Some Young Punks The Squids Fist 2009

South Australia. Sangiovese 70%, Shiraz 30%. 14% Alcohol. Screwcap. Approx $A25

Uncomplicated and quite delicious, despite being Sangiovese dominant, there are no edges, it's all seduction and curves. The tannins are cursory, they seem to melt and there's certainly no need to chew. It's ripe and bountiful and presumably purists and terroirists would frown at its shape and bright confection like acidity. I think it's a cracker with its curious combination of chocolate and cherry, which then becomes more raisin and prune with a final, but well hidden, suggestion of dried herbs. 90. Now.

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Zind Humbrecht Herrenweg de Turckheim Riesling 2006

Alsace, France. Riesling. 13.5%. Cork. Approx $A55.

Glue, honey and apricot nectar, it smells of botrytis and were it not for the intruding note of cardboard box, I imagine this would be quite delicious. As with most stinky and tainted wines, I keep coming back to it, sniffing and trying to mentally subtract the flaw.

The MasterChef effect. . .

has been so unexpected and widespread. This afternoon I was in my local Asian grocer collecting the ingredients for Alvin's Drunken chicken with bruised salad. The only thing I couldn't locate was the dried shrimps, so I asked the lady of the shop. She smiled and said "You cook Drunken Chicken?" It was the opening to an animated, several minute long, discussion on food and television. Presumably it's also a scene being played out all around Australia as people hunt around for less common ingredients to make what they have just seen on TV. In the midst of a Federal election campaign, it's a unity of will and purpose which so far no political party seems able to capture.

Take 2

I take my parental duties very seriously, at the moment I'm helping my son battle Bowser and Bowser Jnr in Super Mario Galaxy 2. Thankfully I only need to collect 5 more stars before the final show down. I'm sure this would be much easier if my reflexes were not slowed by age and wine. . .

This weekend sips of three wines I have previously tried.

The 2002 Grosset Polish Hill is still wonderful. Tasted blind, I managed to pick the vineyard, year, grape and region, which for me and my declining blind tasting prowess, is a highly unusual confluence. Lovely and pure, the nose is citrus zest and essential oils, while in the mouth this seems less highly strung, though no less impressive.

My second bottle of 2008 Luke Lambert Reserve Syrah was even more satisfying than the first. There is more joy, generosity and Turkish delight.

Finally, I think this my last bottle of the 2005 Bindi Composition Pinot noir. The last one I tried was in 2006 and at that stage, I gave it an overly pessimistic 2007 - 2011 drinking window. It's blossomed, but remains beautifully clean, fresh and adolescent. There's more flesh on the bones, while the pace and zip is undiminished.

Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Spatlese 2007

Mosel, Germany. Riesling. 8%. Cork.

Like its brother, this is a delightful wine, a lovely antidote for the weary and distracted. It's pure and light but still with a wonderful sting of acidity to offset the toffee apple and apricot nectar sweetness. As my tired eyes flit between the television and the printed page, my nose seems to miss all the nuance and subtlety that is presumably there, it is only the impact in the mouth that brings me back to the moment, I can feel the warmth of the season in the stickiness and the acidity is like a cold and sharp breeze, cutting through, making me shiver and jig.

Distracted

The kids are back at school and my Thursdays have returned to being free of structure. I spent part of the day catching up on podcasts while wandering and driving the streets of Perth. Physically present, but mentally distracted. . . which perhaps explains how I managed to lock myself out of car and home. . . Thankfully I had a camera to record the goings on in my garden while waiting to be rescued. . .

Smoked salmon

Not having a purpose built, temperature controlled smoker, I opted to hot smoke several skinless fillets of salmon. Like I've done before, I lined a large lidded pot with foil and added my smoking mixture (wood chips, tea leaves, brown sugar and rice). Being time poor, the fish was unsalted which in retrospect was an oversight. At the appropriate moment I added the salmon and left it smoke for 6 minutes. This was enough to mostly cook the flesh, while giving it quite a rich tea leaf and caramel note.

The remainder of the dish consisted of a salad composed of mint, dill, rocket, gherkins and walnuts, dressed with a white wine vinaigrette.

Marc Bredif Vouvray 2007

Loire, France. Chenin blanc. 12.5%. Cork. Approx $A35.

Driving home from work, I made a detour so I could purchase some wood chips for smoking. I should have done some research first. The chips I bought seem to have a high proportion of mesquite - which according to Harold McGee is high in lignin (64%) which means it burns at a much higher temperature. Additionally it seems to throw off twice the amount of, carcinogenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as Hickory. . .

I wanted to hot smoke some salmon, the inspiration being the delicious breakfast I had at Cantina.

Tasting note: Youthful and pure, the balance of tartness and sweetness is wonderful, it's very easy to imagine how this will become more complicated and satisfying in the decades ahead. . . Still primary but already changing with each sniff. . . A fleeting hint of tea leaf, then at other times I think there's tangerine, candied lemon and of course musk and flint. 92+

From garden to plate

When your gardening prowess is so limited, you've got to make the most of each and every modest success. Our little block which has previously only yielded one small bunch of pale and undernourished carrots has this year produced our first crop (can you call two heads a crop?) of broccoli.

The aphids and caterpillars have been equally enthusiastic, which makes home grown broccoli more challenging to prepare. I spent ten minutes removing bugs and cleaning the florets before preparing some home made pasta.

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Clonakilla and more

A wonderful dinner in Fremantle with dear friends at The Great Mellie (37 High St). It's a small restaurant, maybe it can sit 40 people at a stretch, but it seems more voluminous because of the high and undulating stucco ceiling which gives the room the impression of a cavern, though the critical may validly feel that it lends an unfinished touch. The food, though excellent and indulgent, (South West truffles are in season and feature heavily, as does duck and foie gras) was somewhat secondary to the wine. It's BYO ($5 per bottle, excellent glasses) and we came well prepared. . .

To begin a beautiful fresh apple and sour dough Laurent Perrier Brut which was perfect with the Coffin Bay oysters (@ $3.75 each). Then a golden and nutty 2002 Vasse Felix Heytsbury Chardonnay. Fully mature and quite voluptuous with seams of cream, fig and vanilla. Tasted blind, the 2008 Clonakilla Viognier was a surprise and a great match for my truffle and pumpkin lasagna. Pared back and with none of the expected extravagance and overdone fattiness, this was my favourite white for the night. Flint and honeysuckle, there's a suggestion of grease, but for the most this is pert, crisp and tight. The 2004 Mt Difficulty Pinot noir was excellent and very similar in profile and impact to the 2004 Pyramid Valley Eaton Family Vineyard Pinot noir. Some weeks ago, I spent a few fruitless hours looking for this and then yesterday while looking for a different bottle, success. Deeply scented with spice, raw meat, raspberries and redcurrants, while in the mouth it is silken and flowing before becoming firmer and more expansive. With a head starting to wobble, one final bottle, the delicious lavender scented 2007 Telmo Rodriguez MR (Mountain wine, Moscatel), which is as good as any sticky I have tried this year.

Some concluding morning after comments about the food and restaurant. It's very much a family affair, the husband is the chef and the wife runs the front of house, and on this particular, school holiday night the young pre adolescent son (I assume) was behind the counter. I thought it was a charming place, they offer to very properly take your coat as soon as you step in, let you see and sniff the fresh truffles and deliver plates to the correct place. Also, they are quite happy to leave you alone to open and pour your own bottles. This, along with the classic French cuisine, makes the Great Mellie ideal for long and slow wine dinners. If on the other hand you were less inclined to drink, had a sweet tooth (the desserts are limited and quite simple) or perhaps were in more of a hurry and like butter with your bread, I could see how you might be disappointed.

Grosset Springvale 2009

Watervale, Clare, South Australia. Riesling. 12.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A35.

I can't remember who first suggested I touch my tongue onto a 9V battery, though I have my suspicions. These days it's far more pleasurable delivering the same sensation with a bottle of Clare Riesling. This particular example is full of searing intensity and tongue tingling, mouth watering acidity. Three fruit feature prominently, lime, grapefruit and pineapple. The lime is a given, there's blossom and cut Tahitian on the nose and a lime jolt in the mouth. The grapefruit is more subtle and textural, giving a hint of grip and background bitterness, while the pineapple is fleeting and inconsistent, it was there in the beginning, a bromelain, taste receptor altering presence which now I can no longer find. . . 91. Now - 2020.

Domaine Taupenot Merme Charmes Chambertin 2002

Charmes-Chambertin, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy, France. Pinot noir. Cork. Source: Cellar.

Every few months for the last year or so, I've thought about buying The Fat Duck Cookbook. I've been restrained by the implausibility of the recipes and the assumed impossibility of the tasks that are so beautifully and comprehensively outlined. Today I finally relented. Quite apart from the culinary tricks and the superb images, it is the words and Blumenthal's thoughts on tasting and flavours that convinced me.

He writes (on page 112) about how he tries to give sensory clues to his diners, when these are picked up, they provoke a gratified aaah of recognition - the reward of that moment when the lightbulb in the head goes on. . .

and as I read this I understand yet again, but perhaps more clearly, why I love tasting wine and writing these tasting notes. . .

Wonderfully perfumed with rose petal and raspberries, earth and stems, it manages to be wild and beautiful all at once. The seduction on the nose is not matched, at least not initially, in the mouth. The wildness seems unchecked and the first glass seems medicinal and overtly gamey and adhesive. Still it gives the impression of expansion and with time it becomes more fleshy and layered and the finishing hardness seems to resolve and soften, though the savoury, slightly sappy edge remains. 90+. 2012 - 2020.

A lazy Tuesday

As much as I like bacon and eggs, I find the idea of having another plate of same for breakfast harder and harder to accept. It's the uniformity of what is offered and the heaviness that I feel after that makes me less inclined. Wonderful then to find something verdant and light. From Mt Lawley's Cantina, a lovely plate of home smoked salmon. A marriage of sourness (vinegar, pickles, onions), texture (hazelnuts, poached egg, fresh rocket) and flesh. At a touch over $20 this is not the cheapest breakfast you will find in town, but I think it is easily one of the best.

Yalumba The Signature 1998

Barossa, South Australia. Cabernet sauvignon, Shiraz. 14.5%. Cork. Source: cellar.

I've been meaning to cook the pictured lamb stew for some weeks, it's from last months Gourmet Traveller Wine and the meal is paired with a local Tempranillo. The only Tempranillo I have left at home needs some cellar time and a more auspicious occasion, so I opted for a middle aged Cabernet based wine - the capsicum and lamb reinforcing my decision.

The wine is plump and mature, but shows no sign of retirement. The nose at least is quite vigourous to begin, lead pencil, chocolate and berries. Though by nights end it is more spiced and settled. Notably sweet, round and long, the blackcurrant soon gives way to raisins and a suggestion Port. Languid and uncoiling. 91. The back label suggests drinking through to 2015, which sounds ideal.

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Related recipe.

Review: Sweet Java

Though 104 Grosvenor Road is nominally Mt Lawley, I still think of it as being North Perth. It was once an Italian delicatessen, whose takeaway homemade lasagna had gained considerable local repute. . . for several years though it has been Sweet Java, which is a most curious and yet satisfactory place.

Unremarkable from the outside, the space is much larger than I had expected. Dark and cold internally, the walls and floor are dotted with photos, statues and paintings. As would befit suburbia, the overhead lights change colour at regular intervals. . . The male owner reminds me a little of Seinfeld's soup nazi, his affect is blunted and dour, still you get the impression that inside is a heart of gold.

It's BYO (a very modest charge of $2 per person. The wine glasses are well shaped, clunky goblets) and there is even a self serve fridge to keep your beer cold. The menu is short, a double sided laminated page and the entrees are unlisted (but on the night of our visit there were spring rolls, samosa and BBQ'd chicken wings). Despite it's name, there are no sweets.*

What of the food? It's wonderful. I had four mains, the nasi goreng, beef rendeng, chicken satay and the tofu dominant gado gado, though there was no intricacy or subtlety, there was plenty of impact and the flavours were lovely, rich and genuine.



* I had to get my expensive sugar fix from That Little Mexican Place - my plate of three slightly stumpy churros cost $15.

Alterum Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2009

Adelaide Hills, South Australia. 13.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A20

Butterscotch and peanut skins, though initially I thought there was a trace of rancio. A fleshy, quite full and slightly sweet and pineapple flavoured chardonnay. This is very accessible and quite commercial in its outlook. 87. Now - 2012.

Image: Even when cleaning gutters, my mind is on wine. . .

Postcard: Childhood

After spending a few hours at an indoor playground, it's hard to escape the conclusion that it is part gulag and part Super Mario Bros. If only there were an adults only version. . . Presumably it's a symptom of modernity and affluence, but childhood has become more supervised and full of structure, despite (or because of) this, I still hear the daily refrain, I'm bored. . . What can I do?

Pikes The Merle Riesling 2008

Polish Hill, Clare Valley, South Australia. Riesling. 12%. Screwcap. Approx $A35.

An excellent Riesling. Other than the usual Clare characteristics, of steely acidity and lime zest aromatics, I can find a pleasing note of white pepper and Feijoa. Beautifully judged in the mouth, a lovely spine of hard acidity, but also a bright, crisp, mouth filling fluffiness. 92. Now - 2020.

Image: chopping block.

Ham hock terrine

Like so many other Australians I've been greedily watching Masterchef. I've decided to suspend my natural scepticism and just enjoy the spectacle. One of the wonderful things is the interest the show generates in home cooking and better food. This is my slightly stunted attempt at the Ham hock terrine that was featured last week. Riddled with butter, I plan on having a thin slice for dinner tonight along with a bowl of pea soup and a bottle or two of cider.

Review: Kailis Brothers Fish Cafe

It's fair to say that in the last decade, I've spent a small fortune buying fresh fish from Kailis Brothers in Leederville. Despite being a reasonably frequent customer, it is only recently I've had the opportunity to sit down and sample their food from the adjoining cafe. Though far from cheap, it's very easy to recommend. I've had dinner there, twice in the last month or so and each time I've been impressed. It's that lovely combination of beautifully fresh ingredients prepared simply. I had half a dozen Coffin Bay oysters (3 ways for $16.90) and a main of Crab linguine (order the entree size, $24.50, it seems identical in size to the main and is almost $10 cheaper), but I also sampled the chilli mussels (reach and deeply flavoured sauce) and the grilled squid (rustic, but perhaps a little chewy) and watched enviously as others ate their way through generous seafood platters.

Apart from the appeal of the food, there are two other attractions, they cater very well for children, the battered squid on the kids menu is superb, and though not clearly advertised, they are BYO for wine (nice glasses, $8.50 per bottle, bring something white and crisp), and they happily leave you alone to open and pour your own bottles, which in my wino mind, is always a positive.

Image: closing time at the fish store.

Bindi Quartz 2005

Macedon, Victoria, Australia. Chardonnay. 13.5%. Diam. Source: cellar.

Two delicious white wines tonight. The first from Margaret River - the 2005 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay (13.5%, screwcap, a bottle from my brother in law). Smoke and nuts, fig and as the back label aptly suggests, lavender. A lush wine with a sting of acid and a lovely hint of sweetness. Excellent. 93-95. Now - 2013+. Related post.

The next wine, is one I have previously tried and loved. The five year old Bindi Quartz, is similar in many respects to its contemporary, the Heytsebury, but there is a terrific, and quite exceptional, burst of intensity and tightness. The flavour profile has moved on from youth to adolescence and there is now a suggestion of nougat and soft meringue. Super. 96. Now - 2015.

Freycinet Louis Pinot noir 2007

Eastern Tasmania, Australia. Pinot noir. 14%. Screwcap. Approx $35

Being a sucker for the superfluous, I went and purchased an iPad, from Perth's cavernous new Apple store on Hay street. It's a beautiful device, though the keyboard takes a little getting used to (how do you embolden text for instance). . .

Another glorious, clear, though cold winter's day. I spent the afternoon filling waterballoons with my daughter. Even after all these years, I am captivated by the potential mischief contained within.

The wine in question is very seductive, though a little too obvious to be profound. Dark and deep this is quite different from it's mainland cousins, heavier and more voluptuous, while texturally the image of soft velvet seems most apt. Cherry liqueur, earth and stems, along with a hint of spice, confection and char. 90. Now - 2015.