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Food notes by the COTD and canape chefs and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Nigel Burton was the main course chef today. He was assisted by former Foodmaster Greg Sproule and long-term, but newly returned to Australia, member Greg Brunner.

Greg Brunner offered a version of a southern French classic Pissaladière.  Puff pastry was spread with onions cooked with thyme over low heat for an hour and a half until sweet and caramelised.  This was topped with black olives, anchovies, and grilled red capsicum. His second canape was a Hungarian cheese spread, Körözött, on toasted baguette.  A mixture of buffalo and cow’s milk ricotta was mixed with a little Greek yoghurt to create a creamy spread.  To this was added just a little Dijon mustard and the main flavourings of Hungarian paprika and caraway seeds. This was topped with chopped Hungarian apple paprika (capsicum).

Greg also sourced the bread, which came as impressive rings provided by Raffael’s bakery in Haberfield. When the order was placed a request was made for “very crusty” and the baker did not disappoint.

Greg Sproule presented three different canapés: Pickled Beetroot with Goats Cheese and Walnut; Date macerated in Chardonnay with Dulcetta- Blue Cheese; and Pastry Case stuffed with Mushrooms, Onion, Creme Fraiche and Prosciutto

As usual with a wine lunch, the food was tailored to enhance rather than detract from the wines. Although with a Penfolds wine tasting, the food would have to have some power to overwhelm the wines.

Nigel chose to cook within a Hungarian theme, repeating a prior glory when he won Goulash of the Year under John Rourke’s presidency (it was the only Goulash that year, so he was a shoe-in to win). 

Today he made this classic east European dish which can be made using meat, veal, chicken, or pork.  Nigel chose shoulder blade steak to which he added the usual ingredients of red and green pepper, garlic onion, sour cream, ground and sweet paprika, and plenty of mushrooms.  This was slow-cooked for 5 hours.  To be different and consistent with being deconstructed each of these ingredients was placed along the plate making a unique presentation. One of our members, who has Hungarian ancestry, commented that he immediately reconstructed it when it was placed in front of him! Another commented that the colours of the accompaniment matched the colours of the Hungarian flag.

Also on the plate was homemade spaetzle, with its traditional pinch of nutmeg. A Thermomix recipe replicated 12 times!  Finally squeezed through a colander, immersed in boiling water, then ice water and finally browned off to provide both substance and crunch.

The dish was deliberately toned down from a heat perspective to ensure that it did not overpower the wines.  Some members expressed a personal preference for more paprika and on reflection, the wines were big enough to have coped.

The salad was again Hungarian in origin being cucumber, onion oil and vinegar left to marinate for 48 hours in the fridge.

Our Cheesemaster, James Healey, presented Maffra Cloth-Ashed Cow’s Milk Cheddar which was in great condition. Nigel accompanied this with a salad that was again Hungarian in origin comprising cucumber, onion oil and vinegar left to marinate for 48 hours in the fridge.

We were treated today with a  sensational lineup of Penfolds RWT Shiraz and St Henri  Shiraz, from various vintages ranging from 2001 to 2009.    The aperitif wines were a Black Label  Penfolds Chardonnay and a  Teppanata Chardonnay, both from the Adelaide Hills Region, and both from the 2017  Vintage.  The wines were poles apart.  Penfolds has made great strides in recent years with the development of high-quality Whites such as the Bin A  series of Chardonnay which is a terrific wine, however sadly, the wine served today was a long way removed from that class. Over oaked with a blousy finish, the wine was not attractive at all.  I have not previously seen a Penfolds white in a black bottle.  I have now been warned and will avoid it. 

The second Chardonnay was the Tapanappa from Brian Croser immediately brought back memories of his yellow label Petaluma Chardy from the 70’s and 80’s. Taut, structured and tight, a very different wine from the Penfolds.  Plenty of flavour, but restrained. Excellent.

Moving now onto the main course and cheese wines, we were thrilled to have three RWT’s, two St Henri and one Bin 389.  Penfolds in my view seem to have adopted the attitude of “give me a lot of money and I will deliver a great wine “. Sadly they omit to say when that wine will be “Great“.  In the case of the RWT serious greatness acquaints with the 12th of never in my view.  My first tasting of RWT years ago revealed a wine that needed to be tasted again in 20 years.   Massive fruit, sweet oak and tooth-pulling tannins were the order of the day.  In my opinion, nothing much had changed with the wines served today, especially the 09.  

The RWT (Red Winemaking Trial) got underway in the 1990s with the first vintage being released in 1997.  The concept was to have 100% top quality Barossa Shiraz from various vineyards, 20 to 100 years old, picked at optimum ripeness then matured in new French oak for  12 to 15 months.  The result is the RWT series which we were fortunate to enjoy today, an 09, an 05 and an 01.

For the sake of comparison in this ultra high-class Penfolds range, we were also able to enjoy two St Henri from 09 and 01 and finally a Bin 389 from 05.  Talk about being indulged!

I do not intend to analyse all of these wines separately but will give my overall assessment.  My preference was for the St Henri, both vintages. Elegant, and well-balanced fruit/oak combination.  Restrained tannin influence.

St Henri has a small percentage of Cabernet, which I think distinguishes it from the RWT. Matured in large old oak, it does not have the overpowering influence of the small new oak used to mature the RWT. My pick was the 01, a beautiful wine.  The quality of St Henri has waxed and waned over recent years, however, this wine was a beauty. After the two St  Henri, the 05 Bin 389 was my next favourite. Everyone loves 389, Australia’s most cellared wine, after Grange.

My pick of the RWT’s was the 01, a rich intense wine with still huge concentrated fruit and sweet oak.  A delight, if you like this style!

Overall a wonderful array of Penfolds near finest. We were privileged. Incidentally, none of these wines showed any sign of ageing, all good for another 10+ years.  My only hope is that I live long enough to see the 09 RWT blossom into something resembling a mature, smooth and balanced wine that is flavoursome with minimal tannin.

Wines Served: 2017 Penfolds Cellar Reserve Chardonnay, 2009 Penfolds RWT, 2009 Penfolds St Henri, 2005 Penfolds St Henri, 2005 Penfolds Bin 389, 2001 Penfolds RWT, 2001 Penfolds St Henri