Today saw Paul Thorne return to the kitchen, threatening us in his website description about the onslaught of cholesterol and the need for ambulances after the lunch. He was assisted by Gary Linnane on canapés.

Canapés. We were provided with two seafood based canapés, the first being fresh anchovy on toast with goats curd to which a little wasabi had been added. The next was sashimi grade salmon with goats curd. Both canapés were spoken about fondly particularly the quality of both the anchovy and the salmon.

Aperitif wine. To begin the wines, we were treated with a Richmond Grove Reserve Watervale Riesling 2006. Under screwcap it was remarkably fresh for a 10 year plus wine with some bottles still displaying a little bit of spritz. Some disliked that characteristic but the wine was in remarkable condition and has more time in front of it. The acid/aromatic fruit balance was delicious and one could only describe the fruit as polished with a long finish.

Main course. Paul served a great looking dish with the Cotechino sausage topped with black pudding and served on a lentil base. Even the photograph below in low resolution makes a dish look desirable. No doubt between the sausage and the black pudding, we consumed our fair share of fat, but whilst eating it there was no hint of the dangers. The lentil base was a meal in itself with carrots, celery and a ham hock stock. Apparently, this meal is a traditional New Year’s Eve dish in Italy. An excellent main.

The wines. Roger Straiton was asked to present the wines in the absence of the Winemaster. A range of styles were presented attracting a range of comments. The wines were:

• Argiano Rosso di Montalcino 2009 (cork, 14%)
• Balnaves Shiraz 2008 (screwcap, 14.5%)
• Ocean Eight Vevre Chardonnay (cork, 12.5%)
• Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 (cork, 14%)

For the main course the pairing of a Sangiovese from Montalcino with a Coonawarra Shiraz of about the same age was interesting. The Montalcino was an elegant wine as it should be as the little brother of Brunello di Montalcino certainly lighter than the Shiraz but both pairing well with the main. Both were spoken well of with the Italian wine probably just pipping the popularity stakes.

Once again, we had a white wine with the cheese to accompany the Wynns Black Label. The Chardonnay was elegant but certainly of the buttery Australian style, a very good wine. The Cabernet which is very well known amongst members was typical of the style, rich and not yet drying with all of the velvety rich blackcurrant fruit that we expect of this line. The best wine with the cheese? Well, it was much of a 50-50 bet but it’s nice to see the continuation of experimenting with white wine with cheese.

Cheese and coffee. James Healey was back to lunches this week and presented the Gorgonzola Piccante from producer Mauri which has more age than the standard version and was piquant, firm and touching on crumbly. There were some attempts to pick the cheese but without success.

Coffee this week by Spencer Ferrier was from the region of Boyaca in Columbia – Farm Guayata, an Arabica bean. Spencer praised the good balance but thought it could be improved by mixing in an Indonesian coffee of the style Apko Gayo that would provide a slightly heavier body.

Paul Thorne spoke to the relative ease of non-stress cooking with preparation and some experience with the help of Pete the chef and his kitchen staff. This was aimed at encouraging more participation by members as chef of the day or assisting chef of the day.

A very good lunch.