And so, the end of another month of 2018 and of course we enjoyed our special members only wine lunch. In the kitchen yet again was prolific chef of the day, James Hill. As I and others have done, who have cooked at wine lunches, you tend to chill a bit about the food as the focus is on the wine. Not James, not with this lunch he didn’t! James was assisted by Gary Linnane and James Healey.

Canapés. The team provided two canapés for us today. The first was an organic duck liver parfait on Iggy’s bread (naturally) with a cornichon perched on the top. Iggy’s bread by itself is a joy to behold but the duck liver parfait was sublime. Next, served on spoons, were freshly fried sardines with a crumbly mixture of rye, fennel, capers, dill and spring onion. Both the sardines and the base were tasty in their own right.

Aperitif wine. It was a Riesling start to the lunch. There were two of them. The Alsace Hugel 2013 and a Tunkalilla 2008 from Willamette Valley in Oregon. The latter vineyard is owned by well-known Australian winemaker Brian Croser which he planted in 2005 with 2008 being the first vintage.

As an observation, it must be said that our members have very Australian palates when it comes to Rieslings when a slightly off-dry style was served. The scrunched-up faces are a sight to observe. The Hugel at only about 4 g/L was certainly not off-dry but had a fruit characteristic that many Australians find challenging. The American wine at about 9 g/L was on the edge of becoming technically off-dry and was not popular. That is a shame because the fruit was excellent, and I thought a great match to the canapés. Both wines were under cork and despite excellent cellaring the cork seal on both bottles led to issues.

Australian Rieslings such as Eden, Clare et cetera still reign supreme with our target audience. Just as well we have plenty!

Main Course. James opted for chicken today with thigh stuffed with Tuscan sausage, wrapped in prosciutto and cooked in red wine jus. This was served with sugar snaps, baked baby potatoes and zucchini flowers which had been stuffed with ricotta, spinach and parmesan. The picture above saves me from more words. Very flavoursome with the jus topping off a great dish. The sugar snaps had been softened somewhat by the wonderful jus, but such is life.

The Wines.

• Lignier Gevrey Chambertin 2011
• By Farr Sangreal Pinot 2010
• Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2010
• Cos Pithos Cerasuolo di Vittoria Nero d'Avola/Frappato 2011
• Penfolds St Henri 2002
• Hardy Eileen Hardy Shiraz 2002

James Tinslay was winemaster of the day and working in conjunction with Chilly Hargraves in the absence of Paul Ferman. The theme was no theme. The only wines served blind were the two Australian Shiraz with the wines being identified, but not the order. The exercise was to see if there was a difference between the Penfolds, aged in large oak, and the Hardy wine which was aged in smaller French oak.

Taking the wines in pairs, as was intended, the first pair were in stark contrast. The Lignier was surprisingly light in colour but did not lack power for a Village wine. It was clean and crisp. The By Farr wine attracted a range of comments from good to bad. No doubt bottle variation but some bottles were distinctively funky and its deep colour belied the grape type. Some had it wine of the day, I had at the least of the day but bottle variation played a role.

I thought the Chianti and the Sicilian wine were the best pair of the day. The Antinori was a Riserva and had real power and 2010 was a very good vintage. The Sicilian wine was new to many people being a blend of Nero d'Avola and Frappato. Lighter in colour but with length and a nice lick of tannin to finish making it a wonderful wine to accompany food.

The two Australian Shiraz wines also saw some problems with cork, with one Hardy wine being undrinkable and clearly corked. Picking which one was which was difficult but not unexpected given that the St Henri often shows as a more powerful wine than one would expect given its wood treatment. Nobody was going to mistake these wines for anything but what they were and most thought the Penfolds wine was superior on the day. Both high quality Australian wines but made in the style that many now enjoy as the exception rather than the rule.

Cheese and coffee. Today we enjoyed one of the pinnacles of Australian cheese with the La Luna Holy Goat, the Brigid’s Well version. Selling at about $220 a kilo in David Jones it was a special treat. Luckily, we buy wholesale. The Holy Goat is made by the Sutton Grange Organic Farm in Castlemaine and this Brigid’s Well version is a smaller ashed variation of the ever popular La Luna ring. It is an amazing full-bodied, creamy cheese and we were all left wanting more. There was definitely none leftover for sale.

Spencer Ferrier delivered coffee for us today without providing any clue as to what it may be. It was a very pleasant mid-bodied coffee.

James Hill, when running through the food prepared today, thanked Milan, the REX and Brick Lane chef, for his guidance and assistance in the kitchen.

A great lunch with nobody having to complain about the lack of variety of wines to match the wonderful chicken. There were a few members lingering after (some time after) the lunch as you will see from the photograph on the site.