Lunch report- Nick Reynolds,
by James Hill (food) and Stephen O'Halloran (wine)
Always guarantee a crowd turning up when our cellar master Nick Reynolds is in the kitchen. A good number attending today especially after a long weekend.
Canapés
Yours truly presented oven baked persimmon with cherry bocconcini, a drizzle of garlic and pepper infused balsamic syrup and crispy prosciutto served on spoons. Nick followed with some crisp tart shells made from baked wonton wrappers filled with smoked salmon, cream cheese, and chopped chives, served garnished with chopped smoked salmon and chives.
Sourdough blinis topped with lime marmalade, sour cream and a cooked prawn as a tribute to Peter Gilmore’s sourdough pikelet with marmalade, sour cream and yabby served at Bennelong’s cultured and cured bar.
Main
The main was slow-cooked lamb shoulder shredded and formed into a roulade cooked like a filet steak and topped with a pickled celery, parsley, and pistachio pesto. Also served was 57° cooked lamb tenderloin seared and cut diagonally. The cooking juices from the lamb shoulder were made into a jus for the tenderloin with the addition of some extra chicken stock, Japanese umami stock, and port wine. The dish was served with a potato pavé with a layer of eggplant through the middle; carrot, cream, and mint purée; and some steamed broccolini.
It had that wow effect!
Many comments suggesting fine dining restaurant quality.
A high standard set today,
thanks Nick.
Bread: organic bread stick from Bonfire bread.
Cheese
Mark Bradford selected a hard cow’s milk cheese from northern Italy near Venice for our lunch today ‘Latteria Perenzin’
In 2015, at the Global Cheese Awards, the cheese San Pietro in Beeswax was elected Best Italian and Best European Cheese. This renowned cheese made by Perenzin Latteria became one amongst the 60 excellent handmade cheeses in the world.
Such cheese, made with 100% cow’s milk cheese, is covered on its rind by natural beeswax and left to age for at least 12 months; the aging preserves humidity within its paste, spreading it in a homogeneous way and giving it a silky texture, as well as a persisting taste, with its aromas of honey, vanilla and toasted notes.
It was served with organic dates and mixed nuts.
Wine Report
A good roll up of 37 or so enjoyed a terrific afternoon. Excellent food via our multi skilled Nick Reynolds who cooked Lamb 2 ways & then backed up as Wine master with some delicious wines. Quite a feat. See food report for full details.
The Canape wine was an excellent Brian Croser Tapanappa Chardonnay 2021 @ 14%. A wine from the Piccadilly Valley in SA near Adelaide. I have always been a fan of Croser's chardonnays since the early days of his Petaluma wines. He makes his chardy in a very definable style, disciplined, restrained & structured. A far cry from the huge chardys we were drinking in the 1980's, just a few years before the first Petalumas were released.
This wine was highly enjoyable, wonderful quality fruit, acid balance just right producing a crisp tantalising finish. A perfect wine for a plate of Melon & Purscuttio on a warm sunny day. Colour was gleaming green gold, peach, grapefruit & nectrine flavours swirling around on the palate. There was however some dissenting views expressed about an excess of oak. A fair point. Whilst I accept the oak issue, to my taste it did not stop me from enjoying the wine. Oak was certainly detectable, but not in my view overdone. Another Bottle Garcon!
First wine on the lunch list was a beauty, the Stella Bella Cab 2019 @ 14.3%. A wine from Margaret River, 94% Cab & 6% Malbec. If anyone has difficulty in picking the Cab grape from other red wines, buy a bottle of this wine & you will be thoroughly educated I what Cab tastes & smells like. The wine presented as a medium bodied elegant wine, redolent with strong aromas of cassis, mulberries & plumbs. A very profound aroma, gorgeous. Firm tannin & some oak showing in a precise finish, utterly delicious. What else can I say? Many years ahead of great drinking. My wine of the day, the others may as well pack up now & go home!
Wine 2 was a Shaw & Smith Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2015 @ 14.3%. Any red wine following upon the Stella Bella would have the impossible task of presenting itself well, batting after Bradman, as the old saying went. That said & appropriate allowances made, this wine was definitely off the pace. I have always had a high regard for S & S Wines which are universally first rate, however this particular wine was a disappointment. A cool climate Adelaide Hills shiraz, mid weight now fully developed. Mouth feel was velvety & smooth, but it lacked flavour, possibly due to acid fall off. Some nice hints on the front palate of pepper & spice, which however soon vanished in a flat finish. I was surprised the wine did not live up to the high standards of S & S.
Wine 3 the Curley Flat Pinot 2016 @ 13.7%, was indeed a pleasing surprise. I had thought that at 10 yo the pinot might have seen better days, but I was proved wrong! The wine proved to be a real charmer. From the Macedon Ranges in VIC, this wine still had plenty of life, rich cherry & strawberry aromas, light to medium body for a pinot. Curley Flat has earned a well deserved reputation as a top class Pinot producer, amply demonstrated by this wine. I really liked the fruit acid balance & the delightful finish. I like surprises like this!
Final wine for the room was another Vic wine from the Yarra Valley, the Helens Hill Shiraz 2020 @ 14.8%. This wine initially appeared to be an old style Barossa Blockbuster Shiraz with its huge black opaque colour. Appearances can be deceptive. The wine turned out on the palate to be quite elegant & restrained. I really liked the matching of the wine's oak, tannin & acids leading to a delightfully well balanced, easily drinkable red wine despite its threating initial appearance. This producer has gained a growing reputation for some high-quality reds & this wine is a good example of its skills. Sound buying Wine master.
