Dinner at Home: 16th March 2009.

Yesterday was my mom's 1st death anniversary (coincidentally also the 3rd of Mrs. Doc's father, who is my wife's uncle). We keep things simple in my family, so we were to just attend mass in the evening and my immediate family would have dinner at the house. This meant leaving the office early as my wife had to be back to prepare our paella, so, after two meetings, we headed back southward. The dinner menu my father wanted was Spanish inspired:

Paella

Grilled Prawns

Lengua Estofado

Callos á la Madrileña

Paella

Grilled Prawns with Lemon Butter Sauce

Lengua Estofado (I failed to get a close up of the Callos)

With the paella and grilled prawns, I served an old reliable rosado:

2007 Homenaje Rosado (Bodegas Marco Real, Navarra) - I've mentioned this old reliable rosado many times throughout my blog, and it is as consistent as it is good. I "discovered" it sometime in early 2008 while having a multi-tapas lunch with my wife and kids at Terry's Segundo Piso and have gone through so many bottles of it I've long lost count.

As you can see, it is a clear, translucent celebratory cherry-red. Served properly chilled, this simple, honest, straightforward rosé will easily charm you with its fresh, clean, dry, virtually crisp, well-focused dominant flavors of (in order of prominence) ripe strawberry, raspberry, light hint of cherry. Definitely dangerously drinkable.

I really should stock up on a lot of this stuff for the summer - before my foodie and wino friends beat me to it and Terry's runs out of it again.

With the heavier lengua and callos dishes, I served...

2001 Beronia Rioja Reserva - I quickly grabbed a couple of bottles of this off the shelf of Terry's last I was there, thinking it was the 2001 Grand Reserva I so enjoyed from Johnny R a few weeks ago at our first kokotxas dinner. It was only when I got home that I realized that what I grabbed was the Reserva instead of the Gran Reserva. No matter, thought I, it just meant (assumedly) comparatively shorter oak ageing (a good thing for me) and, likely, earlier maturing (which I have no problem with at all).

After approximately 30 minutes in a decanter and another 15 minutes in my glass, this displayed aromas of dark fruit with trace nuances of meat, balsamico, leather and licorice, cedar, slightly toasty oak/vanilla, hint of cinammon, slight topnotes of strawberry and cherry. Could use just a touch more of acidity, but, in all, I enjoyed it a lot. At approximately P1400 per bottle before discount, it's a great deal.

In the mouth, it was entertainingly rounded, supple, warm and comforting, with healthy extraction and concentration (not anywhere near over-the-top). Good, plumpish middle, admirable mouthfeel and heft in its just-over-medium body. Moderately ripe dark fruit, plum, bit of tobacco and licorice, well-integrated vanilla/oak dominate with highlights of black cherry and strawberry.

My brother and sis-in-law felt that it paired exceptionally well with the callos.

Dessert was a bunch of some sort of over-sized profiteroles that my sister brought. My kids seemed to like them well enough, but, then, most kids will tend to like any dessert involving cream and chocolate. Mine do, anyway.


We didn't linger long after a few double espressos since it was a work/school day the next day. It was good to get together in Mom's memory.

¡De Nuevo Con Vds., La Tienda!: 14 March 2009.

Within a couple of days after the our Kokotxas a La Tienda dinner, the Stockbroker requested a repeat performance of chef Javi's menu since he enjoyed it so much (since that night, the former has been on a Spanish wine roll). I, thus, requested Miguel to arrange for the requested dinner for Saturday the 14th of March, which he immediately did though he was on a business and eating binge in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, Miguel was at the beach over the weekend and my wife was at a family meeting, so both were unable to join us. That left 10 of us to enjoy Javi's creations with a whole lot of (mostly) Spanish wines.

In addition to perennial favorites escalivadas, fresh boquerónes and pulpo a la Gallega, Doc also ordered some angulas, while Mrs. Doc added some gambas al ajillo - all of which were quickly wiped out con much gusto. With these appetizers, we had...

2002 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling- Spätlese (Magnum) - The Doc's first magnum of the evening. White flowers and minerals infused sweet white peach, pear and apple on the nose, laced with a whisper of petrol. Doc opened it as our apéritif, much to everyone's obvious delight. I know Mrs. Doc specially favors Haag's rieslings, and Eric, Keiichi and Bernd expressed their great appreciation for it as well. The magnum disappeared virtually in a trice, with requests for more. What better compliment could there be?

The aromas were freshly and brightly mirrored on the palate on a clean, light body. Great purity, focus and definition. A touch sweet, but well balanced by its minerality and acidity. Lip-smackingly juicy wine indeed with nice playfulness.

2007 Laxas Albariño - My bottle, I simply cannot have Javi's pulpo a la Gallega, boquerónes and escalivadas without some good Rias Baixas (Galicia) albariño - they just wouldn't be the same without it (especially the pulpo since it is a typical/regional Galician pairing). I've written about this recently, comparing it to the 2006 version. My notes, still applicable, are as follows:

Fresh, bright, crisp, vibrant mineral/flint touched, slightly grassy green apple, guava, grapefruit, gooseberry and a bit of ripe lemon. Healthy acidity lends good lift despite the apparent ripeness of the fruit. Lively and dryly refreshing wine. As a match with the fresh boquerónes, it was perfect.

I add now, that the 2007 seems just ever so slightly bigger yet gentler in fruit than the 2006 and has an added nuance of almond infused into the fruit -
very enjoyable albariño and great money-for-value. I will make sure to purchase
more of this for the house (available at Terry's at P750 per bottle retail) to
pair with seafood meals.

I also opened a 2007 Condado Laxas, also available at Terry's at P975 full retail. Made up of a blend of albariño, loureira and treixadura, this wine is supposed to be an older style of Galician white. I over chilled it at first, so my first few sips were a bit muted, particularly compared to the previous, pure albariño. After a bit of warming down and breathing, it opened up with subtle white grapefruit, straw, waxy apple, citrus and a touch of white minerality.

Less fruit-driven than the albariño, seemingly less balancing acidity, comparatively less edgy, nervous but more relaxed and plush in mouthfeel. I would enjoy this more alone as an apéritif or as a casual mid-afternoon sip; but would prefer to eat with the albariño.

Kokotxas and Besugo al Horno

As the 2 paellas (Squid Ink and Verduras), excellently medium-rare chuleton and a bowlful of spicy red peppers in olive oil made their way to the table, the reds started to pour.

Noteworthy as well were the fries accompanying the chuleton, which drew compliments (as well as several helpings) from Keiichi. I recall the Vigneron also mentioned that the fries were particularly good last time we were at La Tienda together.

I was enjoying myself so much, I forgot to take pictures of all the dishes.

1973 Berberana Rioja Reserva - Bernd's bottle, one he had to take great care in opening as Spanish corks, in my experience, do not age very well over decades.

Though the cork was a bit soaked and dangerously crumbling, Bernd managed to slowly coax around 4/5s of it out before the last fifth broke off inside. Fortunately, La Tienda's Jojie deftly pulled the rest of it out, without any cork bits falling into the wine.

The wine wore it's aged mahogany tinged red with a quiet dignity. A couple of deep sniffs revealed it to be still in form given its over 35 years in age.

I used to buy this very same wine from Säntis in the late '90s and correctly guessed that Bernd did as well - the difference being that he kept some bottles to age even more. Pervasive pruney touch to old strawberry, plum, cedar, violets and mere whispers of tobacco and licorice would sum up this wine fairly. Medium-bodied, smoothly mellow, more than fully mature - to be enjoyed now and soonest. A good, old Rioja. I greatly enjoyed this and was very happy to be able to drink it again. Nostalgia in a glass.

2003 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes (Magnum) - The Doc's second magnum for the evening, frome Southern Rhône, one of two none-Spanish reds that evening. It had been poured early on, but, given my initial sip, I waited for the chuleton to continue drinking this.

From the heavily influential 2003 vintage, this tasted to me like a very modern CdP: high alcohol, very ripe, extracted and concentrated with spicy black cherry, kirsch, blackberry, blueberry and minor notes of raspberry, underbrush, slight anise and lavender.

It hit me pretty hard at the initial sip so I let it aerate in my glass for quite a while to let it subside a bit. I noted this morning, while looking at the picture of the bottle that it discloses 14%-16% abv and is, consequently, properly (and somewhat ironically) labeled as a dessert wine.

2006 Chryseia Douro P+S - The Stockbroker's bottle, from the Douro area of Portugal, a joint venture involving the Prats family of Cos d'Estournel fame. In all honesty, I really didn't know what to make of this wine. The youthfully alcoholic nose reminded me of that of a young dornfelder I tried a few years ago.

For lack of better terms, I describe the aromas as somewhat "plasticene" plums, dark red fruit, metal, lots of dark spice and minerals, licorice notes and generous oak/wood. Very primary, but that's hardly surprising considering its youth.

In the mouth, it was incredibly penetrating, bold, extracted and concentrated with grapey fresh, ripe plum, dark fruit and spice - the plasticene and hefty mineral character following on the palate but a bit subsided past mid-mouth. Still exceedingly young, fresh and a bit disjointed at present - a very curious wine for me indeed.

This would surely please those that go for the pedal-to-the-metal, no-holds-barred style of wine. I'd like to try this after several years to see how it goes.

2000 Clos Mogador - Eric's bottle, from one of the 5 makers who, along with Alvaro Palacios et al., put Priorat on the world's wine map.

Deeply veined, quietly intense, mellowly warm. Big, smoothly muscled, calmly self-assured. It presents a melange of softly ripe, molten black and dark red fruit with minerals, licorice, black asphalt and slight cedar notes on a well-structured, hefty 14.5% abv frame. The high alcohol content, however, is not very apparent - in any event, the wine carries it off quite well. Despite its average focus and complexity, I found it quite pleasing.

There is also a general earthiness here that I found comforting after the previous young wine. Good balance despite being slightly top-heavy. Good Priorat, not one that is over-the-top or clumsily big and blocky like many I've tried.


2001 Mayor de Ondarre Reserva Rioja - Keiichi's bottle. From familiar Rioja and a very good vintage at that. After Bernd's old, nostalgic Rioja, I initially thought I would find this difficult to drink, but I was mistaken.

This seemed quite ready to drink at this point, and, if I were asked to sum up this wine in a single word, I would have to say that it is a "correct" wine: good typicity, precise balance of fruit, wood and acidity. The base flavor is dark berry/fruit, with topnotes of strawberry, Spanish cedar and a hint of mint. There is also a discreet, underlying tobacco leaf nuance to the dark fruit base and a general, but well-integrated, spicy woodiness to this as a whole.

There are no fireworks or parade to see here; rather, a readily pleasing, competent and correct Rioja reserva.

Sometime in the midst of tasting the latter three reds, Mrs. Doc asked that the Stockbroker's bottle of Cerdon de Bugey Caveau du Mont St-July be chilled and opened. As I drink much, much slower than all the other guys and had yet to finish getting acquainted with the reds, I passed on this fresh and simply joyful poulsard and gamay based rosé bubbly from France's Jura region (near the Swiss Alps). I've written repeatedly about this very affordable yet pleasure-filled, dangerously drinkable, fresh strawberry flavored bubbly. Everyone loves this stuff and it is always fun to drink.

Breaking out this fun bubbly was, actually, more timely than one would have imagined since I'm sure many needed some palate cleansing and refreshing by this time, and, it was more in the spirit of things as the resident "Trio los Panchos" started striking up lively songs that brought some expat-diners to their feet for a bit of alcohol-induced dancing and some good-natured silliness...

...much to everyone's delight.

Come to think of it, of the five times I've been to La Tienda in the past five months, I've found myself enjoying myself greatly every single time. Not only do I love Javi's well-executed Spanish favorites and some hard-to-come-by typical dishes from the Catalan, Galician and Basque regions, but also because the general atmosphere of La Tienda never fails to bring a festive feeling to us all.

All these, surely, will keep us coming back for more. I'm most grateful to Miguel for re-introducing us to the many pleasures La Tienda has to offer, as well as arranging all our fun-filled dinners there. ¡Salud!

"Over the Hill" Japanese Lunch.

It's been over a week since I last posted. It's not that I haven't been drinking or eating out, though. There was a birthday dinner at Choi Garden on Saturday Feb 28th; the IWFS annual members' meeting at Alliance Française that saw several wines ('99 Siran, '94 Pontet Canet, '95 Beaucastel Châteauneuf du Pape, etc., with the traditional IWFS AGM couscous dinner) Monday the 2nd March; Lunch at Je Suis Gourmand on Friday the 6th ('06 Domaine du Colombier Crôzes Hermitage Blanc, '01 Daniel Rion Clos Vougeot); couscous dinner with the wife and kids again at Je Suis Gourmand the next day, Saturday the 7th, with some nice Rhône rosé (the name and vintage of which escapes me); and, a healthy dinner at my dad's place nearby on Monday the 9th with fresh salad, mediterranean vegetable spaghetti, grilled giant prawns, etc., washed down with a fresh '07 Marqués de Riscal Verdejo.

It's just that, sometimes, I just need a break from concentrating on the wines, food and pairings, taking down notes and transcribing them, editing the pictures and everything else. Besides, I've already written about most of the wines I've had recently. Well, over a week is time enough, and I am now refreshed for blogging anew - and just in time, due to yesterday's lunch (10th March) at Toki, a very good and very reasonably priced Japanese restaurant located at the 2nd Floor of the 32nd and 5th Building, 5th Avenue cor. 32nd Street, Fort Bonifacio (same building and floor as Aubergine).

The theme of the lunch, curiously enough was "over-the-hill", i.e., bring wines that may be over the hill. Strange - like Oliver Twist asking for more gruel. I had told Bernd and J-Lab much earlier that I'd just bring bubbly or white (not over the hill) considering we'd be having Japanese cuisine. I just couldn't bear the thought of opening an aged red for pairing with the sushi, tempura and cold udon I intended on eating (I generally don't eat chicken at all, and don't really order any beef in Japanese restaurants unless I'm with my children - in which case, steak teppanyaki is a forgone conclusion).

I arrived late due to the traffic and was welcomed by a chilled glass of...

Duval-Leroy Champagne Rosé de Saignée Brut NV - from Bernd, which I also had with my starter of assorted nigiri sushi (I can't remember the price of this item, but it was very affordable, good and quite generous in size, as one can see). This was quite a visually attractive rosé bubbly, with exuberant frothiness in the mouth and a discreet strawberry and raspberry dominance over red beet, currant, with ever-so-slight nuances of rhubarb and caraway seed (especially towards the back). Very pleasant, pleasingly straightforward. Definitely a nice start for lunch.

As regards the pairing, the red fruit, I felt, interfered with the flavors of the fresh fish. Better off with a dry white bubbly, in my opinion. No problem, though, I just drank it before continuing with my sushi.

With my main course of Ebi Tempura with Cold Udon (it is summer after all), though reds already started pouring, I mainly had...

1999 Duval-Leroy Champagne Blanc de Chardonnay - My bottle. I first tried this 100% chardonnay-based bubbly as an apéritif on the 10th December 2008 at home, the bottle then from Bernd. My notes on that bottle were as follows:

This bubbly was open, generous and particularly lively, with a fine, persistent mousse and delightfully pronounced toasty brioche to its whitely floral, ripe apple, slight apricot profiles. Whispers of candied fruit, white minerality and oak as well. In a fuller style than most blanc de blancs I've had, I could have
sworn it wasn't pure chardonnay, but, then, no champagne expert am I. An excellent way to start the evening, in any event, it was wonderful with the terrine of foie gras.

The bottle at the subject lunch, however, seemed more typically blanc de blancs, dominated by apple, bread, yeast, bit of grapefruit, showing toastiness and brioche mainly past mid-mouth, encouraged with a bit of a "gargle". Notably tight (as also noted by J-Lab) compared to my previous taste of it. Nicely dry with good edge and cut. A subsequent pour that was allowed to sit for a while showed marginally more openness, depth and complexity and a finish touched with hints of spiced dark fruitcake.

~oOo ~

The Reds

1989 Château Ducru Beaucaillou - Keiichi's bottle, from a château and appellation he personally favors. Ducru Beaucaillou is a 2nd Growth from St-Julien, a town I've both visited and driven through quite a few times. 1989, in my opinion, is a very good vintage, more classically austere and masculine than the ripely sweetish and materially more fruit-driven, approachable and hyped 1990 (which I also like, make no mistake, I'm just making general vintage comparisons here).

I've stated before that I'm no big fan of the wines of this château, considering that in those of its bretheren 2nd Growth St-Juliens I find more contemplation and depth (Léoville las Cases) and more over-all pleasure at a lower price range (Léoville Poyferré and Gruaud Larose). That said, I readily recognize the marked harmony, silkiness, quiet dark-gravelly depth of Ducru Beaucaillou's terroir-driven wines.

This wine had a reticent bouquet, grudgingly giving up slight whiffs of Spanish cedar, dark fruit and tobacco leaf. In the mouth, however, it was much more expressive. Typical Ducru Beaucaillou on a silky, medium body, with somber dark fruit infused with dark minerals, gravel, light touches of tar, tobacco and hint of spice box. Very reserved and proper, if a bit faded. Despite a barely medium finish that ended a bit abruptly, the admirable harmony and depth in its flavors made for quite a pleasurable drink.

1992 Château Margaux - The Stockbroker's bottle. An 1855 1st Growth from an appellation of the same name and, quite possibly, Bordeaux's very worst vintage of the 1990s (ignominously rivaled only by 1991). The only other 1992 that I can recall ever having tried was a slightly TCA-infected '92 La Fleur Pétrus, which is a Pomerol, not from the Médoc, so I can make no fair, first-hand generalization of the vintage.

This wine had an alluringly perfumed, feminine bouquet (which Margaux wines are known for) of aged cedar, dark and exotically sweetish spices, bit of old-pressed violets (but none of decay) and a hint of pruniness in its molten dark fruit. The bouquet, however, was the best the wine had (left?) to give, as it was sadly thin and diffuse on the palate - giving up more drying cedar than any fruit or ghosts thereof.

Truly over the hill, in line with the lunch's theme. Good to be able to try it, though. The opportunity was much appreciated.

1983 Château Lafite Rothschild - Again, from the Stockbroker, another 1855 1st Growth, this time from Pauillac. Very mature, and just a shade over the hill - hands down, the best red of the lunch.

What this wine gave up in perfumed allure to the '92 Margaux (a refined, suavely masculine Pauillac bouquet), the former more than made up for in the mouth with elegant balance and texture, deeply-veined, layered dark fruit, cassis, mere whispers of licorice, violets, tobacco and intricately woven sweet cedar. Not somber like the Ducru Beaucaillou, and not as earthy, though still expressive of its terroir. More living fruit in this.

Much, much nicer than than the '83 Lynch Bages and '83 Latour, in my opinion. Very likely the best '83 I've ever had, just edging out, to me, the '83 Palmer (though this comparison, I recognize, is tenuous at best since the '83 Palmer is a delicately feminine Margaux as opposed to this decidedly masculine Pauillac, however refined and suave the latter may be). Beautiful wine.

~ oOo ~

The reds done, J-Lab ensured we ended on a sweet note with a...

2006 Dr. Loosen Riesling Beerenauslese - J-Lab's bottle, one he shared during a mid-September 2008 lunch at Je Suis Gourmand. My notes then were as follows:

2006 Dr. Loosen Riesling Beerenauslese (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer) - Medium-sweet with healthy balancing acidity that rejuventated my palate. Fresh, bright, friendly notes of cling peach, orange rind, honeysuckle, white mineral and a honeyed, vaguely melony/grapey theme that reminded me a lot of a sweet muscat-based dessert wine from Mondavi that I tried there in May 2006 - go figure. This was much better though.

Playfully entertaining wine with a lot of charm. Very easy to drink.
Honest, no pretenses to contemplative depth or complexity - it does its job as a dessert wine, and plenty well enough. The botrytis tang/spice is there, but very delicate. Nicely crafted wine.

I only add now that there seemed to be just the slightest hint of playful spritz in this that added yet another bright and happy dimension to the wine. Very nice indeed.

Again, many thanks to all who generously shared their wines, and, more importantly, their company, which, hopefully, will never go over the hill.

Lunch Wines at Je Suis Gourmand.

A few weeks ago, the Stockbroker mentioned that he picked up a few double magnums of 2003 Château Gruaud Larose at a good price and would like to open one sometime for lunch. So, a date was set and, Thursday, the 26th February 2009, 6 of us met for lunch at old favorite Je Suis Gourmand, all toting our bottles.

Since Johnny R and Vancouver Vince unfortunately couldn't make it and half of us still had work to do that afternoon, it was decided that we'd just stick to the double magnum for our red.

A double magnum is a large bottle format that holds 3000ml of wine, which is the equivalent of 4 regular bottles. 2003 Bordeaux, especially those from top-tier châteaux like Gruaud Larose (a well performing 2nd Growth, 1855 Classification, St-Julien), are far from mature, but, with aeration, can be quite enjoyable to drink now.

We chatted a bit and, eventually, got down to the serious business of choosing our dishes. I was happy to discover that Keiichi thoughtfully brought a bottle of sauvignon blanc based Loire white to start of with. I, thus, decided to start of with a the Crottin de Chavignol with Salad to pair with the white. For the red, I decided to follow the Stockbroker's and Bernd's lead in having Marc's Cassoulet.

2007 Domaine Vincent Pinard Sancerre "Florès" - From Keiichi. 2007 was an uneven vintage in the Loire. Simplistically put, this means certain appellations within the region generally produced significantly better wines than others within the same region. For the Loire in 2007, reliable reviewers, such as Jancis Robinson (the first lady to hold a Masters of Wine degree), that the eastern appellations of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé produced the best wines. As to the maker, suffice it to state that Domaine Vincent Pinard is widely recognized as one of the top producers in said appellations.

The wine presented typical cool aromas of fresh, dew-flecked grass, white grapefruit with light touches of gooseberry and citrus - all of which had a subtly charming white mineral lilt to them. These were crisply/dryly mirrored in the mouth with vaguely steely character in a body halfway between light and medium. Good acidity. Very nice purity and balance - nothing like the many aggressively exuberant and overly grassy sauvignon blancs from New Zealand.

As regards the pairing, it was a no-brainer for me. Crottin de Chavignol is a pungent, gamey, creamy goat cheese with its own AOC near Sancerre (as well as the town of Berry) - so it is a natural, regional and traditional pairing with Sancerre blanc - the dry, minerally citrus notes and bright acidity cutting the gamey creaminess, the grapefruit flavors complementing that of the cheese, and its freshness and minerality cleansing the palate between bites. Lovely. I'm glad Jérôme Philippon's Sommelier Selection makes this locally available.

~ oOo ~

2003 Château Gruaud Larose (Double Magnum) - The Stockbroker's bottle, as earlier mentioned, and the reason for Thursday's lunch. As mentioned earlier, this is a young wine, moreso because it is in a large format bottle (wines in larger formats are generally accepted to have materially greater ageing capabilities than those in smaller formats).

Since there was no decanter large enough to hold all the wine, we made do by immediately opening the bottle and pouring out glasses for everyone at the beginning of the lunch. The reasons behind this were that our wine would breathe in the glass while we had our white and appetizers, and, in the meantime, the bottle itself would act as a decanter for the rest of the wine.

Around 10 minutes after the first pour, the wine grudgingly gave up smoky cedar and vegetal notes hovering over deep dark fruit and nuances of anise and warm asphalt. In the mouth, it was dense and a touch too tight and burly in character, but already richly extracted in ripe, molten dark fruit, pronounced toasty wood notes and semi-sweetened dark chocolate. I left it alone and had my starter and white.

Approximately 45 minutes later, the same wine still displayed a pervasive topnote of smoky cedar but the vegetative character had taken a back seat. In the mouth, it had noticeably eased and broadened, releasing creamy cassis, a touch of espresso and cedar into the dark chocolate tinged fruit. I then tried a half pour in a smaller glass, but using Arnie's Vinturi Wine Aerator as an experiment. I must admit that I did the "instantly aerated wine" was noticeably more approachable and less alcoholic compared to the very first, un-treated taste.

By the end of lunch, we were practically the last table left, so Marc joined us for half a glass and I made sure to tell him how very hearty, warm and comforting his cassoulet was. I particularly loved the melt-in-your mouth slice of braised pork belly in it, as well as the sausage. The beans were soft, earthy and very flavorful. I will will definitely be back for more.

My last half glass of red presented a shy-of-full-bodied liquid of roasted-ripe black fruit, cassis, dusty cocoa, moderate toasty oak, bit of licorice, touches of espresso and leather, underlying dark minerality, with cedar kicking in towards the back and in the finish. Nice middle, but not much of a crescendo - it just chugs along the tongue, tapering towards the throat. The alcohol, though still youthfully eager, had subsided considerably; a wine typical of the hot vintage.

A few more jokes and funny stories flew, bringing to an end a moderately boozy but very pleasant Thursday lunch. Again, thanks to the Stockbroker for giving us the opportunity to try out (in such great quantity) this young classed growth.

L-R: The Stockbroker, Arnie, Keiichi, J-Lab (partially hidden), Bernd.