Food review by James Hill and wine review by James Tinslay

Food

Resident Chef Rob Doll was on the hobs for us today delivering some exceptional fare.

Canapés

First up venison and juniper tartare topped with toasted sourdough on betel leaf.

Then followed warm cauliflower purée with foie gras served on spoons.

Main

Perfectly cooked pork belly with crackling accompanied by cabbage sautéed in butter and a silky parsnip purée topped with a stem of deep-fried cavolo nero. A light chicken pork sauce finished the dish.

Rob said the secret to cooking crackling is to put it in the fridge on Friday which reduces the water content of the skin. It’s salted on Tuesday morning the skin having become glass-like, perfect for ‘crackling’.

In both canapés and main we can see the skill of our chef, the presentation, flavour, texture and innovation.

It was a great lunch with a ‘wow’ factor.

Cheese

Selected by Rob an Australian white mould, cow's milk cheese from Castlemaine Victoria.

An artisan soft bloomy cheese in the style of a French soft cheese like those from Brie, but with its own Australian identity, named after Australia’s iconic soft-petalled wildflower. Creamy dense paste becomes softer and oozier as it ripens from the outside in, with mild nutty tones developing into more oniony/cauliflower flavours as it ages and softens.

Made in 1kg wheels in the style of a traditional French artisan Brie, with a soft dense paste and a thin rind, it ripens from the outside in, its mild chalky interior becoming softer, creamier and more pungent as it ages.

Aspect: white/cream colour, the bloomy rind is slightly wavy, becoming flecked with brown as it ripens.

Texture: dense and semi-soft with a slightly chalky core when young, becoming creamy and melty, slightly oozy but not liquid, as it ripens.

Flavour: mild, creamy/lactic and slightly nutty when young, becoming more full-flavoured, cabbagy and yeasty as it ripens.

 A Radicchio salad was served with the cheese.

Two types of bread with main and cheese today both served warm.

Wine

Arriving at the luncheon today and seeing the six wines that we were to enjoy, I got the clear impression that we were in for a range of grape and taste profiles.

Canapé wine 1. Gundog Estate 2019 The Chase Semillon. The visuals were medium hue with a clean profile on the palate, but more developed than, say, a Tyrrells from the Hunter Valley. It appeared to have a year good slug of sulphur and whilst not a poor wine was middling. From comments around the room, it was not overly popular.

Canapé wine 2. Pikes Riesling 2010. With wines at thirteen years old, there always tends to be a dichotomy between those who like their young fruity Rieslings and those who like the age characteristics. The fruit was drying but in its favour, there was a very developed Riesling character with a touch of sweetness.

2008 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Le Serre Nuove – This is the second wine of Tenuta dell'Ornellaia. I have always enjoyed this wine and it makes me wonder why people pay much more for the upmarket “first growth” version. Even this second wine is not cheap. Full-bodied, with juicy, velvety tannins and a very long finish. Bolgheri has vastly improved over the last twenty years and was underrated but that appears to have changed. This wine was Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot). It goes by the misnomer of “Super Tuscan”. At fifteen years of age. The wine is at its peak and showing significant browning. Drinking well now and enjoyed the dry chewy tannins which worked well with the food. 14.5%

2012 Monili Tarantione Primitivo - Primitivo is what we used to call Zinfandel back in the 70s and 80s. The style is basically rich and sweet and often alcoholic. This wine at 13% was surprisingly low in alcohol and at eleven years of age had a brown meniscus. The wine is from Puglia and whilst not my favourite grape seemed to work well with the wonderful pork we enjoyed from Rob today.

2010 Goaty Hill Pinot Noir - Goaty Hill, was a label from the wonderful Tamar Valley which produces many wonderful wines. The winery was relaunched some years ago as Small Wonder (go figure!). I agreed with many who thought this wine was probably passed its peak, having lost its fruit and was decidedly simple. A shame, Tamar produces some very good wines. 13.4%

2018 Toolangi Chardonnay - This wine comes from Dixon’s Creek in Yarra Valley and produces some very well-priced wines. At five years of age. I thought the wine was at its peak. Showing a buttery malo character. A little flabby and a touch more acid would have been appreciated. However, it did go well with the cheese and once again, a white wine with the Cheesemasters cheese was a big success. 13%