Exercises in the Discernment of the Spirits (Eighth in a Series)

 
EXERCISES IN THE DISCERNMENT OF THE SPIRITS (EIGHTH IN A SERIES)
 
Some 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 (1984),
transl. with a foreword by Benedicta Ward, SLG,
preface by Metropolitan Anthony

 


 
Rosé Wine, Lionel Osmin & Cie Villa La Vie en Rose 2022

A 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   

 

Black Mamba Stout Beer

Dark 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 
 
 
Lemon Drop at the White Moon Bar, Manila, Philippines

Smoothly syrupy, brightly lemony, lightly touched by smoky bitterness, it’s a disarming mix of winning ingredients—vodka, triple sec, lemon juice. Sugar garnish along the rim is for sweet tooths to indulge at will. Despite zero kick, practically, it’s a worthwhile gustatory experience.

Rating: 4 stars

 

Casamaro Rueda Verdejo 2022 at Project Vino Reserve, Proscenium, Rockwell Drive, Makati City, Philippines

Dusky golden yellow, it sets off bright and lemony, phenomenally pure, finely bittersweet, delectable and agreeable with almost tangerine fullness, lightly warming, suffusing a soft, sour fragrance together with a slightly acidic aftertaste. A whiff limns luminous visions of tidy vineyards in sunny, brisk Rueda.

 
Rating: 5 stars
 
 
Milla Cala Chilean Red Wine 2019 at Cork Wine Bar, Bonifacio Global City, Philippines

Delectable, beginning with the distinctive Cabernet Sauvignon fragrance, fresh, aromatic. Solid body, delicately, drily sweet, spicy and sour notes, not especially complex, unaffected and memorably pleasant. Blended fine wine anytime and all around.

 
68% Cabernet Sauvignon
16% Carmenere
7% Syrah
5% Merlot
4% Cabernet Franc

Rating: 4 stars
 
 
Francois Janoueix Chateau Rousseau Bordeaux Red Wine Blend 2022

Sweet, fresh as freshness, berry rich and flavorful, multiplex tannin notes...pleasant, lightly sour aftertaste, mildly warming to throat and chest—memorably wonderful taste experience.

 
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Franc
Merlot

Rating: 5 stars

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