Dining with current staff member and girlfriend of one of the chefs.
It was, you might say, all on....
Back amongst the rich, famous and just downright food-and-wine geeky for one last night of sumptuous decadence. The 3 muskateers of Windsor - myself, Richard and the up till now unintroduced Morris were going to paint the town red....nebbiolo red.
To start, a cheeky bottle of Larmandier Bernier 'Terre de Vertus' downstairs at Main Bar.
Mineral and taut, it is lime, stone, wet rocks and wet lemon peel with crushed macaroon crumbs as the bead. Very good, yet undeveloped...and did not develop despite time in the glass and a rising temperature. Again I am reminded how hideously young we always drink champagne, NV or otherwise. Give these bottles the time they deserve - a mere 5 years would do wonders for wines like this.
On to Quay, Sydney's ultimate dining destination.
A very kind glass of NV Bauchet fizz to start, then into the real stuff.
A dish of Kangaroo Island marron served with lime creme fraiche, tea and seaweed jelly, leek and spring onion
A stunning melange of various heirloom tomatoes (old varieties no longer commonly propagated for god knows why - invariably packed with flavour) served with fennel flowers, pine bud extract and a sheeps/goats milk curd combination. Incredible. The dish of the night. I feel it impossible to describe the harmony of textures, the sweet/acid interplay, the delight of the flowers and herbs....this is a dish you MUST eat.
With this and the subsequent course we drank a wine that I very much enjoy, yet has been rubbished by some of my colleagues for what they describe as a 'false sweetness along with odd acidity'. Anyway, we all found it more than adequate on this evening
2009 Foster e Rocco Sangiovese Rose
Made by Adam Foster (former sommelier at 3, 1, 2) and Linc Riley (former sommelier at Taxi), this is a bright, fresh, zappy rose with structure and a hint of sweetness upon entry. It finishes bone dry however. Delicate rose, white pepper, and raspberry pip aromas are enticing and moreish.
Next up confit of South Australian squid with octopus 'coral', violet flowers and red core radishes and garlic custard.
Also eaten - quail breast with iberico jamon, bitter chocolate black pudding, hazelnuts, morels and truffle custard
Here we segued from the rose into the main event - 1997 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco
NB - decanted for 3 hrs prior to us drinking it.
This wine intrigued me, annoyed me and made me just a little happy.
Intrigued me because of the changes it went through - from raspberry juice, to earth/dirt/coal to plum to rose (and finally tomato sauce the next day!), and also because i didn't f*cking understand where it was going, or what would emerge next!
It annoyed me because I realised it is not an appropriate restaurant wine. You order it, decant it, drink it...and 3 hours later is ready to consume. Fail. You really need to call ahead of time and have it opened prior to your arrival. This is clearly not an option most people would consider....thus I decree Nebbiolo to be a drink at home wine, when you can take all the time you need to enjoy it in all its majesty.
(It was rather good tho :)
Next up -
Confit up duck, wrapped and crisped in its own skin, served with sea scallops, garlic scapes, winter melon and 'duck juices'
Also (another winner) pig jowl coated with maltose crackling, served with pedro ximenez soaked prunes and a cauliflower puree. SWEET. The maltose and the prunes, with the lush fatty pork is a divine combination, and one that called for some inventive food and wine matching...
We already had dessert and an accompanying wine planned, but we knew the sweetness of the pig would play havoc with the barbaresco, so we got tricky - bring on the dessert wine with the mains!
Cue 1996 Rene Renou 'Cuvee Zenith' Bonnezeaux
BOOM. Wine of the night. Apricot kernel, intense date pit, dark yellow flowers, peach, burnt honey.
Great acidity meant it maintained a lightness of being I wasn't expecting. Lush and full and powerful, yet elegant. This is wine.
It carries over nicely to the parade of desserts -
White peach snow egg :
Meringue ball, coated in toffee, filled with ice-cream, on a bed of granita and cream. All flavoured with white peach.
Cherries and Berries :
A plethora of fruits - 3 types of cherries, raspberries, fraise des bois, boysenberrys and blackberrys, with berry sorbets and caramelised puff pastry base.
Mangosteen, coconut and lychee :
Fresh mangosteen with a ball of rose jelly, coconut cream, lychees, vanilla mousse and fresh rose petals.
All with helpful eating instructions from our friends in pastry.... x x.
It was a night to remember. A heartfelt thank you to all involved.
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