12 June - C0TD James Hill

The Society’s never-ending chef, James Hill, was back in the kitchen today with a tricky dish for this mixed luncheon with our better halves. He was assisted by his sage Jenny Dowling and Nick Reynolds and we had some 50 seated to enjoy the day.

Canapés. We had a range of canapés from James today, the first two involving celeriac with olives and then with fried chorizo. Both of those toppings were tasty, especially the chorizo which had indeed been to a good school. The third canapé was tuna and butter served on a simple crisp bread covered with dill. This was delightful and in no way overpowered by fish.

Aperitif wine. Firstly, most of the wines today were supplied by Tony Scott as a generous donation to this lunch, the second time he has done this kind act in the past year. Thank you, Tony. A range of starters today, including the Aubert Rose NV Champagne and a crisp, Bordeaux from Cote de Bordeaux, Chateau de Haux 2016. The Champagne we have had on several occasions, but the Bordeaux sec was interesting (and unusual) in that it was 60% Sauvignon Gris and 40% Sauvignon Blanc. A more than pleasant wine. Of course, there was Sherry, on this occasion a Gonzalez Byass 12-year-old Amontillado in excellent condition and much liked.

Main Course. Another overcast and potentially rainy day in Sydney was made brighter by James’s is duck pie. James made a duck ragu and then extracted the moisture for the filling for the pie. The presentation on the plate was stunning with a beautifully brown and textured pastry forcing you to look at it as opposed to talking with your companions. The pie was circular (seriously, not all are!) and it was set on a circular pea purée with crème fraiche which included parmesan and dried nuts. The pie itself had field mushrooms and dried porcini and there was a singular radish, which may or may not have been cooked in stock and butter.

The presentation was stunning (look at the picture, imagine an old sun with red planet revolving around it) as was the flavour and texture of the dish. Of course, James provided us Iggy’s bread, Sydney’s best bread.

The Wines.

• Clos Alivu Patrimonio (aka Sangiovese) (Corsica) 2015 (13%)
• Chateau Puy-Servain 2014 (14%)
• Chateau Belingard Monbazillac 2013 (12.5%)

We had two wines with the main. The first was Nielluccio from Corsica which, while French, is known in Italy as Sangiovese. Corsican wines are a rarity at Society lunches. This wine had a quite spicy and savoury nose that you would expect of a Sangiovese. The second wine with the main was varied across all six tables from Morgon to a Sangiovese from Mudgee.

With the cheese we served a white and a red. The Chateau Puy-Servain from Bergerac was predominately Merlot with a lesser portion of Cabernet. Quite tannic at this age and tasted a bit like a right bank Bordeaux. The sweetie of the day was the Château Belingard Monbazillac which is the lesser region after Sauternes, but still makes wonderful sweet desert style wines. True to script this was Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. The sweetness cut through piquant style of the blue fromage.

Cheese and coffee. Cheese today from our acting Cheesemaster Gary Linnane was Cantorel Bleu Dauvergne from Auvergne, France. It was very creamy, and salt was evident. To quote our suppliers “A natural rind cheese with a minimum four-week affinage, the pate is soft whilst also being slightly crumbly. The flavour is creamy, contains the spice of the blue moulds and has a salty, tart finish on the palate. This is a well-balanced blue”.

The cheese was served with some wonderfully fresh Medjool dates.

Coffee from Spencer Ferrier today was a combination of the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe with some Indonesian and New Guinea beans. Spencer has been trying to replicate espresso coffee via plunger and has tried many different styles recently. This exploration came to an end today. Thank you for the education Mr Ferrier.

James Hill, whilst addressing the lunch thanked Leo in the kitchen for his masterful assistance and thanked Tony Scott for his contribution with the wine for today’s lunch.

A lunch with fine food, wine but most importantly, spirit.

5 June 2018 - Bill Alexiou-Hucker CoTD

Thanks to James Hill for this review

Our Foodmaster Bill Alexiou-Hucker was back in the kitchen with Graham Gardner and Mark Bradford assisting.

Canapés. Bill's canapes were Mediterranean inspired with skordalia (garlic dip) with crispy fried caper berries and hummus with cumin spice cauliflower florets. Mark prepared guacamole with homemade smoked chorizo and capers on toast.

Aperitif wine. The main aperitif wine was a Society favourite, Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling 2006, which was a good match for the starters. The wine had good acid and structure drinking young for a wine aged 12 years. We had a variety of other wines from previous luncheons. The Tio Pepe sherry was again popular.

Main Course. On a rainy overcast day our main today was perfect. It was Alexander the Great vs The Duke of Wellington, a huge portion of Beef Wellington wrapped with a prosciutto, mushroom duxelles, Dijon mustard, spinach and rosemary with a base of filo and puff pastry with a red wine jus accompanied by a Greek themed mixture of small tomatoes beans bacon. The flavours were robust and well balanced with the perfectly cooked beef. Excellent.

The Wines.

• Balnaves Shiraz Coonawarra 2008 (14%)
• Barossa Valley Estates Ebenezer Shiraz 2002 (14%)
• Burton Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (13.5%)
• Zema Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (cork, 14%)

The Balnaves Shiraz had good fruit flavour and balance and was elegant. The BVE Ebenezer Shiraz was over oaked and bitter on the palate and quite astringent.

With cheese the Burton Cabernet was a very good wine with soft tannins and acid and drinking well now. The Zema Cabernet of the same year, 2014, was well balanced and flavoured.

Cheese and coffee. Gary Linnane was acting Cheesemaster and he selected Maffra cloth aged cheddar from Gippsland. I came to the table at room temperature. Gary thought it could have been a little cooler to highlight the flavour. Tasting notes describe it as classic cheddar flavour sweet and rich with a moist slightly crumbly texture. Bill served it with homemade giardiniera and capers.

Spencer Ferrier provided a coffee from Rwanda described as not so sweet, clear with floral overtones.

29 May 2018 - CoTD John Rourke

There was certainly no trullfling for experience today with John Rourke in the kitchen assisted by Terry McDowell, both long-term and experienced cooks. John was very generous agreeing to blow out the numbers from the normal maximum of 48 to some 54 attendees.

Canapés. John and Terry concentrated on one canapé for us today which were French snails in a pastry case. Th pastry case had been kept beautifully dried and was crispy to the bite. The large French nails came from a can and had been sautéed in butter, shallots, garlic and red wine. A beautiful canapé and a step up from the escargot that one often gets in a so-called French brasserie.

Aperitif wine. Paul Ferman put on the Aubert NV Rose Champagne which, whilst an entry-level Champagne, was a decent enough match for the canapé. There was somewhat of a thirst for Sherry on the day with multiple bottles of the Tio Pepe Fino being consumed. Over the past few years Sherry consumption has been on the increase in the Society and it is a tribute to our members that we are swimming against the trend in Australian society. Ray Kidd always has a special smile on his face when you are pouring him a Sherry.

Main Course. The much awaited Rourky main event was worth the expectation. The photographs, above, tell you why. John had organised his butcher to deboned six ducks which were stuffed with ground chicken and sous vide the for two hours. The flavour of the product of this work matched with the orange sauce was a delight. The protein was accompanied by duck fat potatoes (say no more) and accompanied by tiny capsicums from Peru and Brazil served on a salad shell as were mushrooms. Apparently, Leo, our resident REX chef from Brazil, was very familiar with these delicate vegetables. A very successful main event.

The Wines.

• Moss Wood Pinot Noir 2012 (screw cap, 14%)
• Yabby Lake Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010 (screw cap, 14%)
• Freycinet Pinot Noir 2012 (screw cap, 14%)
• Dom. Du Pavillon Aloxe Corton 1er Maruchudes 2005 (cork, 13%)
• Dom. Du Pavillon Clos du Maruchudes Corton Grand Cru 2005 (cork, 13.5%)
• Gaja Pieve Santa Restituta Brunello di Montalcino 2006 (cork, 14%)

The first trio of wines for this tasting lunch were Australian Pinot’s. The Moss Wood wine was an eye-opener for many who did not realise that Moss Wood sourced fruit from the Mornington Peninsula. Whilst all three wines had the typical sweetness associated with Australian Pinot Noir’s the Moss Wood was also accompanied by a fair degree of tannin and the wine still has some time to go. The Yabby Lake had a couple of years on the previous wine and was drier and leaner and for many was the favourite of many on the day. The Tasmanian Pinot was lighter and whilst like by a number of attendees, sweetness was very noticeable. My least wine but all three were well made quality Australian Pinot’s.

The rubber hit the road with the next trIo. There was not a lot separating the Premier Cru from the Grand Cru with one technicality being an extra 0.5% on the alcohol level of the latter. Both wines had substantial body with drying tannins as you would expect from quality Burgundies. The Grand Cru had a touch more sweetness and more power. Both wines left me wondering about their future. Given the substantial price of Burgundy in the world market (and particularly Australia) it was a treat to have these served at our Society. The final wine was a Brunello di Montalcino from 2006. Potentially biased, this was my wine of the day, savoury and powerful with savoury herb characteristics typical of Sangiovese. The dryness and structure were almost reminiscent of a Piedmont style Langhe wine based on Nebbiolo. An excellent group of wines.

Cheese and coffee. Our acting Cheesemaster, Gary Linnane, served Saint Secret Buche en Cloche, a traditional log shaped white mould cheese from goats milk. This had a rich creamy flavour and was extraordinarily smooth. We rarely get poor cheeses and this was a delight.

Spencer Ferrier (in absentia) again provided us with the Mexican peaberry bean on the basis that it would be some time before fresh beans were again available in Australia. A more acidic flavour with this bean but sweet on the palate.

Accompanying the cheese were walnuts and honey and is a special treat, strawberries frozen with a sugar coating in the French style.

John Rourke is one of a group of very special cooks who make mere mortals like me realise I have a long way to go to reach standards he sets. Excellent work John and Terry.

22 May 2018 - Leo Rachid (REX chef) CoTD

On this beautiful Sydney day, we enjoyed the food of the REX chef, Leo Rachid, who was assisted by Raj in his kitchen. At least once annually Society members get to enjoy the fruits of the local chef or a chef from another restaurant and we did so today.

Canapés. Leo prepared us two canapés, both looked stunning. The first was confit chicken terrine with pistachio and cranberry chutney on melba toast. The toast had been baked made in the kitchen with a touch bit oil. The second was smoked eggplant tartlets, goats cheese and basil. The basil had been deep-fried and added a beautiful look and texture to the finished mouthful. We were fortunate to have plentiful quantities, although they did not survive our appetites, always a good sign.

Aperitif wine. One of the delightful aspects of our Society is the ability to split the room on wine tastes. Today we enjoyed a Bellarmine Chardonnay 2010 from Pemberton in Southern Western Australia. At 8 years of age the wine showed some luscious characteristics with suggestive nectarine overtones. At its peak and as such a good addition to the lunch. Mind you, that is my opinion and others were not so impressed.

Main Course. Leo was going a little classically French today and provided us with salmon en croute, dauphinoise potatoes, sauté spinach with hollandaise sauce. Obviously, a lot of work had gone into the meticulous presentation. The pastry on the salmon was beautifully cooked and tasted wonderful (in other words, smothered with butter before cooking) and the comments were complimentary. One commentator suggested that the potatoes were not strictly dauphinoise as there were not lashings of garlic and cream. Whatever, Roger, I enjoyed them anyway.

The Wines.

• Brokenwood Indigo Chardonnay 2014 (screwcap, 12.5%)
• Château de Pizay Morgon 2013 (cork, 13%)
• Roux Pere Rully Clos Des Mollepierres 2013 (cork, 13%)
• Pala Cannonau 2012 (Sardinia) (cork, 13.5%)

As we were enjoying seafood today, the wines were selected for lighter food. The two main course wines, the Brokenwood and the Morgon, were well suited to the task although invariably there were different opinions as to the better match. The Gamay was a classic Morgon and whilst a little lighter than expected was, for me, the best match. This is not to undermine the Brokenwood Indigo which was for Australia a more austere style and all the better for it.

However, for my money, the two best wines of the day came with the fromage. The Rully Chardonnay from the Burgundy region had a poise, minerality, and complexity that the previous two Chardonnay did not exhibit. It was not Chablis and it had overtones that at a blind tasting would have indicated Burgundy although obviously not a top-notch example, but very enjoyable. The wine of the day for me was the Sardinian Grenache (called Cannonau in Sardinia) from Pala. It was a lighter dry style than we would typically see in Australia, but then again Australian ganache examples are now super in the hands of the right maker.

Cheese and coffee. Our acting Cheesemaster, Gary Linnane, served Le Gruyere from Switzerland (obviously). The cheese was in wonderful condition and was dense but still a little flexible in the style of a Comte from across the border. I very much doubt that anybody in the room could argue that this is not one of the world’s best examples of cheese.

Spencer Ferrier (in absentia) had provided us with Colombian coffee again, but this time there was a twist. Spencer has been trying to see how fine the grind can get (moving into the espresso particle size) before the coffee comes a little strong and extracted using the plunger. This week he had the grinder turned down to 6 from 7 last week and there were two comments about the strength and density of the flavour. For those who like a stronger coffee and for those strong enough to push the filter down in the plunger, the result was very good.

Cheese was served with mixed nuts, grapes and a fruit jelly.

Leo emerged from his kitchen during the meal to give us a full description of the meal.

Well done Leo and his team.

15 May 2018 CoTD Peter Kelso

Despite being president, Peter Kelso has retained his burning desire to cook for the Society and he did so this week with the assistance of Martin McMurray. Martin still comes to lunches despite having his coat go missing after he left it on the back of his chair some weeks ago. He is a man who doesn’t hold a grudge.

Canapés. An interesting start with canapés today with a selection of a small chickpea “meatballs” which had been deep-fried or possibly pan-fried. An interesting texture in the mouth and confirmation of wonderful number of options chickpeas can be employed for. It was unusual and tasty. The other canapé was smoked eel on crackers with wasabi and other toppings.

Aperitif wine. A choice of two wines today, the first being a Girardin St Vincent 2012, a Burgundian Chardonnay. This entry-level Burgundy seemed to display a non-Chablis style and indeed it was. Not complex but some minerality and enjoyable. The other wine was a Delatite Deadman’s Creek Gewürztraminer 2012. I thought it was an excellent fruity wine but many disagreed

Main Course. Peter continued the theme of a little bit of spice with a pork curry with yellow (turmeric, I believe) rice and a homemade chutney. Not too hot and I though it was a ripper. The pork was slow cooked tender with all in balance.

The Wines.

• Framingham Select Riesling 2016 (screwcap, 8.5%)
• By Farr Shiraz 2011 (cork, 13.5%)
• Seresin Pinot Noir 2010 (screwcap, 14%)
• Ceretto Nebbiolo D’Alba 2010 (cork, 14%)

Did these wines cause some adverse comment or what? The Riesling was New Zealand Spatlese style and would have weighed in with at least 30 g of residual sugar. A sweeter style had been requested by our Chef of the Day and he got it. It is fair to say that most people disliked the wine, but I thought it was a terrific Spatlese style and whilst it maybe a little bit too sweet (given it was only 8.5% alcohol) a great wine and style to try. The other was a By Farr Shiraz 2011 which did not appear to be showing its best on the day given the profile and price of the wines from this maker. It seemed a little flat and closed.

I like having a strong comparison between two wines and we had that here. The Seresin Pinot from New Zealand was a good wine in its style. A little too sweet in the style of Australia and New Zealand but a fairly serious Pinot for these parts. The other wine from Piedmont a was a Nebbiolo from the fantastic 2010 vintage and was much liked. Fuller in colour than many Nebbiolo’s (it may have had a touch of the Barbera) but it was dry, elegant and long. My wine of the day by mile.

Cheese and coffee. Our Cheesemaster James Healey was present for his last lunch before 5 of 6 weeks holidaying in Europe and he took us back to Australia with Woombye Truffle Triple Cream Brie. Most of us had never seen before. Surprisingly for most of us it was from the Sunshine Coast hinterland and this new dairy producer is doing a good job. A few of us agree that truffle should have no place in cheesemaking but given that the truffle it was in a single layer in the cheese one could avoid it. It was a luscious cheese and it is good to see Australia doing so well.

Coffee today from Spencer was an Ethiopian bean djimmi which is new for us I think. High quality, aromatic and fresh.

Cheese was served with walnuts, black grapes and pears. Simple and delicious.

8 May 2018 - CoTD Nigel Burton

On a beautiful autumn day 40+ members attended lunch created by Nigel Burton with canapés by Hilton Chapman.

First canapé was smoked salmon with a horse radish cream and finger lime pearls from Hilton’s garden. The acid from the lime went perfectly with the cream and salmon.

This was followed by pork, chicken liver terrine with cranberry and a home-made tomato relish with tomatoes sourced from Ricardo’s at Port Macquarie.

Terrine had great flavour combination and members asked Hilton about the tomato topping matching with wines given the high acidity.

Canapé wines were sparkling Shiraz 2011 by Seppelts and an Italian Fiano. He had requested the Shiraz as he believes this is one if the best wine matches with tomatoes. The room was divided on sparkling Shiraz some liking the style others not so. Fiano was a dry wine a good match for both canapé.

Our main course today was a ‘Zarzuela' Spanish fish stew soup very well executed with all ingredients perfectly cooked adding to the robustness of the soup that had flavours of fennel and saffron with smokiness from paprika.

Nigel cooked the ling, mullet, mussels, clams and tiger prawns in batches to ensure that the flesh was firm. Flavour was also enhanced by green, yellow and red peppers and chorizo.

Main course wines today were a 2012 Rias Baixas Albariño and a Lustau Manzanilla Papirusa both most agreed a very good match to the course. The Albariño showed fruit and acid balancing the dryness of the sherry.

Our cheese course most picked was Merco 'Manchego aged 12 months, a sheep cheese from La Mancha region of Spain. It was firm, dry, rich and creamy served with gin soaked strawberries and a quince paste provided by Hal Epstein.

A very good sourdough accompanied the meal.

Cheese wines were Gabaxo 2013 Rioja and Glandore 2011 Tempranillo from the Hunter Valley.

Both the Tempranillos were a good match for the cheese with the local version preferred on the day.

A perfect end to the lunch was the Bali Gold mountain coffee provided by Spencer Ferrier and a 1980 Lindemans port provided by Neil Galbraith to celebrate his birthday.

1 May 2018 - CoTD Graham Gardner

It is always pleasing to see a member cooking for the first time in his own right. Today we had Graham Gardner as chef of the day assisted by Nick Reynolds. Graham has assisted before and felt confident enough to give it a go with the tremendous help that we now have with the team in the kitchen.

Canapés. I like a pair of canapés that provide not only an alternative, but a stark contrast and today we had that. Ceviche was served with chopped tomato, coriander, and chilli on sashimi grade salmon. This was served with lemon juice on a spoon, making it very easy to consume and that we did well. Who doesn’t like a good piece of fried chorizo? We had that with guacamole on toasted bread. A great drinking canapé!

Aperitif wine. The main aperitif wine today was Denmar Estate Chardonnay 2010. This was backed up with some Coldstream Hills Chardonnay and a Delatite Deadman’s Road Gewürztraminer. We were thirsty. The Denmar was still drinking well at 8 years of age and had been an absolute bargain into our cellars. It was a rich Australian style that does not suit everybody but nonetheless style good to have from time to time.

Main Course. Graham took us to South America today with a spiced beef dish with tomatoes, onions, chilli, various spices, et cetera. The beef had been pressure cooked and cooked in the not too spicy sauce and served with mashed and baby carrots. A great effort. Graham.

The Wines.

• Massolino Barbera 2016 (cork, 14.5%)
• JL Chave Cotes du Rhone 2009 (cork, 14.5%)
• De Bortoli Shiraz Viognier (Yarra) (screwcap, 14.5%)
• Bowen Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (screwcap, 13.5%)

Two European wines to go with the main course today. The Barbera from the 2016 vintage was rich, young, fruity, soft and refreshing. It would have had minimal oak treatment and just shows how enjoyable young wines can be when properly done. On the other hand, the maker has form for his wines ageing very well. The Rhone wine was approximately 50% each of Shiraz and Grenache and had some spice. There may have been bottle variation with brettanomyces evident on some bottles, but it did not cause a problem with the bottle at my table.

The cheese wines were a real comparison. The De Bortoli whilst not unpleasant, tended to be somewhat richer with I suspect a touch too much Viognier in the blend. There was also some bottle variation with one particularly obnoxious bottle. The Bowen 2005 was just okay. It looks a little tired and most bottles were pass their best.

Cheese and coffee. James Healey bought us back to Australia today with a pasteurised sheep cheese from Robertson in New South Wales. Made by the Pecora Dairy it was inspired by a Pyreanean classic. It is at the semi hard style. Up to 3 months of ageing has developed flavours of grass nuts and caramel from a creamy but still firm texture. A first for most of us and equally most of us would have liked a little more flavour in a cheese.

Coffee by Spencer today was an old favourite, Colombian, and apparently it was a fresh batch and as usual presented superbly.

With the cheese, Graham had provided us with some honey roasted walnuts which he explained was a bit of a challenge.

There was some 40 members and guests at the lunch today to acknowledge Graham’s first effort in the kitchen. He explained some nerves leading up to the event which most of us can relate to. He was presented with a WFS apron by the President.

An excellent lunch and we hope to see Graham back in the kitchen soon and enjoying his new role with the Society responsible for membership.

24 April 2018 - CoTD James Tinslay

In the kitchen this week was James Tinslay (that would be me) being ably assisted by David Madson and Keith Steele. This is this of course was a wine luncheon with the usual protocols of keeping the spice and heat level down, which we did.

Canapés. Two canapés were served on the day. David’s contribution was olive based concoctions on pieces of toast. One is canapes was based on black olive on the other on green olive and the visual effect was excellent. The other canapé care of Keith were Skippy (kangaroo) sausage rolls which were a real treat and succulent, given the pork fat that had been added to the very lean kangaroo. Both excellent starters. Thank you both.

Aperitif wine. The aperitif wine today was a 2005 Tyrrell HVD Semillon. This was in excellent condition with enough acid to deal with the fat content of the sausage rolls. The mandatory Sherry was also available.

Main Course. Because I feel that we don’t have enough chicken at lunches, today’s dish was indeed chicken. Some 15 chickens had been deboned and spatchcocked and marinated for three days in a blend of allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, garlic et cetera et cetera. They were then charred on the hot plate and then slowly cooked in the oven. The chicken was served on crunchy pan-fried asparagus in balsamic, duck fat roast potatoes and a Marie Rose sauce. Comments were complimentary but of course the main deal was the wines.

The Wines.

• William Fevre Fourchaume 1er Chablis 2012
• Curley Flat Chardonnay 2012
• Cos Pithos 2011 (Nero d’Avola and Frappato from Sicily)
• Tyrrell Old Patch Shiraz 2007
• Rosemount Mountain Blue 2006
• Duval Grenache 2015

Being a bit side-tracked with the kitchen, there was insufficient time to give these wines a good look over. However, the Chablis had it all over the Curley Flat of the same year given the minerality of the former.

The Sicilian wine sees no wood and was fresh and drinking beautifully. The Duvall Grenache from 2015 shows how Australian Grenache need not be too sweet (as some were in days gone by) and it was extraordinarily elegant and drinkable.

The match between the Old Patch and the Rosemount Shiraz was fascinating. I had expected Tyrrells to be a bit more forthright in character, but it was very elegant and floral in the style of the old Hunter River Burgundy. The Mountain Blue was what you expected, a well-made wine and at 12 years of age still very drinkable.

Cheese and coffee. James Hill had ceded to my request with an aged Comte cheese from Will Studd, a favourite of mine. It was made from unpasteurised milk and matured in damp underground cellars high in the mountainous region that borders France and Switzerland. A real treat.

For the aforementioned reasons I have no record of the coffee of the day except recalling that I enjoyed sitting down and drinking it after cooking.

Thanks to Keith and David for their kind assistance.

17 April 2018 - CoTD Paul Thorne

Paul Thorne was on the burners this week with an undeclared meal simply telling us we would get something Italian. Paul usually prefaces his cooking by warning those who attend to bring their statins with them for their lipid-lowering benefits. He didn’t disappoint. Assisting Paul assembling canapés were Gary Linnane and Nick Reynolds.

Canapés. Paul’s canapé preparers worked on the ingredients that he had bought to make us to starters. First off on a blini base was horseradish cream with rare beef topping. A lovely mouthful. The beef, as you can see from the photograph, was wonderfully pink and I’m assuming that sous vide was involved. The second starter was a take on Italian an bocconcini salad served on crisp toasted baguette. The topping was a basil pesto with mirin. Two very different starters, both good.

Aperitif wine. Jumping back into Europe this month, we were served a Fiano, Ciropicariello Irpinia from Campania in Italy from the 2014 vintage. Fiano is becoming increasingly popular in Australia as we seek out lighter alternatives to the all too dominant, but still brilliant, Chardonnay. As a nation we still ignoring Semillon and Riesling. Go figure. Whilst this example of Fiano may have been better a year ago, it still has the minerality, and light stone fruit that make the grape so perfectly attractive as an aperitif wine. A balcony in southern Italy in Campania in summer with a glass of chilled Fiano…. what else could you possibly want?

Main Course. Paul was back with one of my favourite dishes, pork neck, slow cooked. So versatile and in this case, Paul had cooked the meat for 4 hours with bacon and other healthy and magic flavouring potions. It was served on a carrot and sweet potato mash which was wonderfully rich. Paul admitted (with pride) that there were bucket loads of butter, egg yolks and parmesan giving it the flavour that we all like. It was topped off with black pudding and some of us were lucky enough to get some of the leftover black pudding, which was passed around the tables. There was also fruit chutney made from cranberry with PX and Cointreau thrown in the mix. Paul was a little disappointed that the pork neck had dried out a little in the kitchen after it was cut into medallion’s reasonably early prior to the meal. However, the meal was wonderful.

The Wines.

• Giovanni Rosso Langhe 2010 (cork, 14.5%)
• Huntington Cabernet 2008 (screwcap, 13.8%)
• Vasse Felix Filius Cab Merlot 2013 (screwcap, 14.5%)
• Angullong Fossil Hill Sangiovese 2009 (screwcap, 14.5%)

A wonderful pair of wines with the main. The Piedmont wine was labelled Nebbiolo but given the colour it is likely that there was some Barbera in the blend. Whatever, it was a great 8-year-old predominantly Nebbiolo wine with the sort of tannin structure and elegance that I like so much about Piedmont. The Mudgee wine from Huntington was also outstanding. Whilst Huntington have somewhat of a following in the society, it is fair to say that not all the wines are top-quality. This wine was, and it was the favourite of many in the room. At 10 years of age it was soft, it was elegant, and the fruit had the mouthfeel equivalent to sitting in a wonderfully comfortable armchair.

The cheese wines were certainly a contrast. The Margaret River Bordeaux blend at 5 years of age was drinking beautifully and a credit to the team at Vasse Felix for their entry-level wine exhibiting such a standard. Soft, approachable and drinkable. The Angullong Mudgee wine was a little past its best, not surprising with a 9-year-old Sangiovese. Drinkable but boring. It does beg the question, can we grow Sangiovese everywhere in Australia?

Cheese and coffee. The James Healey cheese had everybody stumped for its origin. In line with the meal, it was from Italy, from the Veneto region. By name, Perenzin Montasio, made form cow’s milk. A strong flavoured cheese it clearly had some age as it was grainy and crumbly. A number of us were thinking of a high-quality aged cheddar.

Spencer repeated the success of last week with his Mexican peaberry beans and once again I was astounded by the turnaround in quality from the same bean served a month or two ago.

With the cheese, Paul had made an iceberg, radicchio etc salad which aided and abetted the fromage.

The 43 members at lunch thoroughly enjoyed the efforts of both Pauls on food and wine.

3 April 2018 - CoTD Paul Ferman

One of the best numbers for a mixed lunch in some time over 40 turning up for our Winemaster, Paul Ferman, in the kitchen assisted on canapés by Gary Linnane. The atmosphere in the room during aperitifs made it obvious that we were in for an enjoyable lunch.

Canapés. If there is one thing that is a certainty with Paul is that will have soup. So, Paul served us a vegetable soup made up of far too many ingredients to list but showing in the taste of potato and cream, apparently Dutch cream. It looked a treat as you can see from the photograph above. Next, we also had one of Paul’s favourite dishes, a terrine made from pork, chicken, chicken liver and a range of herbs. Paul had made this two weeks ago so the flavour had integrated beautifully. It was served on Burke Street Bakery baguette with a base of tomato with herb influence.

Aperitif wine. For mixed lunches, our Winemaster likes to start off with some rose Champagne and we did that today with the Aubert et Fils NV Rose. An entry-level Champagne with a touch of sweetness but still, the genuine article.

Main Course. Paul served us braised chicken which was mainly the tastier part of the bird, the leg. Paul’s dishes are nothing but complex. So, there was a host of vegetables making up the plate, including roast potatoes and three types and colours of carrot. The presentation was excellent as was the combination of textures and tastes.

The Wines.

• Yves Cuilleron Sybel Rose 2013 (cork, 12.5%)
• Fontodi Chianti Classico 2011 (cork, 14.5%)
• Metrat et Fils Chiroubles “Cote Rotie” 2012 (cork, 12.5%)
• Leflaive Macon Verze 2015 (cork, 14%)

Beginning at the beginning we enjoyed the Cuilleron Northern Rhône Syrah Rose, a maker of great prominence for his Condrieu wines amongst others. It was dry, flavoursome, and a very workable 12.5% but better still a good match for the chicken. For many, the Fontodi was the wine of the lunch with flavoursome and mouth filling Sangiovese fruit and at 7 years of age, drinking wonderfully at its peak.

With cheese we again enjoyed a red and a white wine. The Beaujolais we have had on previous occasions and it is a very pretty Chiroubles from 2012. Those who scowl at drinking Beaujolais should have a hard look at the individual Crus which are now readily available. They are nothing like the rubbish of Beaujolais Nouveau that we had to deal with 20 or more years ago. The Chardonnay from Macon was up there in terms of favouritism at the lunch. There is Macon and there is Macon and this one had beautiful burgundy overtones with a light touch of oak and importantly, restraint. I could drink buckets of it.

Cheese and coffee.  Gary Linnane was presenting the cheese this week and it was a cracker. It was a truffle D’Affinois from Guilloteau from Rhone-Alpes. The truffle flavour was noticeable but not so noticeable that it adversely affected the beautiful silky and creamy flavour of this wonderful cheese. Our cheese guys always make sure that the cheese is removed from refrigeration hours before serving so that we get it at the correct room temperature.

Spencer in absentia, was playing with blends this week and gave us a blend of 80% Colombian with 20% New Guinea Pearl. The intent was to bulk up the flavour of the elegant Colombian with the more flavoursome New Guinea Pearl. Whilst I’m a fan of Colombian as a relatively neutral coffee, the addition of the Pearl was something that we should try again in the future.

An excellent mixed lunch with a spirit that underlies the values of the Society.