Food review by Robert Wiggins and wine review by Richard Gibson

Food

3 up, 3 down, well hit, good game, comfort food for a cold drizzly winter’s day. A low turnout, possibly due to the inclement weather.

Starters

Well for any of you who follow the largest religion in the USA, baseball, the Boston Red Sox are known as the comeback kids of the major league.  Today, for the first time in over a decade, they swept their arch-rivals, the NY Yankees.

Well, we had our own comeback kid in the kitchen today, the ever-efficient Greg Sproule.

At one time a few years back, when Greg was the Food Master, it seemed that he did a majority of the cooking for the Society lunches.

So today was Greg’s turn to clean sweep us with his version of a Boston chowder variant, direct from the boondocks of Milperra.

Greg started out with a standard gravlax, with the salmon soaked in Bombay Gin and tears.  Thoughtfully Greg used both a biscuit base for some of the blinis, as well as a cucumber base for those who did not or could not consume the bread.

We had an ever-reliable Tyrrells 2014 Belford and the entry-level Leo Burling’s Riesling, which we all were given a bottle for the table to consume with the clam chowder.  Richard will be providing the wine review in detail.

Chilly was absent and his table notes that he supplies were greatly missed. 

Now, there is the noteworthy Boston or New England clam chowder and then the Manhattan clam chowder.  The latter is made with tomatoes, not as creamy, while the Boston clam chowder, although not as creamy as the San Fran Pier 39 variant, does have a roux base and cream. 

The pippies or small clams were cooked to perfection, (too much cooking will turn them into a rubbery compound) the array of vegies were beautifully al dente.  It was described by one member as being light and vibrant.

The bowls were swept clean with the accompanying bread.

Main

The main was a seafood risotto.

The accompanying wines were a Coldstreams Hill Pinot and a 2009 Chianti.  There was a great deal of discussion at our table on which wine went better with the food.  Personally, I preferred the Chianti prior to the food, but the Coldstream with the food, as the sweetness was a good balance to the lemon and salt in the risotto.  Others thought exactly the opposite.

The risotto all came together with tarragon, fennel and lemon, to give it a very refreshing and interesting twist.  Possibly a touch too salty for some, but the lemon countered the salt.

The squid was extremely delicate and tasty, as Greg used a pressure cooker to cook and tenderise the cephalopods.

The cheese was a semi hard cows milk, Latteria Perenzin Di Capra In Foglia Di Noce

Made in the alpine foothills of Italy by Slow Food-approved producer Latteria Perenzin, Formajo Ciock has been inspired by the centuries-old custom of hiding cheeses in fermenting grape must to conceal them from raiders in time of war... or from the master’s accounting ledger!

Formajo Ciock is adapted from a traditional Montasio recipe and then steeped in grape must for 10 days causing the grape residue to cling to the characteristically dark rind and help to give the cheese a slightly piquant flavour. Sweet and fragrant with notes of ripe fruits.

The two Aussie wines with the cheese were both 2012s.  The Yalumba Cigar and the Saltram Mamre Brook.  Again, there are those who love or hate these big Aussie red wines.  Personally, I found that the Cigar was a deep luscious wine that went very well with the cheese.

The coffee was the house blend. There were a few remarks on the table on how we miss Spencer and his deep knowledge and love of all thing’s caffeine.

All in all, a very good meal; not 5 stars but it was never pretending to be. Greg always cooks well (possibly with the exception of a prior goat mishap). You know that when Greg cooks, it will always be reliable, tasty and great to eat… well done, your culinary skills in the kitchen have been missed.

Next week will be a mixed lunch, with Paul Thorne slaving away in the kitchen.  Without blowing his own horn, it has always been a great meal when Paul puts his culinary skills to the test and the bookings are filling fast, so if you wish to secure a spot at the table, you have better move fast.  Nick, who in Chilly’s absence has been gathering the wine, has promised some great wines, so this is definitely not a meal to be missed.

Wine

The wines featured a Hunter Semillon and a Clare Valley Riesling (served with the gravlax starter), an Aussie Pinot and an Italian Sangiovese with the main (lightly textured Boston chowder) and a Coonawarra Cabernet and Barossa Shiraz served with the cheese.

Tyrrells ‘Belford’ Semillon 2014

Grown on old (Elliot family) vines, hand-picked and lightly crushed with minimal time on yeast. The wine displayed toasty lemon/lime citrus aromas and full-bodied, toasty citrus fruit richness on the palate with crisp mineralized acidity on the finish. 

Overall it was a well-balanced, textured wine showing attractive developed characters and considerable depth of fruit purity and length.  It went well with the Gravlax.

Leo Buring Clare Riesling 2014

This wine is the entry-level riesling in the Leo Buring Clare range.

The nose opened with attractive zesty, citrus aromatic aromas and toasty, grassy notes.  On the palate, we saw developed pure fruit flavours, crisp, fresh acidity and minerality. A simple, reliable, racy well-made wine with sufficient fruit depth and plenty of acidity to balance well with the textured chowder – probably the better of the two whites with the chowder, owing to the acidity.

Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir 2015

Sourced from low-yielding Yarra Valley vineyards, the wine experienced a variety of handling (including some hand-picked and some whole bunch) and fermentation techniques and is matured in a mix of new and old oak barrels for 8-9 months.

The nose displayed cherry/red berry fruit aromas (with some stewy plummy notes), spice and smokey characters.  On the palate, there were clean ripe fruit red berry/plum flavours, spice and integrated fine tannins with decent acidity on the finish.

Overall a smooth, medium-bodied wine drinking very well now and was a reasonable match with the red wine squid risotto but perhaps carrying a little too much acidity for the subtle delicate flavours of the risotto.  Alc 13.5%

Isole e Olena Chianti Classico 2009

Grown in vineyards on the western flank of the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany, the Isole e Olena CC is a blend of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Canialo Nero and 5% Syrah.  It is aged for 12 months in a mix of large (4000L and 2700L) casks and 225L barrels.

The nose showed developed, savoury, red fruits (cherry) and pepper notes. The palate was medium-bodied and revealed layers of ripe dark fruits and well-integrated tannins plus aged tobacco/spice notes – in summary, a developed balanced wine still retaining its savoury fruit intensity and complexity.  It was generally regarded as the best match to the risotto.  Alc 13.5%

Yalumba Cigar Cabernet 2012

Grown on 25-year-old vines in Coonawarra, the Cigar was aged in French oak casks and 225L barrels (28% new) for 22 months.

Unfortunately one of the 3 bottles was slightly cork-tainted. The better bottles saw ripe back berry fruits and chocolate/liquorice characters (plus cedar).  The palate had dense, rich fruit flavours and spicy cedar notes and smooth, polished tannins. 

The Cigar Cabernet was an easy-drinking, balanced wine showing good depth of fruit and a long finish – it was regarded as the better match with the piquant, semi-hard cows milk cheese.  Alc 14%

Saltram Mamre Brook Shiraz 2012

Sourced from grapes from the Barossa and Eden valley, the Mamre Brook was matured in large (2800L) casks and 225L barrels for 16 months.  The wine showed red and blackberry aromas on the nose with spicy vanilla oak notes.  On the palate, the wine was full-bodied with ripe dark fruit (not jammy), soft tannins and creamy vanilla characters with lively acidity and considerable length on the finish.

Overall a reasonably well constructed Barossa/Eden valley Shiraz with ample fruit intensity although perhaps not completely in balance at this point. Alc 15%