Food review by Robert Wiggins and wine review by Charles "Chilly" Hargrave

Now, this is a big write up, but it was also a big meal and occasion.

It was the last wine lunch of a shitty year of covid, lockdowns, freedom, more lockdowns, cancellations of lunches, not being able to travel and complete dislocation of our lives in a totally unexpected way.  So, after all of this, there had to be some good news and relief and today was that day.

It was the Chilly and Roger show, with Roger providing the excellent background music and Chilly playing virtuoso.

Yes, it was the wine tasting not to be missed and it did not disappoint.  Members emerged from the woodwork, including many who had not been seen for ages… this was a meal and a wine tasting that would entice even the timidest out of their repose to attend.  All 55 of us!

It was a very jovial affair, with many members remarking on how good it was to be able to congregate together again.

It is hard enough cooking for 30-40 people, but when that number swells to 55, well, feeding that many in the manner that Roger and his trusty sidekick Denis Redfern did, was worthy of the wine fest.

It was all 2002 and 2005 Left Bank Bordeaux.  Now given that Roger’s middle name should be Bordeaux as he has probably consumed more of this fabulous elixir than any of us, it was entirely fitting that he cooked for this presentation.

Roger, or should we say Annie, knew exactly what to cook.. it was as Roger stated that it was a meal that did not detract from the wines and allowed us to completely savour the Bordeaux

The entrees

Were a duck pate, that had been soaked in cognac on a small piece of bread.

The salmon mix in a small pastry shell was care of Denis’s implement of questionable legality; his smoking gun!  The salmon was sous vide, (French for "under vacuum"), for just under an hour in a bag also containing lemon and dill.  Then Denis smoked those little suckers with hickory chips (and other secret ingredients; might have to start calling him Colonel Sanders or maybe Wyatt Earp) with the smoking gun.  The fishes then slept for two days in the refrigerator, to ensure that neither they nor any bugs would survive this treatment.  This was completely science-driven to make sure that there were no remaining pathogens in the fish.  Again, the dishes that look so simple have such a complex background.

The third canape was haddock on a cracker, as a nod to Roger’s heritage. This was tasty, and just to prove it was real fish, Denis left a couple of bones in the mix.

The two canape wines went well with the aperitifs.  Chilly will expand upon the wines further below.

The Main Course

The main course consisted of two very tasty spread thighs, with crispy skin and tender flesh. It came to the table hot with delicious tarragon based creamy sauce. Also on the plate were some broccolini and asparagus for the greens. There was more than enough food for all of us, even with 55 hungry souls… you did very well Roger with this delicious chicken dish.

The meal itself was exactly what Roger set it out to be; to be a background or neutral accompaniment to the wines, as the meal while being excellent, did not detract or add flavours that would mask the Bordeaux’s.

The Cheese

The cheese, as James promised, rounds off a month of cheddars from around the globe.  This extra mature 18month old cow’s milk Cheddar from Devon in the West Country was a fantastic finish to this cheddar journey

This clothbound cheddar is made the old-fashioned way. Farmhouse cheddar, made on the farm and in small batches, is hard to find and demand is greater than supply.

Quicke’s ethos is quality over quantity. They manage their herd carefully, never pushing them above their breeding limits and ensuring they enjoy a long and happy life, even getting 60 days’ maternity leave prior to calving.

The truckles are specially selected for their brothy, caramelly flavour and dense, fudgy texture after maturing for a minimum of 18 months.

Each wheel is hand-made and reflects true craft and seasonality making each batch exciting to taste.

Speaking of Wheels;

Now, who said that the squeaky wheel doesn’t get oiled?  Last week, Joseph made a comment regarding the paper serviettes that we were dolled out, rather than the traditional cloth napkins.  There were a few comments at the time about it being a bit petty.  However, the cloth napkins were back in business today, and from the many comments, we are very pleased that Joseph stood up and spoke about this matter. It was also important that he was listened to and his appropriate criticism was acted upon.

It is important for all of us to have an opportunity to voice concerns in a constructive way to keep the Society moving forward in a direction that takes both the best of our history and blends it with being in the 3^rd decade of the 21^st Century.  Thanks Joseph, it was great to have those cloth napkins back!

We finished with both the house coffee and the remainder of Roger Prior’s cognac from last week.

 As a Society, we are very fortunate to have these wines in our cellar and as one member pointed out, the wines that we consumed today would be worth in excess of $300, given their rarity and popularity.  On top of this, we had an excellent meal, cheese and coffee, for the meagre sum that we paid today.  We are very fortunate!

The Wines by Chilly

The canapé wines were a pair of aged Tyrrell’s Semillons. The 2013 Vat 1 was everything that you could wish for in a mature Hunter Semillon. It was still bright lemon and citrus while carrying notes of butter and toast. The 2011 Johnno’s was a note complex wine, but quite disjointed. A very different style to the Vat 1, it lacked the fruit drive of the former and a rather tough phenolic finish.

Of course, the focus of a wine lunch is the pre-poured glasses in front of us. With such a big number at the lunch, the pouring is a complicated exercise. Many thanks to James Hill, James Tinslay, James Healy, Frank Liebeskind and Gary Linnane.

On the table were three classified Bordeaux château from the 2005 vintage and three from the 2002 vintage, all on the Left Bank. The former is probably récolassent the better vintage, but, as is often said, “producer, producer, producer”. I believe this was again the case with today’s range of wines where the 2002s showed better than the 2005s. In order of presentation, they were;

2005 Château Haut Batailley. A 5th growth from Pauillac, it showed the power and tannin structure expected of the appellation. Currently owned by the Cazes family (which also own Lynch Bages) its vineyards adjoin those of Château Latour. Traditionally a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (70%) and Merlot (30%). With aromas of cassis and violets and a balanced palate of fruit, oak and tannin, it drinking beautifully.

2005 Château Talbot. A 4th growth from St Julien, its vineyard holding at 102 ha are the largest in Bordeaux, they abut Léoville Las Cases and Léoville Barton. Currently owned by Cordier, the assemblage is typically Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (25%) and Petit Verdot (5%). At today’s tasting, it showed some reduction on the nose which hid the fruit. Similarly, on the palate, it was a little tough and hard.

2005 Château Beychevelle. Another 4th growth from St Julien, it is one of the older properties in Bordeaux. In the 16th century, the Duke of Éperon was so powerful that boats had to lower their sails when they passed. In French, this is “baisse voile” which was corrupted to Beychevelle and the label carries a picture of a sailing boat. Now owned by Suntory/Castel there has been a significant investment in the winery and vineyard in recent years. The wine showed a delightful mix of quality oak and sweet berry fruit on the nose, while the palate had a lot of drive with recognisable grainy, dry tannins. Still bright and fresh, it was probably the most appropriate wine for keeping of the three from 2005.

2002 Château Léoville Barton;  Another wine from St Julien, but this time a 2nd growth. It was once part of the largest estate in Bordeaux before the separation of the properties Léoville Las Cases and Léoville Poyferré. Unlike most Bordeaux estates the property does not have a château. The château pictured on the label is actually that of the sister St Julien estate, Chateau Langoa Barton. A blend with a high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon (80%) it showed bright red currant fruit aromas with a heavy layer of oak. As might be expected with a most prestigious growth, it was a big wine with fruit and acid carried by oak and firm tannins. Still a young wine with a solid future.

2002 Château Dufort Vivens; Again a 2nd growth, but this time the only wine we saw from the Margaux appellation. A château with a famous history and renowned for its quality. In fact, around the time of the 1855 classification, Château Margaux was the only wine in the region that commanded a higher price. It has been owned by the Lurton family since 1961 and is another chateau with large plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon - generally about 75% in their first wine. In the glass, it was unmistakably of Margaux origin. Its fine perfume and subtle soft tannins are a hallmark of the appellation. There was a wonderful Cabernet fruit expression with great mid-weight and length. My preferred wine on the day.

2005 Château Pontet Canet, another 5th growth from Pauillac, it is generally recognised as a wine that hits above its ranking in the 19th-century classification and the price often reflects that opinion. Its vineyards (which have a relatively high proportion of Merlot) adjoin those of Mouton and Lafite. Again, in the mould of the appellation, the wine was quite a brute. It was deep and layered with intense cassis fruit. The palate was similarly powerful with lashings of vanilla oak and chalky tannins. Certainly, another wine with a bright future.

Interesting Culinary Note:

To give you an idea of the time and trouble that Roger and Denis went to with the meal, here is an insight into the cooking journey they embarked upon;

Duck Rillettes

A whole duck was washed in cognac and dusted with a blend of herbs made with an industrial spice grinder that turns at 24000 rpm. It came from China but is mostly sold in India. It will grind up to 500g of spices at a time and is incredibly noisy. He uses it to grind up herbs and salt for dusting confit duck, comprising bay leaves, thyme, parsley, black peppercorns and salt resulting in a fine powder. The duck is dusted inside and out with this herby powder and then stuffed with slices of ginger, garlic, thyme, and orange peel

The duck is wrapped in four layers of foil and roasted in a very slow (140C) oven for five hours. After cooling to room temperature, the duck spends a night in the fridge, and then all the meat, fat and jelly is taken off the carcase and mixed in a food mixer with more cognac, Dijon mustard, white pepper, fresh thyme leaves and melted butter. The rillettes are transferred to a plastic tub and decorated with grated orange peel, sprigs of thyme and sealed with melted duck fat. At this stage, it will keep in the fridge for a month or more, but the one that was served on Tuesday only had three days.

The toasts were made with stale Costco baguettes by slicing thinly and baking in a 200C oven until golden. After cooling, the toasts are vacuum sealed to make sure they don’t go soggy.

On the day the rillettes are served on toasts and decorated with radish and gherkin.

Salmon Mousse Bouchées

I make smoked salmon according to a method I have developed over the years.  After buying a side of fresh salmon from the fish market, I wash it in dilute lemon juice to kill any surface pathogens, then portion it into three pieces, topping each piece with dill and a lemon slice. These pieces are vacuum-packed and cooked sous-vide at 55C for forty minutes. They are then iced to cool quickly. After cooling, they are transferred to a large bag which is cold-smoked with hickory produced by a Polyscience Smoking Gun https://www.sousvidechef.com.au/products/polyscience-smoking-gun?variant=13054860918839 The bag is quickly sealed and refrigerated for a couple of days o infuse the salmon with the smokiness.

The salmon is mixed with Philadelphia cream cheese and creme fraiche in a food mixer to make mousse.

The mousse is piped into Jos Poell canapé cups jos-poell-mini-toast-salad-ragout-cup cups and topped with a slice of cucumber and some salmon roe.

And there you have it folks, a great meal, influenced by science gliding in the background to the tune of Bordeaux.