City of Dreams ups the ante with great French wines

Château Haut-Brion racks up major scores from wine experts like Robert Parker, who has ranked seven of its releases as ‘perfect.’

City of Dreams likes to do things a little differently. So when they invited the media to a special seven-course dinner at their premier rebtaurant, The Tasting Room, recently, the promise of French haute cuisine was only the beginning. They sweetened the pot considerably by pairing those entrées with a selection of premier cru wines from Château Haut-Brion, a centuries-old vineyard in Pessac on the Bordeaux border. 

It was a private affair between 32 media guests, seven exquisite culinary creations and about a dozen bottles of very special wine.

The Haut-Brion name has a pedigree that dates back to the 1600s. At least that’s when the earliest mentions of their family wines started to circulate. Itinerant Englishman Samuel Pepys wrote about it in The Diarist (1663); Thomas Jefferson, too, was impressed by the wines coming from this small estate in Pessac.

What we were treated to, thanks to Clarence Dillon Wines and City of Dreams, was a sampling of six premier cru (that’s original vine) selections that paired intriguingly with a special menu devised by Basque chef William Mahi, who’s known to allow guests to create their own degustation menus. Every meal at The Tasting Room thus becomes something special. As we enjoyed Champagne and chef Mahi’s signature appetizers (truffle lollipops, goat cheese covered in caramelized pork and limoncello jelly arranged in a “forest” of parma ham), we were serenaded by bossa nova artist Sofia.

Joan Mourgues, international sales director of Clarence Dillon Wines, gave us some background on Haut-Brion. The company was started in 1935 by American banker Clarence Dillon, who had an opportunity to buy up the centuries-old estate and has kept it within the family since. With a small output — only 7,000 to 10,000 cases per year — Haut-Brion racks up major scores from wine experts like Robert Parker, who has ranked seven of its releases as “perfect.” Another wine they’re quite proud of is the Monbazillac Amberwine Clarendelle 2012, described as the “first super-premium wine” from Bordeaux, which got 90 points from Parker. (And we got to sample it with our dessert.)

Good things often do come in small packages. So what makes the 30-hectare Haut-Brion estate so special? “What is interesting is the equal balance of merlot and cabernet sauvignon in the estate,” says Mourgues. “This brings a lot of harmony, selectivity, elegance and balance to the wines. You will discover typical aromas of Haut-Brion reds — smoky, roasted, Havana cigar taste and aromas — but the white also has a quite unique taste, and its known for its capacity to age.”

Mourgues is on a wine road show through Asia (next stop: Indonesia), toting bottles that retail in the range of $250 to $1,000 for special pairing events like this. (No wonder the wine dinner will be offered at P44,000++ per person at The Tasting Room.)

The challenge for chef Mahi was to raise his game even higher: “Château Haut-Brion is one of the most prestigious wines in the world. According to some experts, it may even be the best,” he says. “To create a menu that perfectly pairs with these vintages, I sourced and selected ingredients with meticulous care, particularly for their provenance and their benefits to one’s health.”

We opened with a glass of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs NV, paired with an amuse bouche of fresh Mediterranean sea urchin (the empty shell packed with foam) and razor clams laid on a bed of volcanic rocks. The Ruinart was warm, not acidic, so it balanced with the pungent sea flavors and washed away any grit.

I sensed a Noma inspiration in some of chef Mahi’s plating details, as with the appetizers arranged on a “tree,” the stones supporting the sea urchin, and the edible “rocks” (actually potatoes coated in edible clay) that were the centerpiece of the next dish. Coated with dollops of caviar with a cream cheese and watercress dip, this course was made more fantastic by the Château Haut-Brion Blanc 2012, a bottle that, while still young, unleashed some interesting flavor notes. Some detected Edelweiss flower and baby powder; I got hints of peach and something like durian. This may not sound quite appetizing, but it’s a joy to find such unusual notes in a white wine.

We basically swirled and sipped between courses, our glasses ably refilled by Tasting Room manager Damien Planchenault, and got to experience more of the Haut-Brion. It’s actually one of only five châteaus in the world with a “Premier Grand Cru Classé” ranking, and Haut-Brion is the only one that does not hail from the Medoc (wine-producing) region.

The two highlights of the meal, for me, came next: a savory slab of pan-fried duck liver served with a hibiscus gel, peas and orange royale. It was paired with a lively 2004 red that called forth even more flavors from this rich, luxurious dish. Basically, the pairing rocked: you can’t go wrong with pan-fried duck liver, and mixing it with the complex Haut-Brion was like taking a rocket to the moon.

The next course was Saint-Brieuc scallops, sharing a bed with lumps of goat cheese, transparent mango, affila, soya and a wasabi sorbet. A red La Mission Haut Brion 1993 was served to “cleanse the palate,” though I had saved some of my Haut-Brion white from earlier to savor with the scallops. It works well with either wine, it turns out.

By this point, we had sampled innumerable glasses of Haut-Brion, and my tongue wasn’t performing in peak form (in more ways than one), so I have little to say about the next dish, the stuffed chicken breast and Brussels sprouts with beetroot, celeriac puree, black truffle and almond cream — it was paired fittingly with an ’86 Château Haut-Brion, though this seemed less transporting than the earlier 1993 bottle. Again, my palate might have gone into taste overload by that time.

We next tucked into the soft truffle Brie de Meaux (aside a thick crust of fruit bread) paired with quite a rare wine — a 1970 Haut-Brion — and finished this off with an amazing (though unusual to some Filipinos) dessert built around a Bounty chocolate bar. That’s right: we had a cooked chocolate bar coated with piña colada foam, lying in a pool of chocolate and coconut shavings. This turned out to be a happy ending to an already quite happy meal, especially paired with the Monbazillac Amberwine Clarendelle 2012, a spry and fruity dessert wine that’s apparently made with raisin-ed grapes to give it greater depth and complexity. You’ll detect candied fruit in its notes, such as apricots, peaches and even pineapple.

The only bittersweet note of the evening was knowing that, after Clarence Dillon packs up its remaining bottles, we’re not likely to see a Haut-Brion in our wine collection anytime soon. But the good news is: interested patrons can sample this rare tasting event at The Tasting Room, with limited seating only, for the sum of P44,000++ per head. Contact Tasting Room at 800-8080 or email guests services@cod-manila.com.

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The Tasting Room is located at the lobby of Crown Towers in City of Dreams Manila. Photos by Scott R. Garceau