EXERCISES IN THE DISCERNMENT OF THE SPIRITS (SEVENTH IN A SERIES)
“Wine is a gift from God…a true source of joy.”—Papa Francesco, January 22, 2024
Aska Bolgheri Rosso D.O.C. Banfi 2020 at Osteria dell’Oca, Florence, Italy
A wine of fine quality with a sweet, fermented, distinctive Cabernet Sauvignon fragrance, smooth body and notable density, and a satisfying, flavorous mixture of bitter, sour, and delicately sweet—slightly acidic, perceptibly acrid, dry and woody, with pleasantly, lightly sour notes, all liquidly warming to the throat and chest. Good companion to any main course, especially French or Mediterranean.
Rating: 4 stars
Peroni Nastro Azzurro
Nastro Azzurro or “Blue Ribbon” is Peroni’s most popular beer internationally and also the most available outside Italy. Delivered in a visually appealing green bottle accented by red-and-blue on white labels, it reveals itself as a pale golden yellow lager, irrepressibly bubbly and lightly frothy—height of the head depends on how aggressively you pour—effusing an appetizing beery aroma. Mildly sweet throughout and perceptibly bready, it is flavorful, tastily bitter and refreshingly crisp, with a briny texture, fully agreeable and pleasurable. Unfailingly, it delivers a buzz…just wait for it. Overall, it is balmy, tonic, and quieting the way most lagers go. Aftertaste, however, is not altogether palatable, to speak plainly. Chill extravagantly for best effect.
Blue ribbon? Yes, for some.
Rating: 4 stars
Asahi Super Dry
Vegetal, grassy, freshly and lightly aromatic...generous head, subtly sweet, allusively woody…notably crisp, richly textured, briny...stringy finish almost like bamboo fibers…sure to satisfy any aficionado of Super Dry variants. Highly recommended.
Rating: 4 stars
San Miguel Pale Pilsen
The flagship brand of San Miguel Corporation was first brewed in the Philippines under a Royal Grant from the Spanish Crown in 1890.
It’s an everyman beer in the Philippines and Hong Kong that delivers value for money. The drink locates in the economy end of both markets.
San Miguel Pale Pilsen pours with an ample head slowly diminishing, exuding a fresh, vegetal, appetizing aroma. Refreshing and pleasurable, it serves up medium sweetness intermixed with moderate bitterness—taste attributes that have become its signature trademark—together with the briny texture so characteristic of pilsners. A fine brew very deserving of commercial success.
Rating: 4 stars
Craggy Range Te Muna Road Sauvignon Blanc White Wine 2022 at Willow Root Bar, Manila Polo Club, Philippines
Robustly acidic, uniquely lemony, with a highly pleasant, citrusy aroma…mild, finely sour, lightly sweet, brightly mineral…aroma and flavors work well together, resulting in an indefinably complex taste experience. Best when cheerily, assertively chill…the effect is memorably, delectably refreshing. Conjures up sensibly fresh, verdant, expansive, unspoiled panoramas of the New Zealand of our dreams…well worth several sips and possibly even a second glass.
Rating: 5 stars
Delirium Nocturnum Belgian Ale
Dense, opaque dark brown Belgian ale...frothy, abundant head slowly diminishing...sour aroma, unusually pungent...granted, faintly fragrant...it makes a highly textured first impression. Notably woody fermented flavor, unmistakably tart and acidic, roundly bitter, briny throughout, lingering, not altogether pleasant, it conjures up memories of wet brown paper bags. Definitely, an acquired taste...330 ml is enough to knock your head sideways...Delirium Nocturnum, diurnum, any time of the day, actually. Here’s to pink elephants!
Rating: 4 stars
ROSÉ WINE, LIONEL OSMIN & CIE VILLA LA VIE EN ROSE
ReplyDeleteA modestly priced rosé wine that holds its own...lightly, sweetly aromatic...acidic, finely sour, mildly berry, fresh, self-effacing...likely to satisfy the studious...serve chill (8-10 °C) for best effect...pairs well with salads and soberly cooked seafood.
Rating: 4 stars
Gonzalinho
WINE IS A GOOD SPIRIT
ReplyDeletePope Francis has said that wine “is a gift from God” and “a true source of joy” for its consumers.
...Francis made the comments during a private audience at the Vatican with winemakers from across Italy.
...“Wine, land, agricultural skills and entrepreneurialism are gifts from God – the creator has entrusted them to us because, with our sensitivity and honesty, we make them a true source of joy.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/23/wine-is-a-gift-from-god-pope-francis-tells-italian-producers
—Angela Giuffrida, “Wine is a gift from God, Pope Francis tells Italian producers,” The Guardian (January 24, 2024)
Gonzalinho
BLACK MAMBA STOUT BEER
ReplyDeleteDark chocolate, densely colored, with a modest, inviting head, finely effervescent, and a characteristically stout aroma, appetizing, it’s a freshly conceived, lightly sour concoction in the long and high tradition of world-class stouts. Successfully, it attains a happy medium between the uniquely bitter and winningly sweet—virtue, so to speak, in the Aristotelian sense of the mean between extremes. Truly, perfection in a pint. Black mamba—no poison here, only a tonic for the avidly thirsty.
Rating: 5 stars
Gonzalinho
WINE IS NOT FOR MONKS
ReplyDeleteSome brothers told Abba Poemen of a brother who did not drink wine. He said, “Wine is not for monks.”
—The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, transl. with a foreword by Benedicta Ward, SLG, preface by Metropolitan Anthony (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications, 1984), page 169
Gonzalinho