Lunches
11 April 2023 Bill Alexiou-Hucker
Food review by Steve Liebeskind and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Our new President Bill Alexiou-Hucker hit the kitchen and pans to begin his reign and to add extra pressure it was a mixed lunch. There were 45 attendees after having 5 people drop out in the last 24 hours before the lunch.
Canapes
* Feta muffins - beautifully present and morish starter. These were served cold and they looked like they were warm.
* Seared scallops and taramasalata, grated bottarga served on a spoon. The scallops were well cooked and the taramasalata added a soft texture to compliment the scallop. The bottarga (cured fish roe-pouch) gave the nibble a different dimension. There was a strong seafood flavour with the scallop, but the canape was well received.
* BBQ octopus on skordalia and toasted crouton. It's Bill so we had to have octopus and he didn’t disappoint. The seafood was well-cooked and the skordalia (garlic and potato dip) was a great complement to the octopus. Add a little olive oil and we have a winner.
No one went hungry from the canapes
Main
Balsamic glazed chicken with parsley, lemon zest, garlic, kalamata olive and olive oil salad on a bed of tomato orzo (risoni is also known as orzo). This dish came to table with great colour and exciting crispy skin due to the balsamic glaze. We all received a Maryland sitting on the orzo and the chicken had olive and parsley salad sprinkled over it. The flavour was terrific and uncomplicated. There was no rice used or harmed on this dish. There was a challenge for Bill in that with the Easter break leading into the lunch, there were two suppliers of Maryland one was traditional and the other was pterodactyl (prehistoric bird - massive) size. The large leg caused a number of mains to be a bit tough and undercooked but the flavour you expect from Bill was there.
Cheese/dessert
Baked goat's cheese and glazed pear tart with a pecan and cranberry crumb.
This was a success for both Bill and the new Cheese Master (Mark Bradford). We were presented with a goat cheese-inspired dessert. The pastry was puff pastry blind baked and had the pecan and cranberry crumbled as used as the base. The lightly flavoured goat's cheese was broken up and topped with thinly cut pears and then baked and served at a warm temperature. Large individual tarts came to the table and were able to be cut into wedges of 8 per table. The crisp edging added to the rustic charm of the dish. Overall this was a great success.
While there were two reds served with this dish a sneaky little half bottle of muscat was put on the table and this went so well with the dish.
The cheese was a Brabander L'Amuse which is from North Brabant, Netherlands and is an Artisan made cheese. A semi-hard goat's cheese that is light in flavour. The porcelain-white paste of this cheese is a stark contrast to the deep amber colour synonymous with classic Dutch gouda.
Wine
The gathering today 11th April was a mixed luncheon, very well attended with a nearly full house. Our Chef du Jour Bill Alexiou provided us with an excellent roast Maryland chicken and some very tasty pass-arounds. The food will be reported upon by others as usual. With regard to the wine, my comments are as follows.
For the pre-lunch wines, we were provided with two excellent wines, an Italian Soave and a rose from Provence. Of the two I much preferred the Soave. A first-rate aperitif style white, fresh and crisp with great fruit/acid balance. Lovely clean fresh flavours, ideal with the pass-arounds. Soave is an ever-popular Italian White wine from the Veneto region of northeast Italy. Made up from mainly Garganega and Trebbiano grapes. 12.5% vintaged in 2020. I really liked it. The rose from St Louis de Provence was an enjoyable wine, dry in the extreme, pale pink in colour, very typical of a rose from that region 12.5 % 2021. A Grenache blend, well-made wine, but in my view, not a great deal of flavour.
Moving on to the wines served with the main course, we had two excellent Australian Chardonnays, one from Curley Flat in the Macedon region of Victoria and the other a Coldstream Hills from the Yarra Valley. The Curley Flat was the older of the two from 2012, and the Coldstream Hills was from 2013. Both wines are now 10+ years old, but both drinking beautifully, with no sign of ageing adversely. The Curley Flat was a big wine 13.8 % deep straw colour, developed with a prominent oak aftertaste. A classic “old style Chardonnay” we talk about.
The Coldstream Hills was my choice of the two. Great integration of fruit/acid with restrained oak. 13 %. A better-balanced wine in my view. There was as you would expect a divergence of opinions around the room on these two fine Chardonnays, which were perfect partners to the delicious chicken. I suppose it comes down to the style of Chardonnay you prefer.
The two red wines for lunch were an Italian Dolcetto d’Alba and a Barbera d’Asti. Dolcetto translates into English as “sweet little one“. The wine was from the well-known producer Paolo Scavino, vintaged in 2017. The Barbera was produced by Mauro Molino in 2015.
The Dolcetto at 14.5 % was an easy-drinking, typical Italian red wine meant to be drunk with food. Restrained flavour, no intention to dominate the food in this sweet little one. Enjoyable.
The final wine was the Barbera from 2015 14 %. This was my pick of the two, a bit more flavour and substance. Again an excellent wine with the chicken.
Many thanks to our Winemaster for his thoughtful selections of our wines today.
4 April 2023 David Madson
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
Answering our Food Master’s urgent request for a Chef of The Day after our AGM David Madson arranged his team James Tinslay and Peter Fitzpatrick.
Canapés
Given that the canapé time was more than usual the team responded with bountiful canapés.
First up was betel leaf filled with fried shallot, spanner crab and grapefruit although some of the crab flavour was lost. David advised that he had been rather too generous in marinating the crab in lemon juice.
Then followed crumbled feta cheese with homegrown chives with portions of fig on top of toasts.
Did I say bountiful?
Blinis topped with crème fraîche dill smoked salmon followed next from Peter Fitzpatrick.
James Tinslay is renowned and heralded for his sausage rolls and variations thereof, and today was no exception, he made curried chicken puffs. Well seasoned and spiced, with great flavour some heat evident, but not to kill the palate.
All canapés were appreciated by members today.
Main course.
David presented us with some spice-mixed marinated pork belly, pickled kohlrabi with parsley, torched corella pears and an ale brown sugar malt vinegar and mustard seed sauce.
I like it when David cooks he always comes up with something a little different, and in this case, it was the kohlrabi that he marinated in white vinegar and sugar for an hour to pickle. The idea was for the pickled Kohlrabi to cut through the fat of the pork and it worked. No one could guess the vegetable. The pears were sprinkled with caster sugar and a kitchen blowtorch was used to caramelise the pears The texture was quite firm. My crackling was a little underdone however more was served with extra crackling and sauce.
A good hearty meal for autumn and well executed.
Thank you, David.
Cheese
Mark Bradford presented the cheese today with any picking that it was cow's milk, blue mould cheese, but no one found the correct origin, that of Ireland.
The cheese was J&L Grubb Cashel Irish Blue.
When young, Cashel Blue is firm yet moist, with just a hint of fresh tarragon and white wine. With age, its true character emerges, mellowing to a rounder, spicier style. The interior softens, and then when the cheese is at the peak of perfection it gives up the battle of the bulge and collapses, providing a challenge for the retailer but a treat for the connoisseur.
Cashel Blue is named after the historic “Rock of Cashel,” a medieval castle that was once the seat of the Kings of Munster, and where lore has it St Patrick commenced the conversion of the pagan Irish to Christianity by using a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity, giving birth to one of Ireland’s national symbols.
David accompanied the cheese with a salad of Bartlett pears and rocket.
Wine
The AGM for 2023 was the backdrop for today's lunch. There were no surprise Boardroom coups, and the meeting proceeded without bloodshed and ended harmoniously. Many thanks to the outgoing Board and welcome to the new office holders. There are some big shoes to fill.
Moving right along, the aperitif wines were plenty in number with the Wine Master carrying out a required clearout. Accordingly, we were confronted with a potpourri of white wines, I did not get to taste them all. Of those I did taste, I very much liked the rare Craggy Range Riesling 2011 from the Hawkes Bay region. Excellent wine with superb fruit, clean and with a lingering finish. Do we have any more? That was about the pinnacle of the white wines I tasted, the rest ranged from undrinkable to acceptable. In the former category was the Domaine Oratoine St Martin 2016 a Rhone blend of the usual suspects, Roussanne et al. Horrible, hope I never see it again. Moving up the scale a bit was the Guigal Cote du Rhone 2018. Contents were not disclosed on the label, but I suspect it had a similar composition to the other wine. It was however drinkable. I do wish Guigal would stick to red wines. The last of the whites I tasted was the Tunkalilla Riesling from Oregon USA. A wine made by our own Brian Croser in 2008. This wine provoked mixed reactions around the room. I found the wine oily and unctuous, with a cloying finish. Despite having 15 years in the bottle, the fruit was holding up well and the wine was quite sound. Others in the room were very impressed, liking it to a German-style Kabinett. I suppose it comes down to how you like your Rieslings!
The lunch wines were firstly, a Craggy Range Chardonnay from Hawkes Bay vintage 2010 which was delicious. Elegant with balanced fruit, acid and oak all intermingling well. Excellent wine. The first of the reds was a Glandore Estate Hunter Tempranillo 2011 from our own Chef Du Jour, David Madson’s vineyard. An enjoyable wine, with good fruit, but a little thin on the palate and a quickly fading aftertaste. Maybe this is how Australian Tempranillo in the Hunter develops after 12 years. Otherwise a sound wine and good food wine. The next cab off the rank was one of my favourites the Charles Melton Nine Popes blend, Shiraz / Grenache from 2009 14.5 %. Buckets of ripe juicy fruit with firm oak and tannin, just the sort of wine you would want to consume large amounts of before marching into battle! I hope we have more of this wine in our cellar. The final wine I tasted was the Ebenezer Barossa Shiraz from 2005. 14.5 %. Now 18 yo, but in very good shape. An old style big Barossa Shiraz drinking well. Good balance even at the high alcohol level. Another red was served but not at our table, a Craiglee Shiraz. I did not taste it, but from comments around the room, I apparently did not miss much
28 March 2023 Paul Thorne
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Meal
The room was packed today as we celebrated the last hurrah of our president Paul Thorne and Cellar master Chilly Hargrave.
Paul Thorne was Chef of the Day, assisting with canapés were Gary Linnane and James Tinslay.
Canapés
First up Gary Linnane made a white bean anchoïade served on a cracker. Gary used the Tarbais beans that Society member Scott Witt had provided.
The beans were puréed with some Parmigiano-Reggiano, cream cheese capers, anchovy, lemon zest and EVOO. Full of flavour, lemony, creamy, thick and rich.
Then came a canapé of crème fraîche with wasabi topped with a Sicilian white anchovy.
Last up was Paul’s signature dish of duck consomme, rafted and infused with juniper berry and star anise. Rich and flavoursome, a crowd pleaser.
Canapés were bountiful with good flavour hit to start our lunch.
Main
Paul served pork neck plated on a base of pea and ham soup. The pork comprised five pieces cooked in the oven for 4.5 hours at 135C. The pork was cooked in trays and sat on a base of onions and duck stock. The pea and ham soup was a combination of many vegetables and legumes/pulses including carrots, peas, beans (2 or 3 types) barley and lentils. The ham hock flavour was infused and then shreds were throughout the soup.
The meal came to the table smartly presented with a late addition of finely chopped herbs. The pork had terrific colour and showed it was cooked perfectly. Pork can be a challenge to get right and, as it rests, it still cooks. The pea and ham soup provided good colour and the broth provided additional flavour and moisture to the pork.
Overall, the flavour was delicate and the seasoning was a personal preference.
The meal complemented the great Grand Cru Burgundy wines selected for lunch today.
Some commented there could have been more sauce on the plate.
The bread was from Haberfield bakery an old favourite of the Society from years gone past.
Cheese
Our cheese today was selected by our outgoing Cheesemaster James Healey and presented by Gary Linnane in his absence.
It was a white mould, cow's milk, farmhouse cheese ‘Marquis Brie’.
In France, it is increasingly hard to find farmstead cheese made with milk from a single farm. Most examples are produced in very small quantities from raw milk, and these are rarely found outside the area of production.
This soft, surface mould-ripened cheese, is a wonderful exception. It is handmade in a modern, purpose-built ‘fermier’ that lies in the shade of the Rambouillet deer forest, southwest of Paris. The original ‘Fromages de Brye’ made on small farms in the countryside outside the city varied in size depending on the season, and amount of milk available. Following in this tradition Le Marquis Brie de Rambouillet is made in two sizes using fresh pasteurised milk sourced exclusively from a small herd of pampered cows.
The unique combination of moulds, cultures and a traditional poplar wood box helps to ensure that the chalky centre of the young cheese slowly breaks down to a soft gooey texture over 3-4 weeks of careful ripening. One can tell when Le Marquis Brie is at its optimum because it has a distinct fungal aroma and is soft when pressed. The ‘cowy’ barnyard flavours of the mature cheese are a perfect reminder of why ‘fermier’ cheese is so special.
Some comments were made about the ammoniated nature of the cheese however once the ‘crust’ was removed the resulting paste was very pleasant.
Accompanying the cheese was a plate of figs, walnuts, dates and dried figs marinated in 12-year-old Scotch whisky.
Roger Straiton rose to thank Paul and Chilly for their considerable effort and dedication to our Society noting Paul and Chilly’s humour was very appreciated by all as well as Chilly sharing his wealth of knowledge of wine and the wine industry.
In closing Steve Liebeskind spoke about the recent convention of the Federation of Wine and Food Societies of Australia held in Melbourne and that at the convention he was returned as President with Mike Staniland Treasurer.
Wine
Today was a significant day for the WFS, our Wine Master Chilly Hargraves’s last lunch and Paul Thorne’s last event as President. As a result, we were in for something special on both food and wine.
We kicked off with two Chardonnays, a Collector Tiger 2017 and a Tilbury from Adelaide Hills from the same year. I must have been a little late in arriving as all of the Collector wine had gone, precluding me from a tasting. From enquiries I made around the room, the wine seemed to have produced some mixed reactions. The general consensus seems to have been that it was an “old style Chardy”, with the usual objections that style attracts. The Tilbury I found quite acceptable, an enjoyable wine to go with the excellent pass-arounds prepared by our Chef du Jour, our President until next week. The Tilbury had good clean structures, 12.5 %, no winemaking faults I could detect, a more modern style and overall a good journeyman Chardonnay. Dammed by faint praise you might say.
The lunch wines. Now we get serious. Chilly’s final raid on our Cellar produced six superb Grand Cru Burgundies, three Echezeaux from Christian Clerget, and three Clos-Saint-Denis from Georges Lignier.
As I keep saying, the WFS is the place to be! All this for under $100. “ We few, we happy few, we band of brothers “, could sum up the mood of the room. A rare treat. Before I report on the wines, a little perspective on the part of the Burgundy district where these wines hail from. The Cote de Nuits area is where these wines call home, the sub-district of Vosnee Romanee to be precise. In this tiny parcel of land, the most expensive wines in the world are grown. La Romanee Conti, Richebourg, Grand Echezeaux, La Tache, to name a few. A few years ago I commented at a function that these wines come from vineyards the size of postage stamps, with prices resembling Tasmanian postcodes! To illustrate the point, the vineyard of the Premier Des Grands Cru La Romanee-Conti consists of 4 acres! Most of the others are also very small, but Echezeaux is much larger at 100 acres, but still small by our standards.
Whilst on the subject of Echezeaux, may I offer a little hint to assist in the pronunciation of this great Burgundy. Back in the 70’s when I first laid eyes on the name, I had no idea and mangled it totally. At or about that time my younger brother returned to Sydney from a few years in the UK, bringing along with him a French Lady, tres chic, you might say. She came to my rescue. After several attempts she had me pronouncing it phonetically, as “Esch-au-show.“ Problem solved. Say it quickly six times and you have it for life. Sadly, some years later my Bro and she parted, she becoming apparently, “a charming little armful, but a dreadful little bedful“ (here’s to Ogden Nash).
Anyhow, getting back to the main story, my thoughts on this wonderful lineup are as follows.
No 1, the Echezeaux En Orveaux Grand Cru. 2015. A terrific combination of a top year and a great winemaker. Totally excellent and a joy to drink. Love to revisit it in 5 years.
No 2, the same wine but from 2014, apparently a patchy vintage, and the wine suffered. Either that or some wine-making faults. Lacked flavour, a tad disappointing.
No 3, the same wine but from 2012. Better year, good fruit, a nice Pinot nose, enjoyable. Now 10 yo but holding up well.
No 4, the Georges Lignier Clos-Saint-Denis Grand Cru 2016. My pick of the bunch. A sound vintage and it showed. Wonderful complex Pinot flavours and aroma. A satin-like finish, superb, lots of time ahead, destined for greatness.
No 5, the same wine from 2012. Another variable vintage weather-wise but I found this wine highly desirable. Velvety finish with beautiful balance. A classic Pinot.
No 6, same wine but from 2009. An excellent year, producing a fine wine. Starting to show some ageing, but still in good fruit/acid balance, elegant, with mouth-filling Pinot flavours, still hanging in there notwithstanding now a 13 yo.
Finally, in closing, I was rummaging around in my wine log books trying to find some wine lists from the Len Evans Burgundy Dinners back in the 70s and 80s I attended with my mate Bayne Kelly. It was at these functions I first tasted any of these great wines. Evans was very generous, we all had a decent glass of the La Tache, the Romanee and so on. The memory lingers on, I had entered a new world! The cost for the dinner on August 22nd 1979 was $55. We thought at the time it was very expensive!!
Thank you Chilly for your work over the last few years, we have loved it. You will be a hard act to follow. You really went out on a high note today, with the party in full swing!
21 March 2023 Romain Stamm
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
In the kitchen, today was Ro Stamm assisted by Paul Irwin in our fourth ‘cook-off’ for Chef of the Year 2022.
The standard of food presented in our ‘cook-offs’ has been exceptional, and today was no exception.
Canapés
Firstly, on spoons, we had pan-seared zucchini with oregano topped with whipped goats and parmesan cheese. I loved the flavour and texture in this canapé, one to keep in mind.
Then followed devils on horseback, prunes, prime bacon, pan-seared..yum.
Bountiful canapés today eagerly devoured by members
Main
We had duck breast cooked somewhat differently from the last time Ro cooked.
It was massaged with fennel, coriander, salt and pepper then baked for forty minutes at 40 degrees then finished in the kitchen by pan searing.
The outcome was a beautifully cooked and presented dish. The breast cut in three slices showed pinkness of the flesh and had crispy skin. The duck was easy to cut and well handled with a delightful flavour with balanced seasoning. The duck was served with a very good potato mash with a lot of butter and cream and was well seasoned. In addition, snap peas were prepared, poached and served in quantity on the plate. The peas were well cooked and crispy, a great treat. To round out the meal, there was a light and elegant red wine and stock jus. However, there were comments on ‘jus volume variation' with members suggesting there could be more on their plates. It was a great flavour that complemented the duck.
As, our soon-to-be, Food Master commented ‘there were four ingredients in the plate and you have to get his right ..and today you did.’
Well done Ro.
Cheese
For his last lunch as Cheese Master James Healey presented Tête de Moine as a request by our Chef of the Day.
Tete De Moine. This is a cow's milk cheese made in Switzerland. It comes in a 700gm round and is a hard cheese that matures for 7 – 9 months. Normally the cheese is served shaved but today we had wedges that were very enjoyable. The dominant character was that of nuttiness and had a slight complementary style to a Comte.
We had a mixed green salad served with a tarragon and a mustard-based vinaigrette that Ro makes at home often. The salad had good acid and the tarragon added another dimension to the overall flavour. The salad went very well with the cheese provided.
Bread today was from Bourke Street Bakery. Every baker does their sourdough with a difference and this bread was not as moist as we’ve seen with some of our other suppliers.
Quote of the day.
You know what they say about magnums, perfect for a party
… of two, especially if one person isn’t drinking
Wine
Dear Members, we were indeed fortunate today to enjoy a superb meal via the talents of our Chef De Jour Romain Stamm and our Winemaster Chilly Hargraves. Duck and Pinot, a marriage made in heaven. Tell me that you can do better in Sydney for $85 and I can tell you, you’re dreaming! As usual, I will leave the food comments for others. With regard to the wines, as you may have become aware, I usually find room to have a whinge about one wine at least, so you will not be surprised to read that I have found one to pour derision upon! More later. We kicked off with a delightful KT Riesling 2015, (2017 on the list was a typo) from the Clare. Readers will recall that we had the 2017 of this wine last week. I commented at the time that I found the 2017 a little flat on the palate and a tad disappointing. Not so the 2015 which we had today. More acid/fruit, more zest on the palate, and overall a delightful aperitif wine for the pass-arounds, which were excellent.
Next wine was the Guigal Cote du Rhone Blanc 2018. Normally, I am a fan of Guigal red wines. The wine today was I understand, a blend of Viognier, Rousanne and perhaps some Marsanne. There were some people in the room who say they enjoyed the wine, for reasons I cannot fathom, but I did not. Oily, greasy, unctuous, with no appealing flavour, generally not to my taste., The only time I have encountered a Viognier that I liked was it’s 5% share of the famous Clonkilla Shiraz. A great wine. My dislike of Viognier goes back many years. This is a true story, bear with me. At my former residence in Longueville, where wine would be delivered often, under the sometimes disapproving gaze of my wife, an anonymous donor dropped off an elegant wooden box of 6 bottles of 100% Viognier. I opened a bottle sometime later and could not finish even half a bottle. Dreadful. The message became clear to me, someone out there dislikes me! So here’s a tip. If you like Viognier, keep it to yourself. And saves fractured friendships. Do not under any circumstances give it to a friend, who will soon become an ex-friend!
The next four red wines were I thought all excellent in their own way. We had two Pinots, one from Australia, the 2013 Curley Flat from Macedon in Vic, and the 2012 Chambolle Musigny from Burgundy, my favourite of the two. The Australian wine came in at 13.5% and the French at 12.5%. I think the French wine was better balanced by that factor alone. The Curley Flat I found a little oaky, but most enjoyable. Some comments were to the effect that the wine would have been better 2/3 years ago, given that it is now a 10yo. The same comments were made about the French wine, delightful, but perhaps, left in the cellar a bit to long. I know that we as a Society are addressing this issue. Anyhow, without question, these two wines were the perfect accompaniment to our main course.
To conclude our splendid lunch, we had with our cheese two Australian Shiraz, a Barossa Gibson Estate Dirtman 2012 coming in at a beefy 14.5% and a 2012 Wynns Coonawarra coming in at a more moderate 13.5%. The Gibson was a wine Robert Parker would have been proud of, a huge black thing, sucking all of the light out of the room, but today this style seems to have fallen out of favour, as illustrated by the room’s apparent preference for the more elegant Wynns.
We were all privileged to enjoy a wonderful meal and many thanks to all involved.
14 March 2023 Steve Liesbeskind
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
In the kitchen was Chef Steve Liebeskind with assistance from David Simmonds cooking the fourth COTY cook-off.
Canapés
Today we had Steve’s homemade gravlax topped with a mixture of sour cream, horseradish, dill and lemon topped with fennel fronds on some sliced baguette as one of the canapés.
As I’ve said before I’m a big fan of this dish. It’s a perfect example of gravlax and was eagerly consumed by members.
In making gravlax there’s always some leftover fresh salmon so Steve created ceviche that was served on spoons. It was a mixture of red onion, coriander and fresh salmon pieces that had been mixed with an Asian sauce (spicy with citric acid). The salmon was cured by the sauce with the onion, coriander, lime zest and chilli adding flavour and texture to the ceviche.
The last canapé was some pastry cups filled with goats' cheese and topped with beetroot and caramelised onion chutney. There was a lot of flavour in the chutney.
Main
Confit salmon with herb beurre blanc, tarragon, chives, parsley, fried capers and finger lime topped with crispy salmon skin.
Loved the textures in this dish …..the crispy salt of the salmon skin sitting on the salmon, was perfectly cooked. It was sitting in a herby beurre blanc broth not overly buttery with some lively acid burst from finger lime. We were able to spoon the broth up as well as dunk some of the thick sourdough bread that accompanied the main to clean our plates.
The salmon was accompanied by asparagus and a puree of potato and parsnip. Good quality produce with heaps of butter was the order of events.
This is Steve’s signature dish and we saw why today he was selected for our coveted Chef of The Year award.
Many good comments on the dish today.
Cheese
Cheesemaster James Healey presented the cheese today. This is one of Steve’s favourite cheeses and it came to the table running off the cheeseboard.
D’ AFFINOIS DE BREBIS FROMAGERIE GUILLOTEAU
It comes in 1kg wheels, is around 6-8 weeks old and according to James, is an extremely well-priced cheese for the quality that is delivered.
This cheese is made by Fromagerie Guilloteau near Pelussin in the Rhone Valley. This cheese utilises ultra-filtration techniques and modern lactic fermentation techniques to boost the protein and calcium levels in the curd. Made with added cream and ripened for three weeks under a thin white mould rind covering the cheese and gradually develops a mild and rich texture that is savoury, building complexity. These modern lactic fermentation techniques boost the protein and calcium levels, it had a good sharp finish.
Accompanying the cheese course was a dressed salad of English spinach, iceberg lettuce, char-grilled red capsicum and roasted peanuts.
Wine
In my never-ending efforts to make my reports informative, at times amusing and hopefully, of some educative value, I strive hard to find that elusive, but essential requirement, inspiration! When searching for this, my mind wandered back 60 years to my school days studying Shakespeare. For some reason, the line “oh for the Muse of fire that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention”, the opening line of Henry V, has always stuck with me. So it would seem that even the Bard himself had to search deep for inspiration at times. Without trying to put myself in the same league, so do I. I digress.
The first wine yesterday was from the Watervale part of the Clare, a Wines by KT Riesling, 2017, a 10/10 vintage for Riesling in that region. As many of you would know by now, I am a great fan of Clare Riesling, but not this one. Better palates than mine would detect the problem, but to me, the wine lacked that lovely acidic crispness of good Riesling from that region. At 6 yo the wine would normally be drinking at its peak, however, I found the wine to finish with a flat effect. The wine went easily with the excellent pass-arounds by our talented Chef De Jour Steve Liebeskind, however, I was hoping for something a little better.
The next wine was the Lindemans Bin 1155, 2011 Hunter Semillon. Several comments around the Room indicated that 2011 was a poor year in the Hunter for whites, however my research, according to Halliday, regarded it as a fair year 7/10. Some other vintage charts regarded it higher. Anyhow, the bottom line was that I enjoyed the wine to some extent with fine delicate flavours, but lacking in the attractive qualities that a good aged Semillon can possess. The finish was of a fading wine, dare I say insipid. Fruit and acid falling away.
Our third white was the legendary Tyrrells Vat 47 Chardonnay 2013. 13.5%. By all accounts an excellent vintage in the Hunter. I really enjoyed it. Maybe at 10 yo it would have been better if drunk 2/3 years ago, but to my taste, it was still excellent. Now it would seem, I am walking into Tiger Country. So I am putting on my Pith Helmut, my asbestos undies and picking up my trusty Remington 308 with a full magazine. Off I go. I am sufficiently old enough to remember the first release of Vat 47 in 1971. In fact, my grandsons at Riverview think I am so old that I must have been personally acquainted with St Ignatius! I digress to inject some levity into the developing debate. Anyhow, I think it is fair to say that Vat 47 has always been highly regarded since its first release, with of course a price to match! The wine has won many awards over the years. I have always enjoyed the wine when on offer. So it is against this background that I note that at our last two lunches when the wine has been served, it has met with some unflattering remarks from persons whose opinions I respect. On the first occasion, I thought the comments perhaps related to the particular bottle, but on the second occasion, a different vintage, the same outcome. So what is going on here? Have I been guilty over the decades of worshipping a false idol?
I am aware that some in the wine industry do not regard Chardonnay as a suitable grape to grow in the Hunter. There are others who simply do not rate Australian Chardonnay, too big and blousy, too much alcohol and unbalanced, too sweet, over-oaked and so on. All at times valid criticisms. But I do not think that any of these faults existed in the Vat 47s we drank. I like to think that my comments about our wines are by and large shared by the room, as I often seek the opinions of others at the table. With the last two Vat 47s, I thought they were quite sound and very drinkable, but others disagreed. Perhaps we should have an in-depth seminar on why some of us do not like Vat 47. I would imagine we have a fair stock of it in our cellar, so it could be an important exchange of views.
Moving right along, the first red wine was the By Farr PN 2016. Bottled under cork @ 13.5%. Now a 7yo. I would have preferred this wine to be served with less chill on the bottle. Sandwiched between the Chardy and the following big Coonawarra Reds, I felt the PN was lost and out of place. Perhaps it was the chill masking the PN flavours and aroma, but in the end, I found the wine underwhelming.
The final two wines for the lunch were two Society favourites, the ever-dependable Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet from 2008 and the Wynns Coonawarra Shiraz from the same year. Vintage 2008 seems to have been regarded in that region as quite reasonable, and despite both wines now being nearly 15 yo, they were holding up very well. The Cabernet was my pick, great fruit, well-integrated tannins, 14% but in nice balance. An excellent wine. The V& A Lane Shiraz was just behind, an attractive wine drinking beautifully, but just eclipsed in terms of flavour and overall appeal by the Cabernet. I have always felt Cabernet is more suited to that region than Shiraz. In the event, we must recognise Sue Hodder the principal winemaker for her achievements at Wynns for over 25 consecutive vintages, almost all universally good. That’s dedication.
7 March 2023 Steve Sparkes
Wine review by Stephen O'Halloran, Food Review by Nick Reynolds
Wine
Our Chef de Jour Steve Sparkes got our taste buds sharpened up with some seafood pass arounds which were excellent as we have come to expect from this talented man. The wines served were a French Vouvray and a Tasmanian Gruner Veltliner. Dealing with the French wine first it was a 2016 from Bernard Fouquet Dom Aubuisiers. The grape variety was Chenin Blanc of which I am a fan. Today the wine was drinking superbly. 12.5 %, crisp, clean and flavoursome. Quite elegant, but with plenty of zest. A lovely wine. For those interested, the best producer in France of Vouvary is in my opinion Marc Bredif. I have tasted several of his wines 20/30 yo and still drinking well. Bulletproof! The Chenin Blanc grape takes me back to the 70’s and 80’s when Moondah Brook CB was the go-to wine in any Chinese restaurant. Good Times.
The second wine was a pest. I have had this grape variety before, always passable, but not today. Something was wrong here, maybe a bad bottle. I did not like it.
For the main, a very nice Blue Eye Cod, we had another French white, a 2016 Domaine Oratoire St Martin from the Rhone district. A blend mainly of Roussanne and Marsanne. Quite drinkable, but not in my view enjoyable. A tad oxidised perhaps, or perhaps just my lack of familiarity with this blend. A big wine at 14%. Some in the room seemed to enjoy it. Viva La Difference!
The 4th wine on our list was the ever-reliable Best’s Bin 1 Shiraz from 2012. Drinking very well, lots of time ahead. Despite being 14.5 % the wine was well balanced with some lovely lifted spice and pepper overtones, typical of Grampians Shiraz. A very solid performer.
Wine No 5 was the Tyrrells Vat 47 Chardonnay 2017. 13%. This vintage was rated by Tyrrells as being one of the better vintages of recent times and I found this wine most enjoyable. I heard some dissenting opinions around the room, which I had trouble understanding, perhaps some people just do not like Hunter Chardy! At my table, we all thought it was delightful. So it goes.
The final wine of the day was the Craggy Range Otago PN from 2009. This wine holds a very strong emotional attachment for me as it was in the Craggy Range vineyard that my 2nd Son Andrew and his wife Anna were married there in January 09 on the most perfect day possible. Warm sun, no wind, the marquee nestling between the rows of grapes beginning to ripen The majestic mountain range is almost near enough to touch. Many of those there that day declare it to be the best venue for a reception they have been to.
This brief interlude however does not have a happy ending. Anna died 3 years ago from pancreatic cancer leaving Andrew with their two sons aged 9 and 7. The boys and their dad now live with us in Mosman. They now go to Riverview and are beginning to become more settled and happy.
Back to the wine. This PN is now 14 yo and is in my view still drinking very well. 14%, great colour, with a nice integration of oak and tannin. Beautiful PN aromas. Thank you Chilly for putting this wine on. A treat, but don’t leave it too long for the next one.
Food
Steve Sparkes has been a member of WFSNSW for only a brief period but during this time he has demonstrated to us that he always delivers high-quality, tasty, and visually-appealing dishes.
Today his dish for the Chef of the Year Cook-Off was no exception.
For canapés, he started with Coffin Bay Pacific Oysters presented with a homemade Teriyaki sauce which was reduced slightly and served with chives
This was followed by a light seafood terrine that included prawn, crab and scallop with saffron and egg white served on a cracker,
Lastly, he served wonton wrappers moulded in a muffin tin filled with prawns, crabs, chilli, coriander, ginger, garlic and toasted coconut with a tamarind-based dressing. I particularly enjoyed this for the melange of flavours and textures.
Each canapé was very tasty and, more importantly, able to be held and eaten whilst holding and drinking from a glass of wine.
For the main course, Steve sourced restaurant quality-blue-eye trevalla. Each piece was laser cut to 180 grams. The fish was cooked sous vide for 60 minutes at 53C. It was served on steamed basmati rice that was expertly prepared by the restaurant team.
The curry sauce was Sri-Lankan and inspired by Peter Kuravita from Flying Fish. Rather than cooking a fish curry, Steve chose instead to serve the curry sauce as an accompaniment to the fish. This was to allow members to choose how much they wanted. In a further nod to meeting member needs, Steve reported that the heat intensity was dialled down by about 75% from the original recipe.
Steve added a Coconut sambal and Squid Ink Tuile for texture and eye appeal. As a chef, I must note how much effort goes into making individual tuiles simply as an accompaniment. This is something that is normally done by someone in a kitchen brigade rather than a home cook. Steve also added a slice of lime to the plate so that the diner could adjust their dishes to their own tastes.
The cheese was Pyengana and served with a simple salad dressed with vinegar, mustard and olive oil, some home-made preserved kumquats and a, once again home-made tangy relish. The bread was a 'light sourdough' baguette from Bourke Street Bakery.
If Steve is cooking, I recommend that you book as you will always be served an excellent meal.
28 February 2023 Peter Kelso
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.
21 February 2023 Mark Bradford
Meal review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Mark Bradford was in the kitchen as Chef of the day for our second ‘cook off’ for Chef of The Year award. He was assisted by Denys Moore in reprising a Basque-themed meal.
Canapes
Our canapés were ‘pintxos’, which literally translates as a thorn or spike and these are small snacks typically eaten in bars in Northern Spain.
First up we’re ‘gildas’. These Basque tapas are named for a passionate beauty played by Rita Hayworth. Red and green peppers on pintxo are wrapped with anchovy and capped with green Spanish olive.
Then followed baked dates deseeded and stuffed with basil (homegrown), almond slices and maple syrup wrapped with bacon which were then placed in the oven for five minutes (Datiles Rellenos or devils on horseback!)
The canapés were bountiful with complex flavours and perfectly matched the canapé wine on offer.
There were many favourable comments from the floor on the canapé offering.
Main
Mark presented a meal today that showcased why he was chosen for the \Chef of The Year award cook-off. While some delay in plating and getting the meal to our tables, the meal appealed to all our senses, sight, aroma and lastly taste.
A lot of thought and preparation went into the meal with the presentation a key effort and would be similar to any fine diner in our city.
It was a Basque stew of rolled lamb shoulder trimmed, cubed and marinated overnight in Margan Hunter Semillon, garlic and rosemary. Braised then stewed for three hours with sweet paprika, roasted red capsicum strips, chopped deseeded tomatoes, parsley, bay leaf, chicken stock and Tempranillo. Little drops of yoghurt enhanced the flavour of the dish.
Served beside the lamb was turmeric and onion basmati rice topped with a pea and mint puree. It was garnished with fresh mint from Mark’s garden.
The meat was perfectly cooked moist and tender with a good flavour and texture and the right balance of paprika and seasoning.
Well done Mark.
Cheese
James Healey, in theme, provided a hard cow’s milk cheese from Menorca Spain ‘Merco Mahon Curado’.
Mahon’s rind is rubbed with olive oil and paprika which imparts a rusty-orange colour to the exterior. When mature the cheese maintains a milky flavour and characteristic tangy finish.
Mahon is the capital of the rocky island of Menorca, the most northerly of the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain. Cheese has been made on the island since 3000 BC. Today, two ancient breeds of dairy cattle, red Menorquin and black/white spotted Frison, graze on dense island grass and are milked on small family ‘fincas’ or farms which total 600 on Menorca.
Traditionally, this cheese was bound in cloth before pressing which is still done on a small scale on the island. A larger proportion of production is now made in a more efficient modern way which uses square moulds instead. The result is a consistent cheese that captures the true essence of the original. The rind is still rubbed with olive oil and paprika which imparts a rusty-orange colour to the exterior.
The wheels are then ripened for a minimum of 6 months on wooden shelves. When mature or ‘curado’, the cheese maintains a milky character and has developed a nutty flavour and characteristic tangy finish.
Mark accompanied the cheese course with Iggy’s bread, crackers and blackberry jam.
Wine
We went from one extreme to the other in our last two lunches, with a packed-out room on the 14th to a room with plenty of spare seats on the 21st.
The pre-lunch wine was a Pikes Clare Valley Riesling 2010. I love Clare Rieslings. At first glance, I thought that as a just on 13 yo, it may have seen better days, but to my surprise, the wine was in excellent condition and drinking extremely well. Good acid/fruit balance, 12.5% and no sign of ageing. Overall a delicious aperitif.
Moving onto the next white wine which was served with the main course, we greeted a La Minaia Gavi from Italy. Vintage 2021 @13%. Not having tasted this wine before, I was in totally unfamiliar territory. Before writing this report I was forced to conduct some research via Jancis Robinson on this wine. She advises that the grape used to make Gavi is the Cortese grape grown mainly in the Piemonte region. She describes the wine as a renowned Italian dry white wine produced initially to accompany seafood. At its best, she says the wine is fresh and clean and highly regarded. Well, that is what she said. Personally, I found the wine to be very mouth-filling, fat, a tad unctuous, and a little too sweet for my taste. Perhaps the wine would have been better if served as an aperitif or with a white meat dish, but with the strongly flavoured lamb, it was out of place. So it goes.
Wine three was the ever-reliable Wynns Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet from 2015. This wine is a Society favourite and always presents well. 13.8%, well balanced, not too much assertive oak. Massive black Cabernet hue, but no real nose, at least none I could detect. I found the wine finished with a slightly flat aftertaste, hence my comment at the time, that I thought the wine was unexciting! Perhaps my palate had been knocked around by the Gavi!
Wine four was a Craiglee Sunbury Shiraz from 2013 at 13.5%. This is the second Craiglee wine we have had in recent times. More please. The Craiglee vineyard in Victoria was established over a hundred years ago, but like many Australian vineyards over the last century, fell into disuse for many years, only recommencing winemaking operations during the 1970s. Since then it has developed a solid reputation for top-class Shiraz. This wine was no exception, a delightful full-bodied wine, with well-integrated fruit/tannins and oak. Most enjoyable.
The final wine for the day was the very popular, but sadly very expensive Charlie Melton GSM from 2009, my favourite wine of the day. It had a lifted aroma of spiced fruits and a sophisticated intertwining of all three grapes producing a strongly flavoured wine but balanced with a lingering aftertaste. That’s what I call exciting. I was a bit surprised to hear our WineMaster express some negative comments, and I of course bow to his superior knowledge, with his expert palate possibly detecting some faults that bypassed me, however, that said, it was my pick of the litter.
14 February 2023 Bernard Leung
Food review by James Hill and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran
Food
The room was full today for our first mixed lunch of the year with Bernard Leung in the kitchen today as Chef of the Day in our first “cook-off” for Chef of the Year 2022. He was assisted by member Alan Langridge who Bernie advised had spent four hours cutting vegetables in preparation for the lunch.
Today’s lunch had a Spanish/Moroccan theme and we started with a flavourful and textural gazpacho. It was made from de-seeded tomatoes, peeled cucumber, and capsicum with some red onion and a clove of raw garlic for some bite. Tablespoons of olive oil and sherry vinegar were added then ground cumin and blitzed in a blender along with a thick slice of soaked bread for a fuller thicker consistency. It was topped with some bread croutons and red, green and yellow peppers.
Next served were some perfectly made Serrano ham croquettes. Bernard explained he had to cook them twice as initially, they were too runny!
These consisted of Serrano ham diced into 5mm cubes, with béchamel sauce seasoned with nutmeg and grated Parmesan cheese. It was then rolled in egg and bread crumbs allowed to cool and then deep fried. They were served on top of aioli that secured them on the plate.
Very popular with our members today.
Our main course was quail with couscous and romesco sauce.
Tunnel-boned quail were marinated overnight in cumin, coriander, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper. They were then pan-fried to brown the outside, before finishing in the oven. This was served on a bed of couscous made with vegetable stock, and mixed with diced and de-seeded tomatoes, sultanas, cucumbers, chopped parsley and mint and finished with lemon juice and olive oil. The romesco sauce tomato, capsicums, and almonds oven roasted, and then blitzed with sugar, salt and red chilli. A good heat not overwhelming.
Extra bowls of sauce were served to our tables for those that liked a little more spice.
The quail was perfectly cooked, moist and flavourful. Not an easy task with 58 serves.
There were many favourable comments and the food presented was a worthy contender for COTY.
Well done Bernard.
Today's cheese presented by our Cheesemaster, James Healey, was Fromager D’Affinois Florette a white goat’s milk cheese from France.
It was soft, surface-ripened pure goats’ cheese made near Lyons, France.
This new cheese uses special microfiltration techniques that concentrate the rich solids in the goat’s milk ensuring a very smooth texture and delicious rounded creamy flavour.
Fromagerie Guilloteau are leaders in a modern process called “ultra filtration”. Ultra filtration is a technique co-created by Jean-Claude Guilloteau and occurs before the cheese making process. Pasteurised milk is forced through a series of membranes, extracting protein and removing water concentrating all other desirable components. This results in the production of consistent, nutritionally rich cheeses that have a silkier mouth feel and creamy subtle flavour.
Accompanying the cheese was a salad with a buttermilk vinegarette made from buttermilk, apple cider vinegar, white balsamic and honey and served with mixed leave salad and peaches.
Wine
A mixed lunch produced a bumper crowd of 50+ to kick off our second lunch of the new year. Two very smart Rieslings greeted us initially, a Holm Oak from the Tamar Valley in Tas 2015 and my old favourite a Seppelt Drumborg from 2016. I thought both were a treat.
The Holm Oak was a lot dryer than most Tassie Rieslings which usually have distinctive residual sugar /fruit overtones The wine had an appealing flavour, was ageing well for an 8 yo and I really enjoyed it with the aperitifs.
The second Riesling, the Drumborg, was by general acclaim a better wine and I have always thought that this Riesling is consistently amongst our top six Rieslings. This particular bottle was excellent 7 yo drinking probably at its peak but with no indication of fading. Let us hope that our Wine Master has plenty more in our cellar.
The next wine served on our table was the Yabby Lake Chardonnay 2015. A true delight. Complex flavours, restrained oak and delicate but very flavoursome. A beauty! 12.5 %. Drinking in my view at its optimum. Wish I had some.
The next cab off the rank at our table was the (wait for it) Malterdinger Spatburgunder, try to pronounce that! 2015 from Baden in Germany. Someone suggested it was a first cousin to Pinot Noir. Whatever its genealogy, the wine was enjoyable but a tad one-dimensional, sound but lacking in any varietal characteristic A nice wine that did not demand one’s attention.
The final two reds both from the vintage of 2012 were great choices by our Wine Master coming from arguably our best regions for Cabernet, Coonawarra and Margaret River. I think it is fair to say that by general comment around the room, the Leeuwin Estate was a clear favourite over the Mildara without any disrespect to the latter. The Leeuwin was superbly balanced and elegant, yet powerful and a wonderful Bordeaux style. By comparison, the Mildara was a bigger wine but lacked the elegance of the Leeuwin. As a matter of interest, the label on the Mildara made mentions the famous “Peppermint Pattie“ produced by the company in the 1963 vintage. I was fortunate to taste this wine from time to time many years ago and it was a truly remarkable wine. The overwhelming mint flavour was quite unique. The memory still lingers.
7 February 2023 James Hill
Food notes by James Hill and wine review by James Tinslay
Our room was packed for our first lunch of the year with a Greek-themed menu that celebrated the season.
Canapés
Prawns served on spoons with a tomato sauce. Prawns are great at this time of the year and today a great example of good texture and flavour. They were medium-cooked tiger prawns served on a sauce made up of tomatoes, onions, white wine, dried Greek oregano, prawn heads and tails and parsley. This is normally a sauce to bake prawns in, today made separately and served at room temperature and used to add a flavour boost to the prawns
Next up was some homemade hummus made with organic dried chickpeas and topped with Aleppo pepper and finished with a dash of olive oil. The hummus was made on Sunday to allow the flavours to integrate.
Last of the canapés was some whipped cod roe topped with avruga caviar and served on Jatz biscuits. Avruga caviar is a caviar substitute made from herring and other products. It does not contain fish roe however still has an aroma and flavour not dissimilar to caviar.
Main
Solomós Lemonato (salmon baked in lemon)
Some robust flavours on the plate today. Australian salmon marinated in garlic, green olives, thinly sliced lemon, a mixture of dried oregano, fennel seeds, salt and pepper and olive oil. It was cooked at 180C for eight minutes and came to the table perfectly cooked thanks to the supervision of our chef Rob Doll.
It was accompanied by orzo and spring onions, agrodolce, radicchio and a dollop of skordalia. The radicchio was cooked with EVOO and merlot vinegar, the cooking softened the bitterness and the vinaigrette adding a touch of sweetness.
Skordalia is purée of bread, almond meal, egg yolk, garlic and lemon juice and today the garlic wasn’t overly dominant.
Orzo, also known as risoni, is a form of short-cut pasta shaped like a large grain of rice. It is made from durum wheat. Once cooked it is added to spring onions that were cooked with EVOO salt and pepper till wilted.
Our Italian-speaking member Julian lead us in the proper pronunciation of radicchio (hard c).
Cheese
Cheese today, sourced by the chef of the day, was Kefalograviera a popular Greek cheese made from sheep's and goat's milk. Kefalograviera's flavour is slightly salty.
Source: sheep and goat’s milk.
Origin: Greece,
Texture: firm,
Colour: pale yellow.
The room was divided on the enjoyment of the cheese, some saying they wished the XCheesemaster was here so they could tell him it wasn’t liked.
It was served with a cucumber and tomato salad. The tomato salad was made with coriander seeds, fennel seeds, paprika, dried chilli and lashings of olive oil.
Bread today was Iggys perfect to sop up the salad dressing.
Wine
Canapé wines
- 2019 Robert Stein Dry Riesling (Mudgee)
- 2011 Craggy Range Te Muna Road Riesling (Hawkes Bay)
Both of these Rieslings were enjoyed by all. However, there the similarities end. The Mudgee wine was already showing some development at four years of age with clear Riesling fruit with lemon and lime tones noted. The New Zealand wine at ten years of age was still in wonderful condition with bright fruit, despite its maturity. At first, the palate tricks you into believing it may be over-sweet but that feeling fades away when it apparently is just real Riesling fruit.
Main course wines
- 2017 Collector Wines Tiger Tiger Chardonnay (Tumbarumba)
- 2014 Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay (Adelaide Hills)
The two wines to accompany the salmon were well selected and both of them were rich and soft. The Tumbarumba fruit was full and rich and accompanied by some zesty overtones that made it a well-balanced wine at its peak. The M3 Chardonnay being a few years older was a little softer and richer with a huge mouthfeel. Some found it lightly reductive but given I find the struck match characteristic an unenjoyable and unnecessary part of a Chardonnay whilst others don’t, there was never going to be a consensus.
Cheese wines
- 2011 David Reynaud Crozes-Hermitage (Northern Rhone)
- 2009 Cherubino Shiraz (Frankland Rivwer)
These two wines had the room split on the preference and even the drinkability of the Crozes-Hermitage. I have not liked this Reynaud wine in the past, and this week my feelings were no different. However, at least half the room disagreed with this view. I found the wine over-extracted with a strange metallic edge. It was just weird. The wine showed vibrant black fruits of blackcurrant and blackberries with spicy overtones. Many enjoyed it including our well-credentialled winemakers. The Cherubino was a very good Australian Shiraz with well over ten years of age. It was elegant and smooth, a modern Australian wine, and much liked by all who spoke although some thought it may have been better a few years ago. Fruit versus age, the constant divide.