Taking advantage of a visit to Manila by Nieves Cortez, who, together with her husband Lawrence, ownes Corte Riva wines in Napa, the Ordre Mondial of the Chaine des Rotisseurs held a dinner at Cafe Ysabel to showcase her wines. Both Nieves and Lawrence were originally from the northern Philippines but went to the US in the 70s to seek their fortune there. Together with Nieves' cousin, winemaker Rommel Rivera (hence the name Corte Riva), they have been making wines under their own label since 2002.
As befitting their Filipino roots, a Filipino-inspired dinner was crafted by Chef Gene Gonzalez to complement the wines.
Corte Riva Viognier 2006 - A barrel sample. Full, rich, silky. Some sweetness. Very nice, flowery nose. Long finish. Just the barest hint of Viognier's bitterness. Very good. An excellent partner for the crab with kesong puti ( white cheese from water buffalo milk - in other words, the Philippine version of mozarella ) and pansit Malabon (rice noodles).
Corte Riva Cabernet Franc 2005 - Mint, chocolate and fragrant wood. Caramel. A bit of rootbeer betrays the oak. Good fruit. Medium weight. Quite forward and ready to drink although some more age might integrate the oak better. Finishes long but a touch oaky.
Corte Riva Merlot 2005 - Slightly hot, spicy wine. Quite soft. Bitter chocolate. Good fruit. Rather tightly wound, monolithic and unyielding. Either this needs serious decanter time or a few more years bottle age.
Both the Cabernet Franc and the Merlot were paired with an exceptionally tender kalderetang kambing (goat stew) shank.
Next on the menu was an excellent roast venison with a coconut wine reduction glaze. With this dish went the:
Corte Riva Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - Lots of fruit. Very well balanced and rounded. Soft tannins. The oak is obvious with some cola flavors coming through but it is not overwhelming. Very good.
Corte Riva Petite Sirah 2005 - Slightly leafy. Full, tannic, coffee, good sweet fruit. Bitter chocolate and tobacco. Lots of complexity here. Excellent and my favorite in this lineup.
As a final treat, we were also given a taste of Corte Riva's top wine called "Mabuhay"
Corte Riva Mabuhay Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - A selection of the Cabernet Sauvignon barrels are bottled under this label. 24 months in 70% new French oak. Good varietal character providing acid on the finish. A more elegant expression compared to the full-throttle style of their regular wines. As this is less powerful, in hindsight, I think it would have been better to serve this first although it really should be the highlight of the tasting. Very good.
For dessert we had some Ghirardelli chocolates, also courtesy of Nieves as they are good friends of the owners of Ghirardelli. Chef Gene made a bold and surprising twist on the chocolate by infusing it with truffle and the barest hint of anchovy, giving the chocolate a very earthy character. Definitely not for everyone but I thought it worked rather well.
Both Lawrence and Rommel also work a Pride Mountain, Lawrence as Cellarmaster and Rommel as Assistant Winemaker, and so we were also given a taste of Pride's Mistelle de Viognier: a non-vintage dessert wine in a rather Germanic, high acid style to balance the intense peachy sweetness. Very good but rather expensive.
After most of the guests had gone, Nieves had one more bottle up her sleeve, a barrel sample of:
Corte Riva Zinafandel 2006 - Tobacco leaf, dried herbs, quite smooth. No grip and a bit hollow. Even Nieves was puzzled by how poorly this was showing. Possibly a bad bottle, hopefully more time in the barrel or bottle will turn this into something more interesting.
Definitely an excellent tasting and dinner showing Filipino talent in winemaking.