Standish Dee-ess shiraz 2008

Barossa, South Australia. Shiraz. 14.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A30-35 (Vintage Cellars).

Just like the more expensive Dan Standish wines, like The Relic, this is beautifully packaged. No back label, all the information is on the front, embossed and somewhat hidden, a scribble of geographic and volumatic data.

If you like heroic wines with big balls, then this is for you. . .

A black wine, which smells like a vapourised bar of Cadbury Fruit & nut. Indulgent childhood memories encroach and all I can discern is chocolate and raisins and the warmth of an Australian summer. Sweet, slightly sticky and full, this reminds me of Port, it's diffuse, warming and disarming. It's an argument you just can't win. It seems wrong, too big and overdone, but before you know it, half a bottle is gone and you're seduced and babbling. . . 90. Now - 2013.

Review: Anghiti

379 Scarborough Beach Road, Innaloo. After trying various local Indian restaurants, finally one I would feel inclined to return to. The room is long and rectangular, brightly lit and clad with colourful artworks. Staff scurry around and at the back, seemingly in a fish bowl, the chefs can be seen poking long skewers in and out of a tandoor. It feels suburban, but also reassuringly authentic.

The service is youthful, brisk and friendly, the cutlery, the knives at least are all shakily engraved with the word Anghiti. Rough area and slightly klepto customers perhaps. It's BYO and licensed, the glasses look similar to the ones from Chapter One - well shaped and slightly clunky.

The food is excellent, good proportions and not a bland or unsatisfactory dish the whole night. The grilled meats (we tried the Tandoori platter - $29.50) are beautifully moist and the flavours have intensity paired with depth. The Palak paneer has structure and the cheese still has form, unlike some previous iterations I've tried which resemble Oobleck. The breads (garlic naan and paratha) have lightness and generosity, the rice is fluffy and the grains are an otherworldly 17mm long, while the house curry - the Anghiti Chicken is rich and multi-layered. Traditional Indian desserts are limited, though they do have a particularly good Kulfi and on the night some indulgent balls of gulab jamun.

Review: Chapter one brasserie

292 Hay St, Subiaco is next to the fashionable Sapphire Bar. It's curious observing the flow of foot traffic. The dinner patrons of Chapter One arrive by car and are almost all over 40 and sensibly attired. Many seem like regulars, known and welcomed home by the friendly staff, the menus seem superfluous as they gravitate towards the angle hair pasta and salt and pepper squid or the rabbit pie. The people heading to Sapphire in comparison arrive by taxi and seem to be wearing extremely short skirts, while the cohort seems to be significantly skewed towards blonds and twenty year olds.

I can see why Chapter One is so popular and why there seems to be such a devoted band of regulars. The food is comforting and classical. Lovely flavours and pleasing if somewhat conventional presentation, backed up with excellent and personable service. On our visit, menu, water and bread were all on the table within minutes. The menus are short, a single page and populated with favourites. I enjoyed the squid, and sampled the blue manna crab pasta. Both are simple dishes, but very well executed. For mains I had a confit belly of pork and I tried the popular rabbit pie. Again the flavours are beautiful and true. My only complaint would be the temperature of the food - the mains and even my well crafted chocolate fondant dessert, were just too hot, my greedy tongue is still slightly scalded. . .

The wine list is quite good. I thought the whites were more interesting than the reds and pleasingly they stock the excellent range from Epis (The 07 Epis Chardonnay was tempting) and also the 1996 Pol Roger Cuvée Winston Churchill (I think this was $375). The glasses are reasonable, ever so slightly clunky, but of correct shape and size.

Specifications:
Lunch: Wed - Fri, Dinner: Tues - Sat.
Wheel chair access - there is a ramp at the front, but also a small step, a gate and then a series of doors to negotiate.
Cost: Dinner for two (three courses, no coffee) excluding the cost of wine approx $A170

Curried roast leg of lamb

I've been fiddling around with this recipe which can also be found in Jared Ingersoll's excellent recipe book, Danks Street Depot. It's quite delicious and an excellent excuse for a visit to little India or where ever else you will need to go to procure your spices and ghee.

I did things a little differently, and for my own future reference. . .

Ingredients and method.

Spices and curry base.

• Cardamon pods (6 green and 3 black)
• 1 teaspoon of nigella
• 1 teaspoon of fenugreek
• 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

Add all of the above to a mortar before pounding and grinding.

Prepare the following ingredients and place in bowl, ready for frying.

• 3 small onions diced
• 2cm knob of fresh ginger, grated
• 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 4 small red chillies - halved and seeded
• 3 bay leaves
• half a teaspoon of asafoetida.

Now add 1 cup of ghee to a large pan and heat, once clear and quite hot add the spice mixture and stir and cook for a half a minute or so. Now add the diced onions and the other ingredients listed immediately above. Cook and stir till the onion is translucent before adding 75 grams of jaggery (it seems to come in 250g hemispheres, so use quarter and pound into fragments before adding) and 600mls of malt vinegar. Cook this sharp scented concoction till reduced and starting to thicken. Set aside and cool.

Lamb - I used a 2 kilogram leg, I could have used a shoulder, but opted for something with more meat and slightly less fat and sinew.

Marinate the lamb. I'm fond of oven bags and put my leg of lamb in a large oven bag before adding the curry base (now cool) along with 1 cup of home made vegetable stock. After sealing, I left this in the fridge for 4 hours. If I was better prepared, I would have left it to soak for longer.

Cooking the lamb. Put the oven bag into a roasting tin (in case the bag explodes or leaks, especially as I prefer, contrary to instructions, to leave the bag intact and un-punctured) and place this into an oven, preheated to 140 degrees C for about 90 minutes (the bag shortens the cooking time). Whilst waiting, prepare the other ingredients - drizzle 4 tomatoes with olive oil and cook for 60 minutes in the oven, wash a large handful of spinach leaves and make the tahini dressing (3 tablespoons of tahini, juice of half a large lemon and 4 tablespoons of water, a pinch of salt, pepper and sugar). Now remove the lamb and let the bag deflate slightly before cutting it and releasing the steam. Pour the sauce into a sauce pan, so this can be reduced and concentrated further, and return the lamb to the roasting tin and put this in the oven and grill for 5-10 minutes, to brown and crisp the outside.

Serve. Rest the meat, then carve and plate up. A handful of spinach, then top with meat, a roasted tomato (quartered), the tahini dressing and finally a generous ladle of the curry sauce. . .

Wine? I had a celebratory bottle of Perrier-Jouët Rosé NV. The bitterness and grip in the mouth is a pleasing juxtaposition to the prettiness of the packaging. Not the perfect match for the food, I think something with more size and colour would be appropriate.

Post script. Re reading the original recipe I realise I forgot to add turmeric. I had planned to use 1 teaspoon of the yellow spice. I'll try to remember next time. . .

Post post script. 4/May/10. A further attempt - this time with a boned shoulder of lamb, no bag, more chilli and the suggested turmeric. I rolled and tied the meat post marinade and pre roast and cooked it at 160 degrees C until the core temp was 60-65 C with my cooking thermometer. I then poured off the juices and reduced the liquid in a pan. . .

Proprietà Sperino Uvaggio 2004

Coste della Sesia, Piedmonte, Italy. Nebbiolo (largely) and Vespolina and Croatina. 13%. Cork. Source: Cellar (meaning I've long forgotten how much this cost ? $A60).

Delicious. If only I had more. . . Fragrant, succulent and worthy. This smells of spice (Schezuan pepper I think), dried citrus peel and rose petals. If I inhale long enough and close my eyes I can smell raw meat. . . Lovely in the mouth, very Italian, brisk with beautiful lines, but also spotless, precise and full of intensity, indeed this aspect reminds more than a little of Austria and Moric.

93. Now - 2015+

Related.

Domaine Taupenot Merme Gevrey Chambertin 2002

Gevrey Chambertin, Brugundy, France. Pinot noir. 13%. Cork. Approx $A50

The last bottle I tried was diminished and tainted. Thankfully this one was true and clean.

The bottle is captured with two old time capsules. Both from my childhood and both laden with memories. The alarm clock was a gift from my maternal grandfather, it has been non functional for perhaps a decade and even in its prime (late 1970's) it never worked satisfactorily. The watch was from my father, a divers watch, automatic and now with a face scratched and tarnished. Give it a shake and it ticks into action, it's premature and for every hour it's four or five minutes fast. . .

A lovely wine, if you can trust the cork, this should repay patience. Clean and yet a suggestion sweet decay and better things to come. Forrest floor, plums and the slightest suggestion of smallgoods. Bright and pert to begin before softening and becoming more inviting and fleshy. Fine filmy tannins a hint of firmness and stalk which melts and lingers. 92. Now - 2015+

Review: Mela Indian sweets and eats

428 William St, Northbridge, Opposite the Perth mosque, pictured above.

Despite the inevitable heartburn and weight gain from each outing. . . I've been slightly obsessed with Indian food since my return from Singapore late last year. In the last month I've tried the Cinnamon Club in Leederville (clean and modern decor, reasonable food, but no vibe), Maharaja in Nedlands (the most spiced and salubrious) and the ever popular Chutney Marys in Subiaco (extremely busy, good food and very efficient staff. Get there early though).

The curious thing about each of the three was the relative lack of Indian patronage. This cannot be said of Mela, which seems very well supported by the local Indian community. . . presumably a good sign and indicator of authenticity, quality and value.

The space is divided, there is a darker, seemingly more intimate (function) room on the left (so dark, one of the staff was sleeping on the couch when I went to the bathroom) and a brighter, orange tinted main dining room (complete with distracting plasma TV showing a game of Rugby - I think the Reds won) with a Bollywood theme and repeating motif of - eat sweet speak sweet.

On price, I found for the equivalent level of satiety (and approximately similar dishes) this was about 30% cheaper than Chutney Marys. The range of dishes was also broader especially with regards to desserts.

We had a vegetable samosa (the highlight of the meal), an egg dosa (far too large, A3 size, and left unfinished), chicken tikka (for the kids, thigh meat and pleasingly moist), chicken byriani (the meat was too dry and there was seemingly no saffron in the rice), a mixed naan basket (I preferred the bread at Chutneys), lamb korma (fair, though somewhat uninspiring) and dhal makhani (creamy and almost chocolate flavoured).

Other than the samosa, the desserts were the relative highlight of the meal, the range is excellent and each piece is a modest two dollars, which of course means there is little incentive to stop at just one or two. . .

There is a short wine list and they also allow you to BYO wine. The glasses will please most winos and the corkage is $6.50 per bottle. I settled for a bottle of Pip squeak ($7.50 for a bottle and no receptacle).

The service is friendly enough, but not particularly efficient. It's reactionary. Orders are taken, but not promptly and only once you have looked around the room to attract attention. . . plates and cutlery arrive only on request. It is possible to combine take away, home delivery and a restaurant, as Mela does, I just wonder if it is impossible to do all three things well. . .

New spice

Despite having more spices at home than I will ever possibly use, I occasionally come across a recipe which calls for something beyond my crowded drawer.

Three 'new' spices to sniff and palpate. The black seeds scattered on the table are the most sedate and benign of the three. Nigella - is quite refreshing in the mouth - woody and not unlike caraway in taste. The larger pods are Black cardamon. Bigger and more pungent than the green ones I am so familiar and enamoured with. The green pods are fresh and in parts of the world used to clean ones breath. I suspect their larger and darker cousins would be more suited to repelling moths. . . smoke and camphor is what I smell. The most curious one is Asafoetida - encased and cut with with flour, turmeric and gum arabic. It's pungent and stinky and clearly laden with -SH groups. It reminds me of durian which is also a concert of stinky thiol compounds. I can smell garlic and unwashed armpits. . .

Chateau La Tour Blanche 2006

Sauternes, Bordeaux, France. Semillon, Sauvignon blanc. 13.5%. Cork. Approx $A65.

I was debating whether to have an alcohol free night, when I spied this lonely looking bottle in my spare fridge. Surely something so sweet and half sized would do me no harm. . . Sweet it is, textured, lush and potentially quite compelling, were it not for the awful cork and the oppressive scent and taste of cardboard.

Snakes and wine. . .

I wonder why there are not more snake references in tasting notes. Anthropomorphisms abound; new world chardonnay can be buxom, Bordeaux is occasionally manly and muscle bound, while great pinot noir must have a beautiful bottom.

Though furry and feathered critters adorn various mass produced bottles, do we really want wine that reminds our senses of something which is hairy, bulbous and quite often smelly. I'm tired of cuddly, I want something serpentine and elusive, something which is hard to understand. . . A shape changer, cool to the touch, svelte but powerful, beguiling and dangerous. Without being morbid, I want to feel the bite of such a wine, to feel myself being transformed.

Image: Caravaggio's Medusa

A Tuesday duo

A rather damp and cool April night, I feel winter. . . Time to seek warmth and solace in hearty food, family and wine.

I visited Mahsuri in Victoria Park. It's an ageing institution and previous visits had been slightly underwhelming and overly smoky. Perhaps things have changed, or perhaps it was because I went on a school night. I thought the food on Tuesday was excellent. Full of depth and persistence. The Kangkong Goreng Belacan was particularly delicious.

I had two bottles of wine - they use slightly clunky goblets (correctly shaped, but small) and charge a very modest $1.50 per bottle corkage.

Oakridge Chardonnay 2008. (Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia, 12.5%, Screwcap, approx $A25). Somewhere between Chablis and White Burgundy. Pale, tight and quite flinty, peach skin on the nose along with gunpowder and lees. Slightly flimsy in the mouth, I suspect some will want more weight and flesh. 91. Now - 2014.

De Bortoli Yarra Valley Shiraz Viognier 2003. (Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia, 14%, cork. Source: brother in law). Still deeply coloured and spiced, this is middle aged and brooding. It has lost its cream and apricot and instead seems more ginger and blackberry. Perhaps it was the accompanying food (fish and lamb curry) but there is a trace of metal and haem in the mouth. Quite grainy and still slightly ink. I suspect there is more evolution to come, but I am not sure it will be for the best. 88-90. Now - 2013.

April reading

At this rate (of regression), I expect my May reading list to consist of The Famous Five and How to Train your Dragon. . . It's pure escapism and sloth. I should read something more challenging, but with work, children and a brain occassionally addled with wine, I don't seem to have the energy.

Luke Lambert Reserve Syrah 2008

Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia. Shiraz. 12.5%. Diam (with wax seal as pictured). $A65

What a curious and compelling wine. . . It seems more substantial than the stated 12.5, while the use of whole bunches gives this quite a distinctive and sappy Burgundian nose. Spiced and perfumed, there is a fleeting hint of cream before a more consistent and lasting note of haw flakes, dried herbs, earth and smallgoods. Bright and primary, this is quite a svelte wine with a lovely spine and dainty flesh. Right now, I think I prefer its cheaper sibling, in time though I suspect this will blossom and grow. 92+. 2012- 2020.

7/2010 TN

Tardieu Laurent Cote du Rhone Le Becs Fins 2007

Côtes-du-Rhône Villages, Rhone, France. Shiraz, Grenache. Cork. Approx $A36.

One of the few material possessions I have from childhood is this compass. A gift for some long forgotten boy cub good deed. Presumably in this age of GPS, the compass will soon disappear, just like Morse code.

A black wine of two parts. To begin it is pretty with rose petal and even a hint of Turkish delight and musk in the mouth. By nights end the perfume and softness has gone, replaced with muscle and sinew and a strong whiff of liniment. 89. Now - 2013+

Marchand and Burch Meursault 2007

From the village of Meursault, Burgundy, France. Chardonnay. 13%. Screwcap. Approx $A95.

Image: Wine on the brain. . .

A delicious wine. Mineral and stony with a lovely savoury edge. Peach skin, cashew nuts, and flint. It's the mouth feel and flavours which set it apart from its Australian cousins. Melon like, but also something clearly geological and hard. It manages to be citric and savoury without loosing its flesh and un-augmented curves. 95. Now - 2017.

Post script (April 24, 2010): I tried the 07 Great Southern Chardonnay tonight ($105 from a restaurant wine list). What a contrast. It is similarly excellent, but in comparison to the finesse and mineral of the Meursault, it tastes a little like a country bumpkin. Sunburnt and curvaceous with pineapple and grapefruit in the mouth and peach skins on the nose. A fleshy and powerful wine, very much in keeping with what I would normally associate with West Australian chardonnay. . .

Bias

If it is not already clear, most of what I taste is purchased with my own funds. I toyed with the idea of samples, but I found the implicit obligation uncomfortable. . . The only thing that might change my chastity is an offer to taste the newest releases from DRC or Leroy. . .

Which leads to question of what I drink and why. . . I've scribbled on an index card thirteen things that I might consider. The glaring omission is of course cost, this does factor, but as most of my purchases these days are single bottles, it is something that I can usually overlook.

Regarding the graph above, on the horizontal axis is a plus and minus one. Plus one signifies something that would make me purchase a bottle.

I have a closure bias, a screwcap or vinolok or diam will make me more favourably disposed. I only wish producers opting for Diam would mention this on their labels. It's almost impossible to work out otherwise.

Terroir is a positive. I'm more inclined to purchase something from a single vineyard from an area of repute, but this on its own is not enough to seal the deal. I've forgotten to mention vintage - which is something that I think about for more expensive bottles (>$A30 wines).

Small formats are always catching my eye. I've moaned on about this before. . .

Labels - I'm a sucker for clever and novel critter free designs. Some recent wins - 1, 2 and losses.

An interesting story is almost irresistible. This could be a positive review, an Aussie wine maker making Burgundy or Blaufrankish (or a Burgundian making Aussie Pinot). . . or just an alternate variety in a traditional area.

Curiosity has much to answer for. Why else have I purchased Aligote, Spatburgundger and Gros manseng. . . Likewise with brand. It's not so much for show, but more an interest in why the given reputation.

Paradise IV Dardel Shiraz 2006

Moorabool River, Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Shiraz. 13.8%. Approx $A38.

The back story. 45 years after the start of white settlement in the colony of Victoria, a Swiss vigneron, Henry Dardel (1) establishes the Paradise winery and vineyards I through IV on the banks of the Moorabool river. His venture achieves a measure of acclaim and success, before being destroyed in 1881 by phylloxera. This particular wine - is from the fruit of vines replanted at the site of Paradise IV in 1988.

Deep and meaty, it is inevitable that the idea of Rhone will be raised. Dusty and spiced, there is an initial hint of burnt rubber and a stinky fart. So far so good. . . earthy and a suggestion of reduction, or at the very least sulphur compounds (mercaptans and perhaps DMS), rosewood, blood and pepper. . . it smells much better than my words. A beautiful sweet core and lively streak of acidity, combined with grip and a lovely savoury note. The weight and emphasis is particularly pleasing, and half a bottle in, I'm very impressed. 93. Now - 2016.

Image: The floor of my study room, with a Jacaranda seed pod and rolled yoga mat. . .

Penfolds RWT 2002

Barossa, South Australia. Shiraz. 14.5%. Cork. Source: Father's cellar

Quite lovely, but not for the meek and mild. Spiced, lush and voluptuous, like many wines from the Barossa I could find a hint of fresh ginger, soft oak and lovely dark chocolate. It's rich and inviting, quite round, with more than a little raisin and Port to its character. Warming and disarming, this is full, soft and very fine. For me, this is something I could only enjoy sporadically. . . 90-92. Now - 2015.

Somewhat related.

Review: Bouchard

42 Mount St West Perth is a well hidden spot, a vehicular cul-de-sac at all times, but presumably during the day, a pedestrian thoroughfare of sorts. On the edge of Kings Park, with its views and proximity to the city, the street is lined with trees and high rise (10 storeys still seems tall for an apartment, in sleepy Perth) accommodation. At the base of one such building is Bouchard, doing a quite convincing and welcome impersonation of a French Bistro.

A small, simple but elegant space, split between inside and out. It's effective, and for a wino, comforting. Bottles (sadly - mostly known and previously consumed) line some of the walls, a few from Bouchard Père et Fils, and a cohort of the mostly gray Faiveley labels, catch my eye.

Through the night, the service was unerring. Prompt, attentive and interested. Bottles were opened correctly, glasses were never allowed to empty, and plates were delivered and removed with regularity. Two things stand out though. Being both greedy and indecisive, we opted for the non gazetted degustation menu. It was a cascade of beautiful food, a combination of bistro and modernity, with only two foams the whole night. . . The first thing was our waiter gave us a say in the pacing and timing of dishes, so unlike some degustations about town, there were no dramatic pauses or unnecessary punctuation marks. The second, more minor thing relates to our candle. Put one in front of me (in this case a tealight candle) and very soon it will be extinguished (a lifelong fascination with wax, its warmth and softness. . .). This happened on the night, and without fanfare and before I had noticed, the candle was removed and returned once again incandescent.

For those in search or warmth and beautiful food without drama and affectation, Bouchard is easy to recommend.

Related.