Food review by James Hill and wine review by Steve Liebeskind

Food

Our cheese master Mark Bradford was in the kitchen today cooking for our monthly wine tasting.

Canapés

We love sausage rolls, and we had two types today. Firstly “Thai style" with red curry, coconut, panko and fish sauce followed by “French style" with French onion soup powder and Dijon mustard.

Both were eagerly devoured by members.

Then came Denys Moore's secret pâte on mini toast with sliced cucumber. I thought I could taste some truffle in the pâte which was somewhat hidden by the largish slices cucumber. Good flavour and mouthfeel.

Main

We sat to an entrée of cream of potato and leek soup with dukkha and fennel frond garnish to enjoy while tasting our wines.

Our main was advertised as ‘coq au vin with a twist’. Mark presented a coq au vin pie, and it was a good match for our wines today.

They were in blind baked shortcrust pastry shells with a stew of chicken thigh, lardons, French shallots, sliced button mushrooms, garlic, flour, Bordeau, Maggie Beer chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme sprigs. The chicken was removed and shredded to fit the pie, vegetables and lardons put on top and baked for 15 minutes. Topped with half ruby burst tomato and seated on zucchini and rice tian (based on Julia Child recipe). Stacked potato gratin with gruyere cheese, Lurpak butter, heavy cream, thyme initially baked in muffin pan.

A lot of thought and effort in today’s lunch and we were well rewarded with flavour and texture marriage perfect for lunch.

Merci Mark.

Cheese

In theme, Mark presented a French hard cow’s milk cheese ‘Bourgogne-Franche-Comté’.

Made from unpasteurised milk, this hard-cooked raw milk cheese is made at small dairies or fruitieres using the milk from several herds of Montbeliard cows.

This cheese was matured in the damp underground cellars of Marcel Petite at Fort Saint Antoine high in the mountains that border France and Switzerland in the Franche-Comte.

It’s specially selected to wear the prestigious red ‘crown’ of quality on the basis of its rich concentrated nutty texture, elegant caramel sweetness, and lingering kaleidoscope of flavours rather than on how long it is aged.

Simply served with some almonds and sliced Packham pears.

Wine

Canapé wines

2009 Hugel Jubilee Riesling, Alsace. This wine was an absolute pleasure for an aperitif. At 13.5% we were presented with a wine showing some yellowing after 15 years of age from a bottle under cork. There was good fresh fruit, slight sweetness and some minerality but this was balanced out with good acid structure. The wine had a level of complexity and balance, good length and thoroughly enjoyable for all. Well received by the members.

Tasting wines

1             2007     E. Guigal Saint-Joseph Vignes de L'Hospice Syrah. The 2007 was a good vintage and this wine showed developed earthy, herbal notes alongside its dark fruit and spice. It was an honest wine and showed well. Mind you as it stayed in the glass it did fade indicating it should be drunk now.

2             2007     E. Guigal Cote Rôtie Brune Et Blonde Syrah and some Viognier. This was a highlight wine of the day. It showed as an elegant, integrated and well-balanced wine with soft tannins and complex layers of florals and smoke. There was good length and stayed strong in the glass.

3             2007     Tyrrell's Vat 9 Shiraz 2007 was the vintage of the decade, and it showed. The wine showed balanced acidity, savoury earth tones with good length, and a smart finish. This was a medium-bodied wine based on 13.5% alcohol, complex, and drinking at its peak with a number of years ahead of itself. A comment about possible VA with lifted acid was made.

4             2006     Tyrrell's 4 Acres Shiraz. While 2006 didn’t reach the heights of 2007 as a general vintage, it was a good year, which allowed the quality of a single vineyard to shine through. Great colour, balance, length, soft structure, and an elegant finish. Good acid and still has its life ahead of it. There were tertiary notes of tobacco and leather. The 4 Acres was a complex wine void of bret and scored slightly higher than the Vat 9. 

5             2006     Seppelt St Peters Grampian Shiraz. Moving to the Grampians in Victoria and one of Stephen O’Halloran’s favourites, we had a wine from an excellent vintage. The St Peters had a firm, spicy profile with added complexity and cedar/leathery nuances. Showing extremely well for an 18-year-old wine under screw cap. A please to drink and close to being a gold medal wine.

6             2006     Penfolds RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz. Moving into South Australia we were expecting the alcohol to dominate. In fact, this wine had great richness and complexity, with the wine evolving into dried fruit and chocolate and had a velvety texture. This was an excellent wine with its life ahead of it. While the alcohol was there it was elegant and with extra breathing, the wine softened with breathing. Like the Vat 9 was there a bit of VA to lift acidity (an old Penfold trick)? This created good discussion and interest. 

All wines were good to very good and in fact it was up to the individual persons' style and preference when assessing a ranking. All wines were high-scoring and certainly, there were no duds. All in attendance enjoyed the wines and personal preference created great discussion. While some may not enjoy some Shiraz, the audience gave praise to the wines and the order served. These wines complemented the terrific main and cheese presented. Standouts were the Brune et Blonde, RWT and 4 Acres.