Holy Weekend 2009: Mahjong, Food & A Little Wine.

Friday and Saturday of this year's Holy Week were primarily about spending time with family rather than wine and food (as well they should be). I managed to squeeze in a few rounds of golf since Monday, so I spent the day at home on Good Friday and played only 11 holes on Saturday. We usually spend Holy Week at our dad's beach house cooking, eating, drinking and playing mahjong, but, this year, we stayed home...and did all the same things.

My youngest sis, busy as ever with her reading clinic, just dropped by for dinner on Friday . She's recently acquired her own office space, so my sis-in-law, a designer, together with my wife, who studied interior design, spent a few hours going over the new office's layout. I, personally, can't understand this stuff, so, when they were busy, I worked on my Good Friday-compliant spaghetti pomodoro sauce, while my brother got the grill going for his blackened pork ribs (not quite as compliant, but really good) and played with the dogs.

Though the aircon was at full blast during the day, still, it being summer, we drank rosé - naturally, some 2007 Homenaje Rosado with Parma Ham, Salami Milano and some kind of farmer's ham from Säntis that my wife bought. Perhaps it's because of the sweetish plonk rosés that used to be sold everywhere in Manila during the '70s, rosés/rosados got a bad rap. Quite understandable, really.

However, these days, there are very good rosados locally available, and they are, by nature, very affordably priced. This old, reliable, crunchy red fruited 2007 Homenaje, one of my go-to rosados, is around only P400 at Terry's. Other favorites are the Rosé de Pavie-Macquin (P750 at Premium Wine Exchange), and, of course, the pricier and unbelievably delicious Tempier Bandol Rosé (P2050 at Sommelier Selection).

My brother was a bit puzzled as he felt slightly buzzed after the rosé. I said it was probably the heat and the fact that the rosado was 13% abv (which is pretty much the same as a claret). The bottle of Stella Artois he had right before the wine couldn't have helped either.

Luck was with me on Friday, so I was the big winner in mahjong, with my sis-in-law not far behind. Dinner that night was very simple.

My brother's Grilled Blackened Pork Ribs

My Spaghetti Pomodoro

1996 Château La Fleur Saint Georges - This wine is from Lalande de Pomerol, a satellite of the more famous right-bank Pomerol appellation wherefrom hail the sticker shock Pétrus, Le Pin, and, to a materially less frightening degree, La Conseillante, L'Evangile, Trotanoy and Vieux Château Certan, among others. Lalande de Pomerol lies just a few kilometers north-northwest of Pomerol itself, and is likewise dominated by merlot.

This wine is, naturally, mostly merlot with a bit of cabernet franc. Powerful, rich and warm - a lot of power, warmth and push than one would expect from its 13%abv (same as the Homenaje Rosado). Buckets of well-extracted dark plum, black cherry, anise, minerality and cedar, with a mild hint of dark chocolate. There is medicinal character to this; it's noticeably top-heavy as well, but with a nice, chewy mouthfeel. The balance could be better.

In all, at its level, however, it is good enough or what it is. My sis-in-law, though, found it too strong, heavy and, consequently, "a little hard to drink". With the pork ribs, it was much, much better than alone.

~ oOo ~

Saturday, I cut my golf game short as my brother and sis-in-law got to my place a little past 3pm. More mahjong and kids in the house as my wife's nephews are here from HK for the holidays. Since they are still quite young, they stayed upstairs playing video games and watching tv while my 2 older sons joined us for a few tile-clacking rounds downstairs.

Dinner was, again, simple and straighforward, but very good. With Swiss Raclette, Boiled Baby Potatoes, Cornichons and Pickled Pearl Onions and some thinly sliced Jamón Serrano...

2003 Oremus Mandolás Tokaji Dry - A dry white from Vega Sicilia's early 1990s investment in Hungary, this is made up of the juice of furmint grapes. Furmint is naturally more susceptible to botrytis cinerea infection and is the main grape used in Hungary's famous sweet Tokaji Aszú. To my knowledge, it has only relatively recently been used to make single variety wine. I was introduced to this wine a year or two ago by JC de Terry and have enjoyed several bottles of earlier vintages with spicy tapas.

This is a deeply colored, handsome wine as you can see in the picture on the right. Its minerally, herbaceous and white flower forward aromas/flavors also call to mind yellow apricot, melon and just a hint of ripe lemon. A hefty (13.5% abv), broad and round shouldered white, it is both quite ripe, yet quite dry, with a sturdy balancing acidity. Strong presence on the palate - which we needed for the raclette - cutting the cheese's richness while simultaneously lifting it with fruit.

We all thought it was a pretty good match. Available at Terry's, which is the distributor of Vega Sicilia's wines.

Thereafter, we enjoyed my sis-in-law's Sautéed Mushroom Salad and my Roasted, Herbed Racks of Lamb with...


2000 Château Laroque - From St-Émilion, a grand cru classé since 1996. We visited this estate, among others, and toured the winery with some friends in July 2006 courtesy of the Vigneron's friend, Sebastian Bardinet. I understand Sebastian's family owns Château Laroque, and I know that his wife, Annabelle Cruse-Bardinet (a cousin of d'Issan's Emmanuel Cruse), owns and runs Château Corbin, likewise in St-Émilion. I vividly recall that their vats are of concrete. Sebastian is a fine fellow. I recall that in the LD Vins dinner party the evening before the official start of Vinexpo 2007, we were seated at the same table and he made the effort to entertain and speak to me in English.

As most everyone familiar with Bordeaux knows, 2000 was an excellent vintage - so much so that the Vigneron once jokingly said that "one had to try to produce bad wine in 2000."

Much better balance compared to the '96 La Fleur St-Georges, this slightly over medium-bodied wine is obviously also highly dominated by merlot, but with a lot more refinement and finesse than the former - the ripe dark plum, cherry, raspberry fruit flavors (over black currant) were much fresher and purer as well - nicely laced with a touch of anise, cedar and properly reserved, well-integrated oak notes. Very good show. Excellent with the roast lamb.

At the grounds of Château Laroque

I'm in the red shirt, partially hidden by Santi

I also tried out a bottle of '00 L. Latour Marsannay (a simple, value-priced, everyday red Burgundy) with the lamb, but it just paled too much in comparison, so I stopped after just a glass. Nobody else seemed interested in it, so I just re-corked it for our cook to use next she makes boeuf bourguignon. My other in-laws (my wife's side) passed by for a while and we chatted outside, listening to the disc of campy, old pinoy disco songs that my brother gave me. Thereafter, our mahjong game resumed and lasted way past midnight. Great fun, a nice, relaxing way to spend the Holy Weekend.

Friday Burgundy Lunch at Je Suis Gourmand.

Early this week, the Stockbroker called for a Friday lunch (the 3rd April 2009) in an attempt to make a dent in his huge wine collection (storage space issues, as I understand). The wine theme was eventually decided to be red Burgundy, so, naturally, Je Suis Gourmand was our chosen venue. I, thus, informed Chef Marc Aubry about the date, time and theme, and left the pairing menu in his more than capable hands.

We were 6 in all: the Stockbroker, Miguel, Rene, J-Lab, Larraine and myself. J-Lab was running late, so the rest of us went ahead with some of Rene's chilled bottle of Sieur d'Arques Aimery Cremant de Limoux Grande Cuvee 1531 Brut.

This is a good-value-for-money bubbly from the Languedoc-Roussillon area of France - a blend of 60% chardonnay, 20% chenin blanc and 20% mauzac. Bright, fresh, well-focused and somewhat linear, this lively, dry bubbly carries dominant flavors of crisp green apples and forward lemon/citrus, with hints of grapefruit and a slight nuance of chaume (available at Premium Wine Exchange for only around P750/bottle).

Our first course of Salad with Magret de Canard and Pan-Seared Foie Gras was then served.

This dish was absolutely wonderful - as can easily be seen in the picture above - the thin slices of magret so moist and flavorful, the salad greens shaving off a bit of guilt from the perfectly seared, rich foie. With this, the Stockbroker opted to go straight to a light red, thereby, handing down a suspended sentence to Miguel's bottle of 2006 Domaine Raimbault-Pineau Pouilly-Fumé. Thus, with this luxurious salad, we enjoyed...

2004 Maison Leroy Bourgogne - The Stockbroker's bottle. For those not familiar with the maker, Maison Leroy (pronounced "luhr-wah") is a négoçiant firm owned and run by Burgundy's queen, Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy. Aside from Maison Leroy, she owns and runs, amongst others, Domaine Leroy, whose wines are the only real rivals, in terms of price, to those of the legendary Domaine Romanée Conti - the latter being partly-owned by Madame Bize-Leroy.

Typical of Burgundy reds, this is 100% pinot noir, and being from her négoçiant firm, the grapes were carefully selected and sourced from assorted growers/vineyards other than those owned by Domaine Leroy itself. This wine, after aerating in my glass for around 25 minutes or so, is light and lean, but with flavors that bely its body.

Somewhat straightforward raspberry, black cherry, touches of sour cherry, bit of wood, with a touch of dark spice and a faint, intriguing underlying nuance that vaguely reminds me of red champoy and haw flakes. Very entertaining and quite nice for a basic bourgogne (also available at Premium Wine Exchange for around P4000 more-or-less).

Next came our course of Cream of Watercress and Frogs' Legs Soup, with which I had no wine. The soup was nicely hefty and definitely pleasing. I recall thinking to myself that Miguel's Pouilly-Fumé may have been good with this to balance off the moderate creaminess and provide a bit of cut.

~ oOo ~

Then came our main course, Duo of Roasted Veal Kidney and Veal Loin, which we enjoyed with:

2002 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volany Santenots du Milieu Premier Cru - The Stockbroker's bottle. I believe this is the first Santenots du Milieu I've had. Because of the somewhat riper 2002 Burgundy vintage (but not to the extent of 2003), I did expect this to be more robust in the fruit department - and I wasn't wrong.

Nowhere near over-the-top, but definitely sensuously ripe (but not roasted-ripe) and readily pleasing. Notably more black/dark berry/fruit-forward than red (the cherry/raspberry/kirsch/violet notes well embedded), masculine in structure. Its good concentration and depth to the fruit possibly indicate well-matured vines or greater vine stress. Personally, I'd guess both, but more of the latter. Sturdy structure, fair acidity - in all, pretty darn good balance. Still primary (since young) but already quite enjoyable.

Very good potential, this will surely improve. I'd love to try this, say, 5-7 years from now to see how/if it develops more complexity and, very possibly, the haunting, sweetly-sad Burgundy decay.

2001 Domaine Daniel Rion Clos Vougeot Grand Cru - Yes, another of my bottles of this wine. I know I've been opening this in succession, but yesterday was a mistake. I intended to bring aged Volnay, but, I hurriedly pulled the wrong bottle and stuffed it in my wine bag without making sure it was the right one (not the first time this has happened to me - which makes it even more embarrassing). My complete notes from a 12 February lunch at CAV contain a more complete dicussion of the Clos Vougeot grand cru vineyards, while my more recent notes from a 24th March dinner at Lemuria add:

This time, I decanted the wine before dinner started, so it was breathing for around 1-½ to 2 hours before it was served. Since it is a grand cru, it is still quite young at point, so material decanting does help it release its charms. This bottle was noticeably more complex, heftier and richer than before - Burgundy decay was not apparent in its bolder fruit infused with violets, touch of Asian spice, moderate dark chocolate and well-integrated vanilla/oak. Nice body, not quite chewy, but showing its grand cru girth.

Now, also with material decanting for aeration, I add that I detected some sweetish dried fig and mild/subtle spiced new oak/vanilla notes to the mix. Also quite young at this stage, with very good ageing potential as well.

~ oOo ~

At the tail end of the main course, segueing into the Cheese Platter, we had...

1999 Domaine Faiveley Nuits St Georges Premier Cru Les Damodes - J-Lab's bottle. I'm pretty familiar with the wines of Nuits St Georges appellation, and have spent a bit of time in the town proper as well - shopping and looking around, and, of course eating. I think one of the last dinners I had in the Côte de Nuits in 2007 was in Nuits St Georges - my wife and I were so terribly full from lunch at Ma Cuisine (Beaune) that we had a very late dinner in the very last restaurant in town that would still serve us a hot meal.

In any event, firm, sturdy and fullish - this, similar to the above discussed Santenots du Milieu, is also more black fruit than red and well-concentrated. Marginally less ripe and fruit-forward; more austere/backward and with healthier balancing acid and a more apparent tannic backbone (which, I hazard, will make it capable of ageing more gracefully if the fruit can keep up). I've generally favored the '99 vintage for red Côte de Nuits, and this is a good example why. Would like to check on this again in 3-4 years and onwards.

Next was dessert of an absolutely deliciously cool, sweet, creamy, yet refreshing Strawberry Mille-Feuille which we enjoyed with...

1988 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey - The Stockbroker's bottle, a very good Sauternes vintage from a very reliable (and under-appreciated/valued) premier cru producer. Its beautiful, mature reddish gold, amber-tinged visage would easily lead one to expect a viscous, top-heavy, bombshell of a Sauternes. I know I expected that, anyway.

However, in the mouth, it was surprisingly light on its feet; its dried apricot, ripe pineapple, lemon custard, canned cling peach, minor candied orange rind and slight vanilla bean flavors possessing a fresh, clean, white mineral character, well buttressed with lively acidity and botrytis tang. A relatively lean, tightly-packed cruiserweight of a Sauternes, I found it delightful - needing some palate upliftment after the veal and reds - which this, indeed, delivered.

As a pairing, it was most precise - with the sweetly macerated strawberries and cream - excellent.

2005 Peller Estates Oak Aged Icewine - Rene's bottle, one of the very few ice wines I've tried that wasn't made by Inniskillin. Icewine, as I understand, is sweet because the grapes are harvested in winter, and not because of the effect of botrytis cinerea (like in the cases of Sauternes, Monbazillac, TBA, SGN, etc.). Personally, I see the difference in the absence of the extravagantly luscious, opulent body and super-ripe/candied fruit aspect of botrytis-shrivelled fruit.

If the Lafaurie-Peyraguey is a cruiserweight, this would fall a couple or so weight classes below. Also quite bright, light-footed and lively, this had more of a sugary sweetness and, to me, was clearly dominated by pineapple, with touches of Mexican mango, apricot, barely ripe peach and white minerality. The sugar sweetness is given lift and brightness by healthy acidity. Charming and entertaining if not complex.

The Stockbroker and Larraine took their leave first, while the rest of us lingered over double espressos, and, thereafter, complimentary glasses of green Chartreuse.

Yet another fine, fine close to a work week and an excellent way to start a 3-day weekend. Many thanks to Marc, as usual, for preparing such a well-thought pairing meal, and, of course to the generous friends who shared their fine wines and precious company. Until the next!

Wine & Spirits Club Philippines: Dutch Cheese Tasting & Dinner

Last night's dinner, 31 March 2009, was at the fine dining section of Café Ysabel. This was the first event for the year of the Wine and Spirits Club, Philippines ("WSCP"), the first and only broad based Filipino wine-centric web community board/club, a brainchild of chef-restaurateur Gene Gonzalez.

This was the first WSCP event I have been able to attend, and it was great fun. The dinner featured a tasting of Frico of Holland's cheeses. Frico is an internationally-known producer of a wide range of natural Dutch cheeses - from traditional/every day to premium/artisan. Gene kicked things off welcoming new attendees and enlightening us on Frico and its cheeses.


Thereafter, Gene introduced the cheese tasting's sponsor, Willy Lambengco, president of Wilmington Imex, the Philippine distributor of Frico cheeses. Mr. Lambengco gave us a brief talk on the various cheeses and assured us that all that we would be sampling that night would be available now and soon.


A buffet table was set up, groaning under the weight of partial wheels of various Dutch cheeses such as Maasdammer, Chevrette (goat cheese), with assorted Goudas, Edams, some cheeses with mustard, herbs and some smoked as well.

Accompanying the cheeses were assorted nuts (pistachios included), grapes, dried apricots, dates, etc. My favorites were the sweetish, nutty maasdammer (excellent with some pistachios)and the one that I think had little dark seeds (cumin?) in it. The chevrette was also quite nice - semi-hard, mildly piquant and, with a slight creaminess that emerges mid-palate and towards the back of the mouth.


Everyone brought bottles to share, so many that trying to taste them all would have been too dangerous as I had to drive home that night. There were wines from all over: Chile, Burgundy, Washington, Alsace (Arnie brought a gewürztraminer by Trimbach - very good with some cheeses, I'm sure), Spain, etc. "Tito" J-Lab had mentioned to my wife that, coming from a wine lunch of the Stockbroker (that I wasn't able to attend), his palate seemed a bit "off" that night. Sure, sure. That certainly didn't appear to stop him from enjoying himself though.


With my cheeses, I had some 2007 Condado Laxas - My bottle. A blend of albariño, loureira and treixadura, this wine is supposed to be a traditional style of Galician white, moreso than the more well-known single grape albariños. I noted floral white grapefruit, straw, green apple, citrus and a touch of white minerality. Gene noted a general floral character and nuances of peach-pits towards the rear and in the finish.


I continued with this white, and some 2007 Homenaje Rosado with the precisely executed, light and healthy first course of Harvest Minestrone with Carta Musica. I've written so many times about this inexpensive, readily pleasing, crunchy red-fruited, grenache-based Navarra rosado, I need not say more.

2005 L'Ostal Cazes Minervois Estibals - Greg Clavano's bottle, a venture of Château Lynch Bages' JM Cazes in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. I had corresponded with Greg a few times on the club's website, but hadn't met him face-to-face until last night. It was certainly nice to finally put a face to the name - one of the benefits of the club - getting to meet new, wine-minded friends.

Big wine, dense, viscous, broad, forward, very ripe, rich, concentrated, spicy, with a touch of roasted herbs/garrigue. Tasted somewhat similar to a (modern styled) Rhône blend to me - the pepper notes indicated the presence/dominance of syrah. Heavily extracted cherry and dark berries dominate with a hefty dose of dark spice and oak/wood as well. The herbs and underbrush notes are there, but virtually hidden behind the primary fruit.

I told Greg and Ivo that, in a conversation I had with JM Cazes, even he said that this forward, powerful kind of wine is meant to be served with food - hearty red meat dishes in particular. I drank the rest of my generous pour with the main course.

I also managed to snag the last pour of J-Lab's...


2001 Beronia Gran Reserva - Had this first, courtesy of Johnny R, at the 24th February 2009 Kokotxas Night at La Tienda. I've not had it since then because, though I tried to buy some, I mistakenly got the 2001 Beronia Reserva instead of the Gran Reserva (the bottles look almost identical). Though the Reserva is very nice in itself, the Gran Reserva is notably fuller and deeper in comparison. Then, as now, my notes are:

"Youthful, but in stride and very enjoyable now. The nicely rounded dark fruit is subtly laced with tobacco, cedar and spice box. The topnotes are typical strawberry and red berry. A few shades over medium-bodied, the wood is judicious and in good harmony. Wonderful, a definite buy for me.

"I've only tried 2 vintages from this maker (both good Rioja vintages: 1996 and 2001) and I'm already a sucker for their style. A touch lower in acid than the '96 but nicer fruit and a more pronounced middle at this point, this is dangerously more immediately pleasing."

The deliciously juicy, red wine friendly main course of Pan fried Riblets with Goatcheese Potatoes & Green Peppercorn Demiglace was then served.


As I was about to devour my serving, Gene had his, my, Greg's and Ivo's potatoes replaced as he said they weren't cooked enough. I sneaked a little bite from mine before surrendering them to the staff, and, though the middle portion was, true enough, just slightly underdone, to me, it wasn't a big deal. Gene wouldn't have any of it though (who am I to argue with him about his food) and had our potatoes whisked away and promptly replaced. Loved this riblet dish - honest, hearty, earthy and flavorful. I could've eaten a whole other serving.

With my main course, I had, among others, a half glass of my 2001 Domaine Daniel Rion Clos Vougeot, a nice, deeply-veined grand cru from Vougeot in Burgundy's Côte de Nuits. I've written about this at least twice recently, so please just refer to my 12 February 2009 notes for this wine. The other two reds I had with the riblets were:

2001 Château Ste-Michelle Canoe Ridge Estate Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - Arnie's bottle, from Washington. Forward, powerful, hot nose on this with pine needles, cedar, over mildly herbaceous dark berry and kirsch aromas. The heat on the nose made me expect a big, ponderous, densely heavy-handed, blowsy Napa-esque cab as I sipped it.

Surprisingly, however, though there was definite heat, the wine was quite light-footed on the palate, unlike what the nose suggested. Not at all cumbersome, dense or heavy-handed (like many of its Californian cousins), there was a pleasant, gliding mouth-feel to the fresh dark berries, cassis, dark red cherry, cedar with nuances of orange peel and pine needles. Arnie and, I think, Gene, said they smelled blueberries as well.

I'd certainly like to try this again in around 3-5 years' time to see how/if it smoothens out even more.

I had to take a couple of smoking breaks throughout the evening, and, thankfully, there were some other fellows who did as well. Fellow lawyer, Krisces, and wine distributor, Aaron Palileo, among others, kept me company outside as we indulged in our nasty habits and talked about Bordeaux and Priorat wines.

Realizing that I didn't get to try one of his favored Torres wines during his 50th birthday bash, Gene made it a point to share with me some...


2002 Miguel Torres Conde de Superunda - A longtime investment by Spain's famed winemaking Torres family in Chile. Given my negligible experience with, and even less knowledge of, Chilean wines, I couldn't quite get a handle on this as the combination of flavors confused me. It seemed like a modern-styled, stylish, cabernet sauvignon, but materially leaner and tauter in body and with apparent, cab-sauv-uncharacteristic strawberry topnotes and pepper nuances. There was material dark cherry in the mix with undertones of dark chocolate, leather and dark spice. The fruit seemed very deeply-veined, possibly indicating older than usual vines.

There was a good deal of moderately toasty oak as well, but quite well-integrated. Probably sensing my confusion, Gene told me that this was an unusual mix of cabernet sauvignon, tempranillo, carménère and monastrell. I did not get the proportions of the grape varieties though.



Dessert, then, was served - a deliciously indulgent Trio of Sorbets with Warm Flourless Chocolate Cake.


I dove into my plate immediately - enjoying most the raspberry sorbet's interplay with the decadently rich flourless chocolate cake - before realizing that I forgot to take a picture of it. Fortunately, Gene summoned another, freshly assembled plate for me to photograph. Of course, we couldn't let it go to waste, so Greg, Ivo and I divvied it up amongst ourselves. We, then, started winding down the evening with J-Lab's bottle of exceedingly fine...

The BenRiach 15 Years Aged Madeira Single Malt Whisky - I hardly ever drink anything alcoholic except wine. I used to have cognac once in a while, usually very late at night, but stopped many years ago. Needless to state, I have very little experience with single malts, though , in my late teens until my mid-20s I used to drink the ubiquitous Johnny Black and Chivas Regal every so often. The only single malts I remember having tried previously are some from Glenfiddich, Laphroaig and, from my dad, assorted old Macallans.

That said, this was probably the most ethereal single malt whisky I have ever had - both in the nose and in the mouth. The aromas are incredibly difficult for me to describe as I lack the vocabulary therefor; but, I will try.

Let me begin by saying that my wife, who never drinks scotch, whisky, or pretty much anything by way of spirits or hard drinks, liked it a lot.

Pure, refined, gossamer scents of fresh fallen rain in Baguio, new pine wood, pine needles, anise seed, nuance of sweet Spanish cedar over yellow watermelon. Strange? Those are what came to my mind. On the palate, it was incredibly graceful, dancing on ethereal, pure, fleetingly sweetish woody/cocoa tinged whisky feet. Absolutely beautiful. Its finish was both definite and ghostly haunting...I guess one had to have been there to decipher that.


Wonderful night, seeing old friends, reconnecting with long-lost ones, meeting new ones, all in a fine wine and dining setting. Great fun, I'm sure we all look forward to the next.

Friday Lunch: Daniel Boulud-esque Escargots at Jes Suis Gourmand.

Yesterday's lunch (Friday, the 27th March 2009) was back at my favorite French restaurant, Je Suis Gourmand with Miguel, Rene and Santi. We had earlier requested Chef Marc Aubry to make a dish similar to Daniel Boulud's Escargots, Chicken Oyster and Hazelnut Spatzle that Miguel recently had at Boulud's Brasserie at the Wynn in Las Vegas. I e-mailed Marc Miguel's photos and description of the dish the week before so he could approximate the dish. Marc graciously agreed to do it for us.

I also brought along a 1978 Château Siran (Margaux) to serve blind to show Miguel and Rene how well Siran's wines can age. Santi already knew about Siran's wines' longevity since he was there with us when we tried, among others, the 1928 and 1953 Siran. I didn't tell him what I'd be bringing though.

By around 12:45, Miguel opened his already chilled bottle of 2007 Domaine Raimbault-Pineau Pouilly-Fumé. Ever since Rene introduced us to this domaine's P-F, we've bought and gone through so many bottles and I've written about it in my blog so many times (both the 2006 and 2007 vintages), readers of my blog know well enough how much I love this fresh, fruity, extremely charming sauvignon blanc-based eastern Loire wine - especially when paired with goat cheese and simply prepared, fresh shellfish dishes.

Our much anticipated escargot dish was then served.

Boulud Escargots à la Marc

There is a poached egg hidden by the ring of crunchy toasted bread and greens...

Miguel said that in Boulud's original dish, the poached egg was also hidden and not mentioned in the dish's description, so, when he cut into it and saw the yolk oozing out, it was a wonderful surprise. "Like finding liquid gold" he said.


Though Marc couldn't source chicken oysters per se and so used readily available parts, added some lardons, and I noted the absence of hazelnut spätzle, I loved it. Nothing short of superb. Santi liked it so much, he got a second order of it for his main course, and, Rene swore to bring Aimee and Tita B over to try it.

Not having tried the original dish by Boulud, I, personally, wouldn't know how it would compare; but Miguel, who did, wiped his plate clean and pronounced it delicious. I think he even ate the the plate's embossed design.

Marc assured us that he could make it again given a day's prior notice. We then discussed the possible variations on this dish. Rene suggested that added seared foie gras would go well - but, then, he'd probably want foie gras on anything. I'm sure Miguel was silently having red dreams of this dish with steak tartare. Heh heh.

I love it the way it is, but imagine that a sprinkling of crunchy animal (crisped pork belly bits or duck or chicken skin cracklings?) would add nice touches of textural contrast and saltiness. In any event, that dish was, undoubtedly, the star of our lunch. I'm mentally re-savoring it as I write.

~ oOo ~

We then shared a dish of Pan-Seared Foie Gras Salad and ordered our main courses - a dish each of Cassoulet topped with Duck Leg Confit for Rene and myself....

...while Miguel opted for the Provençal Lamb Loin. As earlier stated, Santi got a second order of the escargots for his main course. Before and together with these dishes, we enjoyed bottles of...

1978 Château Siran - My bottle, ex-château (i.e., straight from the château's cellar), a gift to me from the Vigneron around a month ago when he arrived from Bordeaux. Since this is a 30+ year-old bottle, Marc and I watched carefully as one of the staff uncorked it.

It turned out, though, that there was no reason to worry since the cork was relatively new - bearing the words "Rebouché en 2005" (see below) - meaning "re-corked in 2005". It is a practise of the better châteaux to have corks of their old bottles changed after a few or several decades.

I last had this wine in early January 2007 (also in Je Suis Gourmand) and it was absolutely in fine form. My notes then were as follows:

Chateau Siran 1978 - straight from the chateau's cellar, it was a Christmas gift from Edouard. I had it with duckling in foie gras and wild mushroom sauce. With no available decanter in the restaurant, I poured and let it breathe in the glasses while we had the Corton Charlemagne with our appetizers. A darkish, medium brick-red slightly lightening at the rim with a slight red-orange tinge. The bouquet and taste were typically Siran: mildly earthy cassis base, touches
of violets, small red berries to the rear, cedar and leather, masculine for a
Margaux, with just a slight touch of the sweetness of bottle-age to the red
berries. Good balance, this wine proudly wears its years well; and can go on for
many more. To my mind, with more bottle-age sweetness, elevation of the red
berries and the seams easing out in the process.

Good, well-aged wine is always a special treat for me. This was no exception.

I didn't decant this bottle and just left it open for around an hour or so - any more aeration it would need could be had in our glasses. Served blind, the bottle's label was covered with paper and taped firmly, the tell-tale foil completely removed and the cork hidden in my pocket.

The guys noted the wine's dark brick red/red-orange tinted with mahogany color of age, and, after a few sniffs, gentle swirls and a couple of tastes, Santi called it very closely to be from 1976 more-or-less, and maybe from St-Julien. Rene called it as a wine from the Margaux appellation (a stone's throw south of St-Julien). After more breathing time, Santi agreed that it was from Margaux. Pretty impressive, together they got the appellation and were just 2 years off the true vintage.

As far as this bottle went, it was more advanced than the one I had back in 2007 - more than an additional 2 years of bottle age could probably justify. A bit of bottle-age sweetness, spicy dark cherry, led the way over old-pressed violets/leather/iron -infused somber dark fruit and cassis. Surely showing its age and, after around 25-30 minutes in the glass, the wine started to fall apart, and its spicy/violet/licorice/sour dark cherry/raspberry medium finish shortened noticeably. Still and all, an enjoyable wine with a bit of nostalgia and history thrown in -1978 was the year I graduated from elementary school and entered high school. The other guys were surely still in short pants.

The next 2 reds were Rhônes from Miguel and Rene:

2001 E. Guigal Côte Rôtie Brune et Blonde - From arguably the finest area of syrah-dominated Northern Rhône, a very good Rhône vintage and one of the most highly-reputed makers; the last notes I have on this particular wine were from 23 April 2008 during Je Suis Gourmand's Night of Rhône Cuisine & Wine:

2001 E. Guigal Côte Rôtie Brune et Blonde - I must say that I appreciated this properly refined, medium-bodied Rhône (none-too-alcoholic unlike many other modern Rhônes), such as it was: laced lightly with dried/roasted herbs/pepper; red berry-dominated (red currant (or was that the sherbet haunting my
palate?)/raspberry/hint of strawberry, mild tobacco and dark spice, woodiness and just a dash of pepper. Very mild earthiness. Finely and delicately layered. If there is any criticism I can make, it would be that the middle is a bit weak. But that's about it.

This bottle, decanted for around 40 minutes, was similarly earthy, spicy but had a confident middle unlike the one I last wrote about, with a strong roasted herb accent as well as a good dose of garrigue. Robust and masculine. Great pairing with the earthy and robust cassoulet with duck leg confit.

2001 E. Guigal Gigondas - Belatedly opened as Santi is still watching his wine intake (if not that of other forms of alcoholic drink), from the southern Rhône, neighboring better-known Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The wines from said areas are made up of a mix of several grapes, usually with more of grenache.

I've had several of bottles of this wine in the past 2-3 years, but, curiously, I only have my handwritten notes (none in my blog or other vino-centered websites I post in ) from the Manila Gentlemen's Club's 22 February 2008 Cantonese Night at the Ming room of Tower Club's Taipan restaurant. I know for sure that I opened more of them at Mamou (with the huge steaks of course), home and friends' houses.

In any event, I have the Stockbroker to thank for recommending this wine for pairing with the spicy Deep Fried Pork Ribs with Salt & Pepper course of the immediately aforementioned dinner. It was an absolute hit, especially with the club's resident Aussie, Richard Everingham.

This bottle, like the past ones, had a generally rustic, earthy, spicy character to its dark red cherry, raspberry and licorice, with underlying black coffee and minor notes of pepper and iron. This wine, purchased by Rene and Miguel at Bacchus (as well as the above '01 Côte Rôtie) is excellent value for money. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, this vintage of the Gigondas is already all sold out. There just may still be some of the pricier and more imposing '01 E.Guigal Côte Rôtie though, but I'm not sure of that.

After a quick smoke outside, we returned to find dishes of Pears Poached in Red Wine topped with Homemade Nougatine Ice Cream. Marc confirmed to us that this dessert contained fine laces of lemon peel and a touch of anise as well.

Knowing that pears poached in red wine is a favorite dessert of my wife, Marc thoughtfully gave me a serving of them to take home to her - which is very much appreciated. With Marc's hallmark personal touch that permeates all aspects of Je Suis Gourmand, how can anyone wonder why this is my, and many others', favorite restaurant?

Though Santi left at around 3pm to return to the office (or so he said), we lingered over the wine and double espressos until a little past 4pm. What a great way to end the work week. Many, many thanks again to Marc for his indulgence and the great dishes. Merci bien!