Starting out in wine 20 years ago, information on the subject was difficult to come by in Manila. One of the few people giving lectures on the subject was International Wine and Food Society pioneer Freddie Pio de Roda who, together with Chef Gene Gonzalez gave tastings and wine dinners together with the usual lectures on grapes, regions and pairings etc. I attended these lectures and dinners and because of this I consider Freddie my guru on wine.
I got an email from Freddie a couple of weeks back saying that while he was rooting around in the cellar he came across a couple of old bottles he wasn't sure were still any good but would I like to join him for dinner to find out. I accepted right away and so we met earlier this week with a couple of other members of the International Wine and Food Society at Restaurant 101 to check out the wines.
We started with 2 bottles of Deutz Champagne generously contributed by Joey Co.
Deutz Brut Classic NV - Very rich and creamy. White chocolate with a touch of mushroom. Excellent and a style of Champagne I enjoy.
Deutz Cuvee William Deutz 1996 - Slight oxidation. Yeasty, nutty, a bit of cafe au lait. The acidity was rather sharp here. I preferred the regular Brut.
For the first course of duck and truffled gnocchi we had three Bordeauxs.
Chateau Pichon Lalande 1979 - Remarkably dark color. It certainly didn't look like like a 30 year old wine. Still youthful, savory, very dry verging on austere. A little bit of forest floor. Foursquare and a little chunky. Long finish. Othmar examined the cork and it said the wine was recorked at the Chateau in 1993.
Chateau La Conseillante 1989 - Good color. Touch of truffle. Lovely sweet, plummy fruit. Soft and a bit flabby in the finish but otherwise a great match with the truffled gnocchi. Perhaps just a bit over the hill. My favorite red of the night.
Chateau Latour 1985 - Soft. There's a sharpish component to the nose. Perhaps some VA? Good fruit but oddly, this left me cold. Undoubtedly a good wine but rather uninteresting.
We had three Californians for the steak.
Harrison Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 - A little hot. Chocolate. Slightly hollow and a bit faded on the finish. Clearly declining although it was a good mach with the steak.
Dominus 1988 - Good color. Very dark. Good fruit. Bacon. About perfect now.
Stag's Leap SLV 1995 - Beautiful nose. Rounded with everything in the right place. I think everyone agreed this was the best of the Californians.
With the outstanding Louis XV chocolate dessert we had a Banyuls and a Rasteau VDN.
Domaine du Mas Blanc Banyuls 1979 - Thin and lacking flavor. Definitely a goner.
Domaine de la Soumade VDN 1998 - Dark, rich, plummy and figgy. Like a rather rustic vintage port. Good although I didn't think it matched with the chocolate.
We ended telling of war stories about Yquem costing $ 50.00 and starting out with Mateus Rose, Lancers and Gallo Hearty Burgundy before calling it a night.