Food review by James Hill (as CoTD) and wine review by Stephen O'Halloran

Food

Near-capacity bookings for our mixed lunch today with yours truly in the kitchen assisted by Jonathan Casson and Gary Linnane.

Canapés

First up Jen’s crisp cheddar biscuits topped with sesame seeds, with some cayenne adding a ‘bite’ at the finish. Perfect with champagne.

Then came Kay’s duck liver pâté, fresh organic duck livers were used to make the pâté, good lively flavour and texture, served on oven-baked white bread toasts. It could have had more cognac for my palate.

Jonathan Casson was up next with a savoury prosciutto roll with pears, Gorgonzola picante and wild rocket.

Gary reprised his signature canapé a white bean anchoïade topped with some Cantabrian anchovies served in pastry cases. Gary used the Tarbais beans that Society member Scott Witt provided.

The beans were puréed with some Parmigiano-Reggiano, cream cheese capers, anchovy, lemon zest and EVOO.

Full of flavour, creamy, thick and rich.

Plentiful canapés and highly commended by members and guests today.

Main

Our main course today was a chicken smoked cheese and bacon rotolo.  Served with chicken fat potato gratin, shaved brussels sprouts sautéed in butter and water and topped with a cream sauce of sherry, chicken stock, shallots and caramelised button mushrooms.

The rotolo main ingredients are chicken breast mince, diced salami, onions, garlic, mustard, parmesan, parsley and bread crumbs. It’s then patted out to an even rectangle with mint leaves pressed over the surface. Thin slices of ham are layered and then sprinkled with grated smoked Dutch cheese. It’s then rolled up and covered with bacon rashers it was baked for an hour, rested for twenty minutes sliced and served.

Lots of flavour in the rotolo complemented by the rich cream sauce.

Bread today was Iggys ‘super long’ white sourdough.

Cheese

Our cheese master Mark Bradford presented a superb Bay of Fires cheddar from the East Coast of Tasmania.

This was served with some quince, a Mark Best recipe, poached with star anise, sugar syrup, lemon juice and zest, cloves, juniper berries and vanilla bean.

A good accompaniment to the cheese.

Technically, cheddar cow's milk from St Helens, Tasmania.

A traditional cloth-bound cheddar from St Helens in Tasmania, made by 13th generation cheese makers hailing from England. This farmhouse cheddar is aged for a minimum of one year on Tasmanian oak boards, which gives the cheese its unique characteristics.

The result is an intensely earthy cheese reminiscent of a damp cave, with an authentic crumbly texture.

Each table received a bottle of 2017 Chateau Miselle Sauternes donated by yours truly.

Wine

Lunch today was with the ladies, a very pleasant occasion with a near full house. Our Chef de Jour James Hill treated us with some sensational pass-arounds and then a superb main. We finished up with a terrific cheese. Others will comment on the food and I will confine my comments to the wine.

As you would expect for a ladies lunch, Champagne was obligatory and a NV Lanson did the Job.  A satisfactory NV Fizz, the wine was well received as judged by the number of empty bottles! An excellent partner for the delicious pass-arounds.  Next on the aperitif list was the Minaia Gavi 2021 13%. I had reviewed this wine in my report of 22 March, when I reported that I found the wine unimpressive. The problem was that the wine was served with a strongly flavoured lamb dish.  The wine today was presented as an aperitif wine and went extremely well with the pass-arounds. Well balanced, flavoursome with a great balance of fruit/acid and an attractive aftertaste. No wonder this wine from the Piedmont district is a very popular wine in Italy. A good example of how food flavours can impact on  the taste of a wine.

Our first wine with the chicken main was a White Burgundy, a Macon-Verze 2015, 14%. From my vintage charts a reasonable year for whites in Burgundy, but not as good as for the red wines. Upon tasting the wine, I found it quite enjoyable, but nothing to write home about.  At my table, I found myself the odd man out, as the wine was acclaimed by just about everyone else, must be me? The wine had the usual features of a Village Chardonnay, had no obvious faults, and was balanced and still fresh and clean, although now 8 yo. I just felt the wine was a little lacking in flavour with no real aftertaste. Happy to accept that I may be out of step with the majority,

The Yabby Lake PN 2014, 12.5 % was a cracker, warm and inviting, with excellent PN flavours, substantial texture, and a bit more colour than the average Australian PN. Showing no sign of ageing, although it is now a 9 yo. Lingering clean finish. One of the best.

The excellent PN was followed by a 2012 Sancerre SB from the Loire. Enjoyable wine with a good balance of flavours, I preferred it to the Macon. Amazing how SB from the Loire tastes nothing like a NZ SB. They may as well be different grape varieties. Still fresh and lively with a clean aftertaste. Holding together well for a white now 11yo.

The final wine for the day was a Bricco dei Merli Barbera d’Alba from 2014, 13.5 %.

Totally enjoyable, in fact quite delicious. A perfect food wine as are most quality Italian wines. Excellent balance of tannin, oak and fruit. These wines never seek to dominate the taste buds, and just compliment the food being served. A very satisfying wine to finish the afternoon along with the excellent cheese.