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WTN: Rarities at the IWFS Directors Meeting

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Jay Labrador

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WTN: Rarities at the IWFS Directors Meeting

by Jay Labrador » Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:57 am

The last regular meeting for the current board of the International Wine and Food Society (IWFS) Philippines Branch was hosted by Winemaster and Past President Bernie at his home. Bernie has a fantastic cellar so we were sure to have some incredible wines for the dinner to follow but he really pulled out all the stops for this.
But business first. We had a succession of champagnes for the meeting starting with a Dom Perignon 1988. I was particularly interested in this as I happen to have a bottle and was wondering if I should pop the cork on it. Medium gold in color with fine bubbles rising slowly, this is still pretty fresh and hardly shows its 25 years. Oyster shells and steel, with a slight nutty, oxidative note to add complexity. The lemony finish gives it some lift so it sits rather lightly on the tongue. Finishes very long. If this is a general indication of surviving bottles, I’d say there’s still a long life left in them. Excellent.
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Dom Perignon 1988 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
We then proceeded to a Taittinger Comtes de Chamapgne Blanc de Blancs 1998. A lively wine, quite dry, but with a hint of toffee and some tobacco. Lighter than the Dom but not as lemony. An easier drink, I thought. Lovely.
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Comtes de Champagne 1998 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
Third bubbly was Salon 1990. Medium to dark gold. Medium-bodied. Orange peel, definite oxidative notes. Deep flavor but seems tired. Bernie said it reminded him of sherry. Still a good drink but it seems to be in decline.
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Salon 1990 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
Aside from some rather bland baked potato chips, a freakin’ 250 gram can of caviar made an appearance! I just hit the jackpot. One of my all-time favorite wine and food pairings is champagne and caviar. And this was the real thing. Not dyed lumpfish eggs, not salmon roe (although I love that, too), but the real deal, honest to goodness sturgeon roe. It’s been maybe 20 years since I’ve had the real thing so this was a fine surprise. That it was Ossietra was even better as it’s a type I’ve never had before; being the second most expensive caviar after Beluga. The only other sturgeon caviar I’ve had was Sevruga. This was served simply on crackers but the proper utensils for spooning the caviar were used: only spoons made of mother of pearl and glass were permitted to come in contact with the precious eggs.
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Ossietra Caviar by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
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Ossietra Caviar by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
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Ossietra Caviar by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
Aside from the champagne, Bernie also asked us to try some other whites with the caviar. An Ostertag Riesling Muenchberg 2003 was opened showing green apples and a gentle sweetness. The slightly bitter finish wasn’t to my liking, though. A Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Clos Hauserer 2008 was also summoned and it showed a different style, being more dry, lemony and crisp. I stayed with the champagne, the Alsatians were just not luxurious enough. Experimentation is good but sometimes it’s best to stick with the classics.
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Ostertag Riesling Muenchberg 2003 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
With the meeting and caviar disposed of, we went to dinner prepared by fellow director Markus. He’s a keen amateur chef and is always ready to work in the kitchen in addition to his work on the board.
We started with a very hearty and slightly spicy pumpkin soup. This was excellent and so a couple of us had extra servings. To go with the soup were two Bordeaux whites, Pape Clement 2004 and Domaine de Chevalier 1998. The Pape Clement had the requisite weight to match the soup. This is a somewhat modern take on Bordeaux Blanc as there’s a bit of oak driving this wine. In contrast, the Domaine de Chevalier 1998 was lighter and more elegant. There’s a bit of honey on the nose but the wine is totally dry with a touch of lemon drop. I felt it was too light for the soup and so I concentrated on the Pape Clement.
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IMG_0302Pape Clement 2004 and Domaine de Chevalier 1998 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
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Pumpkin Soup by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
The second course was a very clean and simple crab pasta paired with a Canadian wine from Okanagan Valley, BC. This was the Township 7 Chardonnay 2009. If only more chardonnays were like this. Light, gentle and soft with notes of marzipan and mint. This made a fine match for the crab.
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Township 7 Chardonnay 2009 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
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Crab Pasta by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
All the time we were drinking the whites, decanters of reds with the empty bottles beside them were beckoning to us from the middle of the table. With the prestigious labels on these staring at us, we eagerly set upon them after the pasta. First up was the Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Vieilles Vignes 2003 from magnum. Quite a rich and dense burgundy with flavors of cherry and smoke dominating. Excellent. But it was the next two wines which we were most eager to try.
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Ponsot Clos de La Roche VV 2003 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
In the world of burgundy, the wines that inspire the most desire are those made by Domaine de la Romanee Conti. And we happened to have two of them on the table. The first one we tried was La Tache 1991. Unfortunately, I thought this was slightly corked. There was also a weird rubber smell that reminded some of us of South African wines. OK, so there was a bit of chocolate in there as well but clearly, this was a damaged bottle. The Romanee St. Vivant 1990 fared a little better. Nice minty nose. Soft and fine. A little tart on the finish. A good wine but no “Wow.” I don’t think our expectations for the wines were too high. The wines just didn’t age well. We were told later that the bottles came from a former member of the Society who passed away and that he had neglected the proper storage of his bottles while he was battling a lingering illness to which he eventually succumbed.
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Romanee St. Vivant and La Tache by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
There were no such problems with the last red, though. Aside from a damaged label, the La Mission Haut Brion 1990 from magnum was in fine shape. Tobacco, earth, leather and cocoa powder, this was many-layered and a beauty to drink now. An outstanding wine now at peak.
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La Mission Haut Brion 1990 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
To go with the reds we had a very good smoked duck with potatoes and ratatouille and afterwards, a cheese plate with manchego, aged edam, and a goat cheese I neglected to get the name of.
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Smoked Duck, Potatoes and Ratatouille by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
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Cheese Plate by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
Dessert was another fine creation by Markus of gingerbread with honey parfait and mango coulis. This was matched perfectly by a half bottle of Ostertag Heissenberg Riesling SGN 1990. The color was deep gold and was quite creamy on the palate with the typical botrytis induced flavors of burnt sugar, apricot, orange marmalade and honey. This was excellent and avoided the heaviness some wines of this type can possess.
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Gingerbread and Honey Parfait with Mango Coulis by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
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Ostertag Heissenberg Riesling SGN 1990 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
A choice of digestifs was offered together with coffee: Cognac Leopold Gourmel Quintessence or Armagnac Jouatmaou 1948. As I had the Armagnac at the last meeting, I opted for the Gourmel.
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Gourmel Quintessence Cognac and Jouatmaou Armagnac 1948 by jaylabrador.winesteward, on Flickr
Thus ended our last board meeting. I’ve been lucky to have lots of amazing meals and wines as a member of this board. Many thanks to my fellow directors and congratulations for another successful year completed.
Three be the things I shall never attain:
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.
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Salil

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Re: WTN: Rarities at the IWFS Directors Meeting

by Salil » Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:02 am

Caviar and Salon is a freaking amazing combination.

Shame about those two DRCs. But that 90 LMHB sounds stellar.
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Jay Labrador

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Re: WTN: Rarities at the IWFS Directors Meeting

by Jay Labrador » Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:07 am

Salil wrote:Caviar and Salon is a freaking amazing combination.

Shame about those two DRCs. But that 90 LMHB sounds stellar.


One of guys present went on and on about caviar and vodka. I offered to get a bottle of vodka for him if he would give up his share of champagne but he declined. The LMHB is the best red I've had this year so far.
Three be the things I shall never attain:
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.

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