Food review by James Tinslay and wine review by Chilly Hargrave.

Roger Straiton returned to the kitchen this week unassisted by members but with the help of Leo and kitchen staff for serving. James Hill, who was running the lunch today pointed out to those assembled that it was the tenth anniversary of Roger’s membership of the Society.

Steve Liebeskind attended the lunch briefly to advise members of the Tour de Cure cancer charity that the Society Committee had agreed to support by way of members donating a bottle or two (or more) for a charity silent auction. They can be bought to REX and Steve will have then photographed and catalogued for the auction. A separate email on the matter had been sent to all members.

Entree

Roger started us off with a gazpacho, not red but white. The soup was quite liquid and was based on the usual suspect, cucumber. After that, he went to yoghurt, almond meal, garlic and sherry vinegar. The somewhat surprise ingredient was grapes which added a distinctive sweetness to the soup. There were also some plump green grapes floating in the service bowl. Comments were very positive even from one cucumber hater (me) who thought the dish was excellent. Roger explained that the recipe was based on a dish served in a restaurant in San Francisco.

With the gazpacho and the cheese, we enjoyed Iggy’s bread once again supplied by James Hill.

Main course

The main drew on a dish Roger had enjoyed at the Carved Angel at Dartmouth in Devon. The chef, Joyce Molyneaux was the first female chef in England to be awarded a Michelin Star. The dish could only be described as vibrant looking with a range of colours that instantly had one thinking of Indian. Roger was nicknamed Raj Straiton!

However, the dish was not Indian but was a chicken thigh dish based on red peppers or pimentos (no less than 2 kg) but then, included the usual Indian ingredients of coriander, cumin, onion, ginger and garlic, to provide a wonderful deep flavour without heat. Roger avoided any heat in the meal in acknowledgement to this being a wine lunch. The photo of the main says it all. The yellow rice was coloured with turmeric to give the plate that vibrant look. Broccoli was served as the healthy side dish and the plating was topped off with flaked almonds.

The dish was more than just enjoyable as it was such an unusual style of meal to serve at Society lunches.

Cheese

The cheese today was selected by the Cheesemaster, James Healey, who was absent and it was presented by James Hill. It was the Cabot Clothbound Cheddar from Vermont in the USA and whilst we had been served this a couple of times before nobody called it but no far off track guessing Australian cheddar. This crumbly cheddar is wrapped in cloth then coated in lard in its maturation time which imparts a nutty earthy aroma when the cloth is removed. It has a beautiful sweetness to the finish with a crystalline structure to the bite.

Coffee

Our coffee was sourced once again by Nick Reynolds from the Ona stable. Today’s was El Salvador Himalaya Red Caturra. The notes provided “The lot was dried slowly in the shade for thirty days on African beds to bring out the rich, honey notes, juicy apple tones and light tropical finish.

Look for hints of honeydew melon and passionfruit notes, which will develop and intensify as the brew cools down”. I dosed this quite generously but more still more quantity may have given it a stronger body and strength. A beautifully mild coffee.

Wine (comments based on the same six Penfolds Bin 389 served the previous week)

Special wine note: Ray Healey bought a bottle of the 1971 Grange which was carefully poured in most of the 25 glasses. It somewhat divided the room and despite it being a great year for Grange, some thought past it’s best. I suspect the division was based on those who like upfront fruit and those who enjoy old wines to appreciate the aged characteristics. We can never please everyone’s tastes and that if the point of wine discussion. Dan's has a bottle for a cool $2900! Thank you Ray.

Lustau Jurana Fino - very fresh and went well with the cool gazpacho.

Seppelt Drumborg Riesling 2016 - a powerful wine full of varietal character. Still young and should develop beautifully for those who like aged characters over youngish fresh fruit.

The theme for today’s wine lunch was Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz. Of interest is that 1994 to 2012 covers the tenure of John Duval (who took over from Don Ditter in 1986) and Peter Gago (just the 4th maker of Grange) who’s first vintage was 2003.

The mixing of Cabernet and Shiraz is an Australian classic combing the structure of the former with the richness of the latter. Not sure if he was first, but Bin 389 was created by Max Schubert in 1960 and it’s often called “Baby Grange”, but more often “Poor Man’s Grange.” It carries a South Australian appellation and is drawn from the major SA viticultural regions. Most commonly Wrattonbully, Padthaway, McLaren Vale and the Barossa, but also Bordertown and Langhorne Creek, and occasionally Clare. Labelled Cabernet Shiraz, it must by law contain more Cabernet (generally Sauvignon) than Shiraz. While Shiraz can express itself well in all of the regions mentioned above, Cabernet is a little fickle - a bit Mother bear, needing not too hot, not too cold. Certainly, it’s more favoured by a maritime climate. It is generally aged in American oak (perhaps one-third new) and often second use Grange barrels - hence the nickname.

Obviously, Penfolds has enormous Shiraz resources, producing Grange Bin 95, RWT Bin 798, Magill Estate, St Henri, Bin 128, Bin 28, Bin 150, The Noble Explorer, Century Vines etc. etc. plus numerous special Bins. High-quality Cabernet resources are much thinner on the ground. Consequently, Bin 389 normally has on,y a little more Cabernet than Shiraz. It is interesting to look at the 6 vintages presented to see which variety shows through.

The 2012 (Cabernet 54%, Shiraz 46%) was the only one of the six wines closed with screw cap. It certainly was young, albeit a little reduced. There was a complexity of fruit, oak and tannin. Perhaps too much tannin at this stage. Penfolds is renowned for the addition of tannin to provide structure and mid-palate. The vintage is described by low yields and small berries. A lot of concentration here, but still closed (another use of the word).

The 2004 vintage, following on after the hot, dry 2003, was a large crop and, after a cool summer, was consequently a very late harvest. Today’s wine showed a certain elegance with some green Cabernet (53%) notes overtaken by rich, plum Shiraz (47%). Quite a lot of oak still sitting on the wine.

The 2002 wine (Cabernet 54%, Shiraz 46%) was from another cool and late vintage. Here the yield was low with smaller berries. It was more Cabernet focused than the previous two, with distinct blackcurrant, mint notes supported by some rich Shiraz fruit and astute oak use.

The 1998 vintage was one of the most highly regarded vintages of the nineties and often named as one of the great years. It was high yielding, but all varieties expressed wonderful fruit aromas. Cabernet was particularly esteemed. The Bin 389 showed characters of both varieties. Some minty Cabernet (58%) with plummy Shiraz (42%). However, it disappointed with its development and lack of depth. For many, the least liked of the six.

The 1996 assemblage is not identified on the Penfolds website, as for the 1994. This wine was more Shiraz than Cabernet with blackberry and cedar oak notes. The palate had great structure with complex fruits and an excellent tannin balance. One of the preferred wines.

The 1994 vintage was preceded by a cool summer resulting in a late vintage. Often this can produce rather green characters in Cabernet. In this Bin 389, these we’re certainly present but had softened to show hints of Bordeaux cassis. The Shiraz was much more in the background and tannins were fine-grained. Another favourite on the day.