It's been pretty quite in Manila wine-wise the last couple of weeks as a couple of the Usuals were out of the country travelling so I was very happy to confirm a lunch with Lester, Jojo and Mark at Gustavus. The theme was supposed to be Shiraz but for some the reason, the only Shiraz opened was my Kaesler Old Bastard.
As Gustavus is famous for its oysters, I brought a Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs Brut 2007 to start. There's quite some weight in this wine. Good complexity. Sweet brioche, white chocolate and a bit nutty as well. Definitely not Champagne but still, a very good bubbly.
We followed up with Jojo's Zind Humbrecht Clos Hauserer Riesling 2008 - Sweet floral nose. Steely, with lime notes at the front but then the underlying fruit tempers the initial austerity. Very good.
We had two reds. First up was Jojo's Chateau Montelena 1995 - Unfortunately the wine was in serious decline. No fruit to speak of and very weak on the finish. Watery as well. Fortunately my Kaesler Old Bastard Shiraz 2005 was in better shape. Very dark, obvious oak but it's not overbearing. Milk chocolate. 16% alcohol but the wine carries it admirably. No heat at all here. Rich but very well put together. Round and already quite soft. Very approachable straight from the bottle although an hour decanting revealed more layers with leather and coffee notes coming through. Excellent with the burger.
