Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

Peter Kelso was in the kitchen today assisted by Denys Moore cooking for our first wine tasting lunch of the year.

Canapes

Brandade of salt cod on pumpernickel

A perfect example of brandade with a lot of flavour and it worked well with the pumpernickel base.

Curry dip on celery pieces

I loved the crunch of the celery with the curry dip not overly spicy.

Main

Peter produced a main of smoked blue mackerel fillets with a beurre blanc sauce, cubed baked potatoes and steamed lightly pickled zucchini. The smoky strong flavour of the fish was a perfect match to the wines served today.

Good comments on the food today.

Thank you, Peter.

Hal Epstein spoke about the state of our fishing industry at present suggesting we will see this type of fish become more prevalent with the depletion of stocks hence one of the reasons we see snapper coming from NZ.

Cheese

James Healey selected a hard cow’s milk cheese from France,  ‘Fromagerie St Mamet Cantal Entre Deux AOP’

This natural rind cheese is one of the oldest cheeses still made in France. It has been traced back at least 2000 years when cheese from Gaul was popular as far away as Rome. Being a large cheese, the flavour is mild unless it is matured over a long period, although smaller versions known as Cantalet mature more quickly.

The cheeses are selected at least 14 months old when they have developed a moist and crumbly texture and buttery flavour with a little bite.

Peter accompanied the cheese with a salad of rocket and radicchio dressed with a vinaigrette and topped with sliced fresh figs.

Wine   

The first of the aperitif wines was an Italian white Vernaccia di San Gimignano from 2021.  Most enjoyable, fresh and clean. 13%, well-balanced with well-rounded flavours. Just the sort of holiday wine you would enjoy sitting on a sunny balcony overlooking Lake Garda, just about to tuck into some cold antipasto. Ah, the memories!

The second wine was a Pinot Noir from Port Philip Estate 2012. 13%. Quite flavoursome, but light-bodied in structure and starting to show some signs of having been in the cellar for too long. Nonetheless enjoyable as an aperitif with the food served pre-lunch. 

We now move on to the star of the show, a vertical tasting of six Tyrrells Vat 1 Semillon. A treat indeed for fans of Vat 1, of which I am sure there are many, myself included. During lunch, I commented that having all this precious wine in one sitting was perhaps, not the best usage of this expensive, much in-demand wine. Consuming six glasses of the same wine from different vintages really puts one’s palate to the test, especially getting towards the tail end.  My choice would have been to have a flight of three at one lunch mixed with some other wines, and then another three at a subsequent Lunch. I likened it to being given a box of expensive chocolates and eating them all in one hit, rather than saving a few for later on.   Anyhow, it would appear that my view was not shared by most of the room. So it goes.

The wines were:

1. 2003. Bottled under cork, the rest were screwcap.  Still drinking well but beginning to lose some acid. Now a 20 yo, a drink now proposition.

2. 2004. I was not keen on this wine, flat on the palate getting tired.

3. 2005. A gem. Tyrrells regard this wine as one of their best ever and Vat 1’s multi-award winner. The best wine in my view of the lineup. Fresh and clean, with no sign of ageing and a wonderful depth of flavour. A masterpiece.

4. 2013. A pretty good year in the Hunter for whites and at now 10yo this wine was drinking beautifully.  Well-balanced, superb fruit/acid. A delight.

5. 2014.  Regarded by many in the Hunter as one of the best vintages of the last few decades, this wine was truly excellent. A great Vat 1, with it, would seem a limitless future.

6. 2015. I must confess that by this stage I was suffering from Vat 1 overload. My ability to detect subtle nuances of flavour had diminished considerably. My impression was that the wine was very good but overshadowed by the 13 and 14 in terms of flavour and complexity.

In my view, these wines demonstrated how fortunate we are here in Australia to be able to lay a legitimate claim to one of the world’s great wines.