[Thanks to those who provided some notes on the lunch in my absence]

This wine lunch was prepared for us by the dynamic duo winners of the Chef of the Year 2016, Graham Fear assisted by Steve Liebeskind. Along with an impressive group of wines the lunch had all the right moves. 

Paul Ferman as Winemaster introduced the lunch by saying he was looking for matches for lamb rather than Cabernet.

Canapes. Two canapes today. Beetroot/spinach cracker biscuits from the UK sourced from DJ’s were topped with a beetroot relish made with cooked beetroot slivers and a balsamic reduction and sugar. Topping was fresh goat’s curd. Any goats cheese and beetroot are a great match.

Second canape was a rerun from two years back. From Graham “they are simple and easy to make. Aldi sell mini German sausages in bottles of around 30 units. The had strips of butter puff around them held in place by a good quality tooth pick that also assisted in eating. A simple spicy tomato relish was used as dipping sauce rather just bottle tomato sauce.”

Aperitif wine

• Henschke Julius Riesling 2002

Main. Cowra Lamb Noisettes were presented with a herb crust made up of Panko bread crumbs, lemon zest, parsley and garlic, lots of salt and pepper and combined with a lemon infused olive oil for moisture. The noisettes were smeared with Dijon mustard before rolling. The trays were cooked for 10 to 12 minutes then rested and cut into portions, and re-laid flat and re-ovened for 3 to 5 minutes more to move them from rare to pink. Vegetables were duck baked potatoes, cauliflower au gratin and asparagus spears. Sauce was a veal stock reduction with some lamb bones.

Wine tasting wines

• Lindemans St George Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
• Penfolds Bin 389 2004
• Lupe Cholet Beaune les Bressandes 2005
• Gaja Pieve Santa Restituta Brunello Montalcino (Sangiovese Grosso) 2006
• Guigal St Joseph Vignes de L’Hospice (Syrah) 2007
• Rosemount Mountain Blue Shiraz Cabernet 2006

Some tannin wines in the bunch but once the food was served and the eaten the tannins were less evident. The Brunello, St George and the Blue Mountain appeared to be the picks of day.

Coffee

Spencer in absentia (although he did dose the coffee) presented the first coffee from China that he has seen on the Australian market. Otherwise it is unexceptional, being light, bland and with no flavour notes of interest. The texture is light, there is little finish and very light acidity. It comes from the Yunan region and is the Catimor varietal of Arabica.

Cheese

James Healy provided us with one of the Society's favourite cheeses in La Couronne Fort Aged Comte from Will Studd. Matured in damp underground cellars at Fort Saint Antoine it is richly concentrated with a nutty caramel sweetness. The cheeses was served with raw unsalted nuts and cold nashi pears.

Universally the room thought the wines showed great quality and variety providing us a great tasting. To match that the food was superb.

Moral: Don't miss wine lunches. Sob!