Notes fdrom last night's Bon Voyage dinner for WLDGer Ramon Cabrera and lurker Vince Tan at Paparazzi, EDSA Shangri-La Hotel.
Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio Valdige 2004 - Acidic with some sour candy character in the finish. Not a whole lot of flavor. Too acidic for me but I suppose would be refreshing served very cold on a hot day.
Banfi Poggio all'Oro Brunello di Montalcino 1999 - Lovely nose of berries and leather, flowers. Spicy. Roast meat, lots of sweet fruit. Still tight and unyielding. Concentrated. Tannic. Needs a lot more time but great potential here. My favorite of the night.
Carpineto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 1998 - Smoke and flowers on the nose. Just about perfect now. Drinking superbly. Good balance and well rounded. Sweet fruit. Could possibly age a bit more as there is still some grip in the finish but really, there's no need for that.
Tignanello 2000 - Sweet, very soft. New Worldy. Good wine but no Italian-ness. This wine could be from anywhere. Drinking well now. Just Ok for me as it lacks distinction.
Antinori Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Riserva 2001 - Sweet, dark fruit. Again, quite soft. A little bitterness on the finish. I usually associate Chianti with cherry but I don't get any of that here. Slightly better than the Tignanello but again just OK.
Guado al Tasso Il Brucciato Bolgheri 2002 - Young, chocolatey. Despite the vintage, more structure than either the Tignanello or Chianti. A little closed but a wine with character. Very good.
Cordero di Montezemolo Enrico VI Barolo 1996 - Very dark. Sweet fruit. Chinese preserved plums. Young, tannic, dusty. Closed despite being decanted and airing for over an hour. Concentrated. A serious wine that demands maybe 3 more years at least before trying again. No tar or roses. Perhaps this is going through a dumb phase? I had a bottle last year which was much more open that this.
Pio Cesare Barolo 2000 - Quite sweet, chocolatey. Much lighter than I expected especially when compared to the Enrico. A rather forward, friendly style of Barolo that seems to be made for early drinking. Good but a bit undistinguished.
As Ramon is an annual visitor to Manila, we are already planning the dinners for next year which will probably feature Pinot Noir and Spanish wines.
