Dinner & Wine with Clem Nieto @ Impressions.

This past Tuesday, the 19th February 2013, some of the guys got together to welcome OC, California based fellow wino, Clem Nieto, who is in town for vacation. Knowing well how much Clem enjoys Cyrille Soenen's cooking (he's been to Cyrille's original/eponymous Restaurant CiÇou in Makati, to Impressions as well, and plans to have a meal at Brasserie CiÇou in Greenhills during this trip) I naturally chose Impressions for the dinner's venue.

We were six for dinner: (clockwise from left) Miguel, Alex, J-Lab, Vancouver Vince, Clem and (not in the photo) yours truly.

I ran a bit late, so, by the time I arrived, the guys had already started with their grower champagne  apéritif of...

Champagne Jean Milan Grande Réserve 1864 Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs - J-Lab's bottle, one he picked up in the USA. Soft, supple, creamily/pillowy fruited, slightly biscuity, with whispers of yeast. Pleasantly rounded in the mouth, decent heft. Very amiable and easy to like. Increasingly jaded when it comes to wine these days, I greatly appreciated having something entirely new.

With said bubbly, I enjoyed a few of my favorite mini-baguettes (I can get them only at Impressions and Brasserie CiÇou) with some, well, a lot of, good butter.

My niece, Nicole, is the new Pastry Commis Chef I of Impressions (in the past, she did pastry in 1* Michelin La Fermata in Alessandria, and, upon returning to Manila, at Chez Karine in Serendra). She was manning the pastry station all by her lonesome that night, but did a great job at it (really, I'm not just saying that). In the above photo, she makes sure the mini-baguettes are freshly hot from the oven.

Amuse Bouche: Ravioli of Smoked Salmon w/ Sea Urchin Foam and Caviar.

1st Course: French Oysters and Tuna Tartare with Caviar on Aspic of Green Apple, paired with 1995 Champagne Krug - Clem's bottle. Lovely dish, resplendent with clean, pure freshness of the sea, juxtaposed with a cutting green apple tart-sweetness. Clem's '95 Krug was, in a word, captivating, with  its deep, ripe, moderately honeyed yellow apricot, ripe pear, candied ginger, brioche, nuts, slight caramel, marzipan, and entertaining hints of oxidation (which added to its already considerable complexity). Beautiful heft. Loved it.

2nd Course: Roasted Scallops, Puree of Cauliflower, Reduction of Court Bouillon and Orange whipped with Butter and adorned with Bacon. Sublime; most everyone's dish of the night. This was paired with 2007 Markus Molitor Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - J-Lab's bottle. Nicely clean, pure, white minerally, slate-infused, prettily balanced, rounded ripe peach, honeyed pear and apricot. Lithe, agile, light-footed. Nice balancing acidity kept things bright enough.

J-Lab opined that it was too sweetly ripe for the dish. I would have preferred a grand cru Chablis or something nice and white from the Côte de Beaune, but I thought it was a fair enough impromptu pairing.

3rd (Main) Course: Pithiviers of French Pigeon, Duck Foie Gras & Mushrooms, with a Fricasée of Morels, Asparagus, Mini Carrot & Périgueux Sauce. I've written about this new dish of Cyrille several times, so I need not repeat the many reasons I love it so much. As a pairing dish...

...for the above depicted fine line-up of French reds, I was more than confident. Alas, however, due to the heartiness and size of our main courses, not to mention the previous dishes and bottles, we could absorb only so much wine by that point. Thus, what we had for the pithiviers were (in the order I had them): 

(photo filched from Clem)

1996 Château La Fleur-Pétrus - My bottle, decanted for aeration for 2½ hours in my cav, then returned to bottle for transport to the restaurant. Whiffs of dustiness came and went in the nose - sometimes there, sometimes absent - distracting me from getting a good handle on it besides a description of cedar, moderately herbaceous dark plum, and kirsch.

In the mouth, it was halfway between medium and full body, deep, smooth and light-footed - belying its darkly brooding visage. Notes of loam, pipe tobacco, cedar, slight oak spice, and violets underneath the quietly powerful, properly reserved cherry, raspberry, dark plum and kirsch. Decent length, but could be longer. Not bad, but not exciting. I doubt I'd buy more of this vintage of La Fleur-Pétrus. For '96 Bordeaux, I've finally decided to keep my purchases within the Haut-Médoc and Graves - well, until/unless something comes along and changes my mind, anyway.

1971 Château Latour - Alex's bottle (and happens to be a birthyear wine of Miguel); a generous treat. Somber, serious, deep, masculine. Dry and savory. Midnight blackcurrant and black cherry essence, slight licorice, pencil lead, leather, tobacco, cedar, slight loaminess, ceps, and hints of walnut skin. Red berries and tea leaves (the latter accurately noted by J-Lab) emerge towards the back and continue through the moderately long finish. Notably heftier than the '96 La Fleur-Pétrus, but not by a whole lot. Good show, thumbing its nose at the vintage and its age, re-emphasizing the near immortality of Latour. Still a good Latour, though I'd not wait much/any longer on it.

1997 Dominique Laurent Clos de la Roche Grand Cru - Clem's bottle. Rich, deep, earthy. A  notably ripe and hefty masculine Burg. Concentrated and ripe, softened fruit, underpinnings of oak-related spice (but not obtrusive). J-Lab exclaimed "chocolate and cherries". Readily pleasing, a bit low on acid, a hedonistic red. I found it delicious with the pithiviers.

Together, the three reds for the main course.

The boys enjoying them.

With the Cheese Platter...

1983 Château Cheval Blanc - Clem's bottle, another generous treat. Popped and poured, it was singing from the get-go. Remarkably structured, perfectly juxtaposed with the merlot's precise ripeness, very round, rich, but not ponderous. Everything in its proper place. Harmonious. Balance, balance, balance. This was probably the best 1983 Bordeaux rouge I've ever had; and, definitely wine of the night for J-lab and I. Maraming salamat, Don Clem!

Dessert Course: Chocolate Royale with Vanilla Gelato, Berry Compote, & Hazelnut Crumble, made and served to us by Nicole. This was absolutely delicious. You don't have to take it from me since she is my niece; J-Lab, certainly no stranger to fine cuisine, wrote glowingly of it as well in his blog post on this same dinner. It's no secret that I am a sucker for dark chocolate with berries, so this was perfect for me. I finished every last bit of this.

Migs, Nicole, & Alex

Mignardises of Truffles, Macarons, & Hearts of Tequila Rose.

We were all stuffed to the gills by then, even Alex backed off from opening another bottle of red and even J-Lab's half bottle of sweet white.

Thereafter, Alex, Clem, & I moved on to Kipling's at the Mandarin Oriental Manila for some Cuban puros (Partagas Serie "D" No. 4 for me) and some of Alex's bottles of The Balvenie Port Wood 21 Year-Old Single Malt. Clem and I called it a night by 1:40am, while Alex stayed on with some other regulars.

Excellent, excellent night of fine food, wine, and friends. Can't ask for much more than that.

Cheers! from Vince, Cyrille, & Clem. Until the next!

Belated Valentines/Chinese New Year Dinner @ Champêtre.

The evening of Saturday, the 16th February 2013, Catha and I had dinner at old favorite, Champêtre. Since Joaqi was tired from basketball, Mauro was home late from a college field trip to Taal Lake, and Renzo attended a prom, dinner turned out to be a belated Valentines/Chinese new Year celebration of sorts. It's been quite a while since we've had dinner out, just the two of us.

Within minutes from our arrival, Marc sent us a platter of a nice, rustic Pâté de Campagne en Croute with Sliced Gherkins and Pearl Onions on the side. So very French country . Loved it. The place was packed that night, even all the outside tables, with turn-overs until past 9pm. Good to see Marc doing so well.

In addition to Marc's little gift, we had some of our usual Escargots à la Bourguignonne...

...and the rich, silken, heavenly Terrine of Goose Foie Gras with Blueberry Compote & Brioche. With the foregoing, we shared a half bottle (375ml) of Champagne Krug Grande Cuvée (NV) - One of the few bottles I brought back from Hong Kong early last month. I've always loved Krug's aromas - alluring honey, ripe apricot, fresh bread, candied ginger, slight nuttiness, complexed with a breath of oxidation - all generously mirrored on the palate in a hefty, yet light-footed body. Not as complex as vintage Krug, of course, but, wonderful in itself nonetheless.

I brought no red that night as we were to proceed to Boozze's & Margarita's house for after-dinner drinks (which surely meant an array of single malt whiskys, among others). 

Though Marc's Ris de Veau Pithiviers is listed on the menu as an appetizer, Catha likes it so much that she decided to have it as her main course. It was wonderful as always, and, being quite a hefty serving, I was able to get a few bites from it too.

Wanting to eat light, I had as my main course the Roasted Lobster & Scallops with Citrus Sauce, with which the champagne also went quite nicely. Masarap na, healthy pa!

Earlier that evening, while in the car on the way to the restaurant, Catha and I had been discussing dishes we remembered from the '70s, chicken pastel, châteaubriand, baked Alaska, and such, being mentioned. That conversation echoing in my head, I had for dessert...

...Marc's recent addition to the menu - a Nelusko Cake, the likes of which I also remember from the '70s. Super moist and indulgently rich with dark chocolate, it surprisingly doesn't at all come off as dense or cumbersome. It is also not sugary sweet (a good thing to my mind) - one gets all the chocolate without any cloying sugar-sweetness. Even now, I'm planning to have it again next I'm there.

Marc joined us later for a chat, giving me some pointers on where and what to visit in the Champagne region (from where he hails). It was a lovely evening, so relaxed, quiet, and comfortable, not to mention the delicious food and good champagne. We'll surely be back soon. Until the next!

Sileni Estates Dinner by JC de Terry at The Tempranillo Room.

Dinner of Monday, the 11th February 2013, was at JC de Terry's Tempranillo Room in honor of visiting Sileni Estates General Manager,  Nigel Avery. Sileni estates is a relatively young winery (founded by Nigel's father, as I recall) the first vintage of which was in 1998. Its fruit comes from two wine growing regions of New Zealand, namely Marlborough (long renown for its sauvignon blanc) and Hawke's Bay. The night's pairing dishes were all conceived, kitchened, and executed by JC and his crew.

Catha and I arrived around 30 minutes late due to my not having read the invitation carefully, and, thus, proceeded to 2º Piso. Good thing. while stuck in traffic, I happened to call Cyrene and she told me I was headed to a wrong venue. In any event, we eventually made it to the dinner in time for some pass-arounds of Olive Oil Fried Almonds and Fresh Fruit & Seafood Tartlets, enjoyed with welcome glasses of...

2011 Sileni Sauvignon Blanc - Bright, racy, crisp, with Marlborough, NZ's typical lively acidity and gooseberry, mild grapefruit, citrus notes. Lip-smackingly and appetite-enhancingly dry. Good purity and unmistakable typicity in its vibrant gooseberry, citrus and grapefruit flavors. I liked it. A steal at approximately P700/bottle. I'd happily keep some of this at home to casually enjoy with some chèvre and dried fruits, among others.

I saw, greeted, and even made several friends there, among whom were...

Cyrene dela Rosa & Berna Romulo-Puyat

Nana & Mio Ozaeta

Miguel Vecin

Besay Gonzalez and Javi Berenguer-Testa.

JC eventually took the floor, welcomed everyone warmly, made some opening remarks, and formally introduced Nigel...

...who gave us a concise backgrounder on Sileni Estate's history, vineyards, wine-making philosophy, and techniques. Soon thereafter, everyone seated themselves for dinner proper.

The Menu & pairing wines.

The 1st Course was Jellylike Oysters in Citrus Brunoise. While I continued with and enjoyed the 2011 Sileni Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc with this dish, I also had it the fat, delectable, complexly presented oysters with the intended 2011 Sileni "The Straits" Sauvignon Blanc - This was markedly softer, heftier (especially mid-palate), less dry, sweetishly-ripe (but not overly so) and vaguely tropical in fruit. It showed good balance and fair purity. I suspect this would be considered more approachable by the many. With the oysters, though, I preferred the previous, basic sauvignon blanc for its acid cut.

Mari de Terry's table.

The 2nd Course was a delicious Smoked Salmon and Rioja Asparagus on Mahón Mousseline, paired with 2011 Sileni Hawke's Bay Pinot Gris - Nicely rounded, supply fruited, slightly oily textured, medium-bodied pinot gris which presented lightly spiced ripe peach and mango notes. This was easily approachable charmer was an immediate crowd-pleaser. Many spontaneously complimented the wine, the dish, and the pairing.

Nigel at our table for a brief chat.

The 3rd Course, a curiously named New Zealand Mussel & Pakistani Curry Croquette, was quite interesting, the curry spice definitely making its presence felt. Though I am not personally overly fond of curry in general, this was quite an intriguing cross-over/fusion dish. The croquette itself was perfectly executed (typical of Team de Terry's croquetas) in that it was perfectly crunchy outside and moist inside, without any excessive/burdensome oiliness.

Pepper Teehankee's table.

The 4th Course was Foie Gras Mi-Cuit on Duck Risotto. I loved it - perfectly moist, deeply flavored, and well-balanced. With this I continued with the 2011 Sileni Hawke's Bay Pinot Gris, the tropical, sweetishly ripe peach and mango notes of which made for a nice foil to the foie and duck laced richness of the risotto.

Lexi & Javi Berenguer-Testa

With the 5th course of Diver’s Scallop in Lobster-Chardonnay Bisque (my favorite of all the night's delights - I sopped up every drop of the bisque, they'd not have needed to wash my bowl) was, of course, 2010 Sileni "The Lodge" Hawke's Bay Chardonnay - Curvy, softly apple and pear with citrus highlights and underlying orange rind. Not big, hot and forwardly buttery like Napa chards, this came off as more cold-climate and with more refinement. Even Catha, who favors big Napa chards, especially liked this.

3 of the night's whites, none of which exceeds P800/bottle on retail. 

The 6th course was a delectably earthy Cassolette d’Escargots in Pinot Noir Sauce, paired with the 2005 Sileni Hawke's Bay Pinot Noir - it, like all the other wines, showed cool climate character despite its ripely sweetish, mildly candied cherry, raspberry, plum, whispers of cola and baking spice. Very accessible wine; and I actually liked its balance. Not a mean feat considering the ripe, sweet fruit.

The 7th Course of New Zealand Baby Lamb on Parmesan Couscous Cream was paired with 2005 Sileni Hawke's Bay Merlot - Moderately deep, mildly earthy, soft, ripe and darkly plummy. Good dryness and healthy concentration. Again, readily accessible and openly pleasing, if straightforward. A good statement for New Zealand merlot, to my mind. The parmesan couscous cream was, in a word, heavenly. Everyone was raving about it. With the lamb, it was even more wonderful.

JC & Miguel

The Terry's Crew hard at work...

...plating the 8th (Dessert) Course of...

...Sileni Riesling Ice Cream on Seasonal Fresh Fruit Sabayon.

JC's dessert was exceptional as always. No matter how full one may be, there is always space for JC's dessert creations. I finished every bit of this.

JC explains that, in the absence of a late harvest riesling, he devised the dessert to present how a dry riesling can do as a pairing as well.

The crowd certainly appreciated his efforts.

Bravo, JC! Be it a pairing dinner for Spanish, French, South American, New Zealand, etc. wines, he not only always delivers, but also never fails to impress. Many, many thanks to JC & Mari, Team de Terry, Sileni Estates, and, Nigel, of course, for a wonderful evening. Until the next!