Food report by James Hill
Full house for our monthly wine tasting as we welcomed longstanding member Bruce Tyrrell to showcase Tyrrell wines from our cellar.
Former President and current Food Master Bill Alexiou-Hucker was in the kitchen with his nephew Tom Squires, also the grandson of well-known member Peter Squires.
Canapés
Tom presented some smoked trout pâté topped with dill and set on a blini.
Bill followed with white bean purée made with some chilli oil, topped with an anchovy and parsley, on a water cracker.
Next, some meatballs made on Sunday to ensure the flavours were integrated. The meatballs were made with pork, lamb and beef, seasoning spices and grated raw onion. A tasty roasted capsicum dipping sauce accompanied.
Eagerly devoured and praised by members today.
Main
A perfect winter dish to accompany the wines on taste today.
Bill presented a six-hour roasted lamb shank marinated in lemon juice, EVOO and salt. It was served with a tomato sauce and a silky parsnip purée underneath. It was topped with a crusty panko and sultana gremolata — the meat fell off the bone!
A hearty lunch, executed with great success and very much appreciated by all today.
Cheese
Mark Bradford selected an Italian cow's and sheep's milk cheese, 'Occelli in Foglie di Castagno'. This semi-hard Italian masterpiece is crafted from a blend of cow's and sheep's milk and matured in Valcasotto. Wrapped in chestnut leaves, it develops a syrupy, nutty, and slightly sweet flavour profile.
This is one of my favourite cheeses, and it came to the table in perfect condition. Bill served it with figs poached in orange juice, water, sugar, honey and pistachios … a great complement to the cheese.
James Hill
Wine Report by Stephen O Halloran
Today we had one of our best days at the Society for a long time. A large crowd, 50+, some truly excellent wines from Tyrrells, a terrific lunch from our Food Master, all spiced by the presence of our Guest of Honour, Bruce Tyrrell.
The room had great atmosphere with our members warmly welcoming our five new members: Chris Switzer, Tom Squires, Dr Simon Poole, Gary Doherty and Terry Johnston
All in all a memorable occasion!
We got the party started in the best way possible, with bubbles from Tyrrells' 2017 Sparkling Blanc de Blanc, followed by a 2018 Stevens Semillon. Both wines were suitable partners to the canapés. Nothing like a few bubbles to lift the mood of any occasion. We were all anxious for the main course, so as to enable us to enjoy the glittering array of the wines for lunch, which were 3 whites & 3 reds, all selected by Bruce as some of his favourites from the best years. All of these wines came from the WFS Cellar, purchased years ago by our former Wine Master Paul Ferman, now sadly deceased. This clearly demonstrates the depth & quality of our Cellar, which has been maintained & developed further by our current Wine Master Nick Reynolds. It is a Cellar our members can be proud of.
The first bracket consisted of the 2013 Vat 1 Semillon @ 11.5%. Pure & clean, very faint green/gold in colour, restrained fruit flavours, with steely acid, a firm finish. Hints of the famous grassy overtones with some lime there somewhere! A multiple trophy winner.
The second wine was the 2013 Johnno's Basket-pressed Sem @ 10.3%. A vineyard established in 1908. Again, pure & clear appearance, smooth mouth feel with citrus hints & that unique lanolin overtone, so typical of quality Hunter Sems of age. The wine was slightly darker in contrast to the Vat 1, but not by much.
Wine 3 was, in my view, the odd man out, as you would expect, being a Chardonnay — Vat 47 from 2013 @ 13.5%, a very different wine indeed. I really liked this wine. Considerably more colour than the 2 Sems, but still bright green/gold, a vibrant-looking wine. Lovely buttery hints with some oak influence on the palate. I detected some stone fruit flavours such as white peach, along with grapefruit. A firm finish with plenty of acid to keep it going for a while yet. A wonderful Chardonnay, rich & graceful, with tons of flavour. My pick of the 3 whites.
Wine 4 was the 2014 Vat 9 Shiraz @ 14.5%. We were indeed a lucky bunch of campers to be able today to sample 3 of the Hunter's finest Shiraz from an iconic year. This Vat 9 was a medium-bodied, typical, classy Hunter Shiraz, with plenty of acid & some finely integrated oak/tannin flavours. Earthy spice on a great dark fruit base. Opulent, yet at the same time giving the impression that further development is ahead.
Wine 5 was the Johnno's Vineyard 2014 Shiraz @ 14%. Another medium-bodied, elegant Hunter Shiraz, packed with spice flavours on top of hints of cherry & blackberry fruit. Oak/tannin blend just right. Of the 3 Shiraz served, this was the one with the denser structure, suggesting a long-term slow further development lies ahead. This wine had more concentrated flavours than the Vat 9. A sumptuous wine, with more in store.
Final wine was the 4 Acres Shiraz, a Society favourite. From grapes grown on the oldest vineyard at Tyrrells, planted in 1879, this 2014 Shiraz @ 13.7% was a delightful wine, considerably lighter than the other two. Fresh, lively, spicy Shiraz, redolent with peppery dark fruit of cherry & red plum on the final palate taste. An exquisite, stylish wine with surprising power & grace, for a wine with such light appearance. Once again, room for further development.
What was interesting to me was that all 3 of these wines held the promise of more bottle development, notwithstanding the fact that they are now 12 years old. My pick, impossible to say at present, but I suspect that the Johnno's may get the prize in say 8 years' time.
Stephen O'Halloran
