Notes during dinner at Mezza Luna Serendra in Manila with Ponch and Maret Bautista.
1982 Chateau Brane Cantenac, Margaux
Popped and poured, this showed fresh dark ruby red color and started with some restrained fruit, firm and ripe, with some tannin and over the next hour, more ripe fruit unfolded and the wine gained weight in the glass and allowed more tertiary complexity to show notes of sandalwood, leather and smoke.
After about 2 hours in the glass, everything faded out into a dried out somewhat flavorless liquid. B+ (while the flavor lasted)
1995 Chateau Angelus, St. Emilion
It's the 2nd time I’ve had this wine, the last being about 3 years ago, and this wine continues to pack a wallop, but much more so this time than the last. Poured into a decanter, this wine was very dark, full bodied, with heavy tannin, and it quickly showed that powerful yet balanced structure. There were notes of spices and hints of cinnamon which nicely mingled with ripe black fruit. It had a long, lingering finish and I suspect that properly stored bottles of this wine will continue to provide pleasurable drinking over a very long period of time. A very, very good St. Emilion. A
2003 Pride Mountain Vinyeards Vinter Select Merlot, Sonoma/Napa
This one had that white chocolate nose all over, as unanimously noted by all drinkers. Unlike the 2004 version which I’ve had on a couple of occasions and which I’ve enjoyed more, this one is more tannic. It still has those Pride traits: mocha, chocolate, vanilla, some black berries. This one appears to require a few more years of bottle aging n order to be the nice-drinking, party-pleasing wine that I’ve come to expect from Pride VS Merlot. B
2003 Chateau Guiraud Sauternes
Dense and quite thick, inviting nose of ripe apricot, peaches and freshly-baked sweet pies, very ripe and quite sweet but not overly cloying to my taste, with specks of nice spices in the finish. It went nicely with pecan pie and warm chocolate cake. A-
Ramon