (Napa) - J-Lab tasted ahead of me and immediately noted that it received material oak ageing. He was right. It was flowery and had a distinct, but not overly obtrusive, touch of vanilla/oak in the nose and palate. Rounder, heftier than the following whites, a touch creamy, with a well-ripened and tropical character to its fruit. Nice with my lobster dish.

2007 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) - A wine I've had over lunch at CAV with the Stockbroker, Keiichi and James on 12 February 2009. My notes then were as follows:

I've much liked Cloudy Bay's sauv blancs ever since I first tried it at Mom-Tri's Boathouse in Phuket, February 2003 (before the tsunami hit), with my wife, Tonji, Sylvia and our host, JP. I recall it was terribly hot and humid; Tonji, I and JP were a bit dehydrated from 18 holes in Blue Canyon. The cool, crisp, clean white was a perfect apéritif. I can't remember the vintage of that first one, but I believe I've had the vintages 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, and, today, the 2007.

This wine was typical Cloudy Bay sauv blanc, gooseberries, slight ripe grapefruit, hints of citrus, fresh cut grass and minerals. Riper, gentler, calmer than most vintages I've tried in the past, the gooseberries and grass didn't jut out like before - but well integrated and comparatively subtle. Very nice.

My previous notes remain applicable. I noted that, of the three sauv blancs this lunch, the Cloudy Bay displayed the most gooseberry and grass. Nicely lean and clean.

2007 Casa Marin Laurel Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc (San Antonio Valley, Chile) - Flowery sweet guava notes and a nuance of glue (Aaron thinks varnish) dominated its forward/open aromas after time in the glass. It was much closer in character/style to the Honig, but a tad sweeter with a touch of passion fruit on the guava palate.

Then came the reds which I tasted along with my thick and juicily rare rib-eye steak.

My own notes:

Wine #1 - Sweet fruit, toffee, oak, dense and syrupy, but somehow managed to not come off as overly heavy or ponderous.

Wine #2 - Coconut cream, toffee, cinnamon, less dense and syrupy than Wine # 1.

Wine #3 - Coffee, espresso, cinnamon, toasty/spicy oak, thickish but not syrupy.

Wine # 4 - Not California. Bordeaux? Barely medium, lightest of all. Lean, austere, tea leaves, cassis. Very lean.

Wine # 5 - Nicely balanced. Bordeaux.

Wine #6 - Different in nose. Very oaky with gamey/animal/meaty character most apparent in the nose. This one is the most different from the rest.

No, I am not above posting pictures of people mid-mouthful.

When all ballots were in, J-Lab tallied and the group's collective results were that Wines #s 4 & 6 were the ones from Bordeaux and Wine # 4 was voted as the outsider (I know, weird, but we were an even number of voters). With that, the reds were then revealed.

Wine #1 - 1998 Leewin Art Series Margaret Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Australia)

Wine #2 - 1999 Viader Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley, California)

Wine #3 - 1998 Château Pavie Decesse (St-Emilion, Bordeaux)

Wine #4 - 2004 Takahata Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Unfiltered (Japan)

Wine #5 - 2001 Château Léoville Barton (St-Julien, Bordeaux)

Wine #6 - 2001 Almaviva (Chile)

Only our host, the Stockbroker, was able to correctly identify both Bordeaux wines. Most everyone else got one right. Arnie and Greg at first guessed both right, but they both changed one of their choices in their final votes. I recall Aaron was able to nail the Château Pavie Decesse as a St-Emilion.

In hindsight, though I was able to identify the Léoville Barton as a Bordeaux, I should have remembered the clue that all wines were Parker-rated 91 and above - that would have tipped me off that Wine #4 could not possibly have been such a Bordeaux as I thought it to be a very middling and overly lean one - something Parker would surely not give such score to. Looking now at my notes on Wine #3, the Pavie-Decesse, a merlot-based wine, they read typically like mine of a modern-styled St-Emilion.

In any event, it was a learning experience, and a mighty fun one at that, as raucous laughter and ribbing ensued. We were very rowdy. I felt bad for the people at the other tables...

...but not enough to stop enjoying the company.

Heaven knows what the Stockbroker and Selina were up to in the following shot. J-Lab looks positively overwhelmed.

I'd like to be able to say all the mirth was in good, clean, wholesome fun, but, with Arnie's jokes, that is simply not a possibility.

Good thing that the restaurant emptied out not long after. It was the group consensus that it was one particular person's booming, monotone laughter that drove all the other customers away, but, polite and discreet as I am, I will not name names.

The merry-making was further sweetened by some bonus glasses of rich, concentrated, opulently showy 2003 Château Coutet.

Johnny came lately from taping, in full telenovela-idol-esque attire...

...and tasted through the reds...

...coming up with, as I recall, the same results as I.

A round of much deserved applause followed in appreciation of our generous host.

Vince, a staunch supporter of screwed-up...este...screw-capped wines, was caught red-handed taking the corks home for his collection...

...prompting the Stockbroker to demonstrate truly the best use for screw-caps:

It was an absolutely hilarious lunch, as well as a fun-filled and challenging tasting. Many thanks to the Stockbroker for thinking this up, organizing the tasting/lunch and sharing his wines (to J-Lab too, of course, for the bubbly). I haven't laughed that long and hard for quite a while. Superb way to end a work-week.