Lunches
7 May 2024 Madan
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
We’re lucky to have such talent in our kitchen brigade at the Royal Exchange.
Today Madan was cooking Nepalese food for us assisted by Amosh.
Canapés
A Nepalese spice base of ginger, garlic and garam masala was featured in all the dishes today.
Strict portion control today!
First up, goat and lentil soup served in a cup. Madan had soaked red lentils overnight.
I’m always wary of goat but no bones today. The goat was cooked in a large pot of bite-size pieces with stock and fenugreek. Big herb flavour with lentils adding texture and some earthiness to the soup some heat lingering on the palate from black pepper.
Then, chicken sekuwa, skewered chicken BBQ marinated in a blend of Himalayan herbs and spices and then cooked on the hibachi.
The chicken was moist and cooked to the perfect degree of “doneness”
Finally, aloo chop, “aloo" means potato, and the word "chop" means small cutlet fritters or croquette. Coriander and potato coated in chickpea flour.…almost a potato mash that held together. A good mouthfeel and spice flavour.
Main
Jhool momo pork dumplings made overnight consisting of pork and spice base and onion. They sat in a sauce of pork stock made with tomato, ginger and garlic spice blend, again some heat from black pepper. The pork dumplings were juicy and flavourful, with the accompanying sauce adding a delicious tanginess to each bite.
Great presentation and balanced flavours and texture very favourably commented on and appreciated by members today.
It was a great effort with a lot of preparation and thought going into today's meal and much appreciated by all for the authentic and interesting Nepalese food.
No one left hungry today, thanks Madan.
Cheese
It was Chef’s selection today and it was Comte a hard cheese from France made with unpasteurised cow’s milk. This cheese was matured in the damp underground cellars of Marcel Petite at Fort Saint Antoine high in the mountains that border France and Switzerland in the Franche-Comte. It’s specially selected for Will to wear the prestigious red ‘crown’ of quality on the basis of its rich concentrated nutty texture, elegant caramel sweetness, and lingering kaleidoscope of flavours rather than on how long it was aged.
The cheese was accompanied by some small dried figs warmed in a brown sugar syrup with star anise and cinnamon stick. Much praise for this dish what a great match to the Comte.
We asked about a good Nepalese restaurant they would recommend and they suggested ‘Muglan’.
Wine
The theme for today’s lunch was Nepalese based, expertly prepared by our resident team at REX, Madan and Amosh. See the Food report for details.
In light of the spicy nature of the food, serious wine assessment was a challenge, at least for me.
The first wine before any pass-arounds was a Framingham Old Vine Riesling 2016 from Marlborough NZ. Now 8 yo but tasting very fresh, clean acid, good fruit balance and finish. At a masked tasting, I would have picked it as a German Riesling, Kabinett probably. An enjoyable wine.
The second wine was a Domane Wachau Steinriegl Riesling 2022 12.5%. By the time I sampled this wine I had had some of the delicious pass arounds and my palate was becoming affected. To my taste the wine was very dry, but with some fruit noticeable leading to a sweetish finish. I much preferred the first wine.
Moving onto the third wine, the S C Pannell 2020 Old McDonald Grenache 14% from McLaren Vale, home of our finest Grenache. I only had a small sample, but what I had suggested was a light red wine with abundant fruit and a sweet finish.
I would like to have had more to get a fuller appreciation, but with the spicy tucker that would probably would not have been possible. I am a great fan of our homegrown Grenache, it is pleasing to see it appear more often in our wine lists.
The fourth wine was a terrific 2016 Dolcetto from Massolino 14%. An excellent wine from the Piedmont region. A great food wine for a lunch, but the spicy tastes in my mouth did not really do justice to this excellent food wine. This is by no means a criticism of the food, which was delicious, but more a general comment on how hard it is to match spicy food with wine.
Wine 5 was the ever-reliable Society favourite Seppelt St Peters Grampians Shiraz 2007 13.5%. I have reviewed this wine on many occasions over the last few months and those who read this literary word of art over time will be aware of how highly I rate this wine. Even now at 17 years old, it is still a magical Australian Shiraz. Fruit/oak/tannin/acid are all perfectly in place for a superb old Shiraz. The legendary Colin Preece chief winemaker at Seppelt from circa 1930 to 1963, created his style of Great Western Shiraz, this wine, was rebadged in later years to St Peters. Many Australian popular wines owe their existence to him, Moyston Claret, Chalambar Burgundy, Arawatta Riesling and Great Western “Champagne”. Many folks in the wine industry say Colin Preece and Maurice O’Shea are our greatest winemakers.
Now that the history lesson has concluded, I will now focus on our last wine, the Armenian Zorah 2021, 14%. I have never to my best memory drank an Armenian wine. Many years ago I worked with a girl from that country, but our relationship never progressed beyond professional, damm! She was pretty cute!! Anyhow back to the wine, the grape for this wine is the Areni possibly the oldest recognised grape variety in the world, dating back thousands of years ago. Virtually matured in the cradle of civilisation. Bringing us back however to the present, I was initially about to give this wine a dose of the merciless savagery I show to what I consider to be a poor wine. In this case far too sweet, flabby ie lacking in acid and fat ie too full-bodied. Then within 5 minutes or so the wine changed composition and became dare I say, quite appealing, possibly repressed memories of my ex-work mate? Whatever it was, I came away with the taste of a pleasant wine, rich and flavoursome.
Very enjoyable. Many thanks to our Winemaster for introducing us to this historic wine. One of our Charters is to educate our members on things pertaining to wine and food.
30 April 2024 Roger Straiton
Food review by Steve Sparkes and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
An excellent turnout of more than 50 members was treated to a wonderful lunch presented by Roger and Dennis. As we have come to expect at a wine lunch, and all lunches for that matter, our Wine Master presented an outstanding bracket of wines to match the food and for our enjoyment.
The canapes started with a cucumber round topped with a lovely creamy sauce and lightly smoked salmon.
The next was potted prawns on a handmade Melba toast. This was very rich, certainly not lacking for butter and had a fabulous mouthfeel.
Both were extremely tasty, generous and a great way to kick off the lunch…thank you Dennis.
Roger presented a very interesting and well thought out main course with a twist that both surprised and delighted members.
The meat was cooked to perfection. Roger used a Scandinavian recipe of twice-marinated fillet steak, being marinated once before it was cooked and again afterwards.
It was served with a light vinaigrette and accompanied by steamed broccolini, an eggplant rotolo and a very tasty potato salad.
The twist, of course, was that the dish was served at room temperature and whilst this may not sound appealing to some, in my opinion, it worked a treat! It both looked and tasted great!
The cheese, a soft-ripened cheese, complemented the meal perfectly and was very well chosen by Mark.
It was served simply with some juicy dates and good bread and had most members guessing as to just what it was! It was:
Le Conquérant, Demi Pont l'Évêque by Will Studd.
Origin: Normandie, France
Milk: Cow's Milk
Type: Washed Rind
This pungent monastic PDO-washed rind cheese comes from the heart of the Pays d’Auge in Normandy, France. Traditionally made by monks, washed rind cheeses were used as meat substitutes during fasting periods and have strong aromas and savoury flavours. The word demi refers to its small size, which influences how quickly this traditional, soft surface-ripened cheese will ripen compared to its larger cousins.
Le Conquérant Demi Pont-l'Évêque is wrapped in wax paper and a poplar wooden box to form the ideal microenvironment for maturation. It is best enjoyed when the chalky centre has broken down to a soft fudgy texture with a deliciously mild creamy finish.
Well done Roger, a great lunch, it is terrific to be served a quality meal that varies somewhat from the expected norms occasionally!
Wine
A bumper crowd of 50+ were attracted like fish to a lure to the prospect of a mouth-watering filet of beef, cooked to perfection by our Chef du Jour Roger Stration, served with some silk purse division Cabernets from France, Italy and Australia. Yum! Beef was amazing! See Food Report.
With regard to the excellent lineup of wines, we kicked off with a pair of Chardonnays from across the Ditch, a Kumeu River 2022 13%, and a Craggy Range 2010 14%. The Kumeu River wine was quite acceptable, an entry level Chardonnay which was quite ok as long as you did not think too hard about it! The wine came and went without much fanfare. The second wine was however a delight. This vineyard is where my 2nd son and his late wife Anna were married amongst the vines on a memorable afternoon in January 2009. I accordingly have a strong emotional attachment to wines from this vineyard. Being as objective as possible, I thought this wine was truly excellent, with great depth of luscious ripe fruit, gentle oak and sufficient acid to ensure a lingering finish. Some comments from the room suggested that the wine was now too old at 14 yo, however, I would strongly disagree. There may have been some bottle variation in the room, however, my glass or two showed no adverse ageing, quite to the contrary, as I commented to others, how fresh and balanced the wine was for its age, with no browning, fresh and clean and full of life. So it goes.
Moving now into the red wines for our lunch the first was a Ch Talbot 2009 from St Julian in Bordeaux, a Grand Cru, a 4th Growth 13.5% This is a very old chateau, circa 1400 named after the last English Commander of Guyenne, John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. Military history treats Mr Talbot unkindly, remembering him more for his numerous defeats in battle, than his too few victories. What however cannot be denied is his wonderful legacy to wine lovers of the world, the glorious Ch Talbot. Consistently high quality, many Bordeaux experts argue that the wine should now be elevated well above its 1855 classification. My love for quality Bordeaux knows no bounds and this wine fully lived up to my expectations, Deep ruby red, gentle tannin, sweet chewy fruit, the usual other flavours of that region, leather, cedar and the hint of tobacco. A great wine. Many thanks to our Wine Master.
Our second red was an Italian, a “Super Tuscan“, an Argiano 2008 Solengo Toscana 14.5%. A Cabernet blend including amongst others, Merlot and Petit Verdot with a dash of Sangiovese I enjoyed this wine very much. Deeply inky dark with powerful tannins, perhaps a tad over oaked some commented. A very powerful wine, but a lovely food wine. Great finish.
Our third wine was a 2010 Ch Teyssier Pezat from Bordeaux 14%. This vineyard is about one meter outside the strict border for the St Emilion designated wine region. A Merlot with just a dash of Cabernet Franc. Much lighter in colour than the two preceding wines and in my view a step down in quality. By no means to be avoided, the wine was enjoyable, plummy merlot overtones, but just did not have the intensity of flavours of the Super Tuscan and the Talbot. But it has to be said, it was a hard duo to follow.
The fourth wine was another Super Tuscan the 2010 Tenuta dell Ornellaia Le Serre Nuove 13.5%, quite a mouthful, the name that is. Just in case you were wondering what exactly is a Super Tuscan, I will tell you, shortly and I hope simply. Back in the 1970’s a group of Tuscan wine producers, all becoming frustrated with Italy’s wine bureaucracy, decided to go offshore so as to speak, and started planting Bordeaux-origin grapes, such as Cabernet and Merlot amongst others. There was a great deal of fuss at the time, as heretofore only wines indigenous to Italy could be grown, such as Sangiovese. The eventual success of the new wines, basically Cabernet blends, becoming so popular, forced the hand of officialdom so that by the early 1990’s these maverick blends restricted to Tuscany, obtained official approval. So now you know.
This particular wine was a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cab Franc. Very dark in colour with intense fruit flavours. Silky smooth. Firm tannic finish with great length. Drinking at peak maturity but plenty of time ahead. The plummy Merlot influence was clear, being 45% of the blend. A splendid wine.
Our 5th and 6th wines brought us back to Australia for some homegrown Cabernet, from our two top Cabernet regions Coonawarra and Margaret River.
Wine 5 was the Lindeman’s St George, 2008, 100% Cabernet. A vineyard planted in 1967 has produced some memorable Coonawarra Cabernets over the years. The vintage of 2008 was regarded at the time as being a good, if not great year. A flavoursome wine deeply coloured, showing classic Cabernet overtones with strong oak and tannin, but I could not help but feel that at 16 yo the wine was beginning to show some age. The colour was still good, but with acid fading the finish was falling away. Still very drinkable, but not one for keeping.
The final wine for the day was the Leeuwin Estate Art Series 2013 Cabernet. A 9/10 vintage year in that region, and the wine was excellent. A straight Cabernet with just a dash of Malbec, 4%. I have always felt that Margaret River Cabernet in a good year is about as close as we get to the Bordeaux Cabernets we love. This wine was elegant with a superb balance of fruit/oak and gentle tannin. It had to my taste, strong Bordeaux like aromas, and a similar finish. A very different Cabernet to the St George, lighter in colour but more elegant and stylish. Plenty of time ahead to mature into something wonderful in 5 or 6 years.
The wine of the day for me was the Talbot, with the Leeuwin and the Solengo sharing equal second place.
23 April 2024 Bill Alexiou Hucker
Food review by Frank Liebeskind and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Our President Bill was at the pans for our COTY cook-off and a Greek Feast it was.
I love Greek food, and as those who have been to Greece know, Greek food always tastes better in Greece, but Bill transported us to Greece with his lunch. No octopus and no Greek salad with this outstanding feast, Apollo Restaurant. Eat your heart out.
Bill was assisted in the kitchen by Mark Bradford. Mark was a late stand-in, as Rob Doll, the REX Chef, was away, and to challenge the kitchen further, the REX had a full house of 30 in the front rooms.
Canapes
We had three canapes. The first to be served was my favourite, a spanakopita, crispy, flaky triangles of spinach, feta, parmesan, cheddar, onion and eggs, in Bill’s buttery and light filo pastry.
Next was the Greek version of falafels, dried chickpeas (no tinned chickpeas here, Bill soaked the real stuff), with tomato, onion and mint, then baked in the oven, and finished off in deep fryer, and topped with yoghurt and pickled cucumber. The pickled cucumbers added complexity.
The third canape was a “Parmesan gelato” in puff pastry cups (parmesan, double cream and balsamic glaze), as Con the Fruiterer would say, “Beauuuutiful”.
All the canapes were well received.
Main
The moussaka, as Bill said, he tried to “pimp up” a traditional moussaka, no slices of tray baked moussaka today.
Bill served us individual moussaka, each having three layers of eggplant, with two layers of lamb shoulder (six hours slow cooked and pressed, then pulled), with a yoghurt bechamel, with grated halloumi and all topped with grated crispy potatoes.
The individual moussaka was plated with a warm tomato salsa of olive oil, cherry tomatoes, onion, celery and carrot.
After the voting forms were collected, members' comments were generous, and everyone appreciated the lifting of moussaka to a fine dining (well, almost) plate.
We all appreciated all the elements that went into today’s lunch, and Bill didn’t stop there, Goldie was given a moussaka with potato replacing the eggplant, and Bill used gluten free flour, so no one missed out on a fabulous Greek feast.
Cheese
Mark our Cheese Master presented a Greek Artisan Feta from Will Studd, the Aphrodite goat and sheep's milk barrel-aged feta from Central Greece.
Bill and Mark served the feta warm (10 minutes in the oven), served with great warm marinated mixed Greek olives, and EVOO and balsamic glaze (as Bill forgot the Greek honey ????).
Some of us bought the leftover feta, I liked the feta enough to buy some, but others thought it a little too salty, the Greek honey may have been a better balance, as the marinated olives (I loved them) were also salty.
I found the feta soft and creamy. A great way to finish our Greek feast.
The cheese is an authentic handmade Greek feta that has been carefully ripened in small, old beech wood barrels using traditional techniques that date back to the time when nomadic shepherds roamed the hills of northern Greece.
The barrels enable small amounts of oxygen to reach the salted curds as they ferment under whey, and the natural flora in the wooden staves helps to encourage a unique yeasty aroma.
Each barrel must be filled with curd by hand and after the cheese has been removed, it must be broken down stave by stave, washed and rebuilt by a skilled cooper.
After three months maturation in the barrel, the feta develops a soft milky texture and a seriously creamy peppery finish.
Wine
Lunch today was the last of our COTY functions for the year. Today’s lunch starred our President Bill Alexiou in the main role of Chef of the Day. Not surprisingly Bill used his legendary skills with Greek food to produce an excellent moussaka.
The first wine of the day was a Bellone Bianco 2022 13%. I had not previously come face to face with this grape variety and I had to resort to Google, as my ever-reliable reference book by Jancis Robinson, failed to register the existence of this grape. Apparently, she had also not come face to face with it, so I am not alone. Anyhow, my research indicates that the variety is as old as Methuselah, with origins in the days of early Rome. Not exactly well known outside Italy, this wine is said to be the Italian answer to Chablis. Not too sure about that, but worthy of a mention. The wine was on first taste, very dry with high acidity. Fresh clean fruit flavours followed with a firm finish. A classic Italian food wine, perfect if you were tucking into an antipasto lunch on a warm Rome day, at an outdoor trattoria. Bellissimo!
[Note from our Winemaster:
Jancis does have the grape in her book Wine Grapes and calls it high producing. I know this maker restricts the yield, thus producing a more fine wine.
Wine writer and author Ian d'Agata writes this in one of his books:
“The wine has a telltale luscious texture and juicy acidity (wines without this creaminess or resiny mouthfeel are poorly made), and delightful honeyed, citrus, and tropical fruit aromas and flavours. Bellone’s large berries are very thin skinned but rich in pectin and polyphenols, so grapes need to be pressed slowly and vinification is reductive; despite its polyphenol content, Bellone wine’s oxidize easily. The variety is also blessed with high natural acidity (values of 8.5 grams per liter are not rare), which allows the production of good sparkling wines. When made from late-harvested grapes, the resulting sweet wine is thick, unctuous, amazingly complex, and never cloying because of its high acidity; I think it’s on par with the greatest sweet wines in the world. The stalk is twisted in September and the grapes are left on the vine until November, to lose about 50 percent of their water content. A good late-harvested or air-dried Bellone resembles high-quality Sauternes, with differences: more honey, sweet spice, and peach aromas and flavours, less saffron and tropical fruit. Without doubt, it is-or can be-one of Italy’s three or four greatest sweet wines.”]
Our second wine for the main course was a wine from Greece, as you would expect from the theme of the day. The wine was a red, Alta Xinomavro from 2022, 12.5% A Greek red with moussaka, what could go wrong? Plenty. A great idea, but let down by the product, This wine needed the intervention of that unlovable old lech Zeus to breathe some life into it! As I commented at lunch, the wine was a triumph of wine-making skills in producing a wine with absolutely no flavour! Not one of the usual signposts of a red wine. The most charitable comment I can make is that it was drinkable but without reward.
The third wine was the Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet 2009 14%. Sue Hodder and her team at Wynns have been producing this wine for years with consistently excellent results. A Society favourite. Now at 15yo, the wine has reached peak maturity, but still plenty to offer. Great balance between dark fruits /oak and tannin. Strong parting flavours.
The fourth wine was the Sinapius Gruner Veltliner, 2018, 13 %, from the Pipers Brook region of Tasmania. A well regarded winery. This grape has its roots firmly in the fields of Austria and other Eastern European countries. A wine that is gaining popularity worldwide. The wine to me, was dry but oily and thick in texture, not a combination I usually enjoy, however, the wine had sufficient acid to produce a clean, fruit-driven finish that kept on giving. Not exactly my cup of tea, however, that said, the wine was enjoyable, best drunk with ripe stone fruit.
The final wine of the afternoon was the Cuilleron Les Vignes d’a Cote Syrah 2014, 13%. A great way to finish the day. Very typical of a Northern Rhone Syrah from a quality producer. Excellent spicy fruit balanced by gentle tannins and mild oak. Drinking at peak maturity with time still ahead. Very moorish indeed. Hope we have more in the cellar!
16 April 2024 Bernard Leung
Food review by Steve Sparkes
Well, what a wonderful lunch presented by our current COTY, Bernard Leung with assistance in the kitchen from Steve Liebeskind.
The President, Treasurer, Wine Master, Food Master, Cheese Master, Membership Recorder, our wonderful Centenarian Peter Manners, Roger Straiton and Ken Woolford along with the COTD hosted a dozen guests who all enjoyed a most excellent lunch which presented much more as a Dinner Party of the highest quality rather than our ‘standard’ lunch.
The food, from the first to last mouthfuls, was simply superb and accompanied by terrific wines that were masterfully matched to each course.
Steve Libeskind started us off with a delicious and innovative selection of canapes including:
- Pork and veal terrine - with the inclusion of pistachios, red capsicum and Dijon mustard. The terrine served on puff pastry, was topped with beetroot chutney.
- Fennel puree on puff pastry round - crowned with raw salmon and a fennel frond.
- Salmon ceviche using Asian flavours - served on spoons featuring diced salmon, coriander, red onion, red capsicum, fish sauce, lime juice and chilli.
They were served in the above order and were absolutely delicious with one flavour profile building beautifully to the next. The ceviche was a perfect palate cleanser before the main.
And what a main it was and a great reminder, to those of us lucky enough to enjoy the dish, as to just why Bernard is the current COTY.
The dish presented was titled ‘Salmon on a Pea Broth’.
The pea Bbroth was based on Heston Blumenthal’s ham and pea soup using ham, onion, and carrots to create a stock. This was then blitzed with raw peas and passed through a fine chinois.
The salmon itself was cooked sous vide at 500C for an hour. The skin had been removed by pouring boiling water over it and peeling off after about 5 to 10 seconds.
The skin was then baked with salt and pepper at 1800C for 30 mins which resulted in a fabulous crispy skin that was used as a garnish.
The salmon was centred on a circle of broth and topped with a garnish of thinly shaved fennel, red onion and orange salad along with the crispy skin. Peas, ham and basil oil were used sparingly to finish the dish.
Not only did it look good, the flavours were superb. The salmon cooked to perfection, silky smooth pea broth and a delightfully fresh salad to balance the richness of the salmon and peas.
Well done Bernard and Steve, I do suspect you may have to do it all again early next year!!
What followed next was both a surprise and delight to all of us. This was in the form of a cheese new to most.
Challerhocker (pronounced ‘Holler Hocker’) is an Artisan Swiss cheese from St Gallen.
Malty and sweet with a spicy finish, Challerhocker is a 21st-century Swiss cheese.
With a change in regulations during the 90s, the Master Appenzeller Cheesemaker, Walter Rass, created a new cheese using rich pure Jersey milk, and a secret blend of wines, herbs and spices.
He aged it for 8 months and named it ‘Challerhocker ‘meaning ‘sitting in a cellar’.
The washed rind produces a robust, tacky rind and contributes to the nutty aroma of the dense white paste.
The cheese was well received by all, I am sure we will see it again and many thanks to our Cheese Master Mark for finding this beauty!
Well done again to all involved, you have set a very high benchmark indeed!
9 April 2024 David Madson
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Our Chef of The Day was David Madson with his team James Tinslay and Peter Fitzpatrick assisting with lunch today following our Society AGM.
Canapés
Given that our apéritif window was more than usual the team responded with plentiful canapés.
First up was smoked trout terrine consisting of smoked trout, pitted Sicilian olives, EVOO, lemon zest and basil served on toasts. Great texture and flavour with the lemon zest dominating the finish on the palate.
Then followed pork and prawn patties made with garlic, ginger, fish and soy sauce, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, spring onions and coriander. They were a balanced texture and flavour hit, served warm on spoons topped with mango chutney.
James Tinslay prepared perfectly cooked chicken skewers that were marinated in soy, honey, ginger and garlic.
There are many favourable comments on the canapés today.
Main course
David presented meatballs and pasta. In this case, the pasta is mafalda.
It is a challenge to cook pasta for the multitude and David succeeded with the pasta “al dente” and meatballs moist and flavoursome, the key to keeping it moist was ricotta mixed with the pork and veal. The ricotta is a good binding agent for meatballs. They were cooked in house today and served with passata.
A good hearty comfort meal for autumn and well executed.
Sourdough bread was from Cornucopia Naremburn.
Thank you, David.
Cheese
Mark Bradford presented the cheese today an Italian blue cow's milk cheese that most members correctly guessing its origin.
The most popular form of Gorgonzola in Italy is known as Dolce Gorgonzola, the term used for young or sweet cheese.
The Mauri family make cheese using local milk from the lush pastures around their dairy in Lombardy and mature it in their mountain caves. Typically made from a single milking, the white interior has thick green lines of mould and a soft creamy flavour. The crusty rind bulges as it matures and develops distinct yeasty flavours reminiscent of Taleggio.
Gorgonzola Dolce is soft, sweet, with a subtle creamy texture, and piquant finish.
David accompanied the cheese with a mixed salad of cos, radicchio, endive, finely sliced red onion and herbs. Dressed with red wine vinegar, we needed some greens a good finish to the hearty dishes served beforehand.
Wine
Lunch today followed the AGM for 2024. An orderly meeting, with the members congratulating the Committee on their stewardship of the Society over the last year. Money in the bank and plenty of wine in the cellar, who could ask for more?
My wine report on the lunch today will be a bit of a dog’s breakfast for the following reasons, First, many wines were served before and during lunch meaning that every table had different wines and two, I misplaced my tasting notes. By way of explanation, I was so giddy and discombobulated by the joy of being re-elected to the Committee, I relaxed my usual restraint with the aperitif wines and found that I was congratulating myself by sampling plenty of the 27 or so wines put on the table, a blunder on my part. Our wine master was conducting a clear out of various odds and ends, A good idea. With regard to the red wines each table received something different, so I can only comment on the wines I had, going from memory alone.
The first white wine I had was the Collector Chardonnay 2021, which we had a few weeks ago. I liked it then and liked it again today, despite words of disapproval ringing in my ears from some of our experts who regarded the wine as a model for poor winemaking! So it goes! The second wine I had was from Orlando, a Chardonnay. I recorded the details which are now forever lost with my notes. From recollection, the wine was quite passable for an economy class aperitif wine. I did not record any of the many white wines that followed.
On our table, I recorded three of the wines that were served, although there may have been a fourth, that I did not taste. The first two were Italian, A Massolino Barbera D’Alba 2016. followed by a Podere Poggio Chianti Classico from 2015, a Sangiovese. Both wines were excellent, the Sangiovese being much more full-bodied, with a stronger finish. Together they were a perfect match with the Italian meatballs and pasta.
The third wine I tasted was one of my favourites, the Seppelt St Peters Shiraz from 2010 as I recall. We have been fortunate in the past by having this wine on a few occasions, always a treat. In my view, one of the top half-dozen Shiraz in Australia. Enough said!
That’s all folks, sorry about this report, it was just one of those days. I am away next week, but back the week after. I promise to keep my notes secure next time.
2 April 2024 Mark Bradford
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
A small but dedicated group of members were present for our post Easter lunch with Cheesemaster Mark Bradford on the hobs for the fifth “cook off’ for our chef of the year award.
Mark was assisted by Denys Moore.
Canapés
Keeping with the Italian theme we had ‘caprese’ skewers of tomato bocconcini, basil with a balsamic spray. Tomatoes are near the end of their season the skin was a little thick. Denys advised they were on special at Woollies!
Next up sardine pâté on Italian garlic toasts topped with carrot Portuguese sardines, olives, onion, chives and coriander, lime juice, mayo, olive oil, salt and pepper. They were a little runny it could have had something to bolster the texture like butter or white beans.
Main
This was the star of the lunch Mark reprising his brilliant version of Polpettonne.
Great presentation of a “meatloaf slice” with the colours reminding us of the Italian flag colours. It’s usually mixed pork and veal baked in a log, wrapped in pancetta with string and having a filling such as cheese. Mark wanted to try individual portions and was concerned about leakage of cheese during baking, so chose to blind bake impervious shortcrust pastry shells. These were lined with prosciutto (sides and base) and filled with a mix of Feather and Bone pork and veal mince, garlic, oregano, fresh rosemary, panko crumbs, egg and feta and cooked in batches for 40 minutes.
It was topped with taleggio and cooked for a further 20 minutes. The individual meatloaf in its pastry shell was served on rings of mash, white and green. The white was a silky Paris mash of unpeeled washed potatoes put through a potato ricer, lots of cold butter added, as well as warm milk. The green ring was pea (frozen) and mint (fresh from Mark’s garden) puree. Sauteed garlic and French onions, peas brought to a simmer for two minutes then blitzed through a food processor with a small quantity of mint, salt and white pepper. This was then forced through a sieve to remove pulp. Looked great and tasted even better.
The dish needed red, and Mark created a topping of Roma tomatoes reduced slightly in sauteed garlic, treated with a stick blender and forced through a sieve to remove pulp. Warmed on the day with fresh torn basil leaves, and carrot shaves on the pie!
The bread today a sourdough baguette from Baker’s delight. Liked it.
Cheese
Plenty of cheese today with no-one guessing its style or origin. It was a cow's milk cheddar from Victoria.
A cheese we’re familiar with “Maffra red wax” young and creamy with good flavour.
Mark served this with dried apricots, figs and hazelnut nuts.
It was a mature Cheddar with a smooth texture and a distinctive sharp flavour.
The Maffra Cheese Company is in Gippsland where Ferial Zekiman and her team produce a delicious range of farmhouse cheeses using milk from her herd of Holstein-Friesian cows that graze on the lush green pastures surrounding the farm and dairy.
This creamy waxed cheddar has subtle fruity tones and a delicate nuttiness.
Wine
After last week’s party for Peter Manners 100th birthday, we were all fully prepared for a modest function today. At our age you cannot have too much fun too soon! It could be medically dangerous! A little restraint is a good thing. Nonetheless, Mark Bradford put on for the 30 or so attendees, a splendid lunch, see the food report for more detail.
Our first wine was indeed a cracker. A Lindemans Reserve Hunter Sem Bin 150 2011, 12.5% This wine was a most interesting comparison to the Tyrrells Vat 1 from the same year we had last week. The Tyrrells was developed, deep straw colour, gleaming and clean, looking every bit an aged Hunter Sem of high quality. The Lindemans today was a totally different wine, but from the same year. Far lighter in colour and texture, with lots of acid, but well balanced with abundant fruit of lemon zest and citrus overtones. Very hard to accept that they were from the same district, same year, and same grape variety. No doubt the difference was in the wine making. The Tyrrells was easily identifiable as a Tyrrells wine, the Lindemans totally different. Go with the style you prefer. The Tyrrells from last week offered the classic aged Hunter Sem style. Enjoy with cheese or fruit. The Lindemans today offered a firm crisp finish, wonderful vibrant fruit with superb balance and a promise of many years ahead of beautiful drinking Enjoy with oysters. Hope we have more of this wine in our cellar. For a 13 yo Sem it looks more like a 5 yo! Time will tell!
Wine No 2 was a Dolcetto d’Alba from Massolino 2016, 14%. Normally not regarded as a serious wine, “the sweet little one“, as it translates into English, is the perfect wine to be chugged down with a pizza or spaghetti marinara without too much thought into what you were drinking, nothing wrong with that! Particularly if your attention was distracted by an attractive female sitting opposite playing footsies with your feet! Where was I now ?? Oh, yes the wine. This Dolcetto was a terrific wine, deep colour, and loads of ripe fruit but in perfect harmony with the acid/tannin /oak. A delightful food wine, much better than I expected.
Wine No 3 was another Italian, more please, a Podere Poggio Chianti Classico from 2015 13.5%. A Sangiovese. Excellent. Same depth of colour as the previous wine, but a little bit finer in the mouthfeel dept. There was nothing between these two wines at the end of the day, and I think some at my table were sliding towards the Dolcetto as their favourite. A close call, both wines were the perfect match for a quality Italian meal. They would take your thoughts off playing footsies, at least for a while! Both wines were doing their job, complimenting the food, not dominating.
Wine No 4 was the Yalumba Menzies, the “Cigar“, named after the narrow strip of Terra Rossa soil in Coonawarra. The wine was from 2009 at 14%. This wine is now 15 yo and is still looking good. Classic Oz, huge Cabernet fruit, tannin, oak and alcohol, the winning blend for our wines in the past. I really enjoyed the wine, but at the same time I could understand that folk nowadays are seeking a lighter, less alcohol and tannin style with the accent on elegance. I do not blame them. Still, this wine is an Australian Classic, from the Old School, with plenty of time ahead of it.
The final wine was a Viognier 2014, 13% from the great winemaker Gary Farr, who has made some terrific wines in the past from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Why on earth would a top winemaker like Farr devalue the currency of his wines by introducing Viognier? in my view an uncouth grape, cloying and unctuous, although it does claim to be a cousin of Nebbiolo, a claim that would need to be fact-checked! Readers of this regular report would be aware that I do not have a high regard to this grape. But like a stray dog that keeps turning up on your doorstep, in recent times I seem to have to open my door to this unwelcome arrival far more often than is desirable. Witness today. Another one. We must have had 3 or 4 of these in the last few months. Anyhow to be fair, the wine today was to my taste, passable with the cheese. Palates more expert than mine speak highly of the wine, well that’s fine, they can have mine, I’ll have a Chardy thanks!
26 March 2024 Peter's 100th Escoffier CoTD
Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Today saw the much anticipated 100th birthday of the highly popular World War 2 vet, Mr Peter Manners. Happy Birthday Peter for 30 March! A full house on the day of 60 with members and Peter’s son, Andrew. The lunch was a fusion of Wine and Food Society and Escoffier expertise in the kitchen: Chris North and Bill Alexiou on canapes and Nick Reynolds and Ian Mackenzie on mains. As Peter was born in England, the theme was English fare.
Canapes
Our birthday man Peter is known as the King of Canapes, having introduced them in a “formal” way many years ago and being very much a part of a Society lunch. First up was a scallop on a spoon with curried cauliflower puree. We enjoyed “not pigs in a blanket”, dates stuffed with English cheddar and wrapped with English bacon. The third canape was somewhat unusual, “River Cam Pie”, twice cooked beef cheek (in French Onion Soup) in a pastry case topped with mushy pea purée. All excellent; a fitting tribute to the KoC.
Main
The main was Beef Wellington. Fillet steak cooked sous vide at 65 C for one and a half hours brushed with Dijon mustard, with a mushroom, shallot, garlic, and thyme duxelle wrapped in prosciutto. These were then wrapped in crêpes and then in Carême all-butter puff pastry with a puff pastry lattice. The Wellingtons were then brushed with an egg wash and baked so that the puff was well-browned. Each serve was accompanied by a Dutch carrot and two baked Kestrel potatoes. The dish was sauced with a heavily reduced, pressure-cooked, homemade beef stock. A delightful main course with the beef cooked to perfection.
Cheese
The Cheese Master selected Colston Basset Stilton for the day, from Nottinghamshire. It was served with honey-glazed walnuts and dates, and was a good match with the sweet sherry selected for the course.
Colston Bassett is one of the smallest producers of Stilton and has been doing so since 1913. Their cheeses are rich, complex, and long-lasting in flavour.
A limited quantity of Stilton is made at the dairy to a traditional recipe exclusively for Neal’s Yard Dairy using animal rennet, which creates a delicate, friable texture and long, complex flavour. Curds are hand ladled into cylindrical moulds; a time-consuming and painstaking process, but one that helps to preserve the structure of the curd and deliver a smooth, rich, textured cheese.
The piercing takes place later in the maturation process in order to strike the right balance between creamy, flavoursome paste and blue mould.
During maturation, the crusty rind forms naturally, encouraged by rubbing and brushing, and after spiking, blueing radiates from the centre. This is a buttery, silky cheese with an elegant sweetness.
Colston Bassett is one of the smallest producers of Stilton and has been doing so since 1913. Their cheeses are rich, complex and long-lasting in flavour.
A limited quantity of Stilton is made at the dairy to a traditional recipe exclusively.
Dessert
What would a birthday celebration of such significance be without a birthday cake? The light fruit cake, topped with 100 candles, was made from a Larousse patisserie and baking recipe with Pedro Ximenez-soaked golden raisins, mixed peel, mixed glacé cherries and dried cranberries. Birthday boy Peter Manners provided Nick Reynolds with the cake pan that Peter used in 2016 to make Wal Edwards' 100th birthday cake.
A most memorable lunch and a great milestone for Peter.
Wine
Wow! What a day, Peter, can you have another birthday lunch again next year? Where to begin? At the beginning I guess, is the best place.
Our WFS team in the kitchen together with the Escoffier crew put together a superb lunch, with great pass-arounds and a magnificent main and cheese. See the food review for details.
About the wines, all eagerly awaited, we commenced with a Bubb + Pooley Chardonnay from the Coal River region of Tas, 2022, 13%. I have enjoyed Pooley Chardonnays before, always outstanding, but I am afraid to say this wine was not in the same class. Quality fruit and well balanced with a crisp finish, but very restrained and tight, like the Brian Croser early Petaluma Chardonnays. The problem for me was that the wine did not have much flavour! There was little to offer on the front palate or back palate. It left the mouth without saying goodbye! No doubt some of our experts will tell me I should have enjoyed the wine more than I did, but I can only assess the wine on how it presented to me. A tad disappointing, perhaps I was expecting too much.
We then moved on to the main attraction three superb red wines, a Bordeaux, a Hunter Shiraz and a Barossa Shiraz. This was an occasion for high excitement, which delivered in spades.
The first wine of this group was the Ch Clos Du Marquis from St Julian, 2010 13.5%, a blend of Cabernet 72%, Merlot 27% and a dash of Cab Franc. The Commune of St Julian boasts of more Classified Growths than any other Commune in Bordeaux. To use a real estate analogy, St Julian is the Point Piper of Bordeaux. The Marquis is the next-door neighbour of the prestigious Ch Leoville-Las-Cases. The wine was to me a very typical quality Bordeaux. The nose, the mouthfeel and the sheer quality of the fruit/oak/tannin mix just stay with you well after the wine has been drunk. In my view, no other wine in the world has that quality. The deep colour and the power of the fruit, but perfectly balanced, finishing with an elegant silky finish is a joy forever. That Bordeaux aroma leaves me in a trance-like state. To try to describe that aroma is a good occasion to fall back on the French expression, “je ne sais quoi“ says it all for those of us who run out of adjectives. I have always thought a Bordeaux like this never leaves the memory, the French have a perfume from the House of Worth “Je Reviens“, which translates into “I will return“. That aroma always does for me.
The second wine in this group was the Tyrrells Johnno’s Shiraz 2014, 14%. The problem with this wine is that it was “batting after Bradman“ as the old saying goes. A hard tag to shake off. But casting that hex aside the wine was beautiful. Medium body, noticeably lighter in colour than the previous wine, but excellent spicy fruit, firm tannic finish with great aftertaste, A lovely wine, with years ahead of enjoyable drinking. Yet another testimony to the fantastic vintage of 2014 in the Hunter.
The third wine of the bracket was the 2010 Penfolds St Henri. More praise to our wine masters past and present for delivering to us today, in perfect condition, a wine I would regard as one of the best Australian red wines made in the last 30 years. This wine is exceptional. I had the good fortune to share a bottle with friends 12 months ago and we all agreed it was outstanding, a quantum leap from St Henri’s of the past which had suffered a decline in quality for a decade or so. The vintage year 2010 was an exceptional vintage for the Barossa which this wine demonstrates. The wine had an alcohol level of 14.5%, but the quality of the fruit and outstanding wine-making ensured that a balance between fruit/acid, tannin and oak produced a superb wine with a chewy, almost sweet fruit aftertaste. It lingered. A glorious wine. I can see it still giving a thrill to those lucky enough to sample it in 20 years. What impresses me about the wine, is that despite its hugeness, it is almost elegant and supple, what higher praise could one afford for a wine?
The final bracket for the cheese was a magnificent old Hunter Sem, the Tyrrells Vat 1 2011, coupled with a Pedro Ximenez Sherry from Spain.
The Tyrrells was graceful and fully developed wine, which now at 13 yo would be classified as a Trophy standard aged Semillon. There is no other wine in the world like it. Golden deep straw colour, gleaming and clear with a faint aroma of honey and toast overtones. Plenty of acid so the future looks as bright as this wine is at present. Powerful fruit flavours, still fresh and clean, a great match with the Stilton.
The final wine was the Sherry, a Pedro Ximenez. Deep brown, with an aroma of mixed stewed fruits, nuts and raisins. Very sweet and opulent, cuts through the strong flavoured Stilton, leaving a very enjoyable aftertaste.
And so we reached the end of the afternoon, a memorable occasion. My pick for the wine of the day was the Marquis, I just cannot get past that French connection.
A final thank you to all who put their shoulder to the wheel to make it happen. Our Food Master, our Wine Master, our Cheese Master, the Escoffier team and the REX kitchen.
19 March 2024 James Hill
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O’Halloran
Food
Canapes
Fourth cook-off for our coveted ‘Chef of the Year’ award today with yours truly in the kitchen with Jonathan Casson, Gary Linnane and Chilly Hargrave assisting with canapés.
Johnathan kicked off canapés with some rice crackers topped with ricotta, fig and Serrano Jamón. Jonathan had soaked dried figs in Pedro Ximénez for three days.
Loved the flavours and texture in this canapé a great idea to marinate the figs. The crackers were a little softened by the cheese.
Gary reprised his signature canapé a white bean anchoïade topped with parsley and served in pastry cases and crackers.
Gary used the Tarbais beans that Society member Scott Witt provided and added some tinned haricot white beans. The beans were puréed with some Parmigiano-Reggiano, cream cheese capers, anchovy, lemon zest and EVOO.
Full of flavour, lemony, salty and creamy with a satisfying lingering aftertaste.
Chilly Hargrave up last with a salmorejo, sometimes known as ardoria or ardorío, it is a traditional soup originating from Andalusia, southern Spain, made of tomato, bread, extra virgin olive oil and garlic. The tomatoes are just roughly chopped and then blended very thoroughly with garlic. The seeds and remains of the skins are then filtered out. The sourdough bread (250 gms to 1kg tomatoes) is then torn into small pieces and added to the tomato mix with the addition of olive oil. The bread is squeezed by hand to ensure complete saturation and softening. After an hour, this is thoroughly blended again, with water added to create the desired texture.
The salmorejo was served cold and garnished with diced Spanish Jamon and hard-boiled eggs. Great balance of flavours in the soup and very moorish.
Many favourable comments about the canapés today.
Main
Our main course today was a chicken, smoked cheese and bacon rotolo. Served with chicken fat potato gratin, shaved brussels sprouts sautéed in butter and water and topped with a cream sauce. The cream sauce is made with chicken thighs and sherry, chicken stock, cream and caramelised button mushrooms.
The rotolo main ingredients are chicken breast mince, diced salami, onions, garlic, mustard, parmesan, parsley and bread crumbs. It’s then patted out to an even rectangle with mint leaves pressed over the surface. Thin slices of ham are layered and then sprinkled with grated smoked Dutch cheese. It’s then rolled up and covered with bacon rashers and baked for an hour, finally rested for twenty minutes then sliced and served. Decorated with tarragon and chives.
Lots of flavour in the rotolo complemented by the rich cream and sherry mushroom sauce.
Many comments today on the excellent wine/food pairing.
Big bread love by Iggys today.
Cheese
Holy Goat La Luna wheels, a white mould cheese made from goats' milk in Castlemaine Victoria.
This award-winning, surface-ripened goat’s milk cheese is handmade at Sutton Grange Organic Farm near Castlemaine using ancient cheese-making techniques that were refined in the Loire Valley over a millennium.
Lactic acid fermentation slowly sets the curd over 24 hours before it is gently hand-ladled into moulds, as to preserve its delicate structure. After draining, the young cheeses are moved to the maturation room where they are turned daily for seven days and then matured for another two weeks to allow the wrinkly Geotrichum candidum rind to fully develop. As it ripens, the chalky centre softens to a soft, fudgy texture. Delicate citrus notes accentuate lactic sweetness and herbaceous flavours from the goat’s milk.
Simply served with some crispy green grapes to highlight the flavour and texture of the cheese, it was perfect and may be the last time we see it at our Society as the producers have announced their retirement.
Paul Ferman provided the coffee and Peter Kelso a warming Armagnac to celebrate his recent birthday.
Wine
A good roll up of members was treated to some great food by James Hill. The entrees and main were terrific and the Holy Goat cheese was wonderful. Sadly we will see it no more, with the owners closing up shop.
To start proceedings we were served a great Hunter Sem, a Tyrrells Stevens from 2018, 10.5% with 2018 rated an 8/10 year. The wine was a delight, crisp with high acid, well-balanced, pale straw colour and beautiful fruit. A great future ahead. Would love to see this wine again in 5 years. A crowd favourite. A great match for the entrees.
The next wine was the Hentley Farm Villian and Vixen Grenache 2022, 14.5%. This wine from the Barossa was a lot of fun, remember that feeling? The perfect wine to get the party started then let the fun begin! The wine was a riot of sweet-smelling fruit, velvety mouthfeel, high acidity mixed with spice and minimal oak evident. This wine is the elixir for youth, certainly made me feel very happy remembering the days of wine and roses in my youth! Not a wine to be mulled over, just drink it for the pure joy a delicious Grenache can deliver. A breath of fresh air from our cellar which can at times can be too focused on heavy older style reds. Let’s have more Grenache to lift our spirits and have fun.
The following wine was the distinguished Curly Flat PN from 2013 at 13.5%. This wine from the Macedon Ranges in Vic has a huge cult following, as it deserves. A lovely PN, elegant and polished, but beginning to show some signs of ageing with the acid starting to fall off a tad, but tannins still firm. Still a delight to drink, beautiful quality fruit, but not a keeper for sure.
We then marched onto our 4th Wine, the Collector Tiger Tiger Chardonnay 2021, from the Tumbarumba district, 12.9%. Collector wines are based near the township of Collector close to Lake George, but some of their wines are sourced from different regions, such as this wine. Tumbarumba is a great place for cool climate Chardonnay to such extent it is the preferred area for high quality Chardonnay by companies such as Penfolds for their top shelf white wine. My initial impression was of a delicious Chardonnay, great fruit and just about the right balance notwithstanding the obvious high acidity. I was enjoying the wine with the scrumptious cheese, Chardy + quality cheese = a near-perfect match! The wine had an abundance of citrus fruit flavour, and I was happy, that condition again! Dear readers, it did not last long. I began to hear voices from around the room, telling me why I should not be enjoying this wine! Palates far more sophisticated than mine, assured me that the wine had serious winemaking faults and marked it down accordingly. It would seem that being happy with a wine is just not enough. You might think you are enjoying the wine but, with a full understanding of its technical shortcomings, your joy should be restrained and moderated. Pray for forgiveness for being happy with a wine of inferior quality. Mea Culpa Lord, it just tasted so good!
The final wine for the day was a Shaw and Smith Shiraz from the Adelaide Hills 2014 vintage 14%. Highly respected winemakers who rarely get it wrong. This wine was a classic cool climate Shiraz with lots of spicy flavours and firm tannins, high acid, elegant yet powerful at the apex of its development at 10 yo. A very enjoyable wine, well balanced, with time ahead for another 5 years or so.
12 March 2024 Matthew Holmes
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Hallaron
Food
Matt was in the kitchen for our third ‘cook off’ for Chef of the Year 2023
The theme was ‘surf and turf’, perfect for this warm autumn day. Matt was assisted by Mark Bradford who was assisted by Denys Moore.
Canapés
First up were Narooma oysters freshly shucked by our team in the kitchen. Beautiful and salty up front with a long sweet finish. What a treat!
Mark made some chicken liver pâte with VSOP brandy, thyme, orange zest, nutmeg, shallots, butter and cream topped with pomegranate seeds served on top crostini from Italy.
Loved the pâte a good texture, moist flavourful and brandy and you could taste the brandy.
Main
Our main was oven-baked pancetta (Barossa Fine Foods) wrapped Norwegian Atlantic salmon. It sat on a bed of fried brussels sprouts and potato pennies, with asparagus in dill sauce garnished with fried capers.
The sauce was made with lemon, chicken stock, cream, butter, garlic and cayenne pepper, very tasty.
Great robust flavours and perfectly presented. The sprouts were rendered in fat from the pancetta and served under the penny potatoes garnished with lemon zest. Matt pointed out that the pancetta was cured with black pepper, garlic, bay leaf and pink salt.
The asparagus was perfectly cooked, blanched then charred.
The salmon was pink and moist in the middle, where it counts.
A great combination of flavours and texture, perfectly executed as fitting a coty nomination.
Many comments on the quality of food presented today.
Bread Bourke Street bakery bread today, soy and linseed served with the main and semi-sourdough baguette with cheese.
Cheese
Mark Bradford, our Cheesemaster, presented Comté La Couronne a hard cheese from France.
Made from unpasteurised milk, this hard-cooked raw milk cheese is made at small dairies or fruitieres using the milk from several herds of Montbeliard cows. This cheese was matured in the damp underground cellars of Marcel Petite at Fort Saint Antoine high in the mountains that border France and Switzerland in the Franche-Comte. It’s specially selected for Will to wear the prestigious red ‘crown’ of quality based on its rich concentrated nutty texture, elegant caramel sweetness, and lingering kaleidoscope of flavours rather than on how long it was aged.
Mark thought last week’s cheese the Jaarlsberg was a better offering, the Comte was nutty and sweet, showing a little calcium lactate crystal.
Matt served the cheese with seasonal green pears nice and crispy, walnuts and dates.
Wine
The prolonged spell of warm sunny conditions in Sydney over the past few weeks continued with a very warm, indeed hot day for our lunch, the 3rd in the series of our Chef of The Year for 2024. Today the spotlight was on Matt Holmes. Matt produced a fine lunch with fresh oysters and a delicious pate topped with Pomegranate. The main was Norwegian Salmon baked in Pancetta. See the food review for more details. In short, a first-rate effort.
The first wine of the day was a most agreeable Pinot Gris from Scorpo in the Mornington P 2023 13.5% The crispness of the wine, showing excellent quality fruit, balanced by firm acid produced an enjoyable wine, blending so well with the two entrees. Picking up comments from around the room, it did seem to me that the wine won universal approval, a rare accolade indeed! Not the world’s greatest wine for a pre-dinner drink, but a solid, if not spectacular wine to kick things along. Well done, Winemaster!
The next two offerings were both Chardonnays, a logical selection for a salmon main. First was the 2018 Bannockburn, a Geelong Chardy at 13.5%. Deep yellow, a big wine with very developed flavours, plenty of oak evident. Lots of citrus flavours are evident with high-quality fruit. A very impressive wine.
The second Chardonnay was a Fraser Gallop, the Parterre from Margaret River 2014 vintage at 12.5%. A good comparison to the previous wine. Much lighter in colour and texture. A delicate wine I really enjoyed. Lovely enduring finish. Superb fruit/acid balance. A great wine, drinking perfectly, at the apex of its development. I hope we have some more in the cellar.
The last two wines did for me present a challenge, two extremes, one a huge Australian red wine, the other a thin, acidic dry white from Italy, with no lingering fruit flavour on the palate at the finish. I was perplexed that these two totally different wines were in the same room, let alone competing for our attention with the cheese.
The red wine would need no introduction, a Hardy’s Clare and Mc Laren Vale Shiraz|HRB D646 2008 at 14%. This is the wine you bring along to an International wine show and in true Bazza McKenzie style demand that all you “purse carrying, Nancy boys, clear the table of your limp-wristed delicate Pinots and get a taste of what a real red wine tastes like”! Stewed fruit compote, they may reply.
I am not saying the wine was unpleasant, but that it was a throwback to that style of wine popular in the ’60s and '70s where massive fruit, tannin and oak were the drivers of a style of red wine that many still love and good luck to them. Who am I to cast a censorious glance in their direction? But for me, something a little lighter please Garcon. Do you have a Mt Langhi Shiraz back there?
The final wine of the day was a Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2021 at 13%. I am really puzzled as to why this wine was served with the cheese. Very dry, acidic and has a sharp aftertaste. The Vernaccia grape comes from a complicated and obscure background dating back to the 1200s. The wine is from the town of San Gimignano in Tuscany. My research indicates that the good folk in Italy regard this wine as a simple everyday drink and I can understand why. Unlike Roussanne, a Rhone white we had with the cheese last week which was a great match. Sadly, this wine with its thinness and puckering acidity was not in my view a wine to enjoy with the Compte cheese served.
Irrespective of my comments about some of the wines, I thought Matt Holmes put on a great lunch today for which we should all be grateful.
5 March 2024 Paul Irwin
Food review by Frank Liebeskind and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
A fantastic lunch, full of taste and of generous portions. No one went home hungry, I for one didn’t have dinner.
Paul Irwin (with Steve Liebeskind doing a canape and assisting Paul in the kitchen and plating) recreated his Hainanese chicken dish.
We started with three excellent canapes.
First, we had ceviche snapper with a vinaigrette of orange and lemon juice served on spoons, a beautiful white fish with a delightful kick and challenge to the taste buds. Loved it.
This was followed by Steve’s gravlax of ocean trout with sour cream and dill sauce, served on bread rounds, Steve has done his gravlax often, and certainly, this one didn’t let us down.
The third canape was the chicken tenderloins from the breast that Paul cooked for the main. Paul crumbed the chicken tenders in panko crumbs and served them with a dipping sauce of siracha mayo, finger-licking good.
The main was a huge success again. Paul’s Hainanese Chicken was outstanding, one member claimed it was the best they have ever had, and I would agree.
Paul’s attention to detail was highlighted in this dish. Big succulent chicken breasts were marinated in Paul’s own master stock (for 48 hours I believe), the breasts then sous vide at 63 degrees.
Beautifully sliced and presented and topped with Kecap Manis. Paul cooked the rice “risotto style” again using Paul’s Master stock and giving the rice a complex but delicate taste and beautiful colour.
To complement the chicken, Paul served some finely grated/ground ginger and a magnificent, fermented capsicum puree. The heat from the ginger gave the dish a kick to the taste buds.
Having said that, some members wanted chopped chilli too, next time Paul said he would put chopped chilli (in soy?) on the table for members to enjoy as they might.
The plating was completed with braised bok choy in oyster sauce, garnished with sliced cucumber and tomato.
Paul’s master stock was also served in a cup, for each member to pour over the rice, or chicken or drink, as they saw fit. Beautiful master stock with a coriander leaf.
The bread was sourdough from Harris Farm, tasty, fresh, and generous.
Paul also provided a salad (with the cheese) of mixed leaf greens, sliced pear on the side, and a dressing of EVOO, mustard and balsamic vinegar.
An outstanding lunch, with every element well executed. My only regret, no leftovers, for $10 a container.
Mark Bradford our Cheese Master presented us with an excellent and tasty cheese, and Josef C stood up and identified it immediately as a Swiss Gruyere (well he is Swiss).
This 45% fat unpasteurised cow’s milk Gruyere AOP cheese was well received.
The supplier’s description is:
The methods used to make this cooked cheese are strictly controlled by the Swiss authorities. Once made only from alpine milk high in the mountain pastures in the summer, but now made throughout the year. The production of cheese in the region can be traced back to 1115. It continues nowadays according to a well-tried recipe in the village cheese dairies of its native land – the district of La Gruyère in the Canton of Fribourg (Switzerland) – but also in the cantons of Vaud, Neuchâtel, and Jura, as well as in a few municipalities of Bern. The brown natural pebbled rind encases a dense smooth interior with the occasional small pea sized hole formed by propionic bacteria and small horizontal fissures known as ‘lenures’.
It has a slightly condensed sweet, nutty flavour that lingers on the palate.
Wine
The pre-lunch wine was very enjoyable, Muscadet Sevre et Main Sur Lie 2021 12%. This wine was a good partner for the delicious raw snapper and ocean trout entrée that was provided.
There were some grumbles around the room about the wine not being up to standard for a good Muscadet, too sweet and so on. I did not detect any undue sweetness and thought that the wine finished with a nice clean acidic finish, perfect with the fish. Picking up on comments around the room, it seemed to me that most there were quite happy. I have had good quality Muscadet in France on a few occasions with some Bay of Biscay oysters, a superb combo. The exact same wine here weeks later tastes quite different. Must be the holiday effect!
We were then treated to three excellent reds with our chicken main. First was the Freycinet Tasmanian Pinot 2020 14%. Very nice indeed, in fact, I preferred it to the following wine, a Burgundy. The Freycinet was a wine in great balance, with plenty of flavour, nice velvety smoothness with a firm finish. An excellent Australian Pinot. The second wine was the Christian Clerget Bourgogne Rouge from 2015 12.5%, an acclaimed vintage in Burgundy. Perhaps it was a poor bottle or perhaps it was just me in a fickle mood, but I just did not connect with this wine. To me, it simply lacked flavour. Perhaps a second bottle might cause me to review my assessment more generously.
We then moved on to the cheese wines. First was a Society favourite and also one of my go-to wines, the Seppelt St Peters Shiraz 2010 14%. This wine from the Grampians in Vic comes from a vineyard at Seppelt where the main business is making sparkling wine. The vineyard adjacent to the winery is where St Peters comes from, formerly known as Seppelt Great Western Shiraz, a wonderful wine, full or ripe fruit, spicy with gentle tannins and a subtle oak finish. Wine of the day.
The final wine of the day was a 2018 Yves Cuilleron Rousanne Les Vignes d’a Cote. Readers of my articles from previous occasions will be aware that I do not have high regard for Rhone whites, Roussanne, Viognier or Marsanne. I find them unctuous and fat with a blowsy finish. Today, however, much against my anticipated reaction, this Roussanne grew upon me as the day wore on. A very good cheese wine, mouth-filling, but well-balanced. I think the trick was to serve it with a strongly flavoured cheese, not with a delicate entrée.