For the September wine lunch, Nick Reynolds was in the kitchen. Whilst it was a wine lunch, wine and the food pairing attracted equal attention. That is normally not the deal and whilst it is no bad thing, did attract a couple of comments. Some 46 members braved a beautiful Sydney day to attend.

Canapés. Two canapés from Nick today, the first being Liptauer (Czechoslovakian cheese dip with cream cheese, cottage cheese, paprika, capers, mustard, caraway seed) served with chives on a gluten free seed cracker. It was nothing like the Lipitor some of us need after Tuesday lunch. These were very elegant looking starters and I can’t vouch for a taste as the plates eluded me on the day. The second starter was Pedro Ximenez sherry vinegar mushrooms pintxos. This nibble on a stick was a joy, simple and tasty. The richness of the PX was the key. On first glance, many thought it was liver.

Aperitif wine. Besides the excellent Tio Pepe En Rama Fino Sherry, we were served two very contrasting wines. The first from Duval was the Plexus MRV comprising a blend of Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier. This was the 2016 wine. Despite those interesting varieties and John Duval’s prodigious winemaking expertise, the wine, most thought, a little bland. Next up in a repeat showing from one month ago was the Tunkalilla Riesling 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. At about 9 g/L sugar it once again made noses turn up with most not appreciating an almost off-dry wine with aperitif type food. On this occasion, there were no faulty corks and a number of us did enjoy the style.

Main Course. Normally the Chef of the Day on a wine lunch day looks for simplicity and ease. Not Nick. To quote from Nick’s notes, the main was double cooked blue cheese souffle with Roquefort sauce served with a salad of baby spinach, kumera, feta cheese, sunflower, pumpkin seeds, eschallots and red capsicum with a white balsamic and olive oil vinaigrette. There was nothing easy about the souffle.

It was wonderfully fluffy and light with the Roquefort cheese not overpowering the taste in any way. The second cooking of the soufflé was done on a base of cream which apparently seeps its way up through the soufflé. It was a wonderful dish. Equally interesting was the simple and very tasty salad served as an accompaniment.

The Wines.

• Bernard Bremont Champagne NV (12%)
• Tyrrells Vat 47 Chardonnay 2007 (screw cap, 14%)
• Vincent Girardin Saint-Aubin 1er 2012 (cork, 13.5%)
• By Farr Farrside Pinot Noir 2012 (cork, 13.5%)
• Cheron Chambolle-Musigny Clos de L’Orme 2012 (cork, 13%)
• Tyrrells 4 Acres Shiraz 2006 (screw cap, 12.4%)

Paul Ferman was back after missing a few wine lunches whilst travelling, and explained the mixture of wines on the day, especially the Champagne which is what the French typically have with soufflé.

Dealing with the three whites first, the champagne was fresh, very clean and more importantly, interesting. The Vat 47 at 12 years of age had austere fruit with a noticeable oak influence. Sadly, it had that “struck match” sulphur overtone that mars many Australian Chardonnays, but it did blow off. Under screwcap, this wine has a good future. The Premier Cru Burgundy from Giradin was very rich and very fruit driven. Its rich and creamy Burgundian character tended to overpower the acid levels, but it was clean and eminently enjoyable.

To the reds, the By Farr Farrside was a rich Australian Pinot with no shortage of colour. It was powerful, and the maker had done a good job to avoid overly sweet fruit characteristics which overpowers many Australian Pinot Noirs. Strawberries were evident, sans needles, on the nose. The 2012 Cheron Chambolle-Musigny of the same year was very elegant but appeared a little closed and dumb. It began to open up after a time and showed good tannin structure and one suspects that the next day, it would have been better still having been left in a decanter. The final wine, the Tyrrells 4 Acres 2006 was light and elegant and only 12.4% alcohol. In fact, it was surprisingly light for someone not overly familiar with that particular label. It seemed to hark back to an earlier era in the Hunter.

Cheese and coffee. This week, James Healey had gone to an Italian producer for Perenzin Formajo Ciock al Vino Rosso. This cheese from Veneto was cow’s milk from the Perezin family who had been making cheese for four generations. The fermenting cheese spends about 10 days in red grape must which imparts a mildly spicy wine like flavour to this semi-hard cheese. Grape skins are retained on the rind creating a striking visual element. The cheese was served with nuts.

The coffee today by Spencer Ferrier was a Kenya AA peaberry, which showed a strong astringency and a lack a sweetness. We have enjoyed Kenya AA on many occasions, but this, at least in our table, was not up to previous tastings.

In summing up his meal today, Nick said that he thought this might be the first time the Society had enjoyed a full vegetarian lunch and he was not contradicted on the day. Nick could not resist quoting Paul Keating pointing out that his pronouncement that a “soufflé doesn't rise twice”, was clearly incorrect! I think I heard a groan or two!

An excellent lunch on both the food side and the wine side.

Members can be assured we shall return to meat soon.