Lunch 3 May 2016
Greek (Orthodox) Easter has come and gone, but that didn't stop Bill Alexiou-Hucker, assisted by Peter Squires, from turning on a lunch which mixed Greek elements with some more Australian fare.
We started with some (bought-in) dolmades which had been warmed to enhance their flavour and the bitterness of the vine leaves went well with the aperitif wine, a 2002 Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling, bottled under stelvin and showing top uniformity of bottles in a mature but still fresh wine ,sweetness starting to come up under the acid. Also on hand was salmon ceviche with spicy avocado on toasts, the salmon pieces soft and unctuous without any acidity from the curing lemon juice; and what looked and tasted just like bruschetta, with the onion omitted.
The mix continued into the main course with a Greek lamb pie, made on shredded leg and shoulder with tomato, onions and big chunks of field mushroom, served on a bed of mash with green peas. The short crust pastry cases were hand- made but a bit heavy on pastry, while the spuds, although traditional Oz, were redundant, and the peas were peas. Terrific flavour in the slow-cooked lamb, with the ingredients (minus garlic) coming together well. In the wine department, the Master Paul Ferman got into the spirit with a 2012 Agiorgitiko by Gaia matched with a 2009 Dom Gerovassiliou shiraz/merlot. The former, made on indigenous Greek grapes, was interesting but a little hard and short; whilst the older wine, made on "imported" grapes, showed greater maturity with good fruit and fine, if slightly thin, tannins.
The cheese course was a change of style, James Healey providing a goats' curd with the consistency of yoghurt, with typical lactic characters balanced nicely by some lovely little candied figs and by a bitter green salad with a sweetish dressing. The accompanying wines were wild: a 2011 Seghesio zinfandel from Sonoma, Calif with 14.8% alcohol and showing it; and a more restrained tempranillo from Glandore in the Hunter, made by the winery owned by member David Madson from grapes brought in from Broke.
The coffee, unidentified, was nicely astringent if a bit hard, and was accompanied by a Mavraki grape spirit liquor, in the style of grappa but pretty good and better than most of the grappa on the market.