A light 32 members were on hand for the monthly tasting; perhaps due to the President's Dinner the following evening. But those who attended were treated to an interesting presentation of wines, 5 Oz and 1 French, from the great year of 2002, with some pretty good and complementary food from Peter Black and new boy Denis Redfern.

The wines were served blind, with members asked to give their favourite(s) without too much analysis. Ray Healey provided the template, talking about the moods in which each of the wines would best be enjoyed. Opinions were mixed, with many favouring the last 3 wines, but No.3 also attracting support and none were rejected. Unveiled, they were: Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra shiraz; Majella Coonawarra cabernet; St Hugo Coonawarra cabernet; Rosemount Mountain Blue, shiraz/cabernet blend from Mudgee; Hardys Eileen Hardy Barossa shiraz; and Ch Dufort-Vivens, a 2nd growth predominantly cabernet wine from Margaux.

Preceding the tasting, we saw an attractive 2009 Bloodwood chardonnay from Orange, accompanied by a chicken, pork and chicken liver terrine with pistachios, terrific in visual appeal as well as flavour, and a superior duck liver pate with plenty of orange flavour to balance. The main course was osso bucco, good meat from Vic's cooked sous vide in parcels with aromatic vegetables, tomatoes and herbs, with the liquid refined and served as a jus over a bed of pureed cauliflower, accompanied by al dente broccoli. Rich but not intrusive flavours and lots of lovely marrow for those careless of their cholesterol

This insouciance continued into the cheese course with a triple cream Delice de Bourgogne, soft and mousse-like in texture but wonderfully rich and full-flavoured on the palate. An accompanying green salad of mizuna lettuce with vinaigrette dressing was a suitably tart contrast.

The coffee, unidentified, was rich in the mouth with a similar aftertaste, although finishing a little short