Lunches
18 February 2025 Nigel Burton
Wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Wine
The theme for today's gathering was a Bouillabaisse prepared by Nigel Burton. An excellent meal thank you Nigel. See full Food Report.
In so far as wines were concerned we kicked off with a first-rate Hugel riesling from the Alsace region, 2022 12.5%. This was a perfect example of a quality riesling by Hugel, always consistent, you know what you're getting. Great fruit/acid balance with a crisp finish. A taste of residual sugar on the back palate, but not in any way cloying. A great wine with the pass arounds. Next on the list was a Ch d'Aqueria Tavel Rose 2022 14%. A grenache blend from Southern Rhone.
This was in my view a much more austere wine than the French rose from the Provence district we are used to drinking. Very dry, and somewhat tense in its make up, this was a restrained wine showing hints of raspberry and cherry. Finish was crisp. A much sterner style of Rose, but yet enjoyable.
Hot on the heels of the rose was another serious wine, the Bouland Morgon 2023 14% from the much acclaimed Corcelette vineyard in the Beaujolais region. This old vine Gamay vineyard produces one of the most popular Beaujolais in the Morgon which we are drinking today. A very different wine from the light bodied, fruity, flirtatious Beaujolais that is intended to be consumed within a year or two of release. The Morgon is much heavier, more intense and a more powerful wine, reflecting spicy, deep flavoured red fruits and a hint of meaty, earthy undertones. Powerful, yet elegant the wine demands attention. A most enjoyable drink. My pick for the wine of the day.
The second last wine was the 2016 Yves Cuilleron St Joseph Lyseras Blanc at 12.5%. A blend of Marsanne and Roussanne from the Northern Rhone district. I did not enjoy this wine at all! Perhaps it was my long held antipathy towards Rhone white wines which had coloured my assessment, or was it the fact that this wine was simply poor. It took only a few sips to lead me to think that the wine was flabby, lacking in acid and as a result, listless and tired. No joy here. Perhaps 9 years in the bottle was just a bridge too far for this wine.
The final wine was the Guigal Cote Du Rhone GSM 2010 at 14% from the Southern Rhone district. I have long been a fan of this wine, consistent, predictable, well made and good value. The Coca Cola of French red wines in my view. You always know what you will get. This wine was in my view a standard Guigal, but was being drunk way past its use by date. Still holding up reasonably well for a 15 year old wine, still drinkable but should have been drunk 6/8 years ago.
11 February 2025 Paul Thorne
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Paul Thorne was in the kitchen as Chef of the Day for our first ‘cook off’ for Chef of The Year award 2024.
Canapés
Yours truly assisted with a riff on traditional ‘Gildas’ today they were made with pickled celery, guindillas peppers and anchovy paste stuffed green olives.
Gary Patterson up next with a warmed Spanakopita and got the third degree from our Greek president Bill on the ingredients which were English spinach, cinnamon, dill, Dondoni goat and sheep feta and filo pastry.
James Tinslay followed with baked chicken tenderloins marinated with garlic, ginger, date syrup and maple syrup and served with a dip of chilli jam.
A lot of effort evident in the canapés today which were well received by members and a good match for our canapé wine.
Main
We were lucky with the weather today, not too hot, as our main was more a winter dish. Paul served us wagyu beef cheeks on a bed of potato mash and pea purée. The pea purée was made with some Japanese chili.
Such is the dedication of our chef, Paul was up at 4.30 am to cook today’s meal! The cheeks were marinated for 24 hours with a mixture of onions, garlic, celery, carrots, bay leaves, star anise with lots of red wine and duck stock. This was then cooked low and slow, at 160C for one hour then for three hours at 140 C.
The beef cheeks were perfectly cooked with the silky mash and pea purée perfect to mop up the red wine sauce made with Tempranillo.
Lots of hearty flavour, good textures and presentation with many favourable comments on the meal with members commending the portion size.
Today we saw why this dish was nominated for contention, thanks Paul.
Cheese
Our cheese master Mark Bradford presented a Fromager D’Affinois Florette a white mould cheese from France.
Florette is a hexagonal-shaped goat’s milk cheese with a silky consistency made near Pelussin in the Rhone Valley. As it ripens, the cheese becomes quite runny retaining its delicate creamy goat’s milk flavour.
Members readily guessed the cheese today it came to the table in very good condition and not showing any ammonia that we often experience.
This was served with a well-dressed salad of iceberg lettuce, spinach, pear, pomegranate seeds, walnuts and blue cheese.
Bread from Haberfield Bakery, a Society favourite when it was the only good bread available in Sydney. Good to see evoo and balsamic as an option to butter.
Wine
Lunch today saw our Chef du Jour Paul Thorne produce some very flavoursome beef cheeks along with some delicious pass-arounds. See Food Report for full details.
The party got started with a very agreeable WA chardonnay, Folklore by name, produced by the wine making genius Larry Cherubino. 2022 at 13%. I moved around the room seeking opinions from a good number of members about the wine, and it is true to say there was uniform agreement that the wine was most enjoyable with no faults. An excellent food wine, with good balance and a clean finish. More please Mr Wine Master.
The first red for the day was the Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2023 at 13.5%. A very young wine, just an infant, but already showing signs of great future potential. Light to medium weight, vibrant crimson colour with abundant tannin and acid on show. Good spicy, peppery flavours. Should be drinking very well in 5/6 years when the acid and tannin mellow and soften. Keep an eye on this one.
The second red was the Yves Cuilleron Syrah 2014 at 13%. A Northern Rhone wine. Medium weight and in my view beginning to show some signs of ageing. Acid dropping off a little leaving the wine a bit flat and listless. This wine is in my view a definite drink now proposition.
Wine number three was the wild card of the day. A rich mouth filling Pinot Gris from Scorpo wines sandwiched between a tiring Syrah and a huge Dolcetto set to the background of fully flavoured beef cheeks. What was going on here? My taste buds were scampering in all directions. The beef was strongly flavoured and spicy, the Pinot Gris was crying out to be paired with a cold Lychee. I kept some in the glass to pair with the cheese and indeed that was a better match. Nothing wrong with the PG, a very nice wine, just placed in an awkward position.
Final wine of the day was the Paolo Scavino Dolcetto d'Alba 2017 at 14.5%. Whatever happened to the "little sweet one", as Dolcetto is translated. I have enjoyed many Dolcettos over the years and have found them to be medium weight, soft and round and fruity made for early consumption. An ideal wine to go with a pizza or steamed mussels in a rich tomato sauce to be glugged down and enjoyed for the fun of the moment before tomorrow catches up with you. So, it was with these thoughts in mind, I was confused when confronted with a huge, heavy, muscular Italian red much more like a Barbera. The wine itself was enjoyable, well balanced tannins, oak and acid dovetailing into a rewarding finish. Enjoyable, but what happened to my "little sweet one"? Looks like I will have to wait till next time.
4 February 2025 James Hill
Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Our first lunch of 2015 saw, yet again, James Hill in the kitchen. It’s the 13th consecutive time that James has presented the opening lunch and, unsurprisingly, a full house today. This is always a keynote lunch for the year ahead, cooked to the impeccable standards for which James is renowned. COTY finalist Rob Guthrie assisted with canapés and Madan, acting as Head Chef at the REX for a while, assisted in the pin boning filleting of the fish and in general preparation.
Canapés
Rob started us off on pastry with mushroom, goat's cheese and an olive, topped with thyme. Very good and enough for two rounds.
Next was James’ take on a Damien Pignolet simple country terrine with fresh herbs with a morello cherry atop, all on oven baked white bread toast.
The final round was Rob’s skewers of haloumi, pesto and basil, wrapped with bacon.
Canapes were aplenty and all a good match for the McWilliams Elizabeth Semillon, as well as a few more odds and ends that ended up in our glasses.
Main
James served us Liam Tomlin’s recipe of blue-eyed cod fillet with prawn colcannon and red wine sauce, topped with crispy pancetta and with sugar snap peas on the side. The colcannon contained savoy cabbage, spring onions and parsley. Beautiful presentation, given the numbers in the room, and a wonderful juxtaposition of flavours on the plate.
Cheese
In theme with the colcannon, the Cheese Master selected a Cashel Blue cow’s milk cheese from Ireland, named after the Rock of Cashel in Country Tipperary. A raucous table of gravelly baritone voices – all out of tune – reminded the room that it’s indeed a long way to Tipperary!
The cheese is firm yet moist, with a hint of tarragon and white wine. With age, its true character emerges, with blue marbling through the buttery yellow paste.
James accompanied the cheese with a refreshing salad of fennel, apple, celery and cucumber with a dressing of apple cider vinegar and EVOO.
A wonderful start to our 2025 Tuesday lunches.
Wine
We had a very healthy turnout for our first lunch of 2025. Our Master Chef James Hill with some help from Rob Guthrie on the pass-arounds put on a superb lunch, which was received with uniform approval and gratitude by the room. See the Food report for more details.
With regard to the wines, the printed list contained five wines that everybody had and there were a few random bottles thrown in, both with the aperitif wine and the main course.
I will restrict my report to the wines as advised, which we all enjoyed.
The first cab off the rank was a delightful McWilliams Elizabeth Semillon 2018 12.5%. An inspired recent purchase by our Wine Master. This was my favourite wine of the day!
To my taste this was a very different wine from previous Elizabeth Semillons we have all had over the years. The wine was fresh and lively, great fruit and well balanced with sufficient acid to ensure a clean crisp finish. 2018 was an 8/10 year in the Hunter and this wine now 7 yo is drinking at near its peak, still quite delicious and full of life. My pick of the litter for today.
The next wine was the Tapanappa Picadilly vineyard Chardonnay 2021, a Brian Croser wine. I have the greatest respect for Mr Croser, but being honest, as I always try to be I did not enjoy this wine. Not sure why, but there was something in the aftertaste that put me off this wine. If one were to compare the aftertaste of this Chardy with say, something equally prestigious say a Pooley from Tas, there is a world of difference on the back palate. This wine did not have to me at least, the usual signature of a top Chardy, richness with stone fruit flavours and a lingering sensual finish. Others in the room enjoyed the wine, so perhaps it was me having an off day with my Chardy palate. Perhaps the bottle our table had was just a little off the pace, or perhaps the wine needed more time in the bottle.
The next wine was the Willunga Trott Vineyard Grenache 2021 14.5%. As soon as saw the Trott name, Wirra Wirra came to mind, Greg Trott being the founder of Wirra Wirra. Then in a split second, my mind was transported back to one of my earlier lives decades ago, when an old girlfriend loved Wirra Wirra late picked riesling as her drink of choice. I had to overcome my dislike of late-picked Australian riesling to ensure harmony! Ah, the memories! But getting back to the Grenache, it was a dry grown, bush vine wine packing a punch at 14.5%, as usual with this type of Grenache, it was a real fruit bomb, with lots of spice, tannin, acid and overtones of strawberry, blackcurrant and pepper. I was inclined to think that the wine would benefit from another 2/3 years in the bottle. Nonetheless, an enjoyable feisty drink.
We then moved on to the Wines by KT, a Watervale riesling from the Peglidis vineyard 2017 at 12.5% made by the very talented winemaker Kerri Thompson. This wine ticked all the boxes for a riesling!
Crisp mouthfeel, excellent balance between high quality fruit and a firm acidic finish. Now at 8 yo drinking at its peak. A lovely, chilled wine to be consumed with a peach on a hot afternoon.
The final wine for the day was one of the Society favs, the Wynns Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet 2019 at 13,8%. Another Sue Hodder triumph! This wine is in my view our answer to the Guigal Cote Du Rhone reds. With both wines you know what you are getting, consistent quality and good value for money. Today's wine was a very typical Coonawarra Cab, rich and intense, oak, tannin and acid all coming together for a perfect, powerful finish. Plenty of time to fully develop into a Coonawarra Classic.
10 December 2024 Steve Sparkes
Food review by James Hill
Food
The last hurrah for 2024 with a Christmas-themed lunch with Foodmaster Steve Sparkes and his band of merry men Steve Liebeskind, Nick Reynolds, Bernard Leung and President Bill Alexiou-Hucker assisting in meal and canapés prep today.
Steve advised that lunch was a way of thanking all for the continuing support of our Society, those who cooked through the year and importantly our kitchen brigade.
Canapés
Steve Liebeskind - Bacon-wrapped veal, pork and pistachio terrine topped with relish on white bread toasts. Big favour depth in the terrine. Very moreish.
Bernard Leung - Siu Mai with pork and prawns. Steamed for 15 minutes and rested for 5 minutes so they don’t burn the mouth. Served with Siracha for those who want more punch, or sweet chilli for those who don’t. Did I hear that he raided his mum’s freezer? They were special.
Nick Reynolds - Lime marmalade, sour cream topped with prawns sitting on homemade mini sourdough crumpets on homemade mini sourdough crumpets. Great balance of flavours , delicious.
Main
A traditional meal of moist turkey breast off the bone with cranberry sauce.
Stuffed loin of pork with chestnuts and cranberry. It was aged in the fridge resulting in a perfect crackling when cooked.
The vegetables, served in bowls, cooked by Bill were al denté carrots in butter and honey, then peas, sprouts and bacon. Finally, Hasselback potatoes in duck fat.
Gravy to die for.
A great meal applauded and much appreciated by the members and guests today.
Thanks team.
*Hasselback potatoes get their name from the restaurant Hasselbacken in Stockholm, Sweden. Hasselback is the Swedish word for "hazel slope", as the restaurant was located near a thicket of hazel trees on a steep mountain. In 1953, student chef Leif Elison served the dish, and it was a hit.
Cheese
Our Cheesemaster Mark Bradford presented ‘Riverine Blue’ a cheese made from 100% buffalo’s milk. This strikingly white, creamy milk comes from a modest herd of Riverine Buffalo that graze nearby. After the curds are set, they are placed in moulds to drain before spending two months ripening in specially built maturation rooms overlooking Wilson’s Prom. Riverine Blue is the first of its kind made in Australia and one of only a few buffalo milk blue cheeses made in the world. It has a complex savoury flavour and the smooth, firm texture. Blue-green ribbons provide pockets of delicious salty blue flavour within the porcelain paste.
The cheese was accompanied by pomegranate seeds, blanched almonds and biscuits that had some heat on the palate.
To finish our lunch Steve served a Christmas pudding with homemade vanilla ice cream, brandy cream sauce and marinated berries. The pudding started in October, fed with brandy, it was rich yet light and very tasty.
It was served with a well-aged Topaque, fresh from the Sparkes’ barrel!
A tribute to Steve for a great lunch today and the year, he encouraged people to cook and they jumped in, with special mention to our three new cooks this year Johnathan Casson, Rob Guthrie and Julian Parmegiani.`
3 December 2024 Steve Liebeskind
Food review by James Hill
Food
Near full house today for a remembrance lunch for Society members.
In the kitchen was our well-regarded Chef Steve Liebeskind with assistance from David Simmonds.
Canapés
Kangaroo tartare on biscuits topped with parsley. The tartare was made with pepperberry, shallots cornichons, mustards and Worcestershire sauce.
Good flavour and texture, no one picked the roo as protein.
Next up a chicken schnitzel with a honey mustard sauce of mustard powder, apple cider vinegar, egg, sugar, mayo and honey served at room temperature. Who doesn’t love a snitty.
it was great.
Lastly, a cold spicy pumpkin and coconut milk soup made with roasted pumpkin and onion with Thai green curry paste, chicken stock and coconut milk.
Main
Coq au vin, a nod to Paul Ferman who always cooked chicken when chef of the day.
Chicken marylands marinated in pinot noir with bay leaves, thyme and onions for 24 hrs. It was served with a sauce of marinade and beef stock, mushrooms, bacon, onions and a buttery creamy mash!
The meal was accompanied by Asian slaw rice vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, chilli, cabbage, red and white, carrots, bean sprouts, onions, coriander and mint.
Comments from members reflected the quality of the lunch today.
Thanks Steve.
Cheese
Our Cheesemaster Mark Bradford presented two cheeses from Woolbye cheese located in the Sunshine Coast in QLD. Both cow’s milk cheeses
One a triple cream Brie style and the other a washed rind. We’ve had cheese from this producer before, very good quality easily mistaken as French origin.
Steve served this with iceberg lettuce, spinach and roasted red pepper salad, a tribute to Neville Baker and Ted Davis, who prepared it often.
It was good to be reminded about this salad, texture and flavour, simply presented.
In between courses, we paid tribute to those members that we lost during the year and gave them the celebration that was accorded today.
Paul Ferman Cellar Master 2012-2019
Terry Stapleton President 1987-1988, 2003-2004
Terry McDowell
Roger Prior
Ian Masters
Peter Squires
Steve Zantiotis
Members spoke with personal reminiscences of those passed with others calling from the floor with tributes and anecdotes.
Lunch was closed with a traditional toast of Green Chartreuse and port to the lives and contribution to our Society of those that had passed.
It was noted that among the members present today there were seven Past Presidents and our incumbent in the room today.
26 November 2024 James Tinslay
Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
The last wine lunch for 2024 was a full house and saw James Tinslay in the kitchen with his arm in a sling. He was ably assisted by Keith Steele and David Madson as well as “Team REX”. The wine offering was Italian themed, as was the main.
Canapes
Keith prepared two canapes. We started with Gilda, a classic basque pinxtos comprising of a cornichon, two guindilla peppers, an anchovy fillet and a pitted green olive on a stick. Keith pointed out it supposedly represents Rita Hayworth’s legs in the movie of the same name (it has not gone unnoticed that the said heroine was once married to a man named James Hill). Just the right amount of heat, and a good match with the champagne.
Keith also provided Mushroom Ragout tartlets, a short cut pastry case filled with a mushroom ragout made with mixed chopped mushrooms, onion and celery cooked in a mixture of red wine, Marsala and veggie stock.
Not to be outdone, David made delicious hot smoked salmon rillettes to kick off the lunch. They were made from hot smoked Tassie salmon, a large piece of poached salmon fillet and dill, chives, capers, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice.
The canapes were tasty and plentiful and worked well with the wines.
Main
James cooked lamb ragu today. Given the restricted use of his hand, he acknowledged the considerable help he received in chopping, particularly by Keith and James’ partner, and the boys in the kitchen.
We had some 10 kg of lamb shoulder of impressive quality, sourced by the REX kitchen. The whole shoulders were cooked for 2.5 hours with a classic Italian soffritto of diced onions, carrots and celery. During the cooking process, 1 kg of finely chopped speck, garlic, stock, 18 cans of tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, red wine and heavy cream found their way into the pan. The pasta was fettucine, which was par cooked, iced and finished off later in the ragu sauce before serving. Wonderfully al dente and not as easy task to serve to some 50 people. Instead of the “traditional” parmesan, James served over 1 kg of pecorino, finely machine grated a few days beforehand by Paesanella Food Emporium in Sydenham. The bread was a light rye from Cornucopia in Naremburn.
The ragu was a wonderful match for the Italian reds.
Cheese
Today’s cheese was Challerhocker, malty and sweet with a spicy finish, a truly modern cheese with a loyal new following. It was last served to the Society at the April mixed lunch.
The region of St Gallen is renowned for its Appenzeller production and in the late 90's, tightly controlled Swiss regulations limited creativity. When the regulations were relaxed, Master Cheesemaker Walter Räss, an Appenzeller maker, created a new cheese using rich, pure unpasteurised Jersey milk and a secret blend of wine, herbs and spices. He aged it for 8 long months, so he named it ‘Challerhocker’ meaning ‘sitting in a cellar.’ Washing the rind during maturation produces a robust, tacky rind and contributes to the nutty aroma of the dense, white paste.
James provided an assortment of nuts to accompany the cheese.
Wine
Our lunch today was an excellent lamb ragu by James Tinslay with some delicious pass-arounds with the pre-lunch wines. Those wines were the Bernard Bremont Champagne and a Nicola Bergaglio Gavi 2021 13%. The bubbles were fine for me, but it was the Gavi that I could not wait to get my rookers around a glass. I have reviewed this wine before and really like it. Many thanks to Nick Reynolds for introducing this wine to our Society. I find the wine delicious, well balanced, great flavour with a fresh and crisp finish. A winner, the perfect wine for a pre-lunch drink.
We then moved on to the red wines for our main. Our Wine Master had cobbled together 6 Italian reds from various growers and various years. Many thanks to Nick Reynolds for his efforts. During the course of our lunch, I was beginning to feel that I was not the right person to be reviewing six Italian wines in a row. These wines are so different to our red wines that I find the gap in styles almost unbridgeable. After 50 years of drinking Australian red wines with their far bigger flavours, I now find many Italian wines, at least to my taste to be thin, tannic and acidic with little flavour. I know, I know, that these wines are "food” wines, but.... a dash of flavour would not go astray. These observations were evident to me in the first two wines the Luigi Pira Nebbiolo and the Massolino Barolo. For the above reasons, I found these wines disappointing.
My flagging spirits were however revived by the excellent Chianti from Isole e Olena 2019 14.5%. A lovely wine, medium-bodied with lots of flavour, great with food or a standalone. My next favourite was the 2009 Marchese Antinori Brunello 14%. Lots of tannin and acid but blending in well to produce a balanced wine with a great mouthfeel and a clean satisfying finish.
The final two wines, the Argiano Rosso Montalcino and the masked wine revealed to be a Girolamo Russo Rina Eta Rosso were enjoyable food wines but did little to excite. I found myself towards the end of the meal yearning for a glass of a Barossa Shiraz or a Margaret River Cabernet, just for a bit of flavour. Old habits die hard!
I fully accept that my taste buds may have been having an off day and that my palate needs to be taken off to a re-education camp, however, I always said I would report my honest opinion and there you have it! Fire at will!
19 November 2024 Bill Alexiou Hucker and Voula Price
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Full house for our mixed lunch today with our president Bill Alexiou-Hucker in the kitchen assisted by his friend Voula Price.
Canapés aplenty!
We never go home hungry when Bill cooks, and today was no exception.
A new interpretation of Spanakopita…made as a Frittata minus filo pastry… yum!
Smoked salmon with cream cheese on toasts or cucumber.
Keftedes (pork and beef mince grated with tomatoes onion and mint) and tzatziki.
But wait there’s more, entrees served alternatively.
Octopus terrine with Greek salad. The terrine was made with gelatine using a stock of tomatoes, carrot and celery. Very tender octopus.
Seared Scallops served on homemade taramasalata alongside pea and avocado salad.
Main
Modern Moussaka- all the ingredients usually seen in Moussaka just deconstructed!
Perfectly cooked rack of lamb that sat on a tasty tomato salsa, accompanied by grilled eggplant, chicory and a light potato mash.
Comments from the room reflected the appreciation of members and guests today for the quality and effort we saw in today’s meal.
‘Sas efcharisto’ Bill and Voula.
Dessert
We gave our Cheesemaster a day away from normal duties as we had a delicious tart made with Gorgonzola dolce, honey and pear on puffed pastry to finish our meal.
Koulouria (Greek Easter cakes) were served with our coffee.
Stephen Lake, son of Max Lake, was a guest of our Society today.
He wore an André Simon silver medal posthumously awarded to Max by the International Wine and Food Society.
Wine
A very healthy turnout 50+ enjoyed a fine lunch created by our own Greek MasterChef Bill Alexiou. We were indulged with a three-course meal complete with a printed menu!! See the food report about Bill's excellent Greek-themed lunch. The aperitif wines were a Chardonnay and a French fizz, Henri Laurent NV. The Chardy was a Kumeu River Village, vintage 2022. I really enjoyed this wine, very easy drinking, balanced and full of stone fruit flavours with a clean finish. An excellent wine to enjoy with the delightful pass-arounds. This wine is extremely good value for a commercial style Chardonnay. The Fizz I thought was drinking well enough for what it was, an entry level Champagne at an entry level price I assume. I heard some grumbles around the room about the wine being either too sweet or too acidic, but let's get a grip here, we are having an inexpensive glass of bubbles and we get what we paid for. I thought the wine was quite reasonable for what it was, namely something to go with food and a drink that all the ladies seemed to enjoy.
We then moved on to the entree, a delightful Greek salad with cold octopus. Wonderful! The wine for this dish was one I had never seen before, a White Grenache from the Catalan region of Spain. Serra/Barcelo Aucala 2022 14%. Our Winemaster is keen on introducing us to wines most of us have not met before. Overall impression, quite acceptable, a good food wine. Very restrained in terms of flavour, but mouth filling. The taste was hard to identify, with hints of citrus with a rich opulent finish. I felt this wine is truly a food wine given its dry texture and subdued flavours. It is well worth the venture into something untried before.
For the main, we enjoyed a perfect rack of lamb which was partnered up with a Hentley Farm Grenache 2022 14.5%. This highly respected vineyard produces some beautiful red wines from its Barossa vineyards, this wine was a classic modern style Grenache, light in structure, high alcohol and an exploding mouth feel of sweet strawberry, with lots of tannin and peppery spice. The wine was a perfect foil for the lamb. A real food wine, not one to be mulled over and over and analysed, just drink it, enjoy it for what it is, a youthful wine, full of joy and exotic flavours, a real fruit bomb!
The dessert consisted of a fabulous blue cheese, Gorgonzola, and pear flan, cooked in the oven and served. Simply wonderful. We were really indulged today, we never get dessert, must be the influence of the ladies. To go with the dessert, we had two Sauternes Ch La Rame 2011 13% and a Ch Miselle 2017 13.5%. Both were perfect with the sweet dish as a good sauterne would be. Of the two I preferred the Ch La Rame, superb drinking now and for many more years. Great balance, lush flavours, superb finish that lingered. A wonderful wine. The Miselle I thought was being drunk too soon, only 6 yo. Needs more bottle age, as the structures are all there for a great wine when a few more years will see it round out. At the moment it just does not have the intensity of the much older La Rame.
All around a great afternoon, many thanks to all who made it happen with such style.
12 November 2024 Steve Sparkes
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
There’s no better place to be on a Tuesday than enjoying lunch in our Society rooms especially when we have our dynamic duo of Nick Reynolds on canapés and Steve Sparkes, our Foodmaster, on main.
Canapés
Nick’s appetisers for lunch today were:
Tapenade-filled gougères with parmesan.
Sourdough crumpets with lime marmalade, sour cream and chorizo.
Tartlets with Mediterranean-flavoured white bean purée, nduja and chives.
Main
An exquisitely rich meal today of hearty oxtail stuffed with boudin blanc, creamed cabbage and a buttery mash.
Steve used fourteen kilos of oxtail to make the ‘sausage’ and a stock to make the gravy. The boudin blanc was made with chicken breast, white bread and foie gras. The recipe is by a British Michelin-starred chef Steve Crane of Sussex.
The meal certainly had that ‘wow’ effect.
High praise for all aspects of our lunch today reflecting the quality presentation and flavours. A lot of effort was involved with all the dishes today.
Thanks, team, first class!
Cheese
Our Cheesemaster Mark Bradford selected a cow’s milk cheddar from Devon England for lunch today.
Mature, clothbound Farmhouse Cheddar made the old–fashioned way is hard to find, and demand is greater than supply. This rare farmhouse Cheddar has been carefully graded from a young age and matured for 18-24 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.
Steve accompanied the cheese with a homemade fig, pomegranate jam, and a salad composée.
Wine
The highlight of today's lunch was a truly excellent dish of ox tail, done in a style that only our wonderful Foodmaster Steve Sparkes could create. Brilliant! See the food report and photos for more details of this sensational presentation.
To accompany the main, we also enjoyed some very tasty pass arounds prepared by Nick Reynolds, which paired very well with the aperitif wine, a Soave from Monte Ronca from the Veneto region of northeast Italy. Vintage 2020 and 12.5%. This is a very popular wine in Italy, quite dry, clear and crisp with good acidity and a slight hint of apple and pear on the palate. Made mainly from the Garganega grape coupled with a dash of Trebbiano. Restrained, but very enjoyable with food.
We then moved on to the red wines for our main course. They were the John Duval Plexus 2014 and the Helen's Hill Shiraz 2021. The Plexus was a Barossa wine composed of a blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre, 14.5% a wonderful wine, my pick of the day. Readers of my notes on our wines will be aware of my great respect for Duval as a winemaker, one of our greatest. The wine was in my view a glorious cocktail of red wine flavours with the Grenache standing out. Medium weight, rich and voluptuous, hints of dark cherry with excellent balance between the oak and tannin. A firm finish. Now a ten-year-old, but with many years of fine drinking ahead. The second wine was the Helen's Hill Shiraz from the Yarra Valley, 14.8%. A very enjoyable wine, but I think drinking a few years too soon. This wine was to me a classic Shiraz, peppery, medium body, noticeable tannin present with residual spice on the palate. I would like to drink this wine again in say 5 years when it has rounded out a bit more.
The wines with the cheese were a Chardonnay and a St Hugo Cabernet which in my view, was nearly as enjoyable as the Duval wine. The Chardy was a Larry Cherubino Folklore 13% from WA. The St Hugo was a 2001 Cabernet from Coonawarra 14%. The Chardy was a big wine, mouth-filling and rich. There was lots of citrus flavours grapefruit, and peach. The texture was creamy and soft, with a clean finish. I am aware that the pairing of cheese with a Chardy is regarded by some as a much better combination than cheese and red wine. I personally think that suggestion could be correct in so far as soft cheese, eg a brie with a Chardy would work. But I do not agree that the combination works with a hard cheese like we had today. The Devon cheddar was to me far too sharp for the white wine but went well with the St Hugo. The St Hugo was a multi-award winner, for good reason. A terrific wine with huge berry fruit nose, a big colour, dark and intense. Redolent aromas of blackcurrant and plumb with earthy spice are still present despite the wine now being 23 yo. There was great balance between oak, tannin and acid. Just pipped at the post by the Duval Plexus for the wine of the day.
29 October 2024 Charles "Chilly" Hargrave
Wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Wine
We had a very healthy turnout for today's lunch, which included salmon by Chilly Hargrave and a parade of Rieslings from Australia and Germany. Overall, the food and wine pairing were a great success. See the food report for details.
We got festivities underway with two Chardonnays, one from Margaret River and the other from France a White Burgundy. The first was a Suckfizzle, be careful how you say this, from Stella Bella 2021 and the French wine was from Albert Bichot, a Macon Milly 2020. Both these wines were quite acceptable as an aperitif drink, however, my choice was the French wine, better balanced and with a more delicate flavour. We then moved on to the wines for our lunch. First was a Grosset Polish Hill, Clare, Riesling 2024, 12.1%. Without a doubt, it is the youngest wine we have ever drank at a WFS lunch. To my thinking, the wine was difficult to drink now, but I hold great hopes for its future. All of the key structures were in place to produce a cracker in 5/6 years' time. An ugly duckling now, but just wait until about 2030! This wine has huge potential. We then passed onto a bracket of excellent German Rieslings from the renowned producers Johannisberg and Egon Muller. The first two were both from 2021, 11% and 13%, with the Egon Muller considerably older at 2010, 9.5%.
In my view, all three wines were excellent in their balance of fruit, acid and residual sugar. Mouth-filling for sure, but not cloying and finishing with a smooth clean finish. Of the first two, I rather fancied the first, the Kabinett. These two wines set the stage for the star of the show, the Egon Muller 9.5%, what a wine! This producer is hailed as one of Germany's finest in the production of high quality Rieslings. From the Mosel River region, this wine was simply superb in terms of its fruit/acid balance, showing no sign of age, still fresh and showing some delicate citrus flavours in harmony with the slightly sweetish but clean lingering finish. A magnificent wine! Many thanks, Wine Master. Before I leave the German wines, I should say how impressed I was with their corks. I was on wine opening duties. All three were under cork, and I observed how solid their corks were, in most cases the same length size cork you would find in a top growth Bordeaux. These corks were made to last for decades. After this brief stopover in Germany, we then returned to Australia to finish the afternoon with some aged local Rieslings. I wish we had not, I was quite happy to stay in the Mosel region! Coming home proved to be a sad affair.
Our homecoming welcome was a huge letdown in the form of two bottles of one of my favourite local Rieslings, the Seppelt Drumborg, vintages 2007 and 1998. If you were addressing these wines as an ageing old girlfriend, you would think to yourself, "my darling how you have let yourself go". The 2007 still had some signs of life sealed under Stelvin but is drinking 10 years beyond its best date say 2014. The poor old 98, cork sealed, had probably died and was buried in or about 2010, and was exhumed for this occasion, the Festival of Rieslings, I wish it had been left undisturbed. The bottle on our table was to me undrinkable, oxidised, maderized and nasty. Because I personally regard Drumborg Rieslings amongst my top picks for this wine, it proved to be a disappointing ending to an otherwise great afternoon.
22 October 2024 Keith Steele
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Keith Steele as Chef of the Day got the band back together for his lunch and was assisted by Paul Thorne, David Madson and James Tinslay on canapés.
We celebrated John Rourke’s 85th birthday and his 51st year of membership. John donated two magnums of Lakes Folly and President Bill had invited Stephen Lake along who happened to bring with him a double magnum.
We welcomed a new member to our society today, Chris Wills, and he was presented with a Society bow tie, our history “A Table of Delights” and a Society badge by our president Bill Alexiou.
Canapés
Paul Thorne topped some blinis with white anchovies, sour cream, roasted capers and sashimi grade salmon for those of us that don’t like the acid in the anchovies.
David Madson prepared some smoked trout pâte with home pickled baby cucumber on toasts.
James Tinslay, in theme, made Moroccan sausage rolls with homemade Moroccan tomato sauce and then moist tamarind chicken skewers with homemade chutney.
Plentiful canapés, well commented on by members.
Main
Braised lamb shanks with a Moroccan sauce of stock, celery, carrot, onions and tomato paste. The sauce was reduced and cooked with the lamb shanks. The meat fell of the bone perfectly cooked with a last addition of chick peas. It sat on silky buttery potato mash perfect to sop the luxurious sauce.
Much praise for the dish today.
Stellar effort chaps, thanks.
Bread today was from Cornucopia at Naremburn a light rye.
Cheese
Keith’s favourite ‘Beaufort’, a raw cow’s milk cheese from the Pyrenees, France.
Famous since Roman times, this huge 40kg cheese is often referred to as the Prince of Gruyere.
Made by Fruiteries Chabert, this family business specialises in cheeses of the Hautes Savoie where the cows are moved to mountain pastures during the summer. Beaufort AOP d’Alpage is only made from raw milk in alpine chalets at more than 1500m, with the milk of a single herd.
This smooth textured cheese has a distinctive concave shape and natural rind. The sweet, nutty, floral flavours highlight the name Alpage reflecting the alpine grass and wildflowers which the cows eat on the high mountain slopes.
Bowls of dried apricot and walnuts accompanied the cheese.
Wine
The theme for today was lamb shanks by Keith Steele. In a word excellent. See food report. The Wine report for today centres upon three magnificent bottles of Lakes Folly Cabernets, very generously donated by John Rourke on his 85th birthday. We started off the day with a Margaret River Chardonnay from Nocturne Wines 2021 13%. This wine took me back to the 80s style Chardy, big blousy, over oaked and just about over everything else. The first sip nearly blew my head off. I have become far too used to the modern style of Chardy, restrained and tight, less oak and less alcohol, and not as sweet as was the Nocturne. This wine was truly Atavistic in its regression to the 1980s but I did not enjoy it.
Next wine was a Stella Bella Cabernet again from WA. 13%. A big wine, huge fruit and lots of oak and tannin. The wine was an acceptable commercial Cab, but I think it was being drunk a bit too soon. Another few years in the cellar would knock the rough edges off and produce a better result.
The next bracket of wines was the Lakes Folly Cabernets, two in Magnum (donated by John Rourke) and one in a Jeroboam (donated by Stephen Lake, Max’s son). The vintages ranged from 1985 to 1996. What a treat, thank you guys. All the wines were in great shape and drinking beautifully. All the wines were Cabernet blends and mid-weight with mostly low alcohol, between 12 and 13%, very Bordeaux like. The wines were now quite old, ranging in age from 28 to 39 years old. But in my view, all drinking superbly with no sign of adverse ageing. My pick was the 85, a glorious, aged wine, still in perfect balance. At my table, however, there were many votes for the 1991. Either way, they were all superb. How fortunate were we! There was some talk at my table about one or two of the wines having a trace of ‘brett’, otherwise formally known as brettanomyces, a non-spore forming genus of yeast. So now you know. It is a member of the saccharomycetaceae family. Around our dinner table at home, we discuss little else! Any how this substance which developed during the maturation of wine can in small amounts produce an agreeable flavour, e.g. the ‘sweaty saddle’ of some Hunter reds, but in larger amounts can ruin a wine. If brett was there in some of these wines, it for certain was in very modest amounts. Summary, how fortunate were we!
The next wine was a Frankland Ridge Syrah 2020 14.5%. A big wine dense purple/black colour with tannin and oak showing. Again, I thought this wine would benefit from more cellar life. All the material is there for a pleasing commercial Syrah in a few years’ time.
That now brings us to the final wine of the day, another Chardonnay. This time an American from California, the Wente vineyard Morning Fog Chardy from 2022 13.5%. Today has not been a good day for the famous Chardonnay grape. As with the first wine this one was too big, oaky, alcohol driven and with a sweetness that the Americans seem to demand in most of their wines. I would be pleased not to come across this wine again. I just cannot go back to this style of Chardonnay again. But to end on a high note, the Lakes Folly was sensational, you are a good man, John Rourke.