With the long holiday weekend coming and most offices already closing early for the mass exodus out of Manila, it was a good chance for The Usual Suspects to have another long liquid lunch, especially with Miguel just back after a 3 week trip to Europe. Venue was Pepato so mostly Italian wines were called for.
Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis 2008 - Medium bodied, honeyed, with a bit of candy as well. Although the wine is rather rich on the palate, it turns crisp and dry on the long finish. Very good.
Tenuta San Guido Guidalberto 2007 - This is an IGT from Tuscany. Very dark. Smoked meat underneath ripe berries. Full, firm but rather forward for such a young wine. Chewy. Quite good.
Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Poggio Alle Mura 2001 - Meaty nose. Very dry. Dried fruit. A little chocolate and worcestershire sauce. A bit acidic on the finish. Soft enough to be enjoyable now but could possibly improve just a bit more with another year of cellaring. Really good with the steak.
Seigneurs d'Aiguilhe 2006 - Second wine of Chateau d'Aiguilhe. Dark chocolate. A bit sweet but good acidity on the finish. A good value for money wine.
Laurona Montsant 2004 - Another wine showing dark chocolate. Graphite. A little earthy as well. Honestly, I was wined-out by the time this was poured.
We took a walk after the Laurona but returned to Pepato after maybe 30 minutes. We decided to open a bottle of the ever-reliable Piper Heidsieck NV Brut before calling it a day.