Thanks to Nick Reynolds for the food review and Chilly Hargrave for the wine review.

Today we had the pleasure of having Peter Manners as chef, a notable occasion as he is the second oldest member of the Society. He was ably assisted by Peter Squires, on his welcome return to lunches after an absence, and Bill Alexiou-Hucker.

The (mainly French) wines for today’s lunch were all generously provided by our member Tony Scott.

Peter is not called the canapé master without a reason. Today he served three different fish-based treats, all mixed with sour cream, lemon, and cream cheese. The first, which was served in home-made pastry cones, was minced smoked cod; the second was smoked salmon slices served on a seafood biscuit, and the third was sardine served on a pastry base. All were delicious and excellent accompaniments to our pre-lunch wine.

The main course, which was described by Peter as “lovely legs,” comprised extremely well-cooked chicken legs served on a bed of fusilli pasta, a generous helping of peas, and some potato to soak up the delicious sauce, which contained lemon and oranges, marmalade, mustard and stock. The meal was well received by our members and a good match for Tony’s wines.

The cheese, which was extremely rich, was a Délice de Bourgogne, which is a soft-ripened cow’s milk which has extra cream added during the cheese-making process. Peter served dried fruit and cashews as an accompaniment, which went well with both the cheese and the white wines served to complement the fat-rich cheese.

Spencer Ferrier showed us a Guatemalan coffee that had a note of chocolate and orange on the palate.

During the lunch, the announcement was made of Paul Ferman’s resignation as Wine Master. His artwork is receiving well-deserved serious acclaim overseas and, as a result, he will be spending more time travelling. His achievements as Wine Master, including broadening our palates with many wines that were new to many members, were celebrated and he received a resounding three cheers led by the new Wine Master, Charles “Chilly” Hargrave.

Wines.

An exceptionally rare range of Bordeaux was very generously supplied by Tony Scott for this week’s lunch. They were certainly different from the wines we normally see at our lunches and a joy to drink. All from some of the many chateaux that the Lurton family have in the region - the whites generally from Pessac-Leognan and the reds from the Right Bank.

With the aperitifs:

Chateau de Rochemorin 2015 - A 100% Sauvignon Blanc from the Pessac-Leognan. This showed lively, fresh gooseberry fruit with a fine acidity. Perhaps drinking at its best, it belied its age of 4 years.

Chateau Couhins-Lurton 2015 - Another 100% Sauvignon Blanc from Pessac-Leognan, it was in a superior category with more layers of fruit and great complexity. It showed obvious oak, but this was in great balance with the weight and flavour on the palate.

Chateau Barbe-Blanche 2014 - A fresh fruit style that went well with Peter’s main course. It had a mix of varietal fruits with some plum Merlot characters supported by leafy, cassis aromas of the two Cabernets. As expected soft tannins with a background of old oak.

Château du Lussac 2010 - A much older and more complex style, it was a traditional Right Bank blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. More new oak was apparent on the nose of this wine with more complexity of fruit development. The palate had more length and balance than the previous red and most likely drinking at its best.

Our Cheese Master continued the French theme with a Délice de Bourgogne - a soft, ripe, triple cream cheese from Burgundy. A cheese like this calls for a white wine with some acidity to cut through the fat.

Chateau La Louvière 2010 - Another Sauvignon Blanc, but this time with a little Sémillon. The wine showed the development that we might expect in 5 years time from the Couhins-Lurton. Probably moving into its third phase, its rich flavours and acidity were a good balance for the cheese.

Montgomery’s Hill Chardonnay 2010 - A wine that we have good supplies of in our cellar, it was still fresh and lively. An excellent balance of wild ferment struck match, barrel ferment, lees and bottle age. Its fruit went well with the cheese but perhaps needed a little more acidity to work with the cheese.

A truly delicious cheese, but I suggest we have a defibrillator on hand the next time it comes to the table.