Food review by Matthew Holmes and wine review by Chilly Hargrave

Appetisers

Nick Reynolds was in the kitchen today, skilfully assisted by Steve Sparkes who prepared pickled cucumber with smoked salmon, mascarpone cheese, black sesame seeds and dill. The delicate serves made for a taste treat to start the day’s proceedings.

On the same plate Nick provided an appetiser of Scotch Eggs via Peking, with boiled quail’s eggs wrapped in duck breast mince, five-spice powder, ginger and spring onion served with Peking Sauce. Roger Straiton reminded us that Scotch eggs were not from Scotland, rather they originated in the Whitby area of Yorkshire in the late 19th century. Their name in those days was 'Scotties', allegedly because they were made at an eatery by the name of William J Scott & Sons.

Main

Nick presented a perfectly cooked crispy skin Blue Eye with scallop, served on a deep-fried potato galette, asparagus and a lemon soubise sauce with dill oil. The dish was beautifully plated. Both appetisers and main course were very well received as evidenced by the smiles on members faces and the empty plates being carried away.

Cheese

James Healey provided Beaufort Cheese, which was served with iceberg lettuce and Japanese toasted sesame dressing. The cheese came to the table in good condition and was ably complemented by the dressing.

Coffee

The coffee was Kenyan washed process Maganjo AB Single Origin from Nyeri Kenya, roasted by Gabriel Coffee, Chatswood.

It was Wal Edwards’ birthday today and bringing 104 years of experience to bear, he reminded us that one should “love mates and female mates and that we should give first to get back”.

Wine

Two aged Tyrrell’s Semillons were served as starter wines. Both (in the traditional low alcohol, high acid style) were still in good condition - a testament to screw cap and the judicious use of SO2. The 2006 (10.7%) showed extremely well with its freshness, length and acid tension. The 2004 (10.2%) was starting to show a lot of secondary buttered toast aromas and flavours. It was starting to dry out and the acid dominated.

Four Chardonnays were presented with the two main courses of fish and pork. The 2015 Domaine Leflaive Mâcon Verzé showed many of the characters we generally see in Mâconnais whites - rich fruit, full flavour and obvious oak. It was well made with struck match notes and little phenolic grip. Unfortunately, it was sealed with cork which hadn’t assisted its development.

A pair of Shaw and Smith Chardonnays followed. The room was informed that they were from the 2014 vintage and that one was Tolpuddle (Coal River) and the other was M3 (Adelaide Hills) - no more. It was a rather difficult exercise as they came out of the same cellar with the same winemaker. The first (the Tolpuddle) showed obvious oak with flinty aromas and citrus fruit. The acid was high (suggesting no or little malolactic) with a fine, long palate. The second (the M3) was a fuller, richer fruit style, although the pale was a little fat and lacked the tension of the Tolpuddle. Both bore the winemaker’s fingerprint.

The final Chardonnay was a 2012 Vincent Girardin Meursault ‘Les Narvaux’ was the favourite of many in the room(s). This is an interesting vineyard that sits above the village and hence many of the Premier Cru of Meursault. It is not one itself but is a highly regarded lieux dit (named place). Although showing some honeyed development (under cork again), it had excellent use of oak supporting the fruit on both the nose and the palate. It was long and linear with some ripe fruit and a great acidity.

For the cheese, we had two Bordeaux reds from the renowned 2000 vintage. One from the east (right bank of the Dordogne) and the other to the west (left bank of the Garonne). The Chateau L’Enclos from Pomerol was a disappointment to many at the first wine lunch. We opened 4 bottles and 3 were corked (2 very badly). The TCA became More obvious after pouring. The second lunch did well as neither bottle was corked, although that did allow some more of the Brett to show through. Château L’Enclos is an interesting property as it is one of the few in the area that actually has a chateau. Generally, it’s just a modest house. Typically, these wines are very Merlot dominant with this being no exception at over 80% (with a little Cabernet Franc and Malbec). It was very much in the old ‘claret’ style with plum fruit and dry, grainy tannins. Probably not a great future ahead of it.

The 2000 Clos du Marquis is the second wine of Château Léoville-Las Cases - a well-known and highly regarded Second Growth. Many say that their second one is one of the best to be found in Bordeaux. A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and a touch of Cabernet Franc, it showed the expected cassis aromas with attractive oak. The aroma was nonetheless showing some development as was the palate. The tannins were very soft suggesting at its peak. Some mentioned that they considered this to not be a good example and queried the history of its cellaring by the Society.