Miguel A's Steak Dinner at Elbert's.

Miguel and Barbara A. treated a bunch of us to dinner at Elbert's Steak Room last night (12 September 2009). Including the evening's hosts, we were 5 couples in all: Doc and Mrs. Doc, the spouses Vigneron, Kim and Felicia A., my wife and I. Mrs. Doc rode with the hosts as Doc was busy at the hospital, but he showed up well in time for dinner proper. As you can see, Miguel was in a full-swing celebratory mood, putting a good dent in the Vigneron's magnum of 1983 Château Siran - an "orgasmic" wine the latter jokingly claimed.

But I get ahead of myself...

By the time my wife and I arrived, the guys already had made headway into a bottle of...

1995 Château La Fleur de Jaugue - Miguel's bottle. This was the first time I have tried a wine from this St-Emilion producer. It was also the first time I became aware of the producer itself, so a quick check reveals that production is just over 1650 cases a year from a relatively small holding of 5.5 hectares under vine (80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc). The vines range from 35 to 50 years of age, fermentation is done in automatic thermo-regulated vats for 20-28 days and elevage in tank and barrels (new and 2nd cycle oak) for 12 months.

I thought it was a good wine, with a traditional air to it - not overly-ripe, super-extracted or overly dense, concentrated and oaky like many modern St-Emilions (a typical example, of which is, to me, Pavie). This is more my type of St-Emilion. A few notches over medium-bodied with a nice, comforting slight warmth to its dominant, slightly smoky plum, cherry, bit of kirsch, cassis, violets, underlying coffee/mocha, slight herb notes, touch toastiness to the properly discreet oak. The finish is likelwise discreet but with good length. Precise balance.

Next was the Vigneron's aforementioned magnum of...

1983 Château Siran - From his family-owned château straddling Labarde and Margaux. From their '80s vintages, I've only tried the '82 (several times), '88 (once) and '89 (several times), so it was good to try the '83 as, to my knowledge, '83 is reputed to be a particularly good vintage for Margaux producers - moreso than the rest of the Médoc. He related to me that a few days prior, he opened another magnum for some other friends and one pronounced it as "orgasmic". A fortiori my curiosity was roused, as were my expectations.

Notably well poised, mature, medium-bodied wine presenting graceful cedar, violets, cassis, with lightly spicy raspberry topnotes, underlying silky dark fruit, fleeting whispers of licorice and minerals. The wine has a peaceful, feminine lilt to it, calling to mind Siran's '53 clearly more than, say, its '59, '79, '82, '89 and it's muscular '00 and '05. I liked it a lot, but "orgasmic"? I'd say "serene", perhaps even "contemplative". Judging from this one magnum, I'd say this should be enjoyed now and within the next 2 to 3 years.

A pair of 1999s followed: another from the Margaux appellation, followed by a St-Julien heavyweight...

1999 Château Brane Cantenac - Also from the Vigneron. Without any decanting or material aeration, it displayed an openly alluring nose of lightly truffled, smoky-sweet cedar, raspberry liqueur, plum, cassis, violets and leather. In the mouth, it was moderately muscular, decidedly masculine, the flavors mirroring its aromas but with leather more apparent, some added coffee grounds and noticeable toasty new oak as well. This, together with the following red and the likes of Latour, Margaux, Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Léoville Poyferré, Lynch Bages, Malescot St-Exupery, Grand Puy Lacoste and Siran serve to confirm to me that 1999 is an under-appreciated Bordeaux vintage.

While vintage rains caused many concerns regarding dilution, in my experience, however, with the mentioned châteaux, said concerns are grossly exaggerated. Although few I've tried managed to acheive their usual levels of power and concentration (a notable exception is Latour), I do not think this is a bad thing in light of the general overly (to me) modern thrust of many producers.

This is yet another well-performing 1999. Happily, due to professional reviewers' coolness to the vintage, good '99 Bdx are priced at relative bargains.

1999 Château Léoville las Cases - My bottle. Last I tried this was almost a year ago at Rene's birthday dinner; and, before that was in late September 2005 at a blind IWFS tasting. It is coming along very well. The Doc, who has recently gone through a few bottles of this, agrees with me that this is yet another very good 1999 Médoc. My notes from Rene's dinner (23 November 2008) are as follows:

Now, it is lush, powerful, intensely masculine with deep profiles of cassis, earthy dark fruit, tobacco, lead pencil shavings, leather and violets. Not a big bruiser at all, it is a suave and correct fellow, but one you definitely wouldn't want to mess with. Superior balance, elegantly smooth, finely layered, with a long, confident finish. The red of the night for me, without a doubt.

Because of Rene's bottle, I bought some of my own. Almost a year later, the '99 las Cases (decanted for around an hour) seems to have put on more weight and muscle, but is still very harmonious and balanced. It has an added nuance of gravel and a touch of warm asphalt as well. Its darkly masculine, powerful character is noticeably toned down compared to strong vintages like '96, '86, 85 and '82, and it is materially less severe and tannic as well (especially compared to the '86). The structure/power is undeniably there, however, but in a more approachable fashion.

Very nice now and, in my opinion, with many years of added complexity and depth ahead.

In between all these reds, with our soup and salad courses, I opened a bottle of...

2008 Itsas Mendi Txakolí No. 7 - My bottle, a highly recommended txakolí that Miguel Vecin graciously sourced for me during one of his trips to Spain. For those unfamiliar, txakoli is a traditional/typical wine from the Basque region of Spain (Denominación de Origen Bizkaiko Txakolina) made from the indigenous hondarrabi zuri grape.

Bodegas Itsas Mendi, founded in 1995, is located at the outskirts of the town of Guernica. Though relatively new, Itsas Mendi is now widely recognized as one of the best makers of txakolí, credit going to winemaker Ana Martín (who is also a famous Spanish wine consultant).

This was recommended to me by New York-based Douglas Smith whose better half is from the País Vasco, where they regularly summer. My wife suggested I bring this along for Miguel to try as his family has Basque roots.

After reading my post on the 2008 Txomin Etxaniz Getaria txakolí that Miguel V., J-Lab and I enjoyed with kokotxas and tapas in La Tienda last 24 June 2009, Douglas advised me to try, if possible, a smaller, more artisanal version. There is no local supplier of any txakolí, much less by Itsas Mendi. I was lucky enough that Miguel V. agreed to buy some for me in Spain.

Txakolí is a very dry, light, vaguely spritzy white wine that is meant to be enjoyed casually and young. This particular one was not as spritzy as the Txomin Etxaniz of the same vintage and was notably fruitier, with a more pronounced and rounded middle. The dominant flavors are bone dry ripe grapefruit, green apple, bit of citrus with nuances of fresh grass and white seashell. There is a lip-smacking faint bitterness towards the back and in the somewhat abrupt, dry finish that makes me want to take the next sip as fast as possible. Very recommendable as an apéritif with, I imagine, fresh shellfish. Thanks to Douglas for his recommendation and to Miguel V. for buying it for me.

The Steaks...

Medium-rare US Prime Grade rib-eye, bone-in tenderloin and T-bone for the ladies...

...and a large, rare US "Super Prime" rib-eye for me (Doc ordered the same thing but barely got to eat at all or have even a couple of quick sips as he was suddenly called back to the hospital), I continued with the Léoville las Cases and the Brane Cantenac as I felt the steak too heavy for the aged Siran. Though the Brane Cantenac paired well enough, the Léoville las Cases' natural power and muscle carried it through as the best match with the steak for me.

Last to be opened was...

1996 Château Cos d'Estournel - Felicia's bottle, together with Château Montrose, these are the undisputed two top producers of St-Estèphe. Though I've had this wine around 5 or 6 times to date, the most memorable bottle was Doc's at our Blind Bordeaux Challenge VIII. My notes then were as follows:

Wine # 1 - Best nose of the night, an exotically spiced, delicately sweet jasmine tea/plum/raspberry liqueur perfume. I immediately guessed it to be a Cos d'Estournel. In the mouth, it was definitive all the way from the confident attack to the long finish. Rich and generous in the mouth, leaving virtually nothing for analysis or the imagination.

In the Doc's and Sevrine's notes, they indicated that the mouth did not fulfill the bouquet's promise, commenting that it was even a bit short. Edouard liked it best and easily pegged it as a left bank. The Stockbroker commented that it tasted quite fresh. I identified it as a Cos and, for reasons below, ranked it 2nd best.

It turned out to be the Doc's 1996 Cos d'Estournel.

The succeeding few bottles I've had the pleasure of sharing in have not been as openly exotic and alluring. The one last night, though, came extremely close, displaying the distinctive, sweet tea and Indian spice reminiscent perfume of Cos d'Estournel - just a shade less open than the first I tried, but I am sure it would have been every bit as beautiful had the wine been opened earlier and allowed more aeration. It was getting late, though, so people were finishing up quickly, so I followed suit. Still and all, it was clearly the most complex and all-around best red of the night as the Vigneron aptly proclaimed.

After assorted desserts, we all skipped having coffee, made time for a group photo and started to head off for home.

Many thanks, Miguel and Barbara, for such an enjoyable evening. The food was good, the wine fine and the company excellent. Wonderful.

Don's (Belated) Birthday Dinner/Reunion.

This past Tuesday, 8th September 2009, was Don's belated birthday dinner which, concurrently, was a reunion among friends from an entrepreneurs' organization of which I am a former member. While I've kept in touch with most of the fellows since I left, I hadn't seen them all together in a while so this was most welcome. We were 9 for dinner at Dorothy's parent's place (Dorothy is Don's better half) - actually, we were 11, but Dorothy and her sister let us guys dine amongst ourselves and took their dinner in another wing - Dorothy joining us only for dessert.

I rode with B that night since I was still a bit under the weather, we arrived at 7pm, the appointed time. Many were already there.

Dinner was prepared by a young lady chef* who I had heard of but, until that night, had never had the pleasure of meeting, much less of having enjoyed her work.

We started off with an appetizer straight out of the French Laundry: Cornets of Salmon Tartare & Red Onion Crème Fraîche (topped with Salmon Roe). This dish has been around for a while, and I have no idea if it was Keller who thought it up, but the first time I recall trying this was in July 2006 at Les Jardins des Remparts, dinner with my wife on a warm night in Beaune - with a glass of Puligny Montrachet (the vintage and maker of which I, unfortunately, didn't note down).

At Don's dinner, we washed this down with a chilled stream of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut NV. After around an hour of catching up, we were seated for dinner proper. All the wines were from Don; all the pairings made by him.

~ The Menu ~

Oysters on a Half Shell in Three Ways: (1) raw with red wine vinegar; (2) lightly poached with pommery mustard cream and gelée; and,...

...(3) poached in white wine with saffron sauce and caviar.

Don precisely paired these with a floral, minerally, somewhat tropically fruited 2006 Henri Bourgeois Pouilly-Fumé which I initially suspected he brought home from a recent trip with Dorothy to the Loire. Don, however, mentioned that they didn't make it to the eastern Loire, so he possibly bought these from the central Touraine area or at Bacchus that carries several good lines of Henri Bourgeois' wines.

I must mention that many people over-generalize vintage weather, especially when it comes to France - tending to equate Bordeaux vintage assessments with the rest of the French wine-producing regions'. This is very innacurate. Even within Bordeaux itself, different appellations, communes and, at times, even different châteaux within a commune experience different and very significant weather-related events (e.g., isolated hail within a commune that may hit some vineyards badly yet totally sparing others).

In any event, though 2006 weather wasn't too kind to chenin blanc-dominated central Loire, the eastern Loire, where sauvignon blanc strongholds Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are situated, fared very well. In my experience, the 2006s from these two particular applellations generally strike a notable balance between ripeness of fruit and acidity. Those Pouilly-Fumés of Bourgeois and Raimbault-Pineau (distributed by Terry Selections) I've tried exhibit vigorous floral notes as well.

I couldn't help but ask for another glass of champagne to pair with the oysters, alongside the Pouilly-Fumé. While both paired very well in their own ways with all three oyster preparations, I favored the 1st and 3rd preparations with the champagne and the 2nd with the Pouilly-Fumé. I won't go into the specifics of why as this would take too long and would probably be too geeky for most readers anyway.

The next course was Coddled Egg with Truffled Ragout and Chips.

As regards truffles and eggs, this is a combination I associate with Burgundy, a region I absolutely love visiting for the food, wine and warm, welcoming wine producers. Don and Dorothy also spent time there in 2007, wining and dining their hearts away - and the influence of that trip shows - they served this dish with a good Côte de Nuits rouge, a traditional bourguignonne pairing.

1998 Hospices de Nuits Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru Les Corvées Pagets "Cuvée St-Laurent" (por Maison Clavelier) - Though I am quite familiar with the town proper, surrounding environs and wines of Nuits St Georges, I have never had a wine from the Hospices de Nuits vineyards. This négociant wine displayed an excellent and typical bouquet of Burgundy decay, redolent of old violets, compost, raw meat (in a good way, one has to experience it to understand and appreciate the same), cedar, over black cherry, some wild strawberry and, underneath, black berries.

I recall Joey gushing over the bouquet, and with good reason. One whiff, it is undeniably Burgundy. In the mouth, the flavors mirror the bouquet (with emphasis on cherry, raw meat and a nuance of iron) on a firm and masculine (typical of Nuits St Georges) slightly-over-medium body. The wine is well balanced and gives a good performance, though tartish cherry notes and a bit of tannin jut out at the end somewhat. I wouldn't age this more as I'd think the tannins and acidity will overpower the fruit within a year or two. This is not a bad thing - one can just drink up and enjoy now without having to wait.

The Hospices de Nuits is, obviously, an entirely different animal from the more famous Hospices de Beaune. The former was founded almost 250 years after the latter, with vineyard holdings of less than 15% in area and holds its annual auction in spring (before Easter), while the Hospices de Beaune auction is held late in autumn (every 3rd Sunday of November). I have no idea how much this costs, it is not locally available - Don brought it back from his Burgundy trip. Still, if this is priced at, say, US$50-US$70, it's a definite buy for immediate gratification purposes.

We continued with this wine with an interesting next course of Lettuce and Arugula Cream with a Chèvre Beignet.

A rich, very creamy but gracefully flavored crowd-pleaser of a Foie Gras Terrine with Compote of Peach and Griottes, Miettes de Pain d'Épices followed, traditionally paired with...

1999 Château Doisy-Védrines - This is from a Barsac producer which has always impressed me with wines relatively richer and hefty compared to other Barsacs (the wines from Barsac are usually lighter, brighter, more delicate and not as opulent as Sauternes). Doisy-Védrines, in a few vintages (including a notably rich 2006 that I tried in June 2007 at the UGC Tasting, Vinexpo Bdx 2007), somewhat calls to mind the style of Barsac's star, Château Climens - a great compliment indeed.

This richly botrytised, honeyed/caramel laden, curvaceous, candied ginger, vanilla-orange marmalade and dried apricot beauty appears quite advanced (note how dark gold/amber it already is) at a relatively young 10 years. Like its previous vintages, it is unctuous (I don't like using that word, but it is the most accurate in this case), generously fleshed and readily pleasing - it may not have the more precise/buttressing acidic balance of a Climens (which leads me to believe it cannot age as gracefully as the latter), I think this is a plus, rather than a minus. After all, we all need something to enjoy right here and now while we wait for the long-agers to mature.

I must mention that the rich foie gras terrine, though nicely already accented by the peach compote and Morello cherries (a.k.a., "griottes"), a bit ironically (to me anyway), became even livelier on the palate with a bit of the pain d'épices. I need not delve into how well the wine paired with the dish. This, surely, most everyone already knows and expects.

The following course, for me, was the most memorable dish and pairing of the evening: Palawan Lobster with Clams à la Marinière, Grilled Shiitake Mushroom Confit and Baby Lima Beans, traditionally and masterfully paired with...

2005 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Beauroy - A Chablis maker that the Stockbroker seems to favor as he has opened quite a few of their wines with me relatively recently. What I know of this premier cru climat (east of the old town) is that the vineyards are pretty steep, get lots of sun (faces the south) and are situated near a river - though I do not think it is as near a water souce as, say, the grand cru Bougros. There is a good amount of ripeness and a tinge of tropicality to its soft, somewhat baked pear and apple dominant fruit notes. Still and all, it displays the hallmark Chablis minerality, tense nerviness and cold stone/limestone nuances that I love.

The acidity is just a breath on the low side, but the focus is good and balance admirable for such a hot vintage. The oak is noticeable, but well in check (I'd guess the comparatively oak-shy Fèvre used a bit more than usual because the fruit was rich and ripe in 2005), definitely not at all intrusive. Not that I've had many 2005 Chablis, but this is definitely one of the best of them I've had (and surely the 2005 premier cru Chablis that best suited my own palate thus far).

As regards the pairing, it was most memorable because the wine had enough acidity, focus and purity of fruit to brighten and not overwhelm the clams (the minerality giving reassuring seaside whispers to them) while its soft ripeness and discreet vanilla/oak richness stood well with the lobster while its acidity and minerality gave a precise bit of cut to the luxurious shellfish. Superb match - hats off, Don.

B, Santi and I took a quick smoking break and returned to a refreshing Green Apple and Key Lime Sorbet.

Regular readers of my blog know that I do not usually partake of sorbets in between courses since many are made with overly aggressive fruit or herb flavors (usually blackcurrant, calamansi, basil, etc.) that just throw my palate out of whack for a good many minutes (pomelo and grapefruit are the worst offenders). This one, however, was mild, delicate and nicely cleansing. This, I ate most of.

The meat course made its entrance: Trio of US Angus Beef Striploin with a Pinot Noir Reduction, Horseradish-Potato Purée and Glazed Shallots; with Tomate Provençal, Grilled Asparagus and Bèarnaise Sauce; and, with Roasted Garlic, Wilted Spinach and Beurre Persillé.

With this trio, the last three of evening's reds were served.

I did not get to taste the 1989 Château Lagrange that night, but I've had it a couple of times before (once with Santi) and am quite familiar with their other vintages, the best vintages I've had being the 1986, 1989 and, definitely, the 1990. Those who want to read my past notes thereon may click on the indicated vintages. Lagrange's 2000 is also impressive and did very well in Blind Bordeaux Challenge VI.

I had the 1999 Heitz Cellar Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon "Martha's Vineyard" with my meat course. I know I've had wine from Heitz at least twice before (once long ago from Napa head Paco Sandejas, if I'm not mistaken) but cannot, for the life of me find any of my notes thereon (maybe I didn't write any). In any event, Don had decanted this 100% cabernet sauvignon for around 2 hours previous to service, and it was surprisingly suave for a 14.2% abv bruiser.

Rich, ripe and dense (though not at all syrupy), it presents a nicely layered, self-possessed profile of ripe dark fruit, dark plum, touch of licorice, dark chocolate, smoky cedar, bit of violets, dark minerals. There is a good dose of oak, that's to be sure, but, somehow, the wine could carry it well. Good power and restraint, this didn't shout out like many higher-end Napa cabs do. A bit of a creamy texture mid-mouth and past; Napa heft and muscle, but not ponderous. Actually, it was nicely streamlined for its size. Confident wine.

Later on, I had a small pour of the 1999 Château Pape-Clément. I recently had a short discussion on a local wine website with the Stockbroker about Bernard Magrez's wines, Pape-Clément in particular. For those unfamiliar, Magrez is a very successful producer in that he consistently gets high scores from Parker, Pape-Clément is certainly not cheap, and yet it sells pretty well, especially in the powerful US market. Magrez-era Pape-Clément is marked by pronounced new oak, a lot of concentration, ripeness and extraction (surely a formula that suits the emperor's palate). This 1999 is no exception. It, to me, is a designer wine.

It's not that I shun this style, though - Pape-Clément was actually on my list of recommended 2004 Pessac-Léognans. My most memorable Pape-Clément was the 1985. Though Bernard Magrez already started managing the estate that year, I do not believe he had implemented his decidedly modern style that early. The 1985, which I opened at the farewell dinner of good friend, Hervé Pourcines, showed no sign of it anyway.

As if the foregoing were not enough, two desserts were left in store for us; the first being a light and refreshing Strawberry Soup: "fresh strawberries, mint leaves and lemon zest in strawberry cordiale".

Dessert of strawberry "soup" is very popular in France and seems to be everywhere during the early to mid summer season. Well, rhubarb based desserts too in Burgundy, but I never could quite get into those. I've had this dessert a few times in Manila, but never served with such panache.

The dessert that followed was Crème Cuite and Burned Mérengue with Pistachio Brittle and Espresso Granita.

Those who eat with me somewhat regularly know I almost never finish any of my courses; I prefer to have many courses but just get a good taste of everything. This time, however, I cleared my plates/bowls of every single course, except the foie gras (due to hypertension issues). Desserts were no exception. I would have tipped the bowl to my lips or asked for a straw to get every drop of the espresso granita had it been at all politely possible.

It was wonderful to be with all the guys again, moreso over such good food and wine. Many thanks, Don and Dorothy, for making this possible; and, again, belated happy birthday, Don.

* This strangely blog-shy young lady chef prefers not to be named, but those interested may visit her website whereby she may be contacted.

The Stockbroker's Chinese Lunch.

Planned over a week ago, 8 of us gathered yesterday at the EDSA Shagri-La's Chinese outlet, the Summer Palace, for a Chinese lunch and wine-pairing called for by the Stockbroker. He, again generously supplied all the wines, save for Rene's and my bubbly contributions. In attendance, other than the day's wine host, were Oscar, Arnie, Johnny R, Sonic Greg, Ariel, Rene and myself. Unfortunately, J-Lab, Miguel and Aaron couldn't join us.

We were all pretty much on time, complete at the private room by around 1pm. The Stockbroker then organized things while Oscar made some last minute changes on the menu.

Our host, though just coming out of a bad cold was as energetic and meticulous as ever, making sure proper stemware was available and the wines were at the correct temperature. Welcome glasses of bubbly were then poured under Rene's watchful eye.

Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve NV - A couple of bottles from Rene and myself. I last had this extremely good value, non-vintage bubbly at the Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs' kaiseki dinner at Toki (28th July 2009). My notes then were as follows:

...a nicely hefty, fuller fruited, yet dry, clean and crisp non-vintage champagne. Lots of forward drive and a lively, creamy mid-mouth froth in this wine with precise yeast notes and toastiness coming to the fore thereafter.

These bottles were pretty much the same, save that I noted more pronounced citrus notes this time. Still pretty darn good for good, real champagne. Available at Bacchus for around P3400 per bottle full retail.

We had barely seated ourselves for lunch proper when the ribbing began, starting off with some good-humored jabs from Arnie at the La Sallites present. Rene and Johnny were more than game, though, and dished back as well as they took.

We began with starters of Cold Fresh Scallops in Mango Boat, Fried King Prawns Coated in Cornflakes & Fried Seafood Rolls in Wasabe Sauce, which were paired with Premium Wine Exchange's newly-available 2005 Leeuwin Chardonnay Art Series.

This was immediately followed by bowls of Braised Seafood Soup "Chef Tony Style", paired with the immediately preceding vintage 2004 Leeuwin Chardonnay Art Series. We all paid particularly close attention to the 2 vintages of this chardonnay.

I've mentioned in the past that the 2004 showed quite well in the IWFS's Blind Chardonnay tasting of 24th January 2008. At the time, it was hefty, generous and fruit-forward (round, ripe, somewhat baked apple, pear with mild citrus notes, a good dose of vanilla/oak and a discreet butterscotch nuance) with bright acidic and mineral lift. Now, the vanilla/oak has become very well-integrated, making it, to me, generally more suave than before with better focus and neatness.

The 2005 seemed, to me, more like what the 2004 was over a year-and-a-half ago, but seemingly even heftier, riper and oaky - but, then, again, it is younger as well. I'd guess with a bit of age, the oak will integrate as with the 2004, but the 2005 will always be comparatively more lushly fruited. When the votes were cast, a tie resulted with 4 preferring the 2005 and 4 of us preferring the 2004.

As regards the food, I favored the Fried King Prawns Coated in Cornflakes which struck me as a hot prawn salad with an extra textural dimension of crunch and touch of corn sweetness. The 2004 Leewin paired well with it because of the former's now sleeker lines and good focus. The Braised Seafood Soup "Chef Tony Style", was also very nice, thickened, I understand, with long-boiled and pulverised chicken bones. In any event, I always enjoy soups that involve fish maw and shark's fin (just a minute bit of the latter in this case).

Next came Braised Shredded Abalone with Tofu adorned with twin asparagus tips that lent an entertaining, vaguely nutty note to the dish, as well as a welcome contrast in texture.

Thereafter, with the next dish of Pan-Fried Lamb Chops in Satay Sauce (which I forgot to take a picture of), the Stockbroker served a red to us us blind - one that I noted to be full-bodied, extremely forward, high in alcohol, super-dense, somewhat syrupy, super-ripe, sweet red fruit over dark, with pronounced lashings of toasted-oak with cinnamon, dark mineral and licorice notes. Everyone guessed it to be a new world red. I actually thought it was Australian. It turned out to be...

...2005 Staglin Family Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, a high-end Napa cab that is available at Premium Wine Exchange at P11,500 per bottle full retail - something high-end Napa heads should check out. For whatever it's worth, Parker bestowed this with 93 points.

Next was one of my favorite dishes of the lunch, Poached Cod Fish with Spinach...

...impeccably flavor-packed yet admirably clean, surprisingly light-footed and graceful. Simple, yet complex, earthy flavors. Loved it, and I drank all the broth too. With this was paired...

2004 Château Pape Clément Blanc - This is a lushly, somewhat tropical-fruited wine that shows off its soft, somewhat waxy-textured (likely the semillon noted Rene), fullish body of soft, baked/ripe, lightly honeyed apple, pear, touch of orange blossom, good dose of vanilla/oak (likely a goodly percentage of new oak), moderate minerality and a pinch of baking spice. Acid is lowish, but sufficient to prop up the fruit. This is an indulgent, luxurious Bordeaux blanc. I, personally, would have paired a leaner, crisper white for cleansing/contrast purposes, but that's just me.

By this time, 2 more reds had already been poured...

...namely, two strong vintages of Château Sociando-Mallet.

1996 Château Sociando-Mallet - I've tasted this twice before, in two successive IWFS blind tasting dinners in 2006, so it was a nice to be able to see how this has come along. At 13 years after vintage, this minerally (with slight nuances of iron), earthy wine shows still a somewhat severe visage of cedar, leather, mushroom-flecked cassis, somber (hint of stemminess) dark fruit, ripe raspberry, slight dried herbs - a notably firm grip in this. Fair depth in this. This is not for those looking for fruit-forward, eager-to-please, modern Bdx rouge. This has a challenging, classically cut character. Right and proper rouge.

1990 Château Sociando-Mallet - I had this last quite a while back, in early December 2005 at Old Manila to be exact, at the Grand Crew's Blind Bordeaux Challenge II. My notes then were as follows:

Wine #4 - For some reason, I initially, and, of course, erroneously, thought this was a young, tightly wound St. Estephe with a ramrod cabernet sauginon backbone and hints of leather. Later on, subtle dry herb notes and smoky plum led me to think, again erroneously, it to be a young Graves, but my suspicions of youth were later belied by the amount of sediment that eventually settled in the glass.

This wine confused me to no end, hence my difficulty in describing it. I recall thinking it a bit nervous, a bit too restrained and austere, specially amidst such unabashed company.

I wound up ranking this 4th place then. It just seemed too nervous and unsettled to me. It turned out that it was the Doc's bottle that had just been delivered from the US that same afternoon. It was, surely, too ragged from the long journey and should have been allowed to rest for at least a month. The bottle at the subject lunch, however, was an entirely different story.

Warming, complex and deep, the ripe black and red fruit (easily riper than the '96) melded seamlessly with notes of cedar, violets, nuances of mushroom, leather with whispers of meat, pencil shavings and licorice. Just a shade under full-bodied, good concentration. Very nice indeed.

With the '90 I had what was my other favorite dish of the lunch, Beef Steak with Fried Udon.

The beef was delectably tender, juicy, with an astounding caramelization. Add that to the savory, slightly chewy udon, and I was sold at the first bite. Excellent, simple, hearty dish.

We then moved on to dessert: Fried Crispy Banana with Ice Cream, a Mixed Fruit Platter and Buchi.

To pair with these, the Stockbroker poured...

2005 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese - 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.

A lot of friendly ribbing and mirth continued, our room booming with distinctive laughter.

Yet another most successful and generous lunch. Many thanks, buddy. Your wine events are always great treats.