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

Food

Answering an urgent call for a chef at short notice, Amosh, Head Chef at the REX, came to the rescue for our lunch today.

Canapés

◦ Chicken-pistachio terrine on toasted sourdough with a mixed fruit-tamarind sauce and caper berries.

◦ Confit cherry tomato, bocconcini, basil, vincotto on a skewer.    

◦ Snapper ceviche/citrus dressing.

Main

Full house today, it seems we all love a meat pie, especially on a grey, cold day.

Our main today was a beef brisket and bone marrow pithivier surrounded by a lamb jus. Very well executed, full of flavour, good texture, well presented, the meat was moist with plenty of the flaky pastry to mop up the jus.

It was served with a buttery, creamy mash topped with chives.

A high quality lunch from our professional team in the kitchen, all aspects well commented on by members.

Bread was a white Sourdough from Humble Bakery, Circular Quay

Cheese

Cheesemaster Mark Bradford presented a cow’s milk Yarra Valley fetta. Two types today. One was marinated in garlic, thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaves, the other plain. Mark had to hastily buy some more cheese as the numbers increased from the original booking indication.

Made in small batches, fresh curd is bound in cloth for stewing and brined for two weeks, producing a silky-textured cheese.

Mark served it with some garlic and herb pickled zucchini and canned peaches from South Africa. The latter brings memories of our childhood desserts.

We finished our meal with some Cognac and Armagnac.

Wine

What better way is there to hide away from a cold, wet May afternoon than in a warm room with friends eating Brisket Pie and drinking some nice wine?? 

Yesterday, with 47 attending, made for an afternoon of fellowship and fun.  It was great to be there. See the Food Report for details of our Meal. With regard to the wines, my report is as follows, dealing only with the wines we all tasted. 

With the canapes, we enjoyed a Bichot Macon Milly Chardonnay 2022 @ 13%. A very reliable wine that paired well with the canapes.  Good colour with bright acidity, well balanced with a crisp finish. A good choice to get the party started.  A few bottles of Gavi and Burings Leopold Riesling appeared, which were excellent, although perhaps not all present enjoyed these wines.

Dealing now with the table wines, first cab off the rank was an excellent Yabby Lake Pinot 2015, 13.5%. A typical Australian Pinot, light to medium body, light tannins, soft raspberry aroma, warm earthy spice traces, silky smooth but persistent finish. Now a 10 yo, but with plenty of good drinking for years to come. 

Next wine was the Ch Pezat from St Emilion 2010 @ 14%. Beautiful, clear ruby red colour, medium body. The usual hints of dark fruits and plummy overtones one normally expects from a Cabernet Merlot from this region. Now a 15 yo wine, but not hindered by age. Nice clean finish with persistence of flavour. 

We then proceeded to a white wine with our cheese. Many wine experts from around the globe and here locally claim that Chardonnay is the best match for cheese, rather than red wine, which has been the norm in the past. Personally, I think the issue is up for debate, as it would largely depend on the cheese being served, hard/soft and of course, the structure of the wines involved. Anyhow, getting back to the wine offered today, it was the Bannockburn 1314 Chardonnay from 2018 @13.5%.

Some of you will remember that we last had this wine on the 15^th of April this year, and I wrote an unflattering report about the wine in my report of the same date. My thoughts at the time were "overoaked, oversweet, over alcoholic, a wine locked into the 1980's style of chardonnay", which I never enjoyed.  Give me a modern style any time.  With regard to the wine today, my thoughts remain the same. I did not enjoy it. I must be the odd man out here, as Phil Laffer rated it as his wine of the day! Thank God Phil and I did not get our careers mixed up. Glad I stuck with Law, and Phil winemaking.

The final wine for the day was the Hentley Farm, Villain and Vixen Grenache from 2022 @ 14,5%. This highly rated vineyard has produced some wonderful wines from its Barossa holdings in recent years. This wine was a typical Australian Grenache, light bodied, brilliant cherry crimson colour, with that classic aroma of strawberry and raspberry very evident. Quite tannic and spicy on the palate but balanced by fresh natural acidity leading to a crisp finish. An enjoyable wine.  

My wine of the day, the Yabby Lake.