Food review by Nick Reynolds and wine review by Chilly Hargrave

Chef of the Day at this week’s lunch was Nigel Burton. He was ably assisted by Hilton Chapman.

His original concept planned since earlier in the year was put to one side due to the challenge of matching food with the Piemontese Nebbiolos that our Winemaster had scheduled for an appearance. More on that after the coverage of Hilton’s appetisers.

Hilton’s appetisers are improving with each appearance he makes in the kitchen. Today he served us three different appetisers, with two of these each having two variants. The first was based Kibbeh Nayee, a dish that traditionally is made with lamb. In this Greg Malouf inspired dish, we were presented with a mix of raw salmon, French eschalot, bulghur wheat, and chilli. This was served on a slice of cucumber with everyone getting two pieces, one with a mint leaf, and one without. The second appetiser was Babaganoush, the Middle Eastern “eggplant caviar.” Served on Chinese soup spoons, Hilton once again gave us two variants, one plain and one garnished with pickled eggplant. The final appetiser was a Pea and Mint soup made with vegetable stock, leek, garlic, zucchini.  This was served cold and textural. Members praised Hilton for the appetisers, and we hope that one day we can entice him into the kitchen as a Chef of the Day.

In meeting the Nebbiolo challenge, Nigel decided to take us to Milan, which is north-west of Piedmont. His Osso Bucco was served with saffron-infused Milanese risotto that Nigel augmented with lavish amounts of Pecorino. This risotto is traditionally served in Milan all’onda (like a wave), which means that it should flow gently when the plate is tipped. Some members commented that the flow seemed to have been stopped by the cheese, which made the risotto quite substantial. The meat in the Osso Bucco was tender but not to the stage of falling off the bone. It was served with ample sauce from the liquid in which the meal was cooked, carrots, snow peas, and the traditional Gremolata garnish/sauce (lemon, parsley, and garlic). The meal was well received and very filling, an effect which is a crowd favourite. True to Nigel’s intentions, the Northern Italian dish matched the wines very well

Perhaps for the first time in Society history, Nigel presented the cheese as a component in a Pasta Salad that also included onions, olives, pickled cucumber, and tomato. The dressing was tasty, which was fortunate because the cheese that accompanied the salad could best be described as something of a blank canvas upon which flavours could be built. The cheese in question was Buffalo Mozzarella from Shaw River in the Western Districts of Victoria. Matt Holmes, who was presenting the cheese on behalf of the Cheesemaster, informed us that the cheese was handmade from milk from buffalo that were specially imported from Italy.

Today’s coffee was a washed Honduras Caballero Lot 20 from Ona coffee. The tasting notes indicated a fresh crisp lime zest and green apple notes accompanying sweet florals and delicate stone fruit. In line with the recent trend, the coffee dosage was increased. Unfortunately, this led to a muddying of these flavour notes. Next time we’ll pare back the dosage a bit.

Wine

A pair of 2007 Hunter Semillons with the entrées were testimony to the quality and endurance of this wine style. The Tyrrell’s Belford was still pale in colour suggesting a high free SO2 at bottling. The aromas were a mix of primary and secondary characters. It was still bright and fresh on the palate with high acid. It had the citrus flavours of the best wines in the best vintages. On the other hand, the Lindemans Bin HR 0755 was more developed with more colour and some honeyed notes. 

Today’s wine lunch theme was Barolo (and Barbaresco). A red Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) wine produced in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. It is made from the Nebbiolo grape and is considered one of Italy’s great wines (if not greatest). Five townships (Barolo, La Morra, Castiglione Faletto, Monforte d’Alba and Serralunga d’Alba) account for roughly 90% of Barolo production. Although production codes have always stipulated that vineyards must be located on hillsides, most recent revisions of the codes categorically exclude valley floors, humid and flat areas and those without sufficient sunlight. 

By law, Barolo must be aged for at least 38 months before release and 18 months of that must be in wood. In the past Barolo tended to be very high in tannin, often requiring a decade to soften. In the late 70s and early 80s a new generation of winemakers developed a ‘modern’ style of Barolo based on improved viticulture and grape quality, less extractive winemaking and the use of more new oak for maturation - the ‘Barolo wars’? The views and processes of the ‘modernists’ and ‘traditionalist’ have merged over time until the Barolo of today is a softer wine but of increased quality and consistency. 

After one hundred years of debate, a new (and unique) classification in Barolo was introduced to recognise the sub-zones within various townships. Unable to use the term Cru (registered already by the French) in 2010 the Barolo Consorzio named them MEGA (or MGA) from the descriptor Menzionne Geographiche Aggiuntive (additional geographic mentions). There are 170 of these MGAs within 11 village designations. The Barbaresco Consorzio were first with this classification having introduced the system in 2007 with a further 66 sub-zones based around the 3 major towns (Barbaresco, Neive and Treiso). It is, however, only 35% of the area of Barolo.

In all great wine regions vintage has a significant impact on style and quality. Barolo and Barbaresco are no different. 

Vintage 2012: climatic conditions combined to make a successful growing season, an extremely cold winter (with plenty of snow) gave way to a cool spring followed by medium-hot weather over summer with a hot spell in August. September was a bit cooler which allowed aromatic concentration. In general, the wines of 2012 are fragrant, of a lighter style with high acidity and lower alcohols.

Vintage 2010: a memorable and highly regarded vintage depends on ideal conditions and this was certainly the case in 2010. With a cool September, it was one of the longest growing seasons on record. This allowed a full phenolic maturation of the grapes and the evolution of fruit characters. Small berries after poor set in spring contributed further to a classic style of Barolo - less about the aroma and more about the structure and the tannins.

Vintage 2008: a difficult growing season throughout caused many vineyard issues. A wet July in particular brought problems of rot and disease. A fine, warm August pushed the fruit to phenolic ripeness. After all this, those vineyards that maintained vigilance produced wines that were surprisingly good. They were rich, concentrated and intense, but with a more sophisticated structure with balanced acidity and tannins. 

First up were 2 vintage 2012 Baroli from Massolino. Founded in 1896, the Massolino winery and vineyard located in and around the village of Serralunga d’Alba. They have a wonderful resource of over 20 hectares including some of some the most renowned sites. All of their wines are aged in large casks so in this sense they are ‘traditional’, but the fruit aroma and purity bring a modern feel to the wine.

The standard Barolo is drawn from 7 sites in Serralunga and spends 24 to 30 months in the large Slovenian oak casks. A complex wine with rich plum, cherry fruit and big velvety tannins. The Barolo ‘Parussi’ is curiously an MGA in the adjoining village of Castiglione Falletto known, with Monforte, for some of the highest tannins in Barolo. The vineyard almost adjoins Serralunga and today’s wine was a much more complex style. Rich fruit of tar and rose petal was supported by new oak. It showed more power, depth and tannin that its younger sibling.

The next bracket of two wines were not revealed prior to tasting. Both MGA wines, one was a Barolo, the other a Barbaresco. The difference between these 2 regions is generally identified as Barolo having a higher level of tannin. Barolo may have bolder, fruity notes, while Barbaresco may present with more florals and a wider range of flavours. One interesting quote I read suggested that “Barolo tends to be more expensive, whereas Barbaresco is more acidic”. Go figure!!

The exercise of identifying the two wines by region proved rather difficult for the room. Perhaps I should have supplied the prices or acid levels. The first was a Barolo from the village of La Morra. The Marcarini family have been making wine in here since 1850. The single vineyard ‘Brunate’ is typically muscular with dark fruits and spice and great longevity. Production is a 45-day fermentation and maceration in cement and stainless steel before 24 months in large oak. The 2010 wine tasted showed a lot of oak rancio in the more ‘traditional’ style. These aromas carried onto the palate with ripe fruit and grainy, firm tannins.

The Barbaresco was again an MGA from the vineyard of Pora. This is arguably one of the key historic vineyards of Barbaresco as it was part of the property of Domizio Cavazza (recognised as ‘The Father of Barbaresco’). Prior to his involvement, Barbaresco was considered very much the poorer brother of Barolo. The 2010 Gigi Bianco is matured in small oak barrels, much of it new. This showed on the nose with high quality oak supporting cherry fruit notes. The palate was fine and elegant with good structure and length. Softer tannins than in the previous wines.

Prunotto was originally started in the 19th century in the village of Serralunga. It was finally purchased by the Antinori family of Chianti fame in 1994 and is housed in a large facility constructed near the city of Alba. Today’s wine was the 2008 and as with all Barolo before the introduction of MGAs in 2010 it was their top wine. Sourced from Bussia and other Langhe vineyards it opened with a little Brett, but that seemed to diminish on pouring. The wine was restrained with an attractive minerality. Tannins were a little green, but grainy and soft with a good line to the finish. Very much in the older style it was the preferred wine for many. 

The 2008 Ceretto Barolo ‘Zonchera’ was originally the top wine from the winery often sourced from La Morra. Since the introduction of single vineyard wines in 2010 this label is no longer produced. It showed the influence of maturation in large, old Slovenian oak with some rather stale notes on the nose. Like the Prunotto this was slightly green although the tannins had similarly softened. Comment must be made that both last two wines showed significant bottle variation with aldehyde characters obvious in some. They certainly have little future in front of them and fortunately there are only a few left in the cellar.

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