Our tireless Chef of the Day repeater, James Hill, was back in the kitchen again this week for the September wine lunch. Assisting him was one of our newest members Matthew Holmes.

Canapés. We were treated to three starters today. First off, a prawn bisque made from the stock of the prawns also eaten on the day with a splash of brandy. It had a beautiful intense prawn flavour. This was then followed by anchovy paste and olive oil on Iggy’s bread with baked grape tomatoes. Finally, prawns and celeriac remoulade served on a Asian type spoons. All three different in flavour and also in texture.

Aperitif wine. Paul Ferman started us off today with St Huberts Chardonnay 2013. The wine was in excellent condition with moderate use of wood, good acid, resulting in a wine that was not Chablis like but in the line of an excellent Australian impersonation.

Main course. James had chosen an oven cooked confit of lamb served with roasted garlic, Paris mash and tarragon jus. The recipe involved marinating the lamb for 24 hours prior to oven cooking and as indicated from the photograph above the “doneness” was perfect throughout the cut. It was accompanied by asparagus with a striking look of the green top with the shaved white stem. Excellent presentation and taste

The Wines.

• Domaine St Damien Gigondas 2012 (Southern Rhone)
• Aldo Conterno Langhe Rosso (Piedmont)
• Torres Salmos Priorat (Spain)
• Tyrrells Vat 9 Shiraz 2007
• Seppelts St Peters Shiraz 2006
• Torbreck The Struie 2006

A good selection of wines ranging from elegant to large. The Gigondas was more elegant than expected and possibly not as intense. Gigondas is typically nearly 100% Grenache but this was on the lighter side. The Piedmont a wine was intriguing in that you would expect a large amount of Nebbiolo or Barbera in the mix but there was neither. The predominant grape at 80% was Freisa with some Cabernet and Merlot. Freisa is an indigenous grape and with its plump and round character could be mistaken for Barbara.

The Priorat from Spain was fairly typical of the style, plum, cherry and black fruit. Mainly Grenache. Next up was the Tyrrells Vat 9 2007. This will be a good wine. However, at 10 years of age it is a bit young and has a touch of volatility and needs a couple of years to settle down. It could be great. The St Peters from the Grampians was decent but as 2006 was a good year for this well-known wine label it was a little disappointing. Possibly a little dumb due to a stage in development. We normally have expectations of better wines from this label. Torbreck have a reputation for big wines with dark fruit, plum, blackberry et cetera. This did not disappoint. It was a sweeter style. Some found it a little overripe but there is no rush to consume this wine

Cheese and coffee. Our acting Cheesemaster Gary Linnane served a Perenzin Formajo Ciock al Vino Rosso from Veneto. This cow’s milk cheese is immersed in red grape must for about 10 days. When removed some of the grape skins are retained on the rind creating a striking look. It was served with Corella pears.

Coffee and tea were provided by Spencer Ferrier. The former was a favourite of ours, Yirgacheffe, whilst the tea was purchased in Paris and the details will be updated at a later time. The tea was stunning in its mild but fruity flavour.

A much-enjoyed lunch.