The Royal Mail part II

[kirragc]

Yellowfin Tuna, onions ,nori, garlic
2006 Craggy Range 'Beaux Cailloux' Chardonnay Hawkes Bay NZ
Sounds simple enough but I couldnt find the nori or taste the garlic. Chef has this ability to transform items, extract a character or flavour, insert another, whilst keeping a wonderful synergy in the composition. The tuna piece itself (very lightly steamed I suspect but nothing is as it seems) was delightful, sift not at all meaty and delicate on the palate. The wine was clearly an NZ wine with a quiet nod to burgundy. Much cleaner and held on to a subtle fruit edge that balanced cleanly with the barrel characters the result was an understated but very well executed wine. The combination of the two whilst creditable was merely the sum of its parts. Other courses were transforming this one just left me pleased. K found the wine much more approachable that the more characterful white Burg two courses ago which leaves me wondering if this course and wine should have been served in this order.

Eel, Beef tendon, kohl rabi, potato
1996 Chateau Lynch-Bages Paulliac
This set was a real challenge, the full smoky flavours were overpowering, the texture of the tendon was luxuriant yet the veg were simple and fresh. The wine was similarly smoky ( I think... hard to tell with this dish) and somewhat distracted from the eel itself which is a pity, I have great memories of barbequed eel and this seemed somewhat overpowered by the treatment. The smoky sauce and the tendon however felt wonderful in the mouth, I dont know how long they cooked it but it had to be low and slow. The tannins in the bordeau were well integrated but I thought they struggled to counter the tendons mouth coating gelatinous texture. I tend towards enjoying the aromas of the food with the nose of the wine and this combination was a credit to the sommelier Jeremyin that respect even the dish was not to personal taste.

Lamb, Eggpalnt in white miso, pine nut, chlorphyll
2000 Bruno Clair 'Clos St Jaques' 1er Cru.
This time the dish stood out as the star, the lamb so finely textured it was hard to believe the animal hard been born. the egglpant in miso was just a wonderful combination and the chlorophyll paste blended beatifully, binding the dish together. And what a wonderful wine still fresh as the day it was made Im sure but so nicely balanced. You might argue that it was a little too much wine for the dish but they held together nicely. I would have liked to see another 5 years on this wine in a similar setting.

Apple Almond Cherry Chamomile
no wine with course.
This dish was clearly a plate recalibration opportunity. A light apple slice (?) and two of the most incredibly prepared cherries Ive ever tasted, the fruit practically disappeared at the touch and the flavours had been so subtly modified, even the stalk shattered in to dust.

fresh and dried berries, beetroot, black olive, rose
La Caudrina Moscato dásti
OK by now the chef was just showing off, it wasnt a case of asparagus air or merigues of meat but the guy has deconstructed these fruits and given us something so subtle that I couldnt belive it. The olives were like a little sorbet. Some berries would shatter like glass in the mouth other frewsh as can be and with a sweet rose petal to accompany. All washed away with a moscato of such super light character it was a real pleasure... and I dont drink moscato..... ever.

Pistachio, hazelnut, honeycomb, chocolate
Henriques & Henriques 'Malmsey' 10 yr old Madiera
Finally it was a return to more familiar ground with a slice of pistachio cake and some hazelnut icecream with a gravel of honeycomb and chocolate. The madiera reminded us of some PXs although the 'sherry' characters were surpisingly on the drier side consdering the dish. A great match but it did leave me wondering whether a PX might have been the go.

So that was the gustation.
The next day we joined Jeremy for the tour of the cellar and spent a good half hour shooting questions at the poor fella. The brief was to focus the buying on twenty year potential wines and such it has a real Bord/Burg focus. Even the deep pockets of the owener havent been able to gain access to better supply thoug they have done weel to get what they have. We tasted some Chablis that had shown some oxiditive signs in the bottle as well as an 85 tahbilk Shiraz but we were really there for the perve. they have another cellar in Dunkeld and another in melbourne of similar quality altogther some $20M ish of wine.

The Saturday night saw us partaking of the bistro menu this time which was very classy but without the cutting edge culinary touch. After the previous night the wife was hankering for some Shiraz (like I said South Aus palate) so this time we went a half bottle of 1999 Guigal and a glass of Tappanapa 2007 as a compare and contrast exercise. The only problem was that we ended up noting the similarities rather than the differences. We coupled this with some roast chicken and a charcuterie plate that combined locally produced cured meats including duck. The Guigal naturally stood out with its integration and super soft tannic structure but with more than a little surprise we gave the nod to the Wrattonbully underdog for value. Whilst easily a bigger wine it was delivered with consumate skill. I guess I didnt expect much of the Australians after all this.

the Sommeliers Jeremy and Ainslie our wait staff on both nights were so professional it made me grin a number of times, mostly because I thought service was dead.
Was it expensive, yes. Was it worth it, absolutely.

Im looking forward to going again maybe in 18months or so when the seasonal produce changes..... best start saving and dreaming