James Hill COTD 12TH May The morning autumnal showers cleared today for our Spanish lunch, presented by Society favourite James Hill — or just for today, Jaime Colina.

Our most recent Life Member and multiply awarded Chef of the Year and Alexiou Trophy winner, James (Jaime), put together a cracker of a lunch with some great wines to match. Bucking recent trends of delegating responsibilities, Chef of the Day James prepared the entire meal himself.

Food Report - Mark Bradford 

James served us three delightful canapés with a southern European theme.

The first was Wagyu bresaola with Fuyu persimmons. The persimmon was baked for 15 minutes with EVOO and served with balsamic vinegar.

Second to appear was baby bocconcini with anchovy and stuffed green olives, baked with oregano and topped with baby Roma tomatoes. Both of these canapés were held together by toothpicks.

Finally, we were served tiger prawns with Marie Rose sauce on lettuce in spoons — reminiscent of retro prawn cocktails.

All were tasty, not too filling, and a good match with the canapé wine.

The main meal — Catalan‑themed — was a real gem. It featured skin‑on, bone‑out organic chicken thighs cooked with a sauce of tomato, spring onion, garlic and white wine. James added a Catalan picada during the cooking process.

Lastly, freshly steamed clams (vongole) were added, with the sauce served over saffron rice. This was accompanied by al dente snow peas and more picada on top of the chicken.

The picada was made with garlic cloves, blanched almonds and hazelnuts, ciabatta slices, parsley and EVOO.

The chicken was cooked to perfection — moist inside with a firm, crispy skin. Understandably, comments in the room were highly favourable.

Cheese

As requested by James, the Cheese Master sourced L’Amuse Brabander Gouda, an artisan goat‑milk cheese from the Netherlands. It has been some three years since this popular cheese last appeared on our tables.

The porcelain‑white paste of this cheese is a stark contrast to the deep amber colour synonymous with classic Dutch gouda. Brabander comes from the Brabant region in the south, not far from Antwerp in Belgium.

The fresh milk of Saanen goats is used to create large wheels of gouda that age for three weeks before selection by oplegger (ripener) Betty Koster for maturation at her facility just outside Amsterdam. Betty’s unique technique of maturing gouda in warm rooms is unusual in the Netherlands. The higher temperature and humidity encourage complex flavours of sweet cream and toasted nuts, while the texture remains creamy and dense with a smooth finish.

James accompanied the cheese with fennel, apple, cucumber, celery, parsley, apple cider vinegar and EVOO.

Today’s bread was from Iggy’s in Bronte, and the chicken and Wagyu were sourced from Sam the Butcher in Bondi.

Wine Report - by Stephen O'Halloran                                                                                   

A reasonable turnout of 30+ sat down to a superb meal prepared by one of our finest chefs, James Hill, who never fails to deliver in the high‑quality food department.

For the very tasty canapés we drank a wine that was not on the list — namely, the Orlando Steingarten Riesling 2013 @ 11%. The anticipated wine, the Vickery Riesling, was nowhere to be seen. A missed delivery perhaps. In any event, thanks to some quick work by our acting wine master for the day, Rob Guthrie, disaster was averted and we secured sufficient supplies of Steingarten off the reserve bench to jolly us along with the canapés. It just goes to show the strength of our cellar when the reserve wine is one of Australia’s finest whites.

The Orlando Steingarten Riesling has developed a cult following since its first release in 1968, the vineyard having been established by the legendary Colin Gramp in 1962. A rocky hill amongst the otherwise flat ground of Rowland Flat in the Barossa, the vineyard stands 1600 ft above sea level and is home to one of the best Rieslings we have. The name translates from German as “Garden of Stones”, and having been there, I can say the name is very apt.

Now at 13 years old, the wine is still fresh, clean, and in great shape. Green‑gold in colour, with sufficient acid to deliver a crisp finish. Powerful flavours of lime and other citrus fruits — a joy to drink now, and seemingly with many years of wonderful drinking ahead. A top cool‑climate wine.

The first wine for our meal was a cracker: the Yabby Lake Pinot 2014 @ 12.5%. What a treat. A wine from the Mornington Peninsula — elegant and classy. A great bouquet of typical Pinot Noir red fruits, spice, and earth; very aromatic with a lifted nose. On the palate, silky, generous, and inviting. Light red‑brick colour with a tantalising finish. Mild tannin and oak interwoven seamlessly. This must be one of our top Pinots. An inspired choice by our wine master.

Our second wine was the Scorpo Chardonnay “Aubaine”, from the ancient French name for Chardonnay. Another wine from the Mornington Peninsula. Vintage 2017 @ 12.9%. Wow — what a big wine, leaving you in no doubt that you were drinking an Australian Chardy. Big fruit, buttery, with strong oak influence and sharp acidity. Redolent of stone fruits and very mouth‑filling.

To my taste, I found the wine overwhelming — too muscular and dominating for my palate. I found myself wishing for a much more restrained Chardonnay, such as a Brian Croser Tapanappa. There was some talk around the room about where on the wine list this wine should have been placed — first, second, or down with the cheese. I’m glad it wasn’t our first wine, as I’m sure it would have crushed the living daylights out of the more elegant Pinot.

The third wine was a perennial Society favourite: Wynns Black Label Cabernet. 2009 @ 14%. A very typical Black Label — the wine our members love in any vintage. Winemaker Sue Hodder has the recipe just right, producing year after year a wine of consistent appeal and high quality.

Over the years I’ve often thought that the Black Label series has become a bit like a can of Coke — you always know it will be good. But on a serious note, the winemaking team at Wynns deserve congratulations for their consistency of excellence with this Coonawarra Cabernet.

The wine today, now 17 years old, with colour not fading in any noticeable way, is a delight to drink. Rich and opulent, medium‑bodied, cellared for six years before release, allowing the wine to develop its typical Wynns composition of dark red/black fruits, tannin, and oak — all well integrated, leading to a powerful and satisfying finish. The room loved it.

The final wine of the day was the Bruno Rocca Barbera d’Alba 2021 @ 15%. Rich and intense. Opaque in its black darkness, this is a wine made by one of Italy’s top Barbera producers. To my taste, some slight tannic and acidic overtones (nothing like a Nebbiolo) were noticeable. The wine was lush, with cherry, plum, and mulberry flavours.

From the Piedmont region, the wine today gave the impression of being in a brooding phase — now only six years old, pausing in its structure until full development in ten years or so. Enjoyable, but with more to offer in the years ahead.

My wine of the day: the Yabby Lake. But I suspect the room would have gone for the Wynns.

If you’d like, I can also format this into a clean, board‑ready tasting report layout consistent with your Society’s style.