24 June 2025 Merv Peacock

Food  review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

What better on a cold winter’s day than a hearty boeuf bourguignon, washed down with a selection of fine 2021 cabernets from the Coonawarra?  Merv Peacock was in the kitchen today providing us with three canapes as well as the main, all on his own, with the exception of Leigh Hall on plating and odds and ends, and the usual enthusiastic support in the kitchen of “Team REX.”

Canapes

Merv did mention that his wife Kerrie provided some inspiration with the canapes.

First off pea and ham soup; always a good start to a cold winter’s lunch. Merv acknowledged these as being his wife’s creation.  A couple of croutons added some crunch to the soup.

Following was mackerel pate with a home-made crust. Mackerel, Philly cheese, horseradish and dill, and balsamic pearls to give it a lift.

The beef curry puffs, being the third pass around, were Kerry’s creation.  Served with a mango chutney.

An excellent start to the lunch and a good match for the several canape wines on show today.

Main

Today’s boeuf bourguignon was from a Nagi Maehashi recipe, with each component being seared separately in the pot.  Like Nagi’s recipe, Merv used an Australian Pinot and not a French one.  We had Dutch cream potatoes – Kerry peeled all 7 kg of them – with peas and a puff pastry crust.

A tasty lunch which was very appropriate for tasting the reds.

Cheese

The Cheesemaster presented a Maffra Red Wax Aged Cheddar, from Maffra in the Gippsland of Victoria.  This popular creamy waxed cheddar – produced by Ferial Zekiman and her team – has subtle fruity tones and a delicate nuttiness.

Merv served mixed nuts and dried apricots with the cheese, and his spicy chutney served as well was a good match with the cheese.

Wine

Lunch today was a beef bourguignon prepared expertly by our Chef du Jour, Merv Peacock, with assistance from Leigh Hall, with the generous servings of canapes, which were delicious. See full food report. 

With regard to wines, we commenced with a delightful Skillogalee Clare riesling 2023. Whilst quite young, the wine did not suffer from being drunk, perhaps a bit prematurely. Crisp and refreshing, plenty of lively acids and a persistent finish. Excellent balance, a nice wine. 

For the lunch wines, we were presented with seven highly regarded Coonawarra Cabernets, all from vintage 2021, except for the last wine, which was from 2000. Vintage 2021 in Coonawarra is regarded very highly.  The wines were St Hugo, Redman, Riddoch, Parker, Wynns Black Label and Majella. Wine 7 was the Parker Estate First Growth 2020. A very impressive lineup indeed. I do not intend to review each wine, as writing about 7 near identical wines pushes my boredom level to breaking point, so I will just deal with the worst and then the best. Those two wines were the Redman and the Parker First Growth. Of the other wines, all very enjoyable, my pick of the litter was the St Hugo, a lovely wine.

Dealing with the two wines to be discussed, first comes the worst, the Redman. I really did not like this wine one little bit. The taste to me was objectionable, maybe " green", ie unripe fruit or over extraction, was the problem, the bottom line is that it left a sour taste on the palate. To me this came as no surprise as I have watched a gradual decline in the quality of Redman's wines over many years.  To me, this is very sad. I first began drinking Redman "Claret", a Shiraz in the mid 60's, then enjoyed their first Cabernets in the early 70's  They were good wines. I continued to buy their wines for many years thereafter, but by the early 90s, something happened, and their wines were no longer appealing, at least to me. Looking back now, it has been like watching a slowly disintegrating marriage. The initial burst of joyous rapture as a young, keen wine enthusiast enjoying wines from a distinguished producer gradually cooled over the years into modest comfort and acceptance of diminishing enjoyment, then gradually deteriorating into indifference and finally restrained hostility.  All very regrettable, as I have always had a soft spot for Redman's.

As a postscript on Redman's, members may be interested to know that our erstwhile member Ray Kidd was the GM of Lindeman's when it acquired the  Redman property and the name "Rouge Homme" in June 1965. Our own member and winemaker Phil Laffer became winemaker at Rouge Homme in January 1966.   The Redman family subsequently acquired another property in Coonawarra and continued to make wine, under their own name, much to the discomfort of Lindemans. I digress. Back now to the second wine for review, the Parker First Growth 2020 @ 14.5% 

This wine comes from the southern end of the famous 13 x 2 Km stretch of the Terra Rosa strip of land in Coonawarra. This was a very serious wine, muscular, powerful and assertive, but at the same time smooth and perfectly balanced. Densely purple, with a huge berry fruit aroma, with hints of spice and cassis. The integration of oak, tannin and residual acid delivered a perfect finish, long and sensual.   To me, this wine represents the apex of Coonawarra Cabernet. Hugely flavoured and powerful, by far my wine of the day. On the other hand, if your taste preferences favour the more elegant Bordeaux style of Margaret River Cabernet, as seen in say Moss Wood, then the world is your oyster. Simply thrust your hand deeply into your pocket, pull out a large bundle of cash and buy yourself a bottle of each. Then you will have the best of both worlds.

17 June 2025 Rob Guthrie

Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

A cold but sunny winter’s day saw Rob Guthrie in the kitchen for the second time this year, following his Chef of the Year lamb rack entry in April.  He was assisted with canapes by Peter Kelso, Norbert Wyzenbeek and President Steve O’Halloran.

Canapes

Canapes were certainly aplenty, with suggestions by some that we return later to have the main served for dinner.

First cab off the rank was Norbert with his caprese bites, which we understood had some input from Norbert’s good wife, Sharon. This canapé has been seen several times in past lunches with the juxtaposition of the equally sized halved bocconcini balls and cherry tomatoes providing a colour contrast on the skewer.  However, we were outsmarted with a half quail egg used in lieu of the cheese, with a delightful matching dipping sauce instead of the traditional balsamic glaze.  The egg was a good substitute indeed.  Well done, Norbert!

Steve then did the rounds with his signature canapé: Jatz biscuits topped with goat’s cheese, white anchovies and a black olive. A good mouthfeel allrounder.

Finally, out came Peter’s cauli, pureed with onions, garlic and a bit of turmeric root softened in butter plus salt and pepper and a smidge of cayenne. Then served on toasts made by brushing white bread – crusts removed – with olive oil, cutting into squares and baking until crisp.

All canapes were a fine, if not filling, accompaniment to the Pewsey Vale Riesling.

Main

Rob served a carefully prepared roast spatchcock that was a delight to all of our senses.  The spatchcock was tunnel boned at the butcher, with the cavity being filled with a stuffing of pork mince, fennel, Swiss brown mushrooms, onion, sage, rosemary and chopped macadamia nuts as well as with sourdough breadcrumbs.  The bird was served with sliced macadamia nuts atop a chicken stock base sauce blended with truffle oil, truffle paste, eschalots and cream.  The sauce was reduced and thickened.

Around the birds were Dutch carrots tossed in garlic and parmesan, roasted, then tossed again in parmesan and drizzled with lime juice.  With this were beans cooked al dente in a honey mustard dressing made with white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey and olive oil; drizzled with lemon juice prior to plating.

To round off the dish was potato gratin, with mandolin-sliced potato roasted in herb sauce made with chicken stock, eschalots, rosemary and thyme.

Comments on the high quality of this meal permeated loudly throughout the room, with the moisture in the skin, flesh and stuffing being especially notable.

Cheese

The Cheesemaster presented Emmental Français, a cave ripened raw cow’s milk cheese made south-west of Lyon.  Being pale in colour instead of bright yellow, the cheese did not come to the table in good condition and its lack of any real flavour was noted by many of the members.

The cheese was accompanied with lemon/lime curd with ginger and walnuts.

Bread

The bread served today was wholemeal sourdough from the Organic Bread Bar in Paddington.

Wine

Rob Guthrie was our chef du jour yesterday, and did a sterling job, assisted by Julian in the kitchen and Norbert, Peter Kelso and yours truly with the canapés.  Overall, a great success. See the food report for a full description. 

In the Wine Dept we kicked off with a 2023 Pewsey Vale riesling at 11.5%. This wine never fails to deliver a crisp, well-balanced wine with plenty of acidity and a clean finish.  Always a delight to drink and a perfect partner to the various canapés we enjoyed. This Eden Valley wine was one of the first wines in Australia to be bottled under screw cap, and what a triumph that has turned out to be. I don't think I have ever had a dud bottle of this wine. Same goes with big brother, the Contours, terrific wine never disappoints. 

First of the luncheon wines was the Shaw and Smith Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2014 at 12.5%. Wow, what a wine! Exceptional in my view. This 11 yo wine was drinking superbly. The colour was green/gold, no sign of browning, with still sufficient acid to make it clean and mouth-filling with a persistent finish. Traces of stone fruits and melon with a dash of grapefruit. Wonderful! A wine produced by cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill-Smith [Yalumba], this pair set about in 1989 buying prime wine growing real estate both in SA and Tasmania, and engaged some of the top wine makers in the country to produce wines such as this and the prestigious Tolpuddle Chardy. Their method was to combine big money, the best sites and top wine makers. Simple. I would rate this wine equally with some of the great French White Burgundies. Not the same in terms of taste and texture, but equally enjoyable. Perhaps bigger flavours than the more restrained French, but this is the Australian style of our Chardy at its best. My wine of the day. 

Next wine was a Nebbiolo Rosso from Langhe 2010 at 14.5%, a wine from the Piedmont region of Italy. I find myself in an almost continual struggle with this grape. Now a 15 yo wine, it still refuses to let go of its traditional lines of defence, namely strong tannins, strong acidity and unyielding hardness. All systems were in place for my first taste. You could pick it as a Nebbiolo from a sip, that confrontational regime Nebbiolo is famous for very evident. But, to give the wine credit, I found myself actually enjoying it after I had breached its defences. Mature, balanced correctly, a good food wine.  If you were drinking this wine while on holiday in Italy with that recognised overseas holiday halo effect, you'd love it! 

The second last wine was the Andrew Thomas Hunter Semillon at 10.3% 2015. This man has become, over time, arguably the best wine maker in the Hunter. I really liked this wine, it initially attracted me by its bright, clear, gleaming gold/green appearance. On tasting the wine, I was impressed by its typical Hunter flavours of lanolin and toasty vanilla hints. Soft and gentle acids delivered a firm, clean finish. A very nice wine with plenty of time ahead. 

The last wine of the day was one of my favourite Australian reds, the Seppelt St Peters Shiraz 2006 at 13.5%. A wine made from the pick of Grampians Shiraz and only made in years of excellent vintage. The St Peters vineyard at Seppelt is on land once owned by Best's, who sold part of it to Bruno Seppelt in the 1880s. These two historical wineries sit opposite each other on either side of Best's Rd, GT Western Vic. This wine is now 19 yo and is holding together superbly. Inky black, no browning, still showing all those classic Shiraz spice and pepper hints, with deep black fruits evident on the palate. A velvety smooth finish. My only mark against the wine, preventing it from higher praise, was a little flatness in flavour at the finish. Perhaps after 19 years, the acids were just starting to fade a tad. Otherwise a real treat. 

10 June 2025 Nick Reynolds

Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

Our Cellarmaster, past Food Master, past President, and three-time Chef of the Year winner, Nick Reynolds, was in the kitchen for lunch today.

Canapés

First up, snack cups with nduja, goat’s cheese, and red pepper. The nduja had a bit of heat, which was offset by the goat’s cheese and sweet red pepper.

Then croquettes filled with prosciutto and béchamel. The mini croquettes were perfectly crisp, not too oily. Nick explained that the croquette bechamel mix was frozen into small spheres before crumbing. 

Lastly, sourdough pikelets with sour cream, lime marmalade, and prawns. I liked the addition of lime marmalade to this canapé, it adds a good dimension of flavour.

Main

Our main today was duck two ways (confit and breast), sitting on top of a parsnip purée with some pickled cherry and a fennel salad garnish.

The dish was perfectly executed, flavoursome, textural, and importantly, all plates came out of the kitchen at temperature.

Mastery is the word that comes to mind when Nick is cooking. Today’s lunch was no exception, showing the quality and innovation that he produces. The dishes were much appreciated by all attending today and reflected in comments.

Bread today was from Harris Farm, a sourdough baguette.

Cheese

Cheesemaster Mark Bradford selected an Australian cow’s milk cheese, Heidi Gruyère. It was good to see this served at our lunch again after a lengthy absence.

With a fine, smooth-textured paste and firm, elastic texture, this cheese has excellent melting properties and is perfect for grilling, soufflés, and fondue. Heidi Farm Cheese was established by Frank and Elizabeth Marchand, originally from Switzerland, who set up a dairy farm in Tasmania in the 1980s.

Cultures and non-animal rennet set the curd before it is cut into tiny, rice-sized grains that are then washed and reheated before hooping and pressing. During maturation, the large 10kg wheels are washed and brushed, encouraging the development of Brevibacterium linens on the damp rind.

This orange-coloured, pungent rind is slightly sticky to the touch and provides a rich, savoury flavour that complements the nuttiness of the cheese within.

Nick accompanied the cheese with some nuts and plump, organic, unsulphured apricots with Italian crackers.

Wine

Duck and Pinot Noir was the theme for today's lunch, and it lived up to its reputation with ease. Some delightful flavours from both food and wine. Nick Reynolds was our Chef du Jour and did a great job. See the Food Report for more details. 

First wine of the day was a 10 yo Riesling from Clare, a Mitchell McNicol 2015 @ 13.5%. Still in good shape for a 10yo, but consumed alone without food, it was to my taste a little on the sweetish side. Some noticeable residual sugar. With some of the spicy pass arounds however, the wine became more enjoyable and was a good match for some of the canapes. A very drinkable wine, but for certain, to be taken with the right food. 

Second wine of the day was a cracker, the Onannon 2023 Pinot Noir @ 13.5% from the Mornington P. What an outstanding Australian PN! From the first sip, it exuded sheer class. A deeply coloured Pinot, looking more like a Shiraz in appearance. From the very first mouthful, one was aware of intense strawberry flavours, mixed with cherry and other dark fruits. Velvety tannins with acid and oak combining to deliver a warm, luscious mouthfeel with an elegant, persistent finish. To my taste, the best local Pinot I have drunk since my last taste of Pooley PN from Coal River, Tas. I'm scurrying off to buy a few for my cellar. My wine of the day by a clear margin. 

Next wine, also a Pinot, had the misfortune to be placed right behind the star of the show, the Onannon. This wine was the Port Philip Estate, Red Hill PN, 2023 @ 13.5%. Talk about batting after Bradman, as the old saying goes. I would like to assess this wine on its own, well away from the influence of the other Pinot, but time does not allow me this luxury. Doing the best I can, I found this wine to be much lighter in colour and texture, very much like the average Aust PN, with of course much less flavour than the Onannon and a lot thinner. Very hard for me to assess this wine, with the memory of the previous wine dominating my taste buds. Some comments around the table suggested that the wine had been over-extracted in the winemaking process. 

Next wine was the Tapanappa Piccadilly Chardonnay 2022 @ 13.7% from the master winemaker Brian Croser. He makes his Chardonnay in a very predictable style, taught, restrained and disciplined. The problem for me with this particular wine was that it simply lacked flavour and finished slightly flat. Perhaps the acids were diminishing early. There were some hints of melon and citrus, which were nice, but overall, the wine was to me unexciting and forgettable. 

Final wine was the Andrew Thomas Cote Vineyard Shiraz from the Hunter @ 14% and from the excellent vintage of 2018, rated a 10/10 year for Shiraz. Andrew Thomas has steadily gained a reputation of being arguably the best winemaker in the Hunter. This wine certainly showcased his talents. The wine was intense, spicy and full-bodied, and in great balance. Powerful but stylish and so easy to drink. Big juicy dark fruit flavours with the oak, tannin and acid pulling it all together at the finish. A classic Hunter Shiraz which will continue to impress for years ahead. Overall rating: Excellent. 

3 June 2025 Bill Alexiou-Hucker

Food review by Frank Liesbeskind and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

Bill presented a small but noisy group with flavour bombs from the Mediterranean, and certainly no one went home hungry.

Canapes

Bill started with 3 canapes, the first was an excellent charred eggplant slice roll, filled with ricotta, lemon rind and parsley, and even Goldy was seen eating eggplant.

Bill followed that with a touch of Mexico, with a guacamole presented on a corn chip with grilled cherry tomato.

The third canape took us to Italy, with a tomato and basil bruschetta on toasted bread, with garlic clove rubbed on the bread. This one was my favourite, full of flavour and spices.

Main

We certainly weren’t disappointed here, were we transported to a Greek island? I think so, and we enjoyed an octopus dish, typically present in Greece at the beginning of summer (and it is the beginning of summer in Greece now). Bill presented Octopus Stifado, Bill’s version was an excellent Octopus with Orzo Pasta (Manestra). The 8kg of octopus was flavourful, overall, it was soft and succulent, though some pieces were tougher, I asked Bill whether he beat the octopus hard enough on the rocks in true Greek tradition. Another theory is Bill used a male and female octopus, as apparently the female is a softer meat (true Google it, I did).

Bill’s Octopus Stifado comprised onion, sautéed octopus, chill, fennel seeds, garlic, kalamata olive, olive oil, white wine, red wine vinegar, tomatoes and risoni (orzo) pasta. Bill let Amosh add the chilli, and we got a good hit of it too, no one complained.  

Bill told us, the onion, fennel seeds, garlic and chilli were sautéed, then the octopus was added until the water it released evaporated, then deglazed with vinegar and white wine. Once the vinegar and wine evaporated, tomato was added then towards the end the risoni was added and served with a whipped fetta smear (fetta, heavy cream, yoghurt, basil) and a herbed crumb ( toasted panko crumbs, lemon zest, dried herbs) the fetta  smear was designed to cool the heat of the Stifado and the crumb was added for texture, and it worked perfectly.

Cheese

The Cheese Master presented us with a sweet and tasty pecorino, a great example of Tuscan pecorino. This ewe’s milk cheese is from Il forteto (the fort) – a leading producer of PDO cheese in Tuscany. Aged for over four months, the rind develops a burnt golden colour whilst the nutty texture gradually becomes dense and flaky with a slightly sweet finish. Complex flavours of sweet and savoury highlight the quality of this classic cheese.

Just in case we were still hungry, Bill had a charcuterie board of cured meats (pastrami and selected salamis) and pickled vegetables accompany the Italian cheese.

So, today’s lunch certainly hit the mark with the flavours of Greece and Italy.

Wine

Today we enjoyed some very fine wines indeed, except for the canapé wine. We all enjoyed the first three wines on the luncheon list, with an additional two bottles of other wines being provided. I will confine my report to those wines we all consumed. No point in writing about wines that not everybody had.

Dealing with the canapé wine, it was a Firebird Pinot Gris from SA 13% 2024. I actually enjoy a glass of a good PG, but only one, before moving on to something else more appealing, like a Chardonnay or a Riesling. This wine, however, did not fall into the category of PG that I quite like. In a word, it was horrible. It had an unattractive degree of sweetness with a thin mouthfeel and a finish that made you glad you had reached the end. Not enjoyable. Hope I never see it again. 

Anyhow, after that setback, we moved on to three delightful wines, the first of which was the Tyrrells 2019 HVD Sem @ 10.5%. An excellent wine, pale yellow/straw in colour, with a crisp first taste of apple and citrus fruits balanced by gentle acid. The wine had a persistent, clean finish with grassy overtones.  On today's form, the wine will continue to provide great drinking for a decade or more. 

Next in line was the Trott Vineyard Willunga 100, Grenache from Blewitt Springs SA. 2021 @ 14.5%. A seriously good wine, no lightweight, thin, fruit bomb we sometimes see with a Grenache. This wine had substantial body and well-balanced flavours.  Peppery with gentle tannins in the background, great length and a lingering satisfying finish. Fresh and highly enjoyable. 

The third wine was also a beauty, the Kumeu River Ray's Rd Chardonnay 2021. Now with 4 years of bottle age, this wine is really hitting its straps. Lovely quality fruit showing traces of apple, lemon and stone fruits, all combining to produce a mature top-class Chardonnay, rich and supple.  A superbly textured wine. A treat to drink. My pick of the three wines we were all served.   

Our table then had two other wines, the John Duval Entity Shiraz 2015 and an Isole Chianti 2009. Both of which were first rate. I am really developing a strong liking for good Chianti, these wines have come a long way, at least in Australia, from the light, frivolous stuff found in straw-covered bottles hanging from the roof of Italian diners to the very deep, powerful yet elegant Sangiovese we now see as Chianti Classico. The Isole 09 is truly excellent, you can still taste it half an hour later. 

27 May 2025 Jonathan Casson

Food review by Frank Liebeskind and wine review by Stephen O’Halloran

Food

This was a wine tasting lunch, with the food worthy of Chef of the Year cook-off.

Canapes

We started with three canapes, prepared by Paul Thorne and Gary Linnane.

The star to me was Paul’s brilliant duck consomme, Paul’s is the master of duck consomme, full of flavour, and clear as…. Paul said, “duck consomme with star anise raftered through egg white”. Thank you Paul.

Paul also did an explosion in the mouth goat's cheese tart, with pea puree, honey, and topped with pickled radish.

Gary did a very tasty French bean and anchovy blend, on crisp savoury biscuits topped with chopped chives. It was a great accompaniment with the King Valley Blanc de Blanc wine.

Main

Jonathon served a “stack” of shredded brisket, topped with a great mash, topped with a portabella mushroom, with spinach (Popeye eat your heart out) and a jus.

Jonathon told us the recipe itself was suggested by James Hill though it turns out he hadn't tried it himself ????

Its official title was shredded beef brisket on creamy potatoes topped with confit mushrooms. Thanks to the team in the kitchen the mash was so creamy we changed the order so that the brisket formed the base with the mash on top and then the mushroom over that. I think that not only made stacking easier, I think it made the stack visually more enticing.

The brisket was cooked at 130/140° C for eight hours, then shredded by hand. The mushroom was baked at 150°C for 40 minutes with thyme, garlic and olive oil (bloody outstanding).

Jonathan went to Bunnings and bought 9mm wide PVC tubing and cut the tubes (6cm lengths) to provide the 9mm mould to stack the layers, the layering looked beautiful on the plate. Beautiful meal, and to me the mushroom was the hero. How did you get 40+ mushrooms all the same size? Answer, he trimmed some to fit.

The kitchen plated 10 at a time. Each tube was filled with the brisket and then the potato purée and set the mushroom on top. We drizzled the sauce on it and around the plate. To accompany there was shredded spinach.

Jonathon obtained the brisket from Australian Meat Emporium (one of my favourite butchers) and yes, he put on the coat to enter the Emporium’s huge cool room. Mushrooms from his local Orange Grove markets.

The bread was from a Balmain bakery, not the one Jonathan wanted because he hadn’t ordered on-line, but excellent bread it was.

Cheese

Mark presented us an excellent English Montgomery Cheddar from Somerset, though some complained that were was “aggressive looking” mould on some pieces, as is it was a “blue”. The Cheddar was presented with a Chutney and the last of the season’s red and black grapes.

The chutney was a commercial brand with a fiery touch to it. It was primarily for the sauce but was also presented with the cheese. 

“Montgomery’s Cheddar is one of just three traditional English cloth-bound cheddars recognized as ‘artisan Somerset cheddar’ by Slow Food. Made on Manor Farm, Cadbury, for over 3 generations. Cheeses are made with milk sourced from the farm’s Friesian-Holstein cows every day to ensure freshness. Drier than most traditional cheddars, flavours are meaty and rich, with savoury/sweet notes.”

Wine

Today we were treated with a brisket “pie” by our chef du jour, Jonathan Casson, with some very excellent Italian wines from the Piedmont district. 

Our Winemaster Nick Reynolds produced some top-flight Nebbiolo, all well aged for our critical assessment. It's hard work, but someone has to do it! 

We got the party started with an aperitif wine for the nibbles. An unusual wine from the King Valley in Vic, a 2024 Schmolzer and Brown, Pret-a-Blanc, blend of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sav Blanc and Sylvaner. An unusual blend, I have not seen it before. The name translated into English means "ready white", designed for easy drinking at an early age. The wine certainly matched the label, fresh and clean, crisp on the palate, pale yellow colour, and some nice citrus fruits were noticed in the mouthfeel. Clean acidic finish. A very acceptable aperitif wine, helped along by some bottles of two of our best Rieslings, a Leo Buring and Tim Knappstein. Everyone had the first wine, but I'm not sure how many tasted the other two. They were both excellent. 

We then moved on to the main event, a wonderful line-up of Nebbiolo wines, five from Piedmont and one from down here (which was masked).

I do not intend to dissect each wine, as writing in detail about the same grape, six times over, is a real challenge to keep interesting and avoid saying the same thing over and over. So I will limit my dissection to three wines as noted hereunder. Before I do that, I thank our Winemaster for giving us the opportunity to put these wines under the microscope to test if they live up to the lofty title of "the King of wines and the wine of Kings", as Barolo is often named. Let's see if under the harsh glare of 40 members of the WFS, the wine lives up to its reputation. 

Dealing with wine 1, the Barbaresco 2016 14% from Casina Luisin, this to me was a real treat, a wine from an excellent year. I have for some time now preferred the Barbaresco style of Nebbiolo to the Barolo style. Much more approachable, less tannin and less acid, but still retaining that high-class class distinctive flavour of a classic Italian red wine. Elegant but powerful, chewy and seductive, so easy to enjoy, without having to battle the strong tannic and acidity of a Barolo. Drinking beautifully now, but years ahead of fine drinking.

The next wine to catch my attention, wine 4 on the list, was the masked wine, which was eventually revealed as a SC Pannell Nebb from the Adelaide Hills 2013 @ 14%. A much softer wine than the others, perhaps having reached peak maturity, now a 13 yo wine. Medium body, tannin and acid quite restrained, succulent flavours of cherry and plum. 

A very enjoyable wine, perhaps not one to keep for too long, with its acid falling away a bit. 

The third wine for my detailed review was wine 6 on the list, the Ginestra 2010 @ 14%. Now this was a wine that would almost certainly have earned a place at the table of Italian Royalty back in the day. A top year in Piedmont, a real gem, producing some memorable wines, including this one. The wine stood out from all the others by reason of its huge blackness in colour, different from the red brick, ruby colour of the others. Despite its appearance as a real blockbuster, the wine was in perfect balance, elegant, deeply flavoured with dark fruits, cherry, tar and tobacco hints. Tannins, oak and acid all combine to produce a wine of distinction. A powerful lingering finish, I can still taste it! My wine of the day by a country mile. 

With wines 2,3 and 5 the Gabutti and the Marcarini wines, they were in my view a bit of a mixed bag, one or two good, one not so good. They all had that Barolo confrontational presentation of excessive tannin and acidity, which I find off-putting. Anyhow, that's how I see it.

Many thanks to our Winemaster for a very special occasion. 

20 May 2025 Amosh and the REX Team

Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

Answering an urgent call for a chef at short notice, Amosh, Head Chef at the REX, came to the rescue for our lunch today.

Canapés

◦ Chicken-pistachio terrine on toasted sourdough with a mixed fruit-tamarind sauce and caper berries.

◦ Confit cherry tomato, bocconcini, basil, vincotto on a skewer.    

◦ Snapper ceviche/citrus dressing.

Main

Full house today, it seems we all love a meat pie, especially on a grey, cold day.

Our main today was a beef brisket and bone marrow pithivier surrounded by a lamb jus. Very well executed, full of flavour, good texture, well presented, the meat was moist with plenty of the flaky pastry to mop up the jus.

It was served with a buttery, creamy mash topped with chives.

A high quality lunch from our professional team in the kitchen, all aspects well commented on by members.

Bread was a white Sourdough from Humble Bakery, Circular Quay

Cheese

Cheesemaster Mark Bradford presented a cow’s milk Yarra Valley fetta. Two types today. One was marinated in garlic, thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaves, the other plain. Mark had to hastily buy some more cheese as the numbers increased from the original booking indication.

Made in small batches, fresh curd is bound in cloth for stewing and brined for two weeks, producing a silky-textured cheese.

Mark served it with some garlic and herb pickled zucchini and canned peaches from South Africa. The latter brings memories of our childhood desserts.

We finished our meal with some Cognac and Armagnac.

Wine

What better way is there to hide away from a cold, wet May afternoon than in a warm room with friends eating Brisket Pie and drinking some nice wine?? 

Yesterday, with 47 attending, made for an afternoon of fellowship and fun.  It was great to be there. See the Food Report for details of our Meal. With regard to the wines, my report is as follows, dealing only with the wines we all tasted. 

With the canapes, we enjoyed a Bichot Macon Milly Chardonnay 2022 @ 13%. A very reliable wine that paired well with the canapes.  Good colour with bright acidity, well balanced with a crisp finish. A good choice to get the party started.  A few bottles of Gavi and Burings Leopold Riesling appeared, which were excellent, although perhaps not all present enjoyed these wines.

Dealing now with the table wines, first cab off the rank was an excellent Yabby Lake Pinot 2015, 13.5%. A typical Australian Pinot, light to medium body, light tannins, soft raspberry aroma, warm earthy spice traces, silky smooth but persistent finish. Now a 10 yo, but with plenty of good drinking for years to come. 

Next wine was the Ch Pezat from St Emilion 2010 @ 14%. Beautiful, clear ruby red colour, medium body. The usual hints of dark fruits and plummy overtones one normally expects from a Cabernet Merlot from this region. Now a 15 yo wine, but not hindered by age. Nice clean finish with persistence of flavour. 

We then proceeded to a white wine with our cheese. Many wine experts from around the globe and here locally claim that Chardonnay is the best match for cheese, rather than red wine, which has been the norm in the past. Personally, I think the issue is up for debate, as it would largely depend on the cheese being served, hard/soft and of course, the structure of the wines involved. Anyhow, getting back to the wine offered today, it was the Bannockburn 1314 Chardonnay from 2018 @13.5%.

Some of you will remember that we last had this wine on the 15^th of April this year, and I wrote an unflattering report about the wine in my report of the same date. My thoughts at the time were "overoaked, oversweet, over alcoholic, a wine locked into the 1980's style of chardonnay", which I never enjoyed.  Give me a modern style any time.  With regard to the wine today, my thoughts remain the same. I did not enjoy it. I must be the odd man out here, as Phil Laffer rated it as his wine of the day! Thank God Phil and I did not get our careers mixed up. Glad I stuck with Law, and Phil winemaking.

The final wine for the day was the Hentley Farm, Villain and Vixen Grenache from 2022 @ 14,5%. This highly rated vineyard has produced some wonderful wines from its Barossa holdings in recent years. This wine was a typical Australian Grenache, light bodied, brilliant cherry crimson colour, with that classic aroma of strawberry and raspberry very evident. Quite tannic and spicy on the palate but balanced by fresh natural acidity leading to a crisp finish. An enjoyable wine.  

My wine of the day, the Yabby Lake.

13 May 2025 Mark Bradford

Food review by Bill Alexiou-Hucker and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

Today we were treated to a trip to Thailand with Mark Bradford’s deconstructed Thai Chicken Burger, which displayed plenty of flavour and the right balance of heat between the pattie and Kewpie mayonnaise, as one member described it, today’s lunch was a frolic of flavours.

We welcomed a canape newbie into the kitchen, Denys Moore. Mark commented that this time last year, Denys could not boil water, so it is a credit to Denys that he stood up to assist Mark with the canapes; in fact Denys did all the canapes.

We started with smoked mussels on mini toasts buttered with ricotta and topped with cracked pepper. A sprinkle of salt may have lifted more flavour of what was already a tasty starter. It was then followed by a pepper-infused pate and a slice of cucumber on toast. The cucumber gave a refreshing balance to the pate and toast squares. Denys’ last offering was a pintxos-style canape of cucumber, fresh basil, stuffed olives and a slice of salami. An explosion of flavours when consumed.

A great first-time effort by Denys.

We then moved to the main of the day. A Thai chicken burger, packing plenty of flavour, with a great balance of spice from the sriracha-flavoured Kewpie mayonnaise. To please the chili lovers, Mark arranged for small bowls of chilli to accompany the meal for those who wanted the extra heat. The patty was a mixture of free-range chicken mince, red curry paste, turmeric powder, kaffir lime leaves, coriander stems, spring onion, peanuts, dark soy, tamarind paste, lemon grass. Seared in olive oil 4 minutes each side, baked 15 mins at 200C, and to please the carb lovers, Mark served the burger with toasted brioche buns and smashed avocado to balance the flavours.

Mark always tries to provide a meal that is a little different to our usual fare and he didn’t disappoint, along with Nick Reynolds’ matching of the wines to finish off a flavoursome lunch.

The cheese was a Cantoral Blu d’ Auvergne, a cow’s milk cheese made in the Auvergne region for several centuries. It was traditionally matured in mountain caves. Although no longer cave-ripened, PDO regulations still stipulate that cheese must be produced at a minimum 500m altitude, using milk only from cows born in the region.

Mark surprised us with another interesting innovation, serving dark chocolate buttons along with dried apricots, creamed honey on a baguette with the cheese.

All in all, a very enjoyable lunch with wines to match.

Wine

A modest but high-quality turn out for Mark Bradford's rendition of a spicy Thai chicken dish, which was very flavoursome. See the food report for more details. 

The wines were very enjoyable across the full spectrum of flavours. The room all tasted the first four wines, with cellar drops completing the tasting of six wines in all. I will comment only on the first four, which everybody had. 

First of these was the ever popular Gavi from Nicola Bergaglio, 2021,13 %. We have enjoyed this Cortese based wine on a few occasions over the last year or so and I really like it. A wine which can be drunk on its own, or with food, either way it is delightful. Fresh and crisp, well balanced with plenty of flavour. The first bottles out of the fridge needed a little time to warm up in the glass, but once this happened, the wine showed its class. No wonder the Italians love it. 

Wine two was the Dr Loosen Kabinett Riesling 2022 @ a very modest 8%. This well known producer of fine German wines rarely fails to deliver. This wine was truly delicious, very typical of a high-class German Kabinett Riesling. A wonderful mix of quality fruit, an alluring taste of gentle residual sugar countered by firm acid all blending together to produce a wine that was a joy to drink, a clean but lingering finish. A perfect partner for a summer lunch with strawberry flan as dessert. 

Wine three was the Larry Cherubino Caves Rd Chardonnay from WA 2022 @12 %. This was a perfect demonstration of a modern Australian style of this grape variety. No massive oak, no excessive sweetness, just let the quality fruit do the talking.  This wine was crafted by one of our finest winemakers, showing some gentle stone fruit flavours, peach and grapefruit come to mind, with firm acid to generate a balanced finish. A nice wine. 

Wine four was my pick of the first four wines.  This was a Isole e Olena Chianti Classico 2009 @ 13.5 %. What a great example of a high-quality Sangiovese blend from Tuscany. Terrific food wine, plummy and rich, but not dominating other food flavours. Smooth and velvety with a hint of spice and a lovely finish. Elegant. Now drinking at its peak as a 16 yo wine and still in great shape.  By far my choice of wine of the day.

6 May 2025 Amosh and the REX Team

Food review by Frank Liebeskind and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

The REX team catered for 35 Members and guests, and were treated to a wonderful lunch, I called it “street food raised to another level”, Nick Reynold’s said it was a Nepalese version of Coronation Chicken and fit for a King. Greg Chugg felt it was Nepalese meets French cuisine.

Canapes

◦ Caramelised onion/ cherry tomato/ goats cheese tart, these were a favourite, perfectly balanced and a winner.

◦ Apple & fennel/ pork sausage rolls, absolute favourite, Goldy was very happy with them. Food Master Bill said he intended placing an order for them, the apple made the difference. James Tinslay would have loved these.

◦ Fried chicken tandoori balls, mint yogurt sauce, last but not least, the chicken balls were well received, not strong on the tandoori spices, but went well when dipped into the mint yoghurt sauce.

Main

◦ Organic chicken supreme/sautéed masala (spices)veg/Nepalese curry sauce/crispy curry leaves

◦ Garlic/creamy mashed potato

This was an excellent dish that everyone in the room enjoyed. Chicken breast with some bone still attached for juiciness was beautifully spiced, roasted and sat on a great mash. A fantastic curry with vegetables sat alongside the chicken. I thought the curry sauce was the hero, its spices and subtlety lingered in the mouth for 10 minutes after the last mouthful. Criticism? Yes, more curry sauce next time, please, sir!

Cheese (also provided by the REX, not our Cheese Master).

◦ Cave-Aged cheddar cheese, from the UK, it received positive comments, we didn’t get much detail on it, and its origin.

◦ Almonds and marinated baby figs, lots of positive comments on the figs.

An excellent lunch, I wouldn’t be surprised if the REX adds this to their menu going forward, beautiful, refined Nepalese cuisine. After Amosh discussed the food he created, and the many elements used to create both the canapes and the main, Greg Sproule got up and thanked Amosh for the effort and care in each mouthful, and the final word came from Goldy (not usually a lover of street food), he thanked Amosh for a most excellent and juicy piece of chicken.

Wine

The theme for lunch today was a Nepalese affair provided by Amosh and his team at the REX kitchen. Very delicious pass arounds and a roast chicken main. A tasty English Cheddar rounded off the meal nicely. 

Today our Wine Master provided us with a totally new concept for our wines today.  The only two wines tasted by all were the first two whites. Thereafter, someone from each table picked out three reds from the 20 or so reds on display. Your views on this process are welcome. Perhaps we could discuss next week. 

 Accordingly, my report will deal with the two whites only, together with a few comments on the red wines I tasted. 

The first white was the McWilliams Elizabeth Semillon 2018, 12.5%. We had this wine not so long ago, and it was well received. A 7 yo Hunter Sem, fresh, balanced and a delight to drink with or without food.  Great structure, all the ducks in a row. A terrific choice by our Wine Master. 

The second white was the most impressive, Leo Buring Leopold Riesling 2016, 13%. Sourced from Tasmanian Fruit and named after the man himself, who created the brand. This wine and the Leonay Riesling from Eden Valley are Buring's showcase wines.  At a blind tasting, I would have picked this wine as either a Tassie riesling or a German Kabinett Riesling. Some gentle residual sugar on the palate was very typical of a good quality Tassie riesling. A delight to taste, excellent balance with a crisp, powerful finish. A lovely wine. 

The wines our table then enjoyed were the 2007 Guigal St Joseph Côte du Rhône, an excellent wine from the Northern Rhone, drinking beautifully for an 18 yo wine. Rich and opulent, velvety smooth finish. A treat. The second wine was the equally drinkable Tyrrells Vat 9 again a 2007 wine. A big Vat 9, dark and intense, no sign of browning at the rim. Has all the structures in place to go on for several more years as a top wine. 

The final wine for our table was a Clerget Pinot Noir 12.5%, a Bourgogne from 2014. An enjoyable PN but suffered from being the third wine after two much more powerful Shiraz. 

The wine to do it justice should have been drunk first. 

So that's it for the report today, short and sweet. Bring your views along to our next few lunches on this style of format, as distinct from the regular. 

29 April 2025 James Hill

Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

An autumnal April Wine Lunch today, with Nick Reynolds presenting his “Clone Wars” from the cellar and James Hill in the kitchen.  Both experts go far beyond the call of duty when it comes to their contribution to the Society.  Not surprisingly, a near to full room for this lunch.

Canapés

We commenced with celeriac rémoulade with olives, served in China spoons. A very popular salad in France, these had a wonderful texture and a tangy bite, and flavour enhanced by the olives on top.

Our second canapé was tomato soup in a shot glass with basil.  These worked very well with the abundant chardonnay on offer.

Former President, Chef of the Year and Alexiou trophy winner Peter Kelso helped out with a canapé of anchovy puffs to round out the hand arounds.

Main

James presented us with seared duck breast today; as always, a great match with the pinot noir clones.  The duck was delicious, cooked to perfection and served with a mash of cauliflower and potato and al dente snow beans, and a decoration of a baked half plum with leeks and brandy.  A former Master of renown, when speaking to the room, intimated that this is the standard expected of James, and that he never disappoints.  An excellent dish worthy of any top-end restaurant in town.

Cheese

In theme with pinot, the Cheese Master served Burgundian Fromagerie Berthaut Epoisses PDO, an artisan washed rind cow’s milk cheese.  Revived in 1955, Epoisses PDO was originally developed by Cistercian monks at the Abbaye de Fontenay near the town of Semur in Burgundy.  Regular washing with a brine mix of Marc de Bourgogne encourages the B linen bacteria to create a sticky golden rind and distinct, strong yeasty aroma.

The wooden box creates the perfect microclimate for ripening, whilst providing support to the delicate cheese.  When ripe, a mixture of salty, sweet and milky flavours dominates the palate, with a smooth melting texture and rich meaty taste.

James served this with a tasty pear and rocket salad with a honey mustard dressing.

The bread was baguettes from AP Bakery.

Wine

Today marked 255 years since James Cook stepped onto the shore of Botany Bay. A momentous day in the history of this country, the Old World meeting the New World. Not that you would ever hear or read about it from the media. We are indeed a strange country! 

Anyhow, we enjoyed a terrific meal from master Chef James Hill, and some superb Pinot wines from our Wine Master Nick Reynolds. Sincere thanks to both for their considerable efforts to put on this first-rate meal.   The Food report will follow. 

The aperitif wine was a Soumah Chardonnay from the Yarra Valley 2023, 13.3%. This wine was a good example of the old saying that one man's meat is another man's poison. 

There were strongly expressed views around the room, ranging from strongly approve to strongly disapprove of this wine. Were we all drinking the same wine?  For my part, I really enjoyed it, except for my first sip, which had a strange taste, but which soon disappeared. The wine to me was balanced and quite elegant, no detectable oak, great flavour with hints of stone fruits and melon. Nice crisp feel on the palate. Finished well. Excellent with the canapés.  I am sorry others did not enjoy it. So it goes.

We then moved on to the main event, the roast duck with Pinot Noir. What could go wrong? Fortunately, nothing. We had four wines from Helen's Hill in the Yarra Valley. One from Otway Wines in the Otway Rangers, Vic and one from Tasmania, the Pooley Cooinda Vale. 

All of these wines were single clone Pinots, four from 2022 and two from 2021. All of the Helen Hill wines were 12.8%, and the other two were 13%.

The first wine was the Clone 943, aka the Dijon clone. The second wine, the Smuggler, was the Abel Clone. The Otway was the Abel again. The fourth wine, Pooley, was the Abel again, and the fifth and sixth wines were MV 6 Clone in the First Light PN, and the D4V5 clone was the last wine the, Rangeview.  

Nick Reynolds had kindly made available to the room printouts of the details of the various clones we enjoyed. I do not intend to review each wine, as saying something interesting about six bottles of the same grape variety is, for me at least, a bridge too far. I will give you my thoughts generally.

The Helen Hill wines were, with the exception of the last wine, Rangeview Reserve, thinnish and lacked depth. A common problem with Australian Pinot. To my taste they were sharp and a touch acidic on the first taste and generally did not show any of the desirable strawberry and cherry flavours of a quality PN. On the other hand, the Rangeview Reserve was an attractive, enjoyable wine, with much more depth, rich and smooth, packed with powerful dark fruit flavour. A wine with some gentle tannin and a lingering finish. By far the pick of the bunch of the Helen Hill wines, most enjoyable. 

The Otway Pinot I found to be a good quality wine, with some pleasing PN traits. More body than the two preceding wines and more depth of flavour. Quite elegant, deep crimson, well balanced. 

The star of the show was without question the Pooley. Beautiful wine, but at nearly twice the price ($140) of the others, you would expect something really good for your outlay. In any event, leaving aside the tawdry issue of money, this was a truly great wine. Just about everything you would expect in a top-flight PN, from anywhere!  Powerful, but restrained, much more depth than the others, cherry, strawberry, spice overtones, great balance with just enough acid for a delightful finish. You guessed it, my wine of the day! 

22 April 2024 Bill Alexiou-Hucker and Voula Price

Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

A full house on a showery Easter Tuesday saw our immediate past president and acting Food master Bill Alexiou in the kitchen with friend Voula Price, presenting Greek Easter Surprises for the first mixed luncheon of the year.  Voula and Bill cooked on our last mixed lunch in November, and they again attracted a large turnout of members and guests.  It is well-known that nobody leaves hungry when Bill is involved in a lunch and today was no exception.

Canapés

These were aplenty.  We started with mini-Greek salads on pita, having dehydrated Kalamata olive flakes, micro-diced cucumber and tomato, and feta with whipped basil.

Following this tasty plate was stewed octopus on china spoons, charred to produce a smoky Greek flavour.  Very tasty with the charring working well.

Finally, we were served a Melinzana Salata (eggplant salad) of flame-roasted eggplant, parsley, lemon, olive oil and sesame seeds (a Greek version of baba ghanoush).

Entrée

Sitting down to an entrée, we had Avgolemono – a traditional Greek soup at Easter, with chicken broth, rice, lemons and eggs.  Voula gave an interesting presentation to the room of the significance of the painted Greek eggs on our table for this dish, including the etiquette of eating them in a group.

Main

Today we were served Pasticcio, a Greek version of Lasagne. Whereas the latter usually incorporates pasta sheets, Pasticcio has special long pasta tubes designed for this traditional dish.  The pasta was cooked al dente and served with a Marouliesalata (lettuce salad), having lettuce, dill, lemon and olive oil.  The dish was a great match for today’s wines.

Dessert

The cheese master was given the day off, and we had a tasty baklava dessert of filo pastry, walnuts and syrup. Delightful, served with an impressive French sauternes.

Thank you, Voula and Bill – much thought and effort went into today’s Greek-themed lunch – a lively atmosphere around the room today with good company, wine and food.

Wine

A full house greeted the ladies to our first mixed lunch for 2025. Further lunches are planned for later in the year.  We were very lucky to secure our erstwhile President Bill Alexiou and his charming co-chef Voula to do their Greek Easter Feast, which indeed it was. See the Food Report for more details. Needless nobody went home thinking about cooking dinner! The lunch wines were as follows.

We began with our House Champagne, the Jacquart Mosaique NV. Nice and cold, crisp and fresh, perfect for the pass arounds of which there were plenty! 

Upon being seated, we were presented with a Margaret River Chardonnay from Nocturn wines 2021 13%. An enjoyable wine, now 4 yo and drinking well. A wine in good balance, crisp acidity with citrus flavours of grapefruit and lemon. Nice clean finish. A good example of a modern style Chardonnay. 

The first red of the day was a classic Australian Grenache from the master winemaker Stephen Pannell. Sourced from fruit in the Blewitt Springs and Clarendon regions of McLaren Vale, this 2020 vintage wine was a classy demonstration of this grape variety. At 14%, medium to lightish body, distinct tannin influence with a very dry finish.  An abundance of fruit flavours, such as raspberry and strawberry, all combine well to produce an excellent wine. 

We then moved on to a Society favourite, the Paolo Scavino Dolcetto d'Alba from 2022 13.5%. Medium to full body wine lots, of dark fruit colour, soft mouthfeel with tannic presence. An easy drinking wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, best consumed when under 5 years of bottle age. At 3 years old now, this wine is a perfect lunch wine, not too heavy and finishing with a smooth, clean finish.  Excellent selection. 

The final wine of the day was the Chateau Gravas Sauternes 2009, 13.5%. Our Winemaster Nick Reynolds provided us today with a treat not often served at our regular lunches, a French Sauternes from the Sauternes district. Vintage 2009 was rated an 8/10 year for that region, and this wine reflected its fortunate vintage origin. Good balance between crisp acid and orange flavours on the back palate. A powerful, clean but lingering finish. A great way to end the afternoon!