bods1000 Posted June 24, 2005 Author Share Posted June 24, 2005 FR (FIZZ REPORT) ON THE 2ND WINE EB, JUNE 23, 2005 I was quite early at Wine Depot so I starting getting in touch with the guys who might be there. Masi and spurt both replied they were on their way. In due time, masi arrived and we entered the wine store. There, like two boys set free in a toy store, we rummaged through the shelves and went up and down the modest aisles sorting through bottles and bottles of reds, whites, roses, California, Aussie, French, S. African, etc.. We even made some curious look-see at the spirits section, wondering how a tawny port would taste like. We decided to give way to our Taste of the Moment and choose a shiraz from all these clutter. It had to be a 2000 or a 2001 so as to have a fair chance at escaping the uncertainties of a young wine. Randomly, we decided that a mid-priced 2001 Millstone Shiraz from Petaluma would be interesting. The next problem was picking a place with decent corkage charges, decent food and conducive ambience. The guard was pointing us to a place there but we suspected it was a Dampa-type of place where a wine would look out of place and we would be smelling of smoke afterwards. Spurt soon arrived and he suggested a complex of food places down the street. Off we go, convoy-type, and soon lost each other I lost spurt because he was able to go through the intersection before the traffic aide unbelievably stopped masi and me hehehe....masi lost me because he thought he was following my vehicle, I missed the entrance to the place and had to go back up again to the other side and make another trip down the street. In all, I mused that this comedy of errors could only be assuaged by some good drinking later on. The rain was beginning to make its presence felt at around this time. We soon picked up a place out of the whole maze of food places there. It was great! Barcino not only served food, it also had a superb collection of Spanish riojas, tempranillos, and would you believe, a Spanish pinot noir. An excellent array of Spanish treats was also available, besides which the owners were gracious enough to sit down with us and talk about wine, the economy, Spanish bodegas, their travels, etc. The clincher was that there was no corkage to be charged if we would buy some bottles later on. It was a great evening - more than what we had hoped for by such a spontanous, impromptu, and somewhat haphazard planning. We took to heart agxo's advice by starting with the best of the lot - a 1999 Eagle and Rose cabernet sauvignon which spurt so graciously brought with him, together with a 1999 SeaRidge, another cab. Together with platefuls of jamon serrano, sausages and paella (which was superb, judging by the pronouncement of our certified Iberian gastronome, masi), the evening begun to weave its magic around us. The wines were superb (high praises to Eagle and Rose) and we developed more than a buzz from all the wine and food (we were not able to open the SeaRidge anymore as it was almost eleven then). I leave the tasting notes to my good friend, masi, being more wine-eloquent than me. Spurt was a great guy. We were more than fortunate to have him here in the country for the EB, being busy and all with business. Need I say we had some great conversations about almost anything, which even culminated in the healthy debate between spurt and the owner about the coming-of-age of......................Chinese designers! Indian wines surprisingly got some nods of approval from the owner...Chinese wines still waiting for that break-out....how they tasted seven varieties of a grenache varietal in some Spanish cavas....spurt's dabbling in surfing and the surfing equipments he also trades in........masi's contemplating on changing his Titleist gear and shifting to another one, or chucking golf altogether and going back to his former passion - cycling..... The evening wore on, the wines clouding our perception of time. But yes - it was time to go home and muse how lucky we were to have such a grand time! cheers!here's more to the next EB :thumbsupsmiley: Quote Link to comment
bods1000 Posted June 24, 2005 Author Share Posted June 24, 2005 nice meeting you masi & bods.... then this maria & husband. hehehe i'm so tempted to open this raimat, but i should share di ba. as promised, the wine tasting i mentioned happened yesterday. no near sched yet. anyway, i will see you again guys & enjoy more wines. let's see our tendencies maybe of jumping from the new old to the old world, hehehe.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> pare, it was nice to finally see you!thanks for the company, more so for the wines...... I have the SeaRidge, but I have to keep my wine openers out of sight for the meantime in the event I give in to the urge of opening it instead of saving it up for the next EB.. That was a great cab - that Eagle&Rose! Thanks pare! See you again! Quote Link to comment
masi Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 bods... superb eloquence to cap a great evening among friends of the vine.... Quote Link to comment
bods1000 Posted June 24, 2005 Author Share Posted June 24, 2005 last night, bods, spurt and i drank 2 bottles (thanks to spurt for bringing 2 bottles) while bods bought a Millstone Shiraz 2001 at Wine Depot. we drank the shiraz after we made sure that the bottle of cabernet sauvignon (spurt agreed to post the notes) which spurt brought was dry and empty.. like any of the shiraz that i had to share with bods, the Millstone was a pleasure to be with, a deep crimson color which is typical, a spicy earthy (i got a hint of caramel but there was a countervailing comment) and a luscious bouquet on the nose. the taste affirmed its spicy (not oak but peppery) earthy character which our nose revealed at the beginning. hardly any strong tanins. a dry and balance finish. but it doesn't end there...as the wine "breathed" the character of the Millstone Shiraz 2001 continued to evolve in the palate. truly a marvel.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> It was aged in French barriques for 18 months - I think that was the key! It was great seeing you again, pare....I think our wine-drinking will become more and more frequent now kahit may kontra dun sa shiraz, I think it all boils down again to preferences and bias - what the heck - we love whatever we drink! cheers! Quote Link to comment
bods1000 Posted June 24, 2005 Author Share Posted June 24, 2005 Winos! Pleasant buzz to you all. So how well did the wine go down last night? Did you all have a longggggggggggg finish? I regret missing it however the call of beautiful shoes at the Shang was blasting in my ears and I just couldn't resist. I was hoping you would be drinking in that area. I ended up having vodka all night at Aruba and interestingly they had Wolf Blass there and Stone Heaven (if I remember correctly) on their wine list. Let's meet sometime soon at Cyrano Wine Bar and let our tongues roll on some lush nectar while reading some Neruda Cheers!<{POST_SNAPBACK}> It would have been infinitely more delectable if you were around, together with ms.manners. As it was, your spirit was with us - you remain the Rose in that Eagle&Rose we savored Quote Link to comment
bods1000 Posted June 24, 2005 Author Share Posted June 24, 2005 ola...winos (pahiram, hanilips) i'm not as wine-savvy as you guys but i do love wines. as they say it's good for the heart and, wholewineheartedly, i agree. my heart is in perfect condition! at least that's how i feel *toinks*.... i started collecting wines as early as 1997 but i only have a number of them up to this point as i always end up taking up a swig.Mine's simply stored in a wooden rack but with the kind of temp here i think it's enough to retain its 'naughty and flirtatious ' taste. masi, a golfer? check out mTc clubhouse....andun yung mga 19th hole addicts cheers!HK<{POST_SNAPBACK}> welcome! we would love to have your company in future get-togethers.... Correction - we're not wine-savvy - we just love to drink wine, like you... cheers!...and let's soon get a whiff of those flirtatious beauties you keep Quote Link to comment
masi Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 It was aged in French barriques for 18 months - I think that was the key! It was great seeing you again, pare....I think our wine-drinking will become more and more frequent now kahit may kontra dun sa shiraz, I think it all boils down again to preferences and bias - what the heck - we love whatever we drink! cheers!<{POST_SNAPBACK}> whoever contradicts a shiraz has to prove the point that there is a better choice ... the only way to do this is to settle it in joust... the first bottle to fall will be declared the winner... Quote Link to comment
bods1000 Posted June 24, 2005 Author Share Posted June 24, 2005 Now, why did I stumble on this only now? :grr: I was at the Ortigas Home Depot around past 5pm yesterday. Had I known you guys were meeting up, I could have joined in . . . Nasa tapat lang nun yung Wine Depot diba? Discovered any good reislings lately, pareng bods?<{POST_SNAPBACK}> sayang talaga, pare!please do stick around the thread everyday because our wine happenings are more of a spur-of-the-moment thingies we would love to have you around next time, and yes, it would be a good idea if we include a white in the next sessions... I'm not much into rieslings yet - what would you recommend, pare?I have not lost my love affairs yet with semillons and sauvignon blancs.......... Quote Link to comment
ngneer_hk Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Hey HKHItad! Stop stalking me! Kidding aside I know you are very fond of reds. Let's grab a couple when you get to town! Cheers!<{POST_SNAPBACK}> ola Hanilips! syet...nahalata na sure thing, hanilips. Cheers! Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 if you're storing for later consumption, it's best to keep wine someplace a little damp and at 55degF<{POST_SNAPBACK}> For long term storage, absolutely! I used to keep my stash in the crawl space under the house. Even in the worst heat of summer it never got above 65 deg F (about 18 C). And being right on the ground, there was always just a bit of moisture, but not wet. That would have been bad....... Now of course, I am loving my new Transtherm wine closet! Hygrometry to control the humidity and temp control to keep everything at 11 deg C (52 deg F). Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 do are you keeping a live Eskimo in your freezer? now that bods and i have warmed up our acquaintances... we are surely looking forward to your forthcoming visit and a taste from your private collection...<{POST_SNAPBACK}> I like my frozen stuff FROZEN and my cold stuff COLD. Keeps much better that way. Good wine is meant to be shared. We have a regular Thursday night gathering of photographers at which we sometimes show work, sometimes talk photography but ALWAYS drink a bottle or five. Last night we were all a bit fried for various reasons - pressures of work, a client making an appointment then not showing up - so it was a 3 botlle night for the four of us who showed up. A 97 Retzlaff merlot - nice, smooth tannins, loads of strawberries, a bit of spice and black pepper on the finish. Then a Dry Creek zin, 2002. A bit young, but pretty refreshing. Light enough that we should have chilled it a bit. Last a 99 Alexander Valley cab. THis should have been the first bottle we opened. Our taste buds were already a bit tired by the time we opened this, not to mention the slight buzz from the first two bottles. But it went down well nonetheless. Next time this goes first! Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 last night, bods, spurt and i drank 2 bottles (thanks to spurt for bringing 2 bottles) while bods bought a Millstone Shiraz 2001 at Wine Depot. we drank the shiraz after we made sure that the bottle of cabernet sauvignon (spurt agreed to post the notes) which spurt brought was dry and empty.. like any of the shiraz that i had to share with bods, the Millstone was a pleasure to be with, a deep crimson color which is typical, a spicy earthy (i got a hint of caramel but there was a countervailing comment) and a luscious bouquet on the nose. the taste affirmed its spicy (not oak but peppery) earthy character which our nose revealed at the beginning. hardly any strong tanins. a dry and balance finish. but it doesn't end there...as the wine "breathed" the character of the Millstone Shiraz 2001 continued to evolve in the palate. truly a marvel.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> From your tating notes and all, it seems I missed a really great win EB! Oh, well, such is life. It's good to hear that you guys are enjoying wine the way it was meant to be enjoyed - with good food and good friends. Drinking wine by yourself is indeed a lonely experience, which is why I don't drink that much at home - I'm the only drinker in the house, so it's not as engaging an experience as it could be. Quote Link to comment
bods1000 Posted June 24, 2005 Author Share Posted June 24, 2005 From your tating notes and all, it seems I missed a really great win EB! Oh, well, such is life. It's good to hear that you guys are enjoying wine the way it was meant to be enjoyed - with good food and good friends. Drinking wine by yourself is indeed a lonely experience, which is why I don't drink that much at home - I'm the only drinker in the house, so it's not as engaging an experience as it could be.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> we're waiting for you to be here so you can join us...November, pare? Last night was the only night in a long time that I did not drink at home...as it was I already consumed the Banrock Station in the afternoon - kaya wala na sa gabi I was tempted to open the Searidge, but reason prevailed....that should be available for the next EB. I was so full of buzz the EB night that I forgot to buy a bottle there...much to my regret last night... cheers!have a vino-happy weekend! Quote Link to comment
pinoy_strigoi Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 Glad to see this thread is alive and kicking thanks to the three musketeers - bods, agxo and masi. Magkono ba ang ice wine dito sa Pinas? Mahal ba? Can we contribute and buy one bottle and drink it sa EB? Quote Link to comment
masi Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 Glad to see this thread is alive and kicking thanks to the three musketeers - bods, agxo and masi. Magkono ba ang ice wine dito sa Pinas? Mahal ba? Can we contribute and buy one bottle and drink it sa EB?<{POST_SNAPBACK}> sure... but i haven't the faintest idea where to get it... spurt mentioned canadian ice wine at the last meeting .. perhaps we ought to try it... Quote Link to comment
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