The annual International Wine and Food Society Manila Branch President's dinner was held last night at the Peninsula Hotel's Old Manila. I arrived a bit late and was not able to try the canapes at the cocktails but the food at the dinner proper was very good.
Jacquesson Brut 732 Champagne NV - Served at the cocktails. Light and lemony with just a hint of coffee. Very dry and refreshing. Although I prefer my Champagne in a heavier style, I'm happy with this.
Louis Jadot Pouilly Fuisse Clos de Progues 2005 - A good match for the avocado and crab starter. Hint of orange. Gentle and silky with some toasted nuts. Elegant and drinking very nicely now.
Comte Lafon Macon-Milly Lamartine Clos de Four 2005 - Rather powerful flavor. Rather sharp orange rind at first but gets smooths out quickly. Very dry. I found this a touch too strong for the poached lapu-lapu fillet in vanilla beurre blanc.
Louis Jadot Clos de Ursules 2006 - Mild earth and raspberry. Dried fruits. Young and still rather tannic and quite dry. Needs time to resolve the tannins. Gets sweeter after sitting in the glass for about 30 minutes. Maybe best to leave this alone for a year or so. Excellent with the duck broth with oxtail raviolini.
Chateau Palmer 1999 - Extremely dark and youthful looking. Stately, spicy wine. Hint of cumin and pepper. Very round and silky in the mouth although it still has a bit of tannin in the finish. Perhaps approaching peak and should be there in another year or so. Finishes with great length. A great match for the pepper roasted rack of lamb.
Dow Quinta do Bomfim Port 1995 - Plums and raisins. Very concentrated, rich, syrupy and very sweet fruit. Finishes a bit dry, though. Already soft and drinking very well. Excellent wine which went very nicely with the cheese plate, particularly the Stilton.
Chateau Doisy-Daene Sauternes 2004 - Very good, classic Sauternes nose. A rather gentle Sauternes with a long finish. Unfortunately, it was a bit difficult for me to go from the rich Port to this rather tame Sauternes, so my note isn't too detailed.
We finished with some Tesseron Cognac. An excellent dinner with some great wines.