Lunches
11 July 2023 Steve Sparkes
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
A full house today for our food master Steve Sparkes preparing a Burgundian-themed lunch to celebrate Bastille Day.
Canapés
Oven baked pear crisps topped with blue cheese cream mix, hazelnut, parsley and a spoonful of honey.
Mini pissaladière caramelised onion, anchovy and an olive.
As Steve says you can’t go wrong with caramelised onion.
Jambon Persillè on crusty toast finished with a cornichon.
High praise for canapés today.
Main
A perfect winter’s dish, beef bourguignon with carrots, mushroom, celery and parsley and a very good mash of potato, cream and butter.
As with most dishes, there is always a variation on theme and in today’s dish there was quite a lot of liquid but not too much as to distract from flavour and texture. Rich and hearty.
A spoon was provided to mop up the sauce along with a crusty baguette that was sourced from Lavie & Belle in Surry Hills.
Merci beaucoup, Steve.
Cheese
Cheese master Mark Bradford choose a cow’s milk cheese from France.
Some comments were made about the ammoniated nature of the cheese however once the ‘crust’ was removed the resulting paste was very pleasant.
Le Conquérant Camembert is a close cousin of Camembert de Normandie. Its strong aromatic hints of wet straw, brassica and apples and are a reminder of why this authentic cheese has become a proud symbol of French cheese-making skills. Made in the Pays d’Auge region of Normandy, its secret lies in the use of specially selected cultures, moulds and yeasts and, of course, rich Normandy milk. The traditional wooden poplar box and wax-paper wrap create a microclimate that encourages the chalky heart of a young cheese to slowly break down over three to four weeks, eventually becoming deliciously soft and fudgy by the use-by date.
It was served with a four-leaf and carrot salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing to ‘kiss the leaves’.
Also accompanying the cheese was a homemade chutney of grape onion and apple.
Frank was glad to see a salad served with cheese.
Coffee today was Lavazza.
Wine
At the outset allow me to pass onto Tony Scott our collective thanks for his magnificent donation of red and white Bordeaux for our lunch today. In my years of membership, I do not think I have witnessed such generosity in providing all of the wines for our lunch and indeed such high quality wines. Tony, you are a really kind man, and we are all touched by your gesture.
Moving on to the wines themselves, these were all from the Graves district, and indeed from the premier sub-district Pessac Leognan. We kicked off with a 2015 Ch de Rochemorin a 100% Sav Blanc, at 14%, which was then followed by a Ch. de Cruzeau 2015 also 100% Sav Blanc at 13.5%. Both of these wines drank very well with the delicious pass arounds prepared by our chef du jour Steve Sparkes. It was such a treat to compare these two fine Graves whites. Both wines had great fruit and had retained excellent acidity, leading to a dry lingering finish. Both wines reflected the excellent vintage of 2015. Rich, ripe flavours. Of the two there was not any significant difference, however, I felt that the second wine was holding its age a little better than the Rochemorin. Both wines now being 8 yo. But who could complain!
The red wines for our beautiful main course were Ch de Cruzeau 2016, 54% Cab, 46% Merlot coming in at 13.5%, year rated 8/9. Wonderful classic Bordeaux nose, quite unmistakable, one of my favourite aromas along with quality coffee and hot baked bread on a cold morning. This wine was a delight, wonderful integration of fruit, tannin and gentle oak. Years ahead of it. The following red was the Ch Couhins - Lurton 2015, a merlot 60%, Cab 40% blend Once again I was treated to that fabulous Bordeaux aroma. Heady stuff. Thank you, Tony. 7/9 rated year, 14.5%. Of the two, this was my favourite by a narrow margin. Terrific ripe fruit with that distinctive but gentle oak influence. Long dry finish. One suspects that this wine is a classic in the making. My wine of the day.
We finished off our Lunch with two further Whites, a Ch Couchins-Lurton Sav Blanc, 100% and a Ch La Louviere blend, S/B 85% and Semillon 15%.
The first wine was from the vintage of 2015 rated 7/9. Fresh and grassy S/B overtones, mouth filling, lovely nose of mixed fruits, citrus and ors. Lingering finish and enough acid to carry it through. The final wine was the Ch La Louviere 2010. This Chateau is the flagship vineyard of the Alex Lurton wine empire. Say no more. This wine was from 2010, an 8/10 year. Now a 13 yo, but drinking superbly. Great balance between acid and fruit and with grassy complex flavours, It does not drink like a 13 yo white, Aust Semillon and Riesling excepted.
At the end of this afternoon of wonderful afternoon, I wondered how Sav Blanc could taste so different when grown in France and when grown in NZ, Clues anyone??
Finally, many thanks Tony Scott. You are a champ.
4 July 2023 Scott Witt
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Our favourite American, Scott Witt, was in the kitchen as Chef of the Day cooking an American-themed lunch. Scott announced most people celebrate Independence Day in the States with a bbq.
Canapés
First up Buffalo chicken wings with a blue cheese dipping sauce.
Scott had deboned the wings to make them easier to eat as finger food and the wings were coated with a sauce of butter hot sauce and red pepper. A good spice finish on the palate.
The first plate of wings was served in 1964 at a family-owned establishment in Buffalo called the Anchor Bar. The wings were the brainchild of Teressa Bellissimo, who covered them in her own special sauce and served them with a side of blue cheese and celery because that’s what she had available.
“Pigs in blankets” followed, perfect sized cocktail frankfurts baked with puffed pastry and a typical yellow American mustard.
Lastly ‘crab cakes’ Scott has cooked these before and, as Roger said, these are the best version we’ve been lucky enough to have.
Canapés were bountiful and very favourably commented on by members today.
Main
With a bbq theme, what could be more representative of American cuisine than ribs.
Marinated overnight then cooked at 10:30 am in a warm oven then finished at a high heat. There was some delay in the service and some variation in the doneness of the ribs. Scott kept it simple.
ribs on the plate and perfectly cooked buttered corn cob and a potato salad that had to have some bacon.
A lot of effort and thought was evident in today’s meal, thanks Scott.
Cheese
In theme, our Cheese Master Mark Bradford presented a cow's milk cheese from Wisconsin.
Pleasant Ridge Reserve is made in the tradition of alpine cheeses by Uplands Cheese, a family run dairy and cheese making facility located on ‘Pleasant Ridge’ in southwestern Wisconsin. The cheese is only made between May and October, while the cows are grazing on fresh pastures. The grass-fed milk produces flavour complexity in cheese that can’t be replicated when cows are eating machine-harvested feed. The flavours of Pleasant Ridge Reserve are reminiscent of another alpine classic – Beaufort, with hints of caramel and salt, together with complex layers of grass and flora.
Scott presented this with mixed nuts and some drier-style dates. A good match.
Society coffee today with some handmade chocolate mixed with 1962 Bas Armagnac. Special!
Wine
American Independence Day saw us off on a journey from the USA to NZ, then back to Australia. There were some interesting wines sampled along the way with quality selections by our Winemaster. We kicked off with a Kumeu River Chardonnay 2022 from NZ. A very reasonable entry level Chardy, their Village wine, with their Estate wine being the top level. I found the wine to be quite reasonable, bearing in mind that it does not profess to be more than a well priced commercial Chardy without any great pretence. Certainly no obvious wine making faults, good fruit and acid with restrained oak influence. Acceptable as an aperitif, but somewhat on the uninteresting side. The second wine was a Frankland River Isolation Ridge Riesling 2017. A soundly made WA Riesling with good balance between acid and fruit. At the time I was drinking this wine, I felt quite content, that is until I tasted the following wine.
Not recorded on the programme, but produced towards the end of the aperitifs, was a Pikes Clare Valley Riesling 2010. Wow, what a wine! Despite being 7 years older than the WA Riesling, the Pikes was much fresher on the palate, with a lingering crisp finish, with excellent balance. My favourite wine of the day, hope we have some more in the cellar.
Jetting back to the USA, the first American wine on the list was a Kendall Jackson Santa Barbera Reserve Chardy 2020. A very big wine, 14.5%, with huge ripe fruit and excessive oak. Sweet butterscotch overtones, all in all, a real handful. This must be the way Americans like their Chardys, as Kendall Jackson is a huge producer. To my taste, the wine was out of balance, too oaky and sweet. Happy to leave it to the Americans.
The first red of the day was another Kendall Jackson wine a 2019 Cabernet from the Sonoma Region. Another big wine at 14.5%. I felt that we were not doing any favours to this wine drinking it now, as it was very young and needed another 3 to 4 years in the bottle before hitting its straps. Clear potential as the quality structures were there. Hopefully to be revisited in say 2026/27. Will by then be likened to a quality MR Cab.
The final red on the official programme was a Fraser Gallop MR Cabernet 2012. A very appealing wine indeed. A Bordeaux style, mainly Cabernet with some Petit Verdot and Merlot thrown in. Drinking now as an 11yo, the wine was fully mature, with lovely integrated fruit, oak and tannin. Rich and full bodied, plenty of time ahead of it. A delight.
There were some other red wines served, our table had a Blue Pyrenees which was quite acceptable, however, I do not think it very profitable to discuss a wine in detail that only some of the room actually tasted.
27 June 2023 Roger Straiton
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
What could be better on chilly winter’s day than roast beef and a glass of red?
Roger Straiton (M. le rostbif) was in the kitchen as chef of the day for our monthly wine tasting lunch.
Canapés
Beetroot biscuits topped with some Swedish smoked salmon paste and a prawn. This was a salmon fish roe from a tube, a Swedish delicacy.
Blinis topped with crème fraîche and parsley, white anchovies and Granny Smith apple and pickled marinated fennel.
Main
Roast beef (scotch fillet or rib eye) gravy and vegetables, charred asparagus, crunchy beans, Brussels sprouts and cocktail potatoes.
Sounds simple but today the beef was perfectly executed, seared then finished in the oven. As members say, presentation is important and today Roger nailed it, looked good, and tasted even better.
A bowl of horseradish mixed with crème fraîche to top it off.
I love the way Brussels sprouts divide a room. You either love ‘em...
The main was served with a French-style crusty loaf baguette, perfect to mop up the rich flavoursome homemade gravy.
Fine fare, stonkingly good, thanks Roger
Good comments on both wine and food today.
Quote of the day
“To me, food is as much about the moment, the occasion, the location and the company as it is about the taste”.
Heston Blumenthal
Cheese
A six-month-old Ossau Iraty, a favourite of our Society but today no one guessed it, this time a little younger than what we’ve had in the past.
Ossau Iraty has a succulent and complex flavour, developing notes of hazelnut and caramel as it matures.
Tasting Notes
Category: Semi-Hard Cheese
Origin: France
Milk Type: Sheep’s Milk
New season ewe’s milk is collected from the shepherds of the Ossau Valley and Iraty Forest, in the Basque Pyrenees to make this traditional hard-crusted cheese.
The method used in making these cheeses is claimed to be one of the oldest surviving in the world and dates back at least 4000 years.
After cooking the curds, the rind is washed and hand salted before being matured in cellars for six months by affineurs.
This cheese is made exclusively with milk from local breeds of sheep (Manech and Basco-Bearnaise). It has a succulent and complex flavour, developing notes of hazelnut and caramel as it matures. Firm, nutty with a slightly sweet finish, this AOP cheese is often only available for six months of the year due to the short lactation period of ewes.
The cheese was accompanied by dried fruit apricot, pear, apple, prune and cashews.
Wine
Today’s lunch wine wise was an all Northern Rhone affair with wines from Guigal and Cuilleron. 2 whites and 5 reds plus a masked red from parts unknown. Moving straight onto the whites served with the excellent pass arounds by Roger Straiton, we were presented with a 2016 St Joseph Lyseras Blanc, a blend I was informed of Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier. The second white was a 2018 Les Vignes Cote Roussanne. A straight Roussanne.
At the beginning of the tasting, I began to feel that it was like Groundhog Day, with yet another barrage of Rhone whites, which I personally do not favour. My impression was that we were having these wines at every lunch, however, impressions can be misleading, and my records indicate that we have only had these wines on 3 maybe 4 occasions this year. It just seems so much more often. Surely we must be getting close to the end of the bottomless pit of these wines in our cellar.
Anyhow, dealing with the two wines today, I much preferred the Roussanne, which notwithstanding my remarks about these wines generally, I enjoyed to some extent. A very big flavoured wine, a bit on the oily, unctuous side of mouthfeel, but not unpleasant to drink. Would probably go well with chicken or a good cheddar.
The second wine, the 2016 Lyseras was in my view over the hill and far away. Brownish tinges, perhaps a cork problem? Flat and flabby were thoughts that came to mind.
Having tasted both wines my palate screamed out for a good aged Australian Riesling with a crisp, fresh acidic finish! So much for the Rhone whites for today.
Dealing now with the red wines from Northern Rhone, my antipathy towards whites from that district is very much not replicated in my assessment of the red wines from that region, in fact, I have been very partial to their reds for many years. We had a delightful lineup of 5 wines from vintages ranging from 2007 to 2012, and in my view, there was not a poor wine among them. We were indeed fortunate to have 5 of the best from the N Rhone.
Trying to write a report about wines from the same region with similar grape composition is not easy, as in my opinion most of them tasted pretty much the same, which was very good indeed. A bit like trying to write a review of 5 Miss World finalists! They all look pretty damm attractive, perhaps just one or two stand out. So for my money wine no 6, the 2010 Cote-Rotie Brune et Blonde was the pick of the litter, a delightful wine with, a great balance between fruit and oak, powerful flavours and a clean lingering finish. The runner-up was a toss-up between the 2007 St Joseph Vignes de L’Hospice Syrah and the 2012 Cote-Rotie Brune et Blonde. In a photo finish, 2nd went to the St Joseph, as I felt that the Cotie was a bit over-oaked.
The final wine of the day was a mystery-masked bottle. My impression was that most of the room was perplexed by this little number as to my palate an initial tasting was unimpressive and out of kilter with the other wines. Most in the room were divided between a French wine or an Australian. Time revealed that it was the famous Clonakilla Shiraz and Viognier blend 2017. As a matter of interest, none of the members who spoke about the wines made any comment about their composition. One would imagine they were all mainly Syrah, with possibly, some Viognier thrown in. The point is, the Clonakilla is a blend of the same wines as those from the Rhone we had today, yet to me it tasted quite different.
Finally, a thank you to Roger Straiton for providing us with a fabulous serving of roast beef with horseradish sauce, just the way we like it, and of course thanks to our Winemaster for assembling this wonderful collection of Rhone wines.
20 June 2023 Rob Doll
Food review by James Hill and wine review by James Tinslay
Food
Resident Chef Rob Doll was on the hobs for us today delivering some exceptional fare.
Canapés
First up venison and juniper tartare topped with toasted sourdough on betel leaf.
Then followed warm cauliflower purée with foie gras served on spoons.
Main
Perfectly cooked pork belly with crackling accompanied by cabbage sautéed in butter and a silky parsnip purée topped with a stem of deep-fried cavolo nero. A light chicken pork sauce finished the dish.
Rob said the secret to cooking crackling is to put it in the fridge on Friday which reduces the water content of the skin. It’s salted on Tuesday morning the skin having become glass-like, perfect for ‘crackling’.
In both canapés and main we can see the skill of our chef, the presentation, flavour, texture and innovation.
It was a great lunch with a ‘wow’ factor.
Cheese
Selected by Rob an Australian white mould, cow's milk cheese from Castlemaine Victoria.
An artisan soft bloomy cheese in the style of a French soft cheese like those from Brie, but with its own Australian identity, named after Australia’s iconic soft-petalled wildflower. Creamy dense paste becomes softer and oozier as it ripens from the outside in, with mild nutty tones developing into more oniony/cauliflower flavours as it ages and softens.
Made in 1kg wheels in the style of a traditional French artisan Brie, with a soft dense paste and a thin rind, it ripens from the outside in, its mild chalky interior becoming softer, creamier and more pungent as it ages.
Aspect: white/cream colour, the bloomy rind is slightly wavy, becoming flecked with brown as it ripens.
Texture: dense and semi-soft with a slightly chalky core when young, becoming creamy and melty, slightly oozy but not liquid, as it ripens.
Flavour: mild, creamy/lactic and slightly nutty when young, becoming more full-flavoured, cabbagy and yeasty as it ripens.
A Radicchio salad was served with the cheese.
Two types of bread with main and cheese today both served warm.
Wine
Arriving at the luncheon today and seeing the six wines that we were to enjoy, I got the clear impression that we were in for a range of grape and taste profiles.
Canapé wine 1. Gundog Estate 2019 The Chase Semillon. The visuals were medium hue with a clean profile on the palate, but more developed than, say, a Tyrrells from the Hunter Valley. It appeared to have a year good slug of sulphur and whilst not a poor wine was middling. From comments around the room, it was not overly popular.
Canapé wine 2. Pikes Riesling 2010. With wines at thirteen years old, there always tends to be a dichotomy between those who like their young fruity Rieslings and those who like the age characteristics. The fruit was drying but in its favour, there was a very developed Riesling character with a touch of sweetness.
2008 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Serre Nuove – This is the second wine of Tenuta dell'Ornellaia. I have always enjoyed this wine and it makes me wonder why people pay much more for the upmarket “first growth” version. Even this second wine is not cheap. Full-bodied, with juicy, velvety tannins and a very long finish. Bolgheri has vastly improved over the last twenty years and was underrated but that appears to have changed. This wine was Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot). It goes by the misnomer of “Super Tuscan”. At fifteen years of age. The wine is at its peak and showing significant browning. Drinking well now and enjoyed the dry chewy tannins which worked well with the food. 14.5%
2012 Monili Tarantione Primitivo - Primitivo is what we used to call Zinfandel back in the 70s and 80s. The style is basically rich and sweet and often alcoholic. This wine at 13% was surprisingly low in alcohol and at eleven years of age had a brown meniscus. The wine is from Puglia and whilst not my favourite grape seemed to work well with the wonderful pork we enjoyed from Rob today.
2010 Goaty Hill Pinot Noir - Goaty Hill, was a label from the wonderful Tamar Valley which produces many wonderful wines. The winery was relaunched some years ago as Small Wonder (go figure!). I agreed with many who thought this wine was probably passed its peak, having lost its fruit and was decidedly simple. A shame, Tamar produces some very good wines. 13.4%
2018 Toolangi Chardonnay - This wine comes from Dixon’s Creek in Yarra Valley and produces some very well-priced wines. At five years of age. I thought the wine was at its peak. Showing a buttery malo character. A little flabby and a touch more acid would have been appreciated. However, it did go well with the cheese and once again, a white wine with the Cheesemasters cheese was a big success. 13%
13 June 2023 James Hill
Food review by James Hill (as CoTD) and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Near-capacity bookings for our mixed lunch today with yours truly in the kitchen assisted by Jonathan Casson and Gary Linnane.
Canapés
First up Jen’s crisp cheddar biscuits topped with sesame seeds, with some cayenne adding a ‘bite’ at the finish. Perfect with champagne.
Then came Kay’s duck liver pâté, fresh organic duck livers were used to make the pâté, good lively flavour and texture, served on oven-baked white bread toasts. It could have had more cognac for my palate.
Jonathan Casson was up next with a savoury prosciutto roll with pears, Gorgonzola picante and wild rocket.
Gary reprised his signature canapé a white bean anchoïade topped with some Cantabrian anchovies served in pastry cases. Gary used the Tarbais beans that Society member Scott Witt provided.
The beans were puréed with some Parmigiano-Reggiano, cream cheese capers, anchovy, lemon zest and EVOO.
Full of flavour, creamy, thick and rich.
Plentiful canapés and highly commended by members and guests today.
Main
Our main course today was a chicken smoked cheese and bacon rotolo. Served with chicken fat potato gratin, shaved brussels sprouts sautéed in butter and water and topped with a cream sauce of sherry, chicken stock, shallots and caramelised button mushrooms.
The rotolo main ingredients are chicken breast mince, diced salami, onions, garlic, mustard, parmesan, parsley and bread crumbs. It’s then patted out to an even rectangle with mint leaves pressed over the surface. Thin slices of ham are layered and then sprinkled with grated smoked Dutch cheese. It’s then rolled up and covered with bacon rashers it was baked for an hour, rested for twenty minutes sliced and served.
Lots of flavour in the rotolo complemented by the rich cream sauce.
Bread today was Iggys ‘super long’ white sourdough.
Cheese
Our cheese master Mark Bradford presented a superb Bay of Fires cheddar from the East Coast of Tasmania.
This was served with some quince, a Mark Best recipe, poached with star anise, sugar syrup, lemon juice and zest, cloves, juniper berries and vanilla bean.
A good accompaniment to the cheese.
Technically, cheddar cow's milk from St Helens, Tasmania.
A traditional cloth-bound cheddar from St Helens in Tasmania, made by 13th generation cheese makers hailing from England. This farmhouse cheddar is aged for a minimum of one year on Tasmanian oak boards, which gives the cheese its unique characteristics.
The result is an intensely earthy cheese reminiscent of a damp cave, with an authentic crumbly texture.
Each table received a bottle of 2017 Chateau Miselle Sauternes donated by yours truly.
Wine
Lunch today was with the ladies, a very pleasant occasion with a near full house. Our Chef de Jour James Hill treated us with some sensational pass-arounds and then a superb main. We finished up with a terrific cheese. Others will comment on the food and I will confine my comments to the wine.
As you would expect for a ladies lunch, Champagne was obligatory and a NV Lanson did the Job. A satisfactory NV Fizz, the wine was well received as judged by the number of empty bottles! An excellent partner for the delicious pass-arounds. Next on the aperitif list was the Minaia Gavi 2021 13%. I had reviewed this wine in my report of 22 March, when I reported that I found the wine unimpressive. The problem was that the wine was served with a strongly flavoured lamb dish. The wine today was presented as an aperitif wine and went extremely well with the pass-arounds. Well balanced, flavoursome with a great balance of fruit/acid and an attractive aftertaste. No wonder this wine from the Piedmont district is a very popular wine in Italy. A good example of how food flavours can impact on the taste of a wine.
Our first wine with the chicken main was a White Burgundy, a Macon-Verze 2015, 14%. From my vintage charts a reasonable year for whites in Burgundy, but not as good as for the red wines. Upon tasting the wine, I found it quite enjoyable, but nothing to write home about. At my table, I found myself the odd man out, as the wine was acclaimed by just about everyone else, must be me? The wine had the usual features of a Village Chardonnay, had no obvious faults, and was balanced and still fresh and clean, although now 8 yo. I just felt the wine was a little lacking in flavour with no real aftertaste. Happy to accept that I may be out of step with the majority,
The Yabby Lake PN 2014, 12.5 % was a cracker, warm and inviting, with excellent PN flavours, substantial texture, and a bit more colour than the average Australian PN. Showing no sign of ageing, although it is now a 9 yo. Lingering clean finish. One of the best.
The excellent PN was followed by a 2012 Sancerre SB from the Loire. Enjoyable wine with a good balance of flavours, I preferred it to the Macon. Amazing how SB from the Loire tastes nothing like a NZ SB. They may as well be different grape varieties. Still fresh and lively with a clean aftertaste. Holding together well for a white now 11yo.
The final wine for the day was a Bricco dei Merli Barbera d’Alba from 2014, 13.5 %.
Totally enjoyable, in fact quite delicious. A perfect food wine as are most quality Italian wines. Excellent balance of tannin, oak and fruit. These wines never seek to dominate the taste buds, and just compliment the food being served. A very satisfying wine to finish the afternoon along with the excellent cheese.
6 June 2023 Jon Young sons
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
The North Sea
Simon and Chris North were in the kitchen cooking a memorial lunch for their father and our 50-year member, Jon North Snr.
Simon is a qualified chef, Chris a member of Escoffier and today’s meal reflected their combined talents in the kitchen.
Canapés
First up was a paté made with Swiss brown mushrooms a little chilli and topped with caviar served on toasts. The heat was evident but not too much to overwhelm the flavour of the mushroom.
Then followed some biscuit topped with caramelised onion topped with smoked trout crystal champagne jelly smoke comments thought it thought caramelised onion “novel” others “groundbreaking!”
Next was bruschetta of tomato with cream fraîche on toast. The flavour and texture were a theme in the canapés with favourable comments for the floor.
Lunch started with reminiscences of Jon by the eldest son, Jon.
He lived a full passionate life, devoted to wine and food, especially the Hunter. A great friend of Society he loved the camaraderie the comments on food and the interjections to which a resounding chorus of “bull shit” echoed around the room! His favourite wine was Gevrey-Chambertin and his last drink.
Main
Our main course today was cotechino with porcini mash and slow-cooked lentil sofrito with picada.
The cotechina was sourced from a soon-to-be retiring Haberfield butcher and it is traditionally served on New Year’s Eve in Italy. Today it was poached for 24 hours then pan-seared with slow cooked lentils a rich beef cheek ragu jus and topped with caramelised fennel and apple.
A simple wholesome meal perfectly executed, full flavoured and textural. A favourite dish of Jon’s, gutsy was his description.
Comments today included lip smacking, sticky, great mouthfeel. A perfectly executed winter dish.
Chris added that Jon always said that the Society is our cohort and gives us a sense of purpose and we are part of the tribe. He reminded us that he and Simon cooked the last lunch at Lower Fort Street premises in 2010.
Jon is well remembered and it was a fitting farewell lunch
Cheese
Cheesemaster Mark Bradford presented an Australian white mould cow’s milk cheese today. It was a Tarago River Cheese Company Gippsland brie.
David Johnson and Laurie Jensen grew up on neighbouring farms in the small Gippsland village of Neerim South. Both families have been dairy farmers for many generations and Laurie’s great-grandfather, a Danish emigrant, often made cheese on his farm in east Gippsland, kindling his interest in cheese and inspiring him to complete a degree in dairy technology.
In 1982, Tarago River Cheese Company was founded when David’s parents formed a partnership with Laurie and his dad, building a small cheesery alongside the milking dairy on the Johnson’s Hillcrest farm. Tarago River Cheese Company is named after the river that winds its way around the gently sloping hills of this renowned dairy region. The farm, now grown to over 500 acres, is home to 400 Holstein-Friesian and Jersey-cross cows who are milked twice daily. The fresh milk, travelling only a dozen or so paces from the dairy to the cheesery, is pasteurized and transformed into a range of handmade, Australian farmhouse cheeses.
Gippsland Brie is made in a special area of the cheesery designed for surface-ripened cheeses. Jersey-Friesian milk is enriched with cream before select cultures and non-animal rennet are added. The resulting curds are gently hooped and then matured at 14°C over the next 4 weeks in dedicated maturation rooms. Penicillin camemberti and candidum moulds give this Australian brie a pristine, velvety white rind. The paste is soft and buttery, becoming creamier with age.
It was accompanied by a salad of English spinach and finely chopped kale, simply dressed, a good match for the creamy cheese today.
Wine
Today the Society had a memorial lunch to honour the Late Jon North an esteemed long-term member of our Society. His sons cooked our lunch and with the collaboration of our Winemaster, put on a superb afternoon. As usual, my comments relate to the wines served only.
The first aperitif wine was a delicious Andrew Thomas Hunter Semillon 2015, 10.3%. A 7/10 year in the Hunter for Semillon. An elegant wine with delicate balance and flavour. Thomas is by universal acclaim an outstanding Semillon producer as was evidenced by this wine. Now 8 yo the wine is drinking beautifully but has the promise of years more wonderful drinking ahead. Would love it see it again in another 5 years. All the key ingredients are there.
Wine no 2, was in my view the Star of the Show, the wonderful Orlando/Jacobs Creek Steingarten Riesling 2005, 12.5%. What a wine and to cap it off, we had our own winemaker Phil Laffer at lunch today, who actually made the wine.
I have always been a fan of this wine stretching back into the 1960s, yes I am getting old! I made a special trip to the vineyard several years ago to see for myself the famous ‘Garden of Stones‘, created by Colin Gramp in 1962. He was seeking to develop a high-altitude vineyard for Riesling similar to those in Germany. The vineyard is near Rowland Flat in the Barossa, on a stone-littered hill some 1600 ft above sea level it must have been a bugger to plant! His efforts have been rewarded by this wine, an Icon of Australian Riesling. Wonderful wine, a delight of mature, harmonised Riesling flavours in perfect balance. No wonder aged high-quality Riesling like this is my favourite Australian white wine. Many thanks, Phil, you did a great job, you should be proud.
Moving onto the red wines, the first was a Massolino Langhe Nebbiolo from the Piemonte 2015, 14%. They say sometimes that Nebbiolo can at times be austere, well I will second that motion. I found the wine to be medium texture with high acid and strong tannins. The wine was I felt unyielding, tight with a very dry finish. Perhaps more cellar time is called for.
The next cab off the rank was my second favourite of the day, the Tua Rita Rosso dei Notri 2016, 14.5%. A lovely wine, warm and generous, just like an enthusiastic hug from that special someone. A very different wine from the taught, harsh Nebbiolo. This wine had that special quality of being welcoming at first taste and wanting to show you more. I would describe it as a lover's wine. I cannot recall if the components were mentioned on the label which they are often not, however, some research by me indicates that it was a Sangiovese blend with probably some Cabernet and a few others thrown in. Whatever was the recipe. The wine was a gem. Great balance and flavour with a lingering finish. Can I have some more please?
The next wine was the Vasse Felix MR Cabernet 2008. Wow, what a fruit bomb! Massive blackcurrant aroma and taste dominated all else. You would never encounter a quality Bordeaux Cabernet with this presentation. Many in the room seemed to enjoy the wine, coming from a quality producer, but to me, the wine was out of balance, so strong was the ripe fruit/blackcurrant influence. Perhaps the wine should have been opened 12 hours beforehand to lessen the assault on one’s olfactory system!
The final wine for the day, was a Larry Cherubino Franklin River Shiraz 2009, 14.9%. I have been impressed with this man’s skills as a winemaker for many years now, making high quality wines for numerous producers from all parts of the country. I do not think this was one of his best. Possibly my taste buds had been steamrollered by the previous wine, but I found this Shiraz lacked flavour and finished with a flimsy aftertaste. This region produces some fantastic Rieslings, perhaps Shiraz is not the grape for this district. Possibly if well separated from strong flavoured wines, my view might change. Let’s try again.
30 May 2023 Paul Ferman
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Paul Ferman was in the kitchen today cooking for our monthly wine tasting. We welcomed member Bruce Tyrrell today, making the trek from the Hunter for our lunch.
Canapés
Canapés were bountiful today and enjoyed with the canapé wines.
Warmed king oyster mushrooms on spoons with polenta cooked with chicken stock/butter/ parmesan, a umami hit..they were full of flavour and great texture.
Home pickled sardines on GF seeded bread, another flavour hit with the taste not overly dominated by the sardine.
Terrine of pork and veal with a layer of wild rabbit ..one of Paul’s signature canapés, it’s a favourite of mine and didn’t disappoint today.
Main
Paul’s theme today was quality, simplicity and ingredients.
He promised "a couple of plump legs of the 4-legged type, slow cooked on a bed of halved potatoes and quarters of onion, lots of oregano, an insinuation of garlic, in a Greekish manner, accompanied by a Frenchish composed set of blow-torched greens with a dust of far-left Labour salt and ultra-right pepper, oh and Dutton mushrooms".
It was marinated goat, slow-cooked over Dutch cream potatoes with onions and lemon. Goat is notoriously difficult to cook and keep the moisture and favour balance, Paul succeeded today.
Great flavour and texture, wonderful mouthfeel and a long lingering aftertaste.
It was accompanied by a Salad Composé mustard and olive oil dressing over autumn vegetables of zucchini, beans, lettuce and Spanish onion.
Well done, Paul, a lunch of plenty.
Bruce closed lunch today by discussing the wines on taste and an overview of winemaking terroir, tradition and innovation.
Cheese
Our Cheesemaster Mark Bradford, in theme, presented two types of goat cheese.
- Holy Goat La Luna Ring 1.35kg
Tasting Notes
Category: White Mould
Origin: Australia
Milk Type: Goat’s Milk
Classification: Farmhouse
This award-winning, surface-ripened goat’s milk cheese is handmade at Sutton Grange Organic Farm near Castlemaine using ancient cheese-making techniques that were refined in the Loire Valley over a millennium.
Lactic acid fermentation slowly sets the curd over 24 hours before it is gently hand-ladled into moulds, as to preserve its delicate structure. After draining, the young cheeses are moved to the maturation room where they are turned daily for seven days, then matured for another two weeks to allow the wrinkly Geotrichum candidum rind to fully develop. As it ripens, the chalky centre softens to a soft, fudgy texture. Delicate citrus notes accentuate lactic sweetness and herbaceous flavours from the goat’s milk.
- Fromager D’Affinois Florette 1kg
A hexagonal-shaped cheese that has the d’Affinois silky consistency that we all know and love and a delicate goat’s milk flavour.
Tasting Notes
Category: White Mould
Origin: France
Milk Type: Goat’s Milk
Classification: Co-Operative
Rennet: Non-Animal
Soft, surface ripened pure goats’ cheese made near Lyons, France.
This new cheese uses special microfiltration techniques that concentrate the rich solids in the goat’s milk ensuring a very smooth texture and delicious rounded creamy flavour.
Fromagerie Guilloteau are leaders in a modern process called “ultra filtration”. Ultra filtration is a technique co-created by Jean-Claude Guilloteau and occurs before the cheese making process. Pasteurised milk is forced through a series of membranes, extracting protein and removing water; concentrating all other desirable components. This results in the production of consistent, nutritionally rich cheeses that have a silkier mouth feel and creamy subtle flavour.
Wine
A very full house for today’s gathering which is excellent for our bottom line in revenue terms. We started the day with a Guigal Cote du Rhone white blend 2018, probably a blend of Roussanne and Viognier 14%. We have had this wine before on several occasions and it gets no better by repetition. Hope our Winemaster is doing a cellar clearout. Bit harsh perhaps, but I am sure we can do better. Enjoyable enough for a glass of wine at a bar with a female friend, but neither would you want to take home.
On a brighter note, the next wine was a truly excellent Tyrrells Semillon 2008, 11.3%. Bruce Tyrrell who was with us for lunch commented that this vintage along with 1971 was the most difficult in his memory. Whatever happened in the winery is unclear, but the finished product was wonderful. A 15 yo Semillon, defying age was fresh, clean, and balanced with no sign of adverse ageing. A wonderful example of a true Australian icon, hard to see how this wine would not go on for another 10 or more years.
Next on the table, we were presented with three wines from the legendary Brian Croser, namely three 2022 Tapanappa Chardonnay from his Piccadilly Vineyard in the Adelaide Hills region. Our Winemaster asked us to conduct a serious assessment of all three wines. Given the fact that all the wines were barely a year old, this was I suspect a bridge too far for most of our members, or at least for me.
Crozer has always made his top Chardys very tight, restrained and disciplined. No excessive oak, acid or fruit. At one year old these wines had little to offer for a tasting, very young and tight. The Tiers 1.5 M Vineyard showed some more fruit than the other two, and some real promise, but how they will develop is a bit like picking the Melbourne Cup winner at the 500 M mark. Would love to be around when we hopefully taste these wines again, when they develop in say 5 years.
The final bracket was a fabulous collection of Tyrrells 2014 Shiraz from the best vintage in the Hunter since 59 or 65 some say. My wine assessment skills are not sufficient to evaluate clinically each of the gems, suffice to say that I think I preferred the 4 Acres to the Vat 9 and the Old Hut in that order. At 9 yo these wines on their current presentation show no sign of adverse ageing and should present well again in 15 years from now. Hope I am around then to taste. We are indeed fortunate to be members of the WFS on occasions such as today.
23 May 2023 Hal Epstein
Food review by James Hill and Wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Hal Epstein was in the kitchen today preparing a Thai-themed meal.
Canapés
Tod Man Pla
Fried fish cakes made within fish fillets, capsicum, chilli, garlic, lemongrass, fish sauce, coconut milk, eggs, and snake beans, with sweet chilli sauce…good texture and fish flavour.
Ma Ho (Galloping horses)
This is a Charmaine Solomon recipe. Finely cut pork cooked with garlic coriander, peanuts, fish sauce, pepper, sugar, and chilli cooked down till dry. This was topped onto mandarin segments.
A favourite today with a good balance of citrus and pork.
I like it when Hal cooks. He challenges himself and us when preparing his lunch themes, Hal promised Thai street food nothing more nothing less.
As Hal pointed out street and market food changes from hour to hour as vendors add to the pots during the day. What started in the morning will change by the evening.
We sat down to some Tom Yum Goong. This is hot and spicy, sour and aromatic all the same time. Many people around the world who love Thai food say this is a measure of the quality of the chef and people swear by the soup to clear their heads when they have a cold.
The basis of the soup is lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime, chilli, mushrooms, prawn lemon juice, fish sauce and coriander.
Hal made the soup the night before to allow flavour infusion. Most soups just add prawn heads and fish bones for flavouring ..Hal added fresh prawns, squid and some flathead.
It was a great soup, full of flavour, aromatic and not too much heat.
Main Course
This was a simple green curry with perfectly cooked perfumed Thai rice and green papaya salad ‘Som Tum’. This salad was a David Thompson recipe.
This dish is one of the most loved in the Thai repertoire. Originally a marketplace, snack, or lunchtime dish from the northeast, it proved so irresistible, it is now eaten throughout Thailand and has become a signature dish. Shredded green papaya is mixed with a paste of garlic, chillies, roasted peanuts, dried shrimp cherry tomatoes, snake beans, palm sugar, lime juice, tamarind water and fish sauce.
Mostly favourable comments with one member voicing a contrarian view, some suggesting there could have been more heat if not in the dish than as an alternative suggestion to serve some chillis in a bowl on the table.
The afternoon was perfectly summed by member Julian Parmegiani quoting the Latin “De gustibus non est disputandum” (or, “in matters of taste, there can be no disputes”).
Thanks Hal.
Cheese
Our Cheesemaster Mark Bradford selected an Italian-washed rind cheese to go with the food today. It came to the table in perfect condition with many comments of the quality and taste of this cheese. It was “Mauri Taleggio DOP” Italian washed rind, cow's milk.
The microclimate in the natural caves where these cheeses are matured, high in the Alps, encourages the development of a unique flora on the outer rind. Washed and brushed several times over a month, the cheese develops a thin bloom flecked with blue penicillium moulds.
Beneath the rind, the ivory chalky texture of the cheese begins to change slowly as it ripens, becoming buttery and soft. The creamy texture, when balanced with the delicious yeasty taste provided by the rind, is one of Italy’s best kept secrets.
Mauri Taleggio is considered one of the finest DOP cheeses.
Wine
We started the day with a Craggy Range Riesling from NZ, 2011, 12.5% We do not see a lot of Riesling coming out of NZ, the Kiwi’s seem to prefer making Chardonnay, Sav Blanc and Pinot Gris. I really generally enjoy these wines save for the dreaded SB, which I studiously avoid. It always strikes me how a NZ SB is totally different from SB grown in the Loire, you would swear they were different grapes.
Anyhow getting back to the Riesling, what struck me was how much it resembled on first tasting a dry German Riesling, perhaps a restrained Kabinett. Enjoyable with good basic structures drinking well for a 12 yo. Pronounced floral overtones, with a dash of residual sugar. Nothing wrong with the wine, but just not my cup of tea for a Riesling.
The second wine for the pass-arounds was a delightful Toolangi Chardonnay from the Northern Yarra Valley region. The vineyard was planted in 1995 and since then has achieved many glowing reports for its Chardonnays. I can see why. This wine was from the 2018 vintage, 13%, the year rated 7/10
The wine was balanced and elegant, with no overpowering constituent features. Acid/fruit/oak all combined seamlessly. A winner! More please.
Wine No 3 was the Scorpo Bestia, a Pinot Grigio 2017, from MP in Vic. A highly regarded vineyard. I had in fact reviewed this wine very favourably in my report on Oct 22. I recorded “well balanced, good flavours, enjoyable, more please“. Something happened from Oct 22 to May 23 with this wine, maybe a dud bottle, or just me. I found this bottle to have a distinctly medicinal flavour, most unappealing. I am sure that if you were feeling unwell, a few glasses of this would make you feel better for a while, but that is not really the test.
What did attract my attention was the black label, depicting an ape-like creature holding a languid alabaster-skinned, large-breasted female in his arms. Then I saw the connection! Bestia is Spanish for Beast! Now I get it, however, my mind was immediately taken to the notion that this was an attempt to replicate, within the bounds of copyright, some 16th and 17th-century artists, who painted images of the Incubus. Google Fuseli 1781 the “Nightmare“. You will then understand.
This horrid squat man/beast from hell would sit on a woman’s chest during her sleep and squeeze the breath out of her and occasionally have sex with her. Nice type. In more recent times an Incubus has become the villain in so-called exorcism rituals.
Anyhow here’s the tip, if you find yourself having the good fortune of being on top of a woman and she yells “get off me you incubus“, just accept that the magic moment has passed and the relationship is doomed! I guess it is just as well that most women are unfamiliar with the term thereby saving us men from incurable self-image trauma and depression!
Now where was I? Moving onto wine 4 the Massolino Barbera D’ Alba 2016. 14.5% a delightful wine. The Italians have perfected their skills at making wines that are harmonious with food, not assertive, just gently matching the food. What more can you say?
Wine 5 was the Andrew Thomas Hunter Shiraz from the Sweetwater vineyard, 2016 at 14.5%. Thomas is a fine winemaker who deserves his high reputation. 2016 was only a 7/10 year in the Hunter but he has done well to get this wine to the very enjoyable stage. I thought the wine was a good example of Hunter fruit, balanced and without any wine making faults, went well with the cheese.
The final offering for the day was the Rosemount Balmoral McLaren Vale Shiraz 2010, 14.5 %. Now this was a no holds barred old fashion OZ Shiraz from the old school of SA Shiraz. Huge fruit, but balanced by superb integration of tannin/oak. Now 13 yo, still lively and drinking so well it is hard to see it not lasting for another 5/10 years, given its current presentation. This style of wine may not be to everyone's taste nowadays given the trend towards lighter styles, but to me, it was a beautiful drink!
16 May 2023 Steve Sparkes
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Our Food Master, Steve Sparkes, was in the kitchen with an “Australiana” themed lunch. Word has got around that if Steve is cooking turn up and we did with Society stalwarts Ted Davis and Terry Stapleton welcomed and acknowledged by our President Bill Alexiou.
Canapes
- Parmesan custard tart with a native Dukkah which included macadamia, wattleseed, lemon myrtle, desert lime, bunya nut and topped with a sliver of bush tomato.
- Kangaroo Kofta. A mixture of minced Kangaroo Rump and Spec spiced with cumin, coriander, ground wattleseed, ground Tasmanian pepperberry and garlic. Served with a Kewpie Mayonnaise infused with Lemon Pepper and Lemon Myrtle.
- Apple, macadamia and blue cheese tart topped with toasted macadamia.
Main
Loin of Kangaroo served with a potato, carrot and wattleseed mash with warrigal greens and saltbush, roast onion and riberries which had been confited and then pickled. The greens were blanched, (a must for warrigal greens), then pan-fried with garlic and butter and dressed with sesame oil.
The gravy was a base of intense chicken stock infused with Riberry puree, pepperberry and lemon myrtle. The kangaroo loin was cooked sous vide for 4 hours @55C, flashed in a hot pan with butter and then rolled in a sesame, wattleseed and Tasmanian pepperberry 'crust' prior to service. It was sourced from Sutton Forrest Meats.
The jus…so good I saw a member, who will remain nameless, drinking left over from his coffee cup.
Great comments on the canapés and main today highlighting presentation, texture and flavours. We tried to guess the many ingredients in the food presented today and mostly failed.
Ted Davis, kitchen legend, summed it up ..it was the best meal he’s had in all his years of being a Society member.
Cheese
This cheese has long been on the wish list by Steve and it was sourced by our Cheesemaster Mark Bradford who had to trek to Balgowlah on the weekend to attend the market where it was being sold.
It was a superb Bay of Fires cheddar from the East Coast of Tasmania served with a simple green salad dressed with olive oil and balsamic, accompanied by a date, prune, fig and macadamia nut roll and a Riberry Relish, both homemade.
The roll did need a seed content warning and the relish perfect with the cheese.
Technically, cheddar cow's milk from St Helens, Tasmania
A traditional cloth-bound cheddar from St Helens in Tasmania, made by 13th generation cheese makers hailing from England. This farmhouse cheddar is aged for a minimum of 1 year on Tasmanian oak boards, which gives the cheese its unique characteristics.
The result is an intensely earthy cheese reminiscent of a damp cave, with an authentic crumbly texture.
The bread was a light sourdough baguette from Bourke St bakery.
Wine
I arrived a little late due to funeral obligations and as a result, I missed out on most of the pass-arounds, which I am sure were delicious. Anyhow getting my hands on something I could taste the first white I encountered was the Pewesy Vale Riesling 2013. This wine has been always a great wine, going back for as long as I have been a member, for 22 years. 2013 vintage, 12.5%, this example of the great winemaker Louise Rose is a classic Australian Riesling. Perfect balance, at 10 yo, not a sign of ageing. A true delight.
Wine no 2 was as a Seppelts Jaluka Chardonnay 2013 at 2013%. I have always had high regard for Seppelts, who have a fabulous array of great wines. Their original vineyard at Great Western was purchased by Bruno Seppelt from the Best family back in the in the late 1800s. The vineyards are literally on opposite sides of the road. Anyhow, we had one of their commercial Chardys, a reasonable wine, with no obvious wine-making faults, quite acceptable as a good Journeyman Chardy, holding on well for a 10 yo.
We then marched onto Wine no 3 the Protero Merlot 2007, 14.5%. A Steve Pannell wine from McLaren Vale. I am so pleased to see some of the “second row“ wines like Merlot are appearing on our luncheon wine lists. There is a treasure trove of exotic flavours that await our taste buds with the likes of this wine, Grenache, Tempranillo, Australian Nebbilio, Barbera and so on. Anyhow, this was an excellent Merlot, from a master winemaker, now 16 yo, with big plummy fruit overtones, great condition for a 16 yo, nice balance of tannin and oak. Delightful.
Wine no 4 was the Taturry Vineyard Syrah from 2013. 13.6%. A very good wine from a reputable winemaker from Mornington. Always consistent quality from this producer. More please. A 10 yo shiraz, big fruit, but balanced, restrained tannin, with a lingering finish. I really enjoyed it.
Next wine was the Isole e Olena Chianti Classico 2019. 14.5% This excellent wine came from a very reputable producer within the official Chianti Zone. Most likely either a straight Sangovise or a blend with a few other bits and pieces making up the lesser components. An enjoyable food wine as Italian wines always are. Not reaching any great heights, but that was how it was made to be, playing second fiddle to the food.
Wine no 6 was the Blue Pyrenees Estate Cabernet 2009 vintage 14%. A great wine to go with the Cheddar served. Considerable tannin upon first tasting, but the huge fruit held it together with good oak overtones, showing no signs of age and finishing with great flavour. By no means an elegant wine, but I guess it was never intended to be!
The final wine for the day was a masked fortified wine from parts unknown, provided by our Chef du Jour Steve Sparkes. I have shied away from the likes of Port in recent years as a result of drinking my body weight in Hardys 1947 Show Port during the 1970s. The killer
hangovers are still fresh in my memories! For what it is worth, I picked it as a Morris Liqueur Port, but it was in fact the same style from Stanton and Killen. Beautiful way to finish up!
The lunch was terrific, and Steve Sparkes's main was exceptional!
9 May 2023 Amosh from REX
Food review by Mark Bradford and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Members and guests were met on a cool and cloudy day with a Nepali treat provided by the REX sous-chef, Amosh.
Canapes
We started off with Aloo Chop Nepal style, aka potato croquette. Boiled potatoes were mixed with Nepali spices, coated in flour and fried, and served with tomato chutney. A good match with the German resiling. Second, Amosh presented Pakauda, a flavoursome snack of onions and potatoes mixed with cottage cheese and spices and deep fried. The Pakauda was accompanied by a sesame tomato sauce. Finally, we were given Masyaura soup; a spicy soup served in a cup containing sun-dried lentils. The lentils had many of the members baffled, some thinking it was bacon. The floor was happy with the vegetarian starters on offer.
Main
Amosh presented Khasi Ko Masu – a Nepali lamb curry – served on Ghiu Bhat; Basmati rice sauteed in ghee and cooked in chicken stock. A lovely selection of Nepali spices and not too hot. Some members mentioned that a side of chillies may have been appropriate for those who needed more heat, but Amosh told us that what he presented was typical of Nepal cuisine. Amosh spoke passionately to the floor about his meal and provided information on the ingredients in great detail.
Cheese
The cheese was selected by Head Chef Rob Doll. It had everybody guessing but the consensus was – correctly – that it was Australian. It was a cheese new to the society I would expect; a Coolamon Cheese Co. soft blue. Coolamon is in the heart of the Riverina between Temora and Narrandera. The three-month matured artisan cheese from local cow’s milk has a blue vein style; the soft and creamy interior being enhanced by the tang of the blue mould. Overall, it was well-received.
Wine
We kicked off with an Andrew Thomas Semillon, the Braemore vineyard, 2017. An excellent vintage in the Hunter and made by a talented winemaker. Quite frankly I was a little underwhelmed. I think I was expecting too much given the wine’s pedigree, which can often happen. The wine was quite sound, but to me, it just did not deliver in terms of flavour. Was however quite acceptable with the delicious pass-arounds.
Wine No 2 was a German Riesling a Kestener Herrenberg from 2011. The label was impenetrable so I could not ascertain any more information. My pick was that it was a Kabinett. An enjoyable wine, good with the food. Good balance of fruit/acid, not too much residual sugar. Holding together very well for a 12 year old, with no sign of adverse ageing.
Wine No 3. The Deep Woods Margaret River Cab/Malbec 2020 14%. No doubt our Winemaster had a plan for this wine in light of the menu, and it sat comfortably with the spicey main, but it was so clearly drinking before its time. A somewhat curious blend with the Malbec in there and would be interested to see the wine again in 5 years. All the right structures were there, not sure of the % break up between the two. Keen to see in future if the muscular Malbec overpowers the Cab.
Wine 4 the Mader Gewurztraminer 2018. 13.5% Wow what a wine! The word Gewurz translates into English as spicey, and boy did it fit that description. Upon initial tasting, it nearly blew my head off with its overpowering, perfumed fruit aroma. On the palate, it was exotic, opulent and mouth-filling, where will it go to from here? To continue drinking this little number you really have the tiger by the tail. Anyhow pressing on, the wine was intensely fruit driven, yet without excessive residual sugar. After a while, I became adjusted to its style and soon thereafter I came to the view that it was in fact a very impressive wine, drinking beautifully with the spicy main. Quite an experience, thank you Winemaster.
Wine No 5 was the Tunkalilla Oregan Riesling by Brian Croser, vintage 2011 13%. A well made wine. We had this wine recently and I enjoyed it then as I did today. Quite delightful. Now a 15yo, but no loss of fruit or acid. Again, a good choice with the spicy food menu.
The final wine on the list was one of my favourites the St Hallets Old Block Shiraz 2002. 14.5%. Excluding the likes of Grange et al, this wine along with Stonewall Shiraz and Elderton Command Shiraz and Grant Burge Meshach Shiraz, are my favourite Barossa Reds. I really enjoyed this wine. Massive fruit and high alcohol, but to me not unbalanced, although some on my table thought the wine was showing hints of unripe fruit, a tad green as they say. Nonetheless, it was in my opinion a classic old-style Barossa Shiraz, drinking beautifully at 21yo. Still time to go. Thank you Winemaster.
A late entrant for the afternoon was a French St Emilion 2014, via the generosity of Tony Scott. If you like right bank Bordeaux merlot blends, this was your wine. The wine came out late in the day as I was just about to depart and I overlooked recording the name of this wine. A thousand Pardons. I did however taste a reasonable amount and what stood out was the rich plummy, jammy flavours of the Merlot. From glancing at the label it is my recollection that the Merlot was the predominate grape. Thank you very much Tony for your very kind gesture.
Edit: The final wine above from Tony Scott was Chateau De Barbe Blanche 2014 (Libournais, Lussac St-Emilion, Grand Vin De Bordeaux)