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

Food

A nearly full house for our first lunch of 2024 with a British-themed lunch cooked by yours truly with Jonathan Casson and Mark Bradford assisting on canapés.

Canapés

First up potted prawns on toasts prepared by Jonathan.

Prawns were cooked with clarified butter, mace, nutmeg, cayenne and lemon. Good prawn flavour on the toast.

Cucumber sandwiches with a twist … a Neil Perry recipe ..white bread with lashings of butter a smear of hot English mustard and salted fresh cucumber layered with pickled cucumber.

Mark finished the canapés service with corn fritters in a tribute to Bill Grainger. The main ingredients are corn, eggs, flour, coriander and onion. Warmed in the oven served with a spicy mayo.

Bountiful canapés well received by members today.

Main course

This was a riff on a Richard Corrigan recipe ‘smoked haddock’.

The hero of the dish was the creamy well well-seasoned mash made with 800 gms of butter and 500ml of cream.

The fish was frozen smoked cape cod fillets from South Africa defrosted overnight and poached in a butter and fish stock emulsion.

The fish sat on a mound of the mash and was topped with grated hard-boiled egg, chives and a teaspoon of salsa tartufo. On the side were blanched leeks, finished in fish stock.

The butter and fish stock emulsion was poured over the dish once plated.

A rich, flavoursome and textured dish.

Big bread love from Iggys.

Cheese

Cheesmaster Mark Bradford, in theme, presented a vintage clothbound cheddar from Devon England.

Mature, clothbound Farmhouse Cheddar made the old-fashioned way is hard to find, and demand outstrips supply. This rare Cheddar has been carefully graded from a young age and matured for 18 to 24 months. The result is a classic Cheddar bursting with evocative flavours, with a firm, open and moist texture, an aging earthy aroma, and a lingering tang.

Served with new season ‘jazz’ apples and pickled onions.

Wine

A near-full house saw us begin our 2024 season and let's hope we maintain that spirit during the long season ahead. The theme for today was a creation of the talented James Hill, a delightful smoked haddock with superb mash and leek served with a butter sauce. Forget the calories, just enjoy and fast tomorrow!

With regard to the wines, we kicked off with a 2023 Brokenwood Hunter Semillon 11%, which to me was quite a surprise. Initially, I had prejudged the wine as being far too young, “A year-old Sem“, what’s going on? But a taste revealed a fresh, clean wine with plenty of balanced flavours. A different proposition from a 10 yo Sem, but that said, the wine today presented well, with perhaps hints of future excellence. All the components seemed to be there for a promising future. Let’s review in say 7 years.  The first of the luncheon wines was a Pikes The Merle Riesling 2017. 12%.  In my view a great wine. I always say that my favourite Oz wine is a good, aged Riesling and this wine fits that goal perfectly.

The second wine served was a Brokenwood Indigo Vineyard Chardonnay 12.5% from Beechworth 2014. This wine asked me several questions, which I could not answer.

A great region for chardonnay eg Giaconda, but this wine left me puzzled. Was it excellent or was it frumpy? Maybe at 10 yo it had run out of fruit and acid, I really do not know. My initial comment about the wine on the list of wines was “unsure“.  Sorry to be so wishy-washy.               

Next wine was the Corcelette Beaujolais Morgon 2021 13%. Now here was a wine I had no mixed emotions about. Terrific, ever since we had some Morgon’s a few months ago, I have become a fully paid-up member of the Morgon Fan Club. These wines are the Rolls Royce of Beaujolais, strong flavour, meaty, serious wine. The Gamay grape in this region produces some of the most drinkable of French wines. No wonder they are internationally some of the most sought-after French wines. Today, there were some comments around the room not in favour of the wine. But equally, there were plenty in favour. For my part, keep the Morgon coming Garcon!!

The final wine of the day was a Wynns Coonawarra Shiraz 13.5% from 2009. Now 15 yo, but still drinking well and throwing a big crust. Certainly, a sound investment by the Society in an affordable FAQ wine that has repaid extended cellaring. Fruit and acid still holding up, a well-made wine, rewarding patience.