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

Food

Our chef of the day was Madan the third member of our talented and professional team in the kitchen at the Royal Exchange. Madan is also the events chef at the Commercial Traveller’s Club in the CBD, another venue managed by Rex manager Alistair French.

Canapé

Aloo sandheko

Half potatoes served with mixed spices, tomato and yoghurt on the top, garlic and ginger.

Machha Achar

Prawns mixed with ginger, garlic and garam masala, Szechuan powder and scallops on the top it sat on top of a cucumber cup.

Hass choila (Duck choila)

BBQ duck breast mixed with Nepalese-style spices, garlic, ginger and garam masala and served in small pastry cups

A good mix of spice and use of textures in the canapés with some heat in the duck choila on the after palate.

Main

The kitchen was busy today and there was some delay in serving main.

Pork shaphaley (fried meat pie)

Deep-fried puff pastry is traditionally served with spicy chutney. The filling was minced pork, onions, cabbage and sambal,

Sichuan pepper, coriander and ginger.

The homemade chutney was made with tomato, garlic, lemon and chilli.

Who doesn’t love a pie, in this case a Nepalese pie .. we’re converts!

Lovely flaky pastry generously filled with the pork and a good balance of spices and aromatics with the sauce a perfect complement to the pie.

It was a great effort with a lot of preparation and thought going into today's meal and much appreciated by all for the authentic and interesting Nepalese food.

Cheese

Manchego aged 12 months

The distinct sweet, milky flavour and delicate herbal aroma of El Esparto Cave Ripened Manchego is very different to industrial plastic-coated Manchego.
Taking its name from the plaited Esparto grass belts traditionally used by farmstead dairies to girdle young curds as they drained, this unique cheese is produced in La Mancha from the highest quality ewe’s milk. Certified by the Manchego council, its rind is coated with natural charcoal before it is ripened in a series of stone-lined underground caves.

Each cave is connected to an above-ground greenhouse filled with herbs including rosemary, thyme and lavender. The warm, aromatic greenhouse air flows to the cave, filling it with unique seasonal aromas.

After 6 months aging, the moist ivory-coloured interior has developed a mild finish with a lingering hint of caramel and almonds. The natural grey rind has an ashy appearance and contains no artificial colours or mould inhibitors.

Accompanying the cheese was a dressed mixed leaf salad.

Wine

An impressive mix of wines was on the table for our gathering today.

We kicked off with a German Riesling a Wittmann from the Rheinhessen Region. 2017 12%. The wine was described as a Trocken Riesling. Trocken meaning dry. An enjoyable wine, well balanced with fruit and high acid. Overtones of citrus and apple were noticeable. Without a doubt a German wine with obvious sugar, despite the fact that this is the dry end of the scale of German Rieslings. I cannot help but feel that German Rieslings of this style get a bit lost on the Australian palate where we are more attuned to flavours of say a Clare Valley Riesling. The wine comes from a renowned producer and is clearly a good wine, but to me, this style is neither fish nor fowl, with lots of residual sugar so as to be noticeable, but falling short of the luscious degree of sweetness of say an Auslese. Perhaps I am expressing myself poorly in trying to slot this wine into a category of wines that would appeal to our local palates. I do think that the wine would be better accompanied by some solid food. I am probably being harsh as the wine is clearly of top quality.

A late entrant not on the published list was the magnificent Tyrrells Johhno’s Semillon. 2013. We enjoyed this wine only a few weeks ago, see my report of lunch on 5 September. Just hope we are not drinking it too quickly as it deserves extended cellaring A great wine.

Next to greet our taste buds was a Sancerre from the Loire Henri Bourgeois 2010 13%. I have enjoyed Sancerre from good years, and 2010 appears to have been a good year. Just how you can reconcile a Sauvignon Blanc from a Sancerre with an SB from NZ, I will never know. A Sancerre is dry, enjoyably pungent and well-balanced in fruit and acid with a delightful  ‘more please “ aftertaste. A far cry from the evil  Lantana-like aromas of the same grape grown in NZ.  I enjoyed the wine, but I must say it was as a 13yo SB, being drunk 5 to 6 years beyond it’s peak.

The next wine was a Chenin Blanc 2011 From Nicolas Joly 14.5%. In a word, “GONE“ The colour gave it away without even the need to sample. Age would not have been a problem as I have drunk plenty of Chenin Blanc 20 to 30 yo and they seem almost bulletproof, alas not this little number. The wine had vague smells of a Sherry. The wine was clearly oxidised and finished. All three bottles served were the same, not just one bad bottle. Let's hope we have no more in the cellar.

Moving onto the Reds, we were treated to two great wines, a Morgon 2013 and a 2014 Hunter Shiraz. Both silk purse categories. The Morgon is made from Gamay, the principal wine of Beaujolais, but that is about where the similarity ends. Most Beaujolais are medium in texture, light and fruity with the intention of being glugged down young. On the other hand, the Morgon is a very serious wine, meant to be shown respect for its class. Very popular internationally, the wine has a cult following which is not surprising, given it’s dense, meaty and hugely flavoursome taste. 12.5% now 10 yo, but drinking superbly. I loved it, wine of the day in my view, hope we have some more in the cellar for that special occasion.

The final wine of the day was the Tyrrells Stevens Shiraz 2014 at 13.8% I was expecting the wine to be good having enjoyed it before. I was not disappointed. Dark intense fruit flavours of black cherry mixed with some mild tannin and French oak, good acid providing for a lingering clean finish, a great wine.

About 10 years ago I had a professional relationship with a chap, who amongst other activities had a small vineyard in the Hunter. I think the 2014 harvest had just been picked when he bumped me in the street and told me how great was the 2014 vintage. His advice to me was to buy as much of the 2014, red or white as you can afford.  His parting words were “even a mug like me is making great wines in 2014“. Very sage advice indeed.