Lunches
25 June 2024 Paul Ferman
Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
A cool winter’s day saw Paul Ferman prepare lunch for a nearly full house. Mr Ferman is known for his use of quality and organic produce, with Feather and Bone being Paul’s go to providore.
Canapes:
Paul started us off with a very tasty vegetable soup. An excellent pancetta stick was produced as well as a good moist vegetable terrine.
Great flavours in all canapes and a good match for the starter wines.
Main:
Paul served a fine Cassoulet. It contained lots of well-cooked beans, an excellent Toulouse sausage, great confit duck, the meal having lot of texture and well-balanced rich flavours. The large effort to produce the meal for a full house was appreciated and a good match for the wines.
Cheese:
In theme, the Cheesemaster served Onetik Ossau Iraty, a Basque French cheese and a Society favourite. This is a hard artisan sheep milk cheese. Basque cheese making traditions date back at least 4000 years. Onetik is the largest dairy cooperative in the French Basque region collecting milk from 250 dairies across the Ossau Valley and Iraty Forest. Only milk from the local breeds of sheep - Manech and Basco- Bearnaise and traditional techniques can be used under PDO conditions. An uncooked, pressed curd cheese, the rind is washed, and hand salted during six months maturation which encourages a hard crusty rind. It develops a succulent firm texture and complex flavour, developing notes of hazelnut and a slightly sweet finish.
Wine
For our wine lunch yesterday, we were treated to an excellent cassoulet from Paul Ferman together with some delicious wines from the Rhone district, finishing with a terrific cheese. Great food and wine, all for $95. The WFS is for sure the place to be at!
A full room of members arrived promptly, if not a little early, to enjoy the aperitifs so much so that when I arrived bang on 12.30 pm, the first apéritif wine had gone! Apparently, I did not miss much as I was told it was oxidised and not worth drinking. Hence, I cannot report on this little number, the Haut Coustias Blanc 2016. Pity, as I enjoy poking fun at a poor bottle, which does not happen often. We were then provided with a mix of enjoyable white wines, a Toolangi and a Tyrrells and perhaps something else, which passed muster.
We then were presented with 6 red wines from both Northern and Southern Rhone, 4 from the North and 2 from the South. At the outset, just let me say that reviewing wines that are very similar is quite hard work, unlike 6 different wines which is quite easy. We had 5 wines from the well-known producer Guigal, and one from another producer. During comments on the wines, it was mentioned that Guigal wines follow a distinctive wine style, much similar to our Penfolds. I agree strongly with that view. Hence, I found little difference in the first 4 wines from Northern Rhone, all Syrah which were:
No 1. Yves Cuilleron 2012. 12.5%. Massive deep colour, spicy, complex array of dark fruit flavours, powerful finish, a very good wine.
No 2. the Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde 2012 13%. A plummy, again spicy taste, much lighter in texture and colour than the preceding wine. Possibly a little over-oaked, but finishing with clean strong flavours. Most enjoyable.
No 3. The Guigal 2009 edition of the same wine. 13.5%. Again, a lighter style, very elegant, finishing with a firm dry, almost puckery tannic aftertaste. Some oak influence was evident.
No 4. A Guigal 2010 St Joseph 13.5%. Another dense Syrah, big fruit flavours with a delicate mix of tannin and oak. A strongly flavoured wine, but well balanced. An enjoyable wine.
Wines 5 and 6 were from the Southern Rhone district, around the township of Avignon. They were both Chateauneuf Du Pape wines, made from mainly Grenache, with a host of other wine varieties going into the mix, in small quantities. Wine experts rate the wine as the best example of Grenache grown in France. This wine is one of the most revered wines of France, tracing its origins to the 14th Century when Pope Clement V transferred the Papal Court from Rome to Avignon. The wine takes its name from that change of address, meaning in English “the Pope's new castle“ and not the Pope’s 9th Home, as sometimes suggested. In any event, both wines were worthy of a Papal Blessing.
Wine 5 was from Guigal 2005 13.5%, by popular acclaim the wine of the day, with good reason. Smooth and svelte, redolent with sweetish, complex dark Grenache fruit aromas, rich but not cloying. A faint of tannin on the last delicious sip. A really classy wine.
Wine 6 was my favourite, due mainly to its magnificent chewy, stewed fruit finish. Wine 5 was by far a better all-rounder for a meal, but No 6 with the Ossau Iraty cheese was a finish to the day that only His Holiness could bestow on us humble supplicants. To me, an awesome wine, drinking superbly at 25 YO. Just wish I had some!
I will not be there next week, attending a school Grandparents Day for my two youngest grandchildren. Look forward to catching up on the 9th.
18 June 2024 Nigel Burton
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
A nearly full house for Nigel Burton, Chef of the Year contender for 2023 and past joint COTY award winner, cooking a Marseilles Bouillabaisse.
Canapés
Greg Brunner and new member George Winyard assisted Nigel. Greg made mushroom pâte with garlic and thyme on a cheese biscuit with thyme and pepper. It had a good texture and flavour with a little heat.
Then pissaladière puff pastry, oily. I liked it. Onions, capsicum, olives and anchovies on puff pastry..loved it.
George’s canapé, West meets East, was a duck salad served in a crunchy wonton wrapper topped with sesame seeds and spring onions. The salad consisted of duck, hoisin sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil and cucumber. Big on flavour.
Main
Residents of Marseille are adamant that French fishermen eked basic sustenance from their unsightly leftover fish bits concocted this fish broth/soup/stew on the shores of the now sprawling metropolis. The name for this dish is derived from two actions bouillir (to boil) and abaisser (to reduce or simmer).
Nigel invited ast President John Banks to lunch today to give his verdict on Nigel’s efforts in the kitchen. John is renowned for his Bouillabaisse having produced it for fourteen years for our Melbourne cup lunch when our Society met at Lower Fort Street.
The stock was made up using the bones of traditionally Mediterranean fish Rascasse (known here as Scorpion) and Monkfish. To these fish, prawns, scallops and calamari were added to make up this traditional Bouillabaisse.
The Rouille was made using traditional ingredients of saffron, chilli, egg yolks and white vinegar, served on a slice of baguette.
Nigel’s signature “pommes frites” were a bonus!
It’s no easy feat to serve different types of seafood and have them come to the table with the integrity of the flesh preserved. Much research preparation and effort evident in today’s lunch. Thanks Nigel.
Pressure on the kitchen meant Nigel was unable to serve the broth at optimal temperature.
Many favourable comments on the dish today confirmed the verdict; yes Nigel, a success!
Cheese
Our Cheesemaster Mark Bradford, in theme, selected a goat's milk log ‘Buche de Montresor. It came to the table a little cool however the flavour profile was still very much evident.
Distinguished by the straw that runs through the centre, this cheese has been made for around a thousand years. The ashed rind makes a stunning contrast to the ivory-white centre.
Tasting Notes
Based on the traditional log shape of the region, the distinguishing characteristic of Buche de Montresor is the straw in the centre of the cheese. For 4 generations, this family run dairy has been making traditional goat’s milk cheeses on the borders of Touraine, Berry and Sologne, in the Centre region of France. Matured under a wrinkled geotrychum rind, each cheese is covered with salted, ground charcoal and cellared for 4 weeks.
When mature, the cheese looks quite rustic with flecks of blue mould on the rind. The ivory white paste is sweet, salty with a slightly acidic flavour and the fine texture changes as the cheese ages from soft to firm. The straw is placed in each cheese after the moulds are filled with curds, to provide strength by acting like a back bone to the delicate cheese.
Nigel served mixed-leaf salad dressed with tarragon, white wine, olives and garlic chives to go with the cheese.
Wine
Proceedings kicked off with a very enjoyable Soave from Monte Tondo 2021 12%. This wine from the Veneto region of Northern Italy was greeted by all with acclaim. I know because I was assisting with the wine pours, quizzing all and sundry what they thought, as I cannot recall us having this wine before. I did not detect one discordant note from the whole room, which is just about a first! we are a fussy lot. Anyhow this wine which is very popular in Italy is made from mainly the Garganego grape. Dry, but mouth filling, hard to describe the flavours, possibly a mixture of orange and honey with melon overtones. Nice clean finish. Overall a great success as a starter with food. More please. The 2023 is selling at Vintage Cellars for $18 PB. Gotta love that!
The next two wines were both Chardys, the Collector Tiger Tiger 2022 12.9%, from Tumbarumba fruit. We tried the 2021 of this wine a few months back, and it received a mixed response. This vintage however received an almost uniform negative assessment from the Room. The fruit content seemed reasonable, but there were a few things wrong. No typical flavour and no real crispness due possibly to a lack of acid balance. I will leave this one to the winemakers in our group to sort out the problems. Overall a rather sad wine.
The second Chardy the Toolangi 2018, 13% did not fare much better. 4 years older than the Collector, we were hoping that the extra bottle age might bring some joy after the disappointing first Chardy. Alas, we were bound for sorrow again. This wine seemed to replicate the faults of its predecessor. Looks like a joint failure on the Chardonnay front today! Most unusual.
Wine 3 eventually brought some joy to the room. The Yalumba Menzies Cigar from Coonawarra 2008 13.5%. Wonderful wine, just what was needed as Balm for our injured palates. This was a wine that Mr Menzies himself would have been proud of. Deep cabernet flavours of blackcurrant and blackberry resulting in a lingering powerful wine, dark almost impenetrable colour, tannin and oak blending in with perfection right through the middle palate till the satisfying finish. You guessed it, I really enjoyed this wine. Drinking at its peak at 16 yo. Looks like it could easily go on for another 10 years, all the required structure is there.
The final wine for the day brought us back to earth with a thud, in what has been an unusually poor day for our wines, with only 2 out of the 5 wines on display being up to our normal high standards. The 4th wine was a French Syrah from the reliable Northern Rhone grower Yves Cuilleron, the Les Vignes d ‘a Cote, 2014. 13%. Just what went wrong here is anyone’s guess. I was stumped. The wine did not even taste like a Syrah, no spicy pepper, no vibrant fruit at all. The wine had a faint trace of unripe fruit, or maybe at 10 yo it was tired, losing or had lost acid, leading to a flabby finish. Another one for Autopsy by our resident winemaker there on the day, Phil Laffer. Been a busy day Phil!
Today was an example of what Len Evans said decades ago, “you pay your money and take your chances“.
11 June 2024 Varun from Manjits
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Today’s lunch we saw the return of Varun and team from Manjit’s restaurant King’s Street wharf. Varun was introduced to our Society by member Grant Montgomery, they specialise Northern Indian style food. We had a feast with dishes ranging from street food to tandoori to their famous butter chicken. Famous because it was invented by their uncle. The main ingredients then were canned tomato soup, cream and chicken tikka. Food of quality and quantity, we sat for our canapés and entrees with wines served to the table. It was all there; colour and movement, texture and flavour, spice and heat, all handled and presented as we’d expect from a restaurant of this quality.
Canapes
Mini veg pakoras (fritters)
Chicken Sri Lankan rolls
Entrée
Chicken Banjara - the chicken is coated in a spicy marination of yogurt and then grilled in the tandoor.
Lamb Seekh Kebab (minced and skewered lamb)
Aloo Tikki Chaat, fried potato patties topped with sweet and sour tamarind chutney, spicy green chutney and yoghurt.
Mains
Rice
Butter Chicken
Lamb Roganjosh a very popular curry.
Dal Makhani lentil dips made with ura dal spices, cream and butter.
Bangain Bhartha. Bhartha is made with eggplant and tomato, and seasoned with cumin, turmeric garlic and ginger. Served with fresh naan bread.
Dessert
Gulab Jamun with ice cream, a ball of deep-fried paneer boiled in sugar syrup.
We gave our Cheesemaster a day off, this was a great way to finish dominated by cloves and rose water it was palate cleansing.
Wine
We were treated to some very fine Indian food which always makes it a bit tricky to assess the accompanying wine. Before I present my report on our lunch.
I just wanted to say how touched I am by the level of support I so often get from various members of our Society. Producing a weekly report to a gathering of wine experts and actual winemakers is a daunting task, however, from the outset, I discarded any self doubt and ploughed on regardless, determined to report with integrity, on how I saw the wines on that particular day. From comments I receive it seems I get it about right a lot of the time, other times very much not so. On such occasions, I imagine some may think, “this guy could not pick a Chardonnay from a glass of caustic soda!” It goes with the territory.
What however I do try hard to do is produce something interesting, informative and at times amusing, but above all else, never boring. Just keep those letters and cards rolling in folks, your encouragement is appreciated. SO’H.
Today we commenced with a Mosaique Champagne NV. Nice fine bead, with little bubbles, quite dry with a crisp acidic finish. More than adequate for an aperitif.
The first wine with the spicy food was a Gunderloch German Riesling 2021 11.5% from the Rhinehessen. An excellent wine, with great fruit, not at all sweet, balanced and finishing with an appealing aftertaste. Most enjoyable.
The same could not be said for the next wine, an Andrew Thomas Hunter Sem 2023, 8.5%. I am normally a fan of his wines, a top quality producer, but what on earth was he doing with this horrible little number? Over sugared, excessive acid, released after only 1 year from vintage, this was a wine that took me back 50 years to some of the truly horrible white wines that were sometimes produced in the Hunter at that time. I can understand how our Winemaster picked this wine to combat the strong spicy flavours of the food, and I suppose a sip of this with a mouthful of hot Indian food would override the excessive sugar, allowing the wine to be swallowed, but left to itself without any food, the wine had little to offer. Nasty.
Wine three was a Hugel Gewurztraminer 2019. Now this is a bit more like it, a great food wine for the spicy stuff, well balanced, mouth-filling but not cloying, clean finish. It is very hard to have a wine that satisfactorily complements Indian food, but this wine is about as close as you can get in my opinion. An excellent choice.
Wine four was my favourite of the day, the John Duval Entity Shiraz 2015 14.5%. I love his wines, being head winemaker at Penfolds for many years says it all about his ability to produce superb red wines. Since leaving Penfolds he has done consultancy work as well as producing magnificent wines from Barossa fruit under his own label. This is one of them. This wine exposed dark cherry, plumb and spicy Shiraz flavours, some tannin and oak, all of which came together in the mid palate producing a superb array of rounded flavours. My style of Shiraz, just wish my pocket felt the same way! John Duval must be our Patron Saint of Barossa Red Wines.
The final wine was the Eden Rd 2019 14.5% Shiraz. This attractive wine was grown in the Canberra wine region as it is now known, roughly between Lake George and Yass. Despite the fact that it was batting after Bradman, as I have frequently said about a wine following a star, this wine was excellent. Lighter than the Entity, this wine was, medium body, but great spicy Shiraz fruit with a clean, but enjoyable tannic finish, much less dense than the Entity. I could not help but think how this wine would compare with the Entity if it were 4 years older. Very favourably I would think.
Some terrific reds were a great way to finish the day.
4 June Hal Epstein
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
‘We few, we happy few, band of brothers, ‘ said the bard of our Society, Peter Kelso, introducing comments on lunch today with Hal Epstein as our Chef of the Day.
Canapés
First up, chicken liver pâté made by yours truly served on crusty toasts topped with a pickled onion. This is a Thermomix recipe with an unusual ingredient of tomato paste. Moist lightly textured and flavoursome. It did need a little salt.
Next up Hal, to the Italian theme, prepared some buffalo mozzarella topped with sun-dried tomatoes on buttered ‘village‘ loaf sourdough.
Then came some warmed spinach and feta rolls made with filo pastry.
Main
Honeycomb tripe with fennel and tomato base in the passata and chopped styles combined with chilli and topped with hand-grated pecorino. Presented with mixed couscous (pearl and ordinary) and roasted cauliflower with a nice border of green arugula.
This dish had all the hallmarks, quality, texture and flavour. The combination of ingredients worked well and looked perfect on the plate. Hal used long red chilli, so the heat wasn’t dominant.
Tripe, like the various pastas, provides texture and has a neutral flavour. It’s the perfect carrier for the ingredients prepared with it.
Of leftovers, there were none!
The meal and canapés were greatly appreciated by those in attendance today. Hal yeah! said Paul.
We had bread from baker Bleu Double Bay, a village sourdough and a crusty baguette, very good.
Cheese
Our choirmaster reprised an artisan cow's milk cheese from Cornwall, England ‘Cornish Kern’.
‘Kern’ is the Cornish word for ‘round’ and suitably describes the shape and flavour of this cheese. Created by Lynher Dairy, this modern British hard cheese is made in West Cornwall to an adapted gouda recipe using milk from nearby farms.
Each wheel has an attractive coat of thin black wax that allows the cheese to be matured for 16 months without losing too much moisture. The result is a dense, fudgy texture and complex flavour profile that is intensely savoury. The lingering caramel sweetness is accentuated by a proper dose of salt.
Wine
Hal Epstein’s tripe dish was terrific, pity more members were not there to enjoy it. There were I think 18 members present and so on a cold winter afternoon we hunkered down to enjoy the food and the wines, it was a cosy little group with a good atmosphere in the room.
The first wine was a Society favourite, the Tyrrells HVD Sem 2014 10.5%. The wine was in perfect condition, pale straw, clear, with a slightly sweetish taste on the front palate which quickly vanished leading to a crisp finish. Excellent fruit and moderate acid kept any undue sweetish overtones in balance, thus producing a fine, still-fresh wine with no indication of ageing. A great future is expected, a keeper.
Wine 2 was the Corcelette Morgon 2021. I really liked this wine. Vibrant, juicy and joyful are terms that come to mind. Medium body with strong Gamay fruit, intense flavour. 13%. Very easy drinking inviting you to have another glass (bottle?). Having enjoyed this wine before, I can well understand its universal popularity. On my table, there were several dissenting views about this wine, with some preferring the following Grenache. I don’t understand why but to each his own.
Wine 3 was the Villian and Vixen Barossa Grenache from Hentley Farm. 14.5%, a very typical gutsy Grenache, light body with pinkish hues of crimson. Strong fruit flavours with a tannic finish. To me, the wine was thin and lacked depth of flavour. Not exactly my cup of tea. Others liked it, so there you go.
Wine 4 was the Brokenwood Beechworth Chardonnay 2014, 12.5%. A really fine wine, holding its age very well. Excellent fruit with sufficient acid to hold it together, delightful finish. The wine was a perfect match with the English Cheddar. A wine that met with strong support from our little group. Should be drinking well for a few years yet.
Wine 5 was the Yabby Lake 2015 Pinot Noir 13.5%. This is a high quality vineyard producing top class Chardonnay and Pinot. This wine showed Pinot flavours in concentrated form. I thought the wine was excellent., but others suggested that at 10 yo the wine had seen better days. To me, there was still sufficient acid to ensure a firm finish, with lingering Pinot flavours. I really enjoyed it.
28 May 2024 Paul Thorne
Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Today’s Chef of the Day was Paul Thorne, assisted with canapés by James Tinslay and James Hill. On a sunny and cool late spring day, numbers were aplenty for Paul’s meal and the accompanying northern Italian wines for the monthly Wine Lunch.
Canapés
James T started us off with Anchovy Palmiers. These French biscuits have puff pastry sheets that are layered with Philadelphia cheese spread, anchovies, dried tomatoes, freshly grated parmesan and mozzarella cheese followed by an egg and butter wash prior to baking. So well liked, these savoury treats literally flew off the plate.
Next up, James H presented some Acciughe Salate. These are Sicilian anchovies; once caught the head is lopped off and packed in tins sealed with salt and EVOO. They are best rinsed in wine to remove the salt crust. Today, the fillets were prised off the spine, rolled and served on oven-baked toasts with Gary Linnane's popular tuna and anchovy butter.
Finally, Paul gave us homemade prawn and pork dumplings in a Duck Consommé; the broth being one of Paul’s specialties. The dumplings were a little too large, or the cups a little too small, to extract the flavoursome dumplings, but great taste.
Comments on the canapés from the floor were highly complementary.
Main
Paul served us wagyu beef cheeks today with star anise on a bead of potato mash with Dutch carrots, glazed with brown sugar. The cheeks were marinated for 24 hours with a mixture of onions, garlic, celery, carrots, bay leaves with lots of red wine and duck stock. This was then cooked low and slow, at 160 C for one hour then for three hours at 140 C.
Paul had first told us he would cook duck, then pork neck and finally settled on beef cheeks. Luckily so as they were a perfect match for all of the Italian reds. Usually not being one to blow his own trumpet, Paul knew the main was seriously good, and this was reinforced by all comments from the floor. It was considered to be outstanding.
Cheese
The Cheese Master provided a Milawa Cheese Company Goughs Bay Goat Brie. The Gough family farm is an hour’s drive from Milawa, and they have supplied goat’s milk to Milawa for generations. Within hours of its arrival, the milk begins its transformation into cheese. A blend of cultures and non-animal rennet is added to the milk and the resulting curds are scooped by hand into moulds to remove excess whey. The young wheels are salted in brine, then placed in the maturation room, where slowly they develop a white velvety rind and mushroom aroma. Over their two-week maturation, they are carefully turned by hand each day, before being wrapped and delivered.
The consensus was that this was not the members’ favourite cheese. Comments included lack of flavour and texture.
On a brighter note, and as a winner of the inaugural Ross MacDonald Cheese Award for 2022, Paul served an excellent salad for the cheese of dried figs soaked in whisky for three days, pecan nuts glazed in maple syrup and Tunisian dates.
Wine
Should anyone be in doubt about the value of their membership fees for the WFS, today’s lunch would have blown away any lingering uncertainty. In a word sensational. Great food and outstanding Italian wines were the theme for the day. Paul Thorne did a terrific job with the beef cheeks. The pass arounds were also delicious, Richard Gibson kindly donated many of his prized Piemonte Reds and our Winemaster pulled it all together like a master conductor. A wonderful afternoon. The quality of the wines was such that I had no chance of poking fun at some hopeless joke of a wine. My day for some fun was however saved by the cheese, a Milawa goat cheese. Something went wrong here. Tasted like and had the texture of plasticine!
The lunch began with a wine now becoming a Society favourite, the Minaia Gavi 2021 13%. I have reviewed this wine before. Made from the Cortese grape in Piemonte. A very appealing wine, mouth-filling without cloying, great balance of fruit/acid. Rewarding finish. From my travels around the room doing a few pours, there was almost universal agreement that this is perfect aperitif wine.
We then moved on to the first red, a Dolcetto 2017 from Paolo Scavino 14.5%. Again, I have reviewed this wine not too long ago. Always a welcome visitor to our room, very popular amongst our group. This wine, aka the sweet little one, really punches above its weight, as it is regarded as an entry-level Italian red. Excellent structure, medium body with a distinct sweetish taste on the first sip. As the wine travels down the red lane, other flavours appear, soft round fruit flavours with some tannin. A clean finish. Teamed well with the food.
The second red was the Barbera d’Alba from the same producer 2017, 14.5%. Much darker in colour and more intense fruit concentration. Most enjoyable, excellent food wine.
Wine 3 was the Vietti Langhe Nebbiolo 2016 14%. Again, medium to light body with evident tannin, a feature on Nebbiolo. Sufficient acid balanced it all out to produce a fine dining wine.
Wine 4 the Vietti Barolo 2016 14.5%, was again a light-bodied wine, with strong tannin and acid. Having said that the wine still had great texture and balance. Needed food support.
Wine 5 was my favourite, the Gabutti Barolo 2016 15%. This was a truly excellent Nebbiolo in every sense, medium body, deep cherry and that “tar” exotic aroma and greater depth than the earlier wines. Powerful finish. A stand-alone wine to be enjoyed without food. Thank you, Richard.
The final wine for our Italian venture was sadly my least favourite, the Cavallotto Barolo 2018 14%. In terms of overall structure, very similar to all the preceeding wines, but had a poor finish. Not sure why, but these wines seem to need plenty of time in the cellar and I am inclined to think that a 6 yo Barolo is just too young for drinking today.
Many thanks to all those who made a fantastic day possible, well done.
21 May 2024 Jonathan Casson
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
First time chef Jonathan Casson was our Chef of the Day showing his skills in the kitchen all done with one hand! Mediterranean influence on the cuisine today.
Canapés
Peter Kelso and yours truly assisted today with Peter preparing a rich flavourful tapenade on toast topped with cornichons and preserved lemon.
Up next were some ‘Acciughe Salate’. These are Sicilian anchovies, once caught head lopped off and packed in tins sealed with salt and EVOO. They are best rinsed in wine to remove the salt crust.
Today the fillets were prised off the spine, rolled and served on oven-baked toasts with crème fraîche.
Main
Perfect on this cool autumn day Jonathan presented lamb shanks served with a luscious red wine sauce, some pearl couscous and leek. The leek was baked in wine and butter and a good complement to the course. The lamb shanks were simmered for three hours, and fell off the bone, the pearl couscous perfectly cooked with the red wine sauce adding a great depth of flavour.
Many favourable comments on the meal today.
Big bread love from Iggy today.
Steve Sparkes presented Jonathan with his COTD apron and Jonathan responded by saying how much he enjoys the comradeship of our Society and the new friendships he’s formed since joining.
Cheese
Our Cheese master sourced some artisan cow's milk cheese from Cornwall, England ‘Cornish Kern’.
‘Kern’ is the Cornish word for ‘round’ and suitably describes the shape and flavour of this cheese. Created by Lynher Dairy, this modern British hard cheese is made in West Cornwall to an adapted gouda recipe using milk from nearby farms.
Each wheel has an attractive coat of thin black wax that allows the cheese to be matured for 16 months without losing too much moisture. The result is a dense, fudgy texture and complex flavour profile that is intensely savoury. The lingering caramel sweetness is accentuated by a proper dose of salt.
John Rourke spoke of the passing of member Terry McDowell. Terry was a member of our society for more than thirty years. John recalled meeting him at our Society after having been overseas for a number of years. He joined Terry’s table at WFS which he was hosting with his sailing crew. John went on to join the crew as well as many adventures in the kitchen with Terry.
Terry had a passion for food and wine, a good cook with an extensive cellar, he is well remembered and sadly missed.
Quote of the day:
‘One of the most generous things you can do for someone else is to cook them a meal’
Josh Niland
Wine
Today we had a new Chef Jonathan Casson, who treated us to a fine meal of lamb shanks. Delicious, looking forward to your next plan for us. See the food report for more detail.
With regard to the wines, we started with a Seppelt Drumborg Vineyard Riesling from Central Vic 2018. I am an unabashed fan of this wine. 11.5% pale straw, clean and fresh with a terrific fruit/acid finish. A delight. You may remember we had a Drumborg Chardy last week, a much inferior wine to the Riesling today from the same vineyard. Last week’s wine was from 2016 which may explain a few things. Anyhow, the Riesling today was a winner.
The first red was the Stella Bella Cabernet from MR, WA. 2019, 14.3%. Very dense fruit almost black. Big fruit, with assertive tannin on the finish. This I think is a very good wine, but needs more time, another 4/5 years would be just about right.
The second red was from the same district, a Vasse Felix Cabernet from 2010, 14.5%. Equally dense with huge fruit, but well-balanced oak and tannin showed the advantage of extra bottle age. A rewarding clean firm finish, sufficient acid keeping it together after 14 years.
The next wine was a white, a Tyrrells Bin 63 Semillon/Chardonnay blend. I understand this is Bruce Tyrrell’s favourite Hunter white, Humm, not sure why. When this blend was first released in the late 70’s I think, I was eager to sample it, coming from a fine pedigree of Hunter white grapes. My impression at the time having consumed a few bottles over a period of time, was that it was a waste of a good Chardy and a good Sem. In my view at the time, the offspring of these fine parents was an uninspiring ugly duckling, which was a disappointment to both parents. For that reason, I have not consumed a Bin 63 for 40 years or more. I always thought the wine was flabby and lacked a clean finish due to insufficient acid.
The wine today was from 2017, 12.5% a very good year, but that did not save it from being a wine without much character or attractive flavour, unlike its parents, when drunk alone. I really don’t think I have missed much over the years. Anyhow that’s my opinion, fire at will!
Today's final wine was the Hewitson Mad Hatter Shiraz 14.5% 2013 from the Barossa. Despite the comical name this was a serious wine. I really liked it! Big Shiraz fruit, but good balance. Despite its age of 11 years, the wine has plenty of time ahead, a rewarding and enjoyable drink.
14 May Steve Sparkes
Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
With the expectation of another great meal from the Food Master and Chef of the Day, today’s attendance was high for the “er, what’s up doc” lunch, well guessed by most members as being rabbit. Steve was assisted with canapes by Gary Linnane and James Healey.
Canapés
Three canapés were served today. Gary and James started us off with tuna and anchovy butter on a RITZ cracker. So simple yet so tasty.
For the second, Steve assembled a rabbit rillette on the day upon a simple cracker with caramelised onion jam. This was made a few days prior by the COTD using the trimmings from the rabbit carcass including ribs, front legs etc. It was cooked for several hours at a low temperature with pork belly and various secret herbs and spices. Thanks Colonel Sparkes. After cooling, it was all finely shredded by hand, thoroughly mixed, and left in the fridge to mature for a couple of days.
The final canapé was smoked oysters and mussels on a cream cheese cracker. It was a long time for most members since smoked oysters and mussels from a tin were consumed. Gary showed us why that trend should end. Delightful.
Comments were encouraging on the canapés, and they were a good match with the aperitif wines.
Main
Steve served us a ballotine of wild Australian rabbit sourced from Australian Meats in Adelaide. This is a protein seldom seen by the members on Tuesdays, and there should be more of it. Just to while away the hours, our CODY deboned no less than 14 rabbits!
The main portions of leg and saddle were laid out on a bed of prosciutto, painted with peppered Dijon mustard, and topped with spinach leaves. A stuffing of ricotta, shallots, garlic and assorted fresh herbs was piped onto the base and then sprinkled with an Australian dukkha mix. This was all rolled up very tightly into a roll with cling wrap and then vacuum sealed. The rabbit had been brined for about 6 hours prior. The ballotine were left to set overnight in the fridge. On the morning of the lunch, the rabbit was cooked sous vide at 60 C for a couple of hours, transported and then held at 60 C in the kitchen.
Garnishes included a potato pave, roasted carrots and caulilini, along with some nuts and grapes for texture. The gravy was made from the rest of the rabbit scraps and bones which were roasted with carrots, onion and celery and then simmered very slowly in good chicken stock for many hours to reduce and intensify. It was finished with butter and some Kuzu flour to thicken.
All comments attested to the quality of the course and especially the very considerable work that went into preparing it, although some members thought it to be a little too salty. When it comes to seasoning, it is impossible to please everyone.
Bread was a sourdough from Bourke Street Bakery.
Cheese
The Cheese Master selected Riverine Blue from Berry’s Creek Gourmet Cheese, located in southern Gippsland. This is a blue buffalo milk artisan cheese, the only one in Australia and claimed to be one of only such cheeses in the world. The 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 month’s ripening in specially built maturation rooms overlooking Wilson’s Promontory. It has a complex savoury flavour, and the smooth, firm texture and blue-green ribbons provide pockets of delicious salty blue flavour within the porcelain paste. Today’s chef accompanied the cheese with a mixed leaf salad dressed with olive oil and raspberry vinegar along with an apple and raisin relish (originally made for the rillette!). Comments from the floor on the cheese course were very encouraging.
Wine
With Steve Sparkes cooking, the mob will always turn up. 41 for today, a very good number for a non-wine tasting lunch. Our high expectations were rewarded by a first-rate lunch in all respects from pass-arounds to the cheese. Well done Steve, you are a class act. See the food report for more detail.
We started off with a pair of Society favourites, the Tyrrells HVD Sem from 2014, followed by another HVD from 2006. Now at 10 yo the first wine was at 10.5%, pristine clean, gleaming pale straw. Terrific fruit on the palate, with hints of citrus. My only adverse comment was that I found the wine noticeably acidic on the finish, but otherwise a lovely wine, bravo vintage 2014!
The second wine was all of the above but without the high acid. This 18 yo Sem is a fitting monument to Tyrrells winemaking skills with this grape variety and to the Hunter Valley being able to produce such a magnificent white wine. I think the general feeling around the room was how fortunate we were in sharing these great wines, with the 2006 finishing just ahead in quality terms.
Poor old wine 3 came in, the Drumborg Chardy “batting after Bradman“ as the old saying goes. Here we had the proverbial Plain Jane following straight after the dazzling twins from the Hunter. Hard to readjust one’s tastebuds. I think the wine was quite sound, a drinkable commercial Chardy, very mouth filling, 12%, but possibly a bit fat and flabby. Not in the same league as the Drumborg Riesling. I have no problem with our Society putting on wines like this, it helps in the broad understanding of what are acceptable wines in comparison to high-quality wines.
Wine 4 was the NZ Pinot Greywacke 2015 13.5% from Marlborough. I really liked this wine. Medium weight, great Pinot flavours of cherry and raspberry. Clean finish. Most enjoyable.
Wine 5 was the 2013 Yabby Lake Chardy from Mornington 12%. Rich, opulent, seductive. In my view getting close to the great Giaconda. Subtle and exquisite fruit with a lingering finish. Cannot believe my glass went so quickly. I must have been short-shared! A wine to be consumed beside a stream on a warm day with a ripe peach with a friend.
The final wine for the day was another Society favourite the Tyrrells 2014 Stevens Shiraz. Bruce Tyrrell considered Neil Stevens vineyard to be the best in the Hunter, and it was with great joy that Tyrrells acquired the vineyard some years ago. This vineyard contained some of the Hunter’s oldest vines. This particular wine came from the fabulous 2014 vintage and drank superbly. 13.8%, great balance between fruit, oak and tannin. Wonderful finish. No hint of ageing, love to see it again in 5 years.
We also had two Italian wines spread around the room, which I have not reviewed, ours was a delightful 2016 Dolcetto which we have seen before, and the other was I think, a Barbera d’Alba 2017 which we also have had before.
We are fortunate to have enjoyed such a quality afternoon. The WFS is the place to be!
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!