A RECORD RESULT IN
JAMES HALLIDAY’S 2017 WINE COMPANION
The recent
release of James Halliday’s hotly anticipated 2017 edition of the
Wine Companion was certainly cause for celebration at Gundog
Estate. In our most successful showing yet, eight of our wines
scored 95 points or higher, with a further four wines rating 94
points!
Individual highlights included 95 points for our 2015 Indomitus Albus,
accompanied by this (somewhat provocative) tasting note, “…Natural wine addicts,
get back in your hutch. This isn’t yellow or orange, it is pale
straw-green, it has no phenolics, and is as fresh as a daisy.
There’s a hint of spice on the bouquet, which may or may not be due
to the gewürztraminer; other than this, it’s
lemon/lemongrass/citrusy acidity all the way to the bank.”
96
points is also the highest rating any of our Estate Shiraz’
have achieved, and the glory is with the 2014 vintage. This wine
has looked great from day one, with the warmer Canberra season
delivering flavour and intensity in spades, which was eagerly
praised by Halliday, “…Glorious
colour sets the scene for a wine of great elegance and (yet)
intensity.”
However, the greatest acknowledgment must fall to the 2014 Rare Game Shiraz,
which landed our highest ever rating, with an incredible 97 points!
This limited release was borne from one of the best vintages the
Hunter Valley has ever seen, and is a tribute to the unique “Hunter
Burgundy” style of medium bodied Shiraz first made famous by the
region many years ago.
The Rare
Game was also named amongst Max Allen's favourite
2014 Hunter Shiraz' following a blind tasting of almost
100 wines
Here’s some of Halliday’s tasting note, “…This has the
complexity, richness and power of a vintage that has been
compared to the ’65. It fills every corner of the mouth without
effort, and stays long after it has been swallowed. Despite all
its manifest dark fruit richness, it also has freshness,
reflected in its modest alcohol.” Halliday then
goes on to advise a cellaring potential of up to 2054! For
those that can’t wait that long, I think it will be drinking
beautifully by 2024.
The
combined success of our wines cements our prestigious FIVE RED STAR
winery rating for another year. Well done team!
Enjoy!
THE GUNDOG ESTATE CORK ST.
CELLAR IS COMING
The historic stables in Gundaroo provide an evocative
setting for our new Cellar Door.
In
what may well be a first for a boutique Australian wine producer,
Gundog Estate is delighted to announce that we will be opening a
second cellar door, over 400km’s away from our base of operations,
in the Hunter Valley!
In
what will be known as the Gundog
Estate Cork St. Cellar, we are moving into the
historic stone stables, located in a prime position behind the
hugely popular GRAZING
restaurant, in Gundaroo village. The evocative space is perfect for
a cellar door, and up until recently was the home of Capital Wines.
The owners of GRAZING
and the stables, Mark and Jennie Mooney, sold Capital Wines in
July, and the cellar door was closed, making this beautiful space
available for a new winery tenant.
"With
their vineyards just out of the village, the high quality wine that
they produce, and their experience operating an award winning
cellar door in the Hunter Valley, Gundog Estate is the
perfect winery to take over this beautiful space. Gundog
complements GRAZING
really well and will offer visitors to Gundaroo another first class
tourism experience," says Jennie Mooney.
With
Mark and Jennie having already achieved so much success with
Capital Wines in the location, and with so much hard work already
put into making the location an iconic destination for tourists and
locals alike, we are determined to deliver a similarly unique, and
high quality, cellar door experience. In addition to being able to
sample and purchase our range of Gundog Estate, Burton McMahon,
and Indomitus
wines, visitors to the cellar door will also be able to enjoy
locally sourced cheeses and charcuterie, along with fine tea and
coffee.
Since
the inception of the Gundog
Estate brand in 2008, Canberra Shiraz (under our Estate, Marksman’s, and
Indomitus
labels) along with our Gundaroo-grown Rosé, have been high quality
staples of the range. We’ve certainly talked about opening a cellar
door in the Canberra District for long enough, so it’s hugely
exciting to finally see this concept come to fruition, and it will
be great to have a local base in which to present our wines. We are
also looking to expand our range of whites to include one or more
incarnations of Canberra District Riesling, with a continued eye to
innovation, to sit alongside our current range of five Hunter
Valley Semillons.
We
are working towards opening just prior to Christmas this year,
following a minor refurbishment.
Calendar of Events
We’re
already well into our 2016 events schedule, with fantastic lunches
held at Pony Dining and Chiswick in Sydney. I've reproduced the
list of venues and dates for the remainder of this year’s
Member's & Friends functions below.
If you are interested in attending any of these events, I
suggest you email winemaker@gundogestate.com.au an
expression of interest so I can hold a spot for you.
Generally, these events sell out within an hour or two of the
official invitation being sent out. Invitations are usually sent
3-4 weeks prior to the event. I look forward to seeing you at one
of these locations!
PONY DINING SYDNEY -
Saturday and Sunday lunches, 7th and 8th of May
CHISWICK
SYDNEY - Saturday and Sunday lunches, 23rd
and 24th of July
PONY DINING
BRISBANE - Saturday lunch, 22nd of October
AUBERGINE
CANBERRA - Saturday lunch, 12th of November
OTTO SYDNEY
- Thursday dinner, 24th of November
Wine profiles
2016 WILD SEMILLON
Our Wild Semillon was
our first wine to bottle from the 2016 vintage. The concept for
this wine came into being in 2011 when I sought to produce a
Vouvray-esque interpretation of Hunter Semillon; textural and
flavoursome, still carrying hallmark Semillon acidity (hopefully
with the promise to deliver a long life in bottle), all in check
with carefully judged residual sweetness.
Being one of our most unique and innovative products, we have
always been eager to keep the style moving, and encouraged by the
response to our Indomitus Albus releases (from media and consumers
alike), I was prepared to take bigger risks with the 2016 Wild. We
upped the percentage of naturally fermented cloudy free-run and
pressing juices to around 56%, with another 13% fermented on skins
(our ripest component), and 6% in old barriques. The balance of the
blend consisting of settled juice ferments, some arrested early.
All portions spent four months on light yeast lees. Most
significantly, residual sugar drops over 20% from the 2015 vintage
- down from 10.5g/L to 8.3g/L. The reduced sweetness, increased
phenolic content, and higher acidity are driving the most
significant evolution in style that we’ve seen across the Wild Semillon’s six
vintages of production. I believe there is definitely a “sweet
spot” in assembling the blend; a point where each component of the
wine seems to weave together to form an almost seamless, compelling
tapestry of aromas, flavours and textures. In some vintages we have
been more successful in finding this magical point than others, but
none more so than the 2016…. or at least I think so!
“Wild fermentation took place on skins and some residual sugar has
also been retained. This is Semillon like you've never known it.
Clever stuff. Pretty aromas - delicate florals, a hint of pineapple
husk and green apple. Its textural but not dense. It's thought
provoking but so easy to slurp. There's plenty of width and breadth
and a damn heap of pleasure. That residual sugar looms late and
cleanses nicely. I'd buy a bottle for sure (and do my best not to
share it).”
– 93 POINTS
QWINE
2015 ESTATE SHIRAZ
Our Estate Shiraz continues
to tell a single vineyard story, with fruit sourced exclusively
from the Dahlberg Vineyard in Murrumbateman. Here, we have the
luxury of working with three different clones of Shiraz, each
delivering very distinct wines year to year. The 2015 Estate Shiraz
is a blend of Bests (33%), SA1654 (26%), and BRVC12 (36%) clones,
with 5% Viognier included in each of the batches. Fermentation was
allowed to commence naturally in open top tanks after a 3-day cold
soak period, and then over-seeded with M2 yeast. Maturation was
carried out over 12 months in 30% new French oak puncheons. The
2015 season certainly looks like going down as one of the greats
from the Canberra District, with wines already showing amazing
poise and balance, particularly when compared to the much warmer
bookend vintages of 2014 and 2016. There is also lovely tension and
drive across the palate with this release, ultimately delivering
unprecedented length of flavour, relative to the other wines we
have produced from the region thus far.
“Mellifluous wine of soft, supple fruit, dark fruits, gentle spice,
well integrated everything and an ease to drinking that will have
mass appeal. What sets it apart is its lift of fragrance, silky
tannins, length of flavour. It’s got charisma and drinkability in
spades. The lingering thought is ‘white pepper’ too. So likeable.” – 92 POINTS MIKE BENNIE
2015 HILLTOPS SHIRAZ No.2
As the
name implies, the 2015
Hilltops Shiraz No.2 is our second release of
Shiraz from this exciting region. Like the preceding Hilltops
Shiraz No.1, released earlier this year (which just picked up a
gold medal at the Australian Boutique Wine Awards), this wine is
produced from fruit grown at the Freeman Vineyard near Prunevale.
Contrasting winemaking approaches have, however, delivered very
distinct wines. Where the Hilltops Shiraz No.1 was about
highlighting the generosity of pure fruit flavour from the region,
No.2 looks at how that intensity of fruit might be tempered, and
more complex layers added, through the use of oak and maturation
time. As such, the HilltopsShiraz No.2
spends an additional 3 months (12 in total) in 25%
new French oak puncheons (versus 20%). This release is also a
little warmer to bottle at 14.4%, which the wine seems to take it
in its stride quite comfortably.
This is definitely a generous style of Shiraz; layered and complex,
with sweet fruit giving way to spice and more savoury notes across
the palate. Such intensity, delivered with signature cool climate
poise, is definitely the thing that gets me most excited about
working with Shiraz from this region.
GOLD MEDAL
– 2016 NSW Small Winemakers Show
THE BURTON McMAHON RANGE
MULTIPLIES
The 2015 vintage in the Yarra Valley was an
excellent one which managed to produce outstanding wines across all
varieties, and in good quantities. The combination of great quality
and healthy yields has not been seen in the Yarra Valley for some
years, and was gladly welcomed by the industry.
It
was a mild start to the growing season with October and November
producing some beautifully warm spring days coupled with good
rainfall. This laid the foundation for a great start to the season
and kicked off growth in the vineyard. Mild conditions, with no
heavy winds, followed through flowering which meant that a high
percentage of fruit set was achieved.
Summer
was also mild with average temperatures and below average rainfall.
This produced significant growth in the vineyard and management of
canopies became vital. Some high disease risk days, over the
Christmas and New Year period, put pressure on our growers to stay
alert and spray when needed. This paid off for us as there were
many reports of powdery mildew outbreaks around the valley at this
time. Reasonable disease pressure persisted through mid-January and
then during February warmer, drier, conditions set us up for a
great harvest.
Vintage
was again early with our Syme on Yarra Pinot Noir picked first, on
the 22nd of February, at 12.8 Baume. The fruit looked
great; small bunch weights and good concentration coming from the
small, thick skinned, berries.
The
two Chardonnay blocks (A. George and J. D’Aloisio) were picked
close together, on the 1st and 3rd of March
respectively, with very similar ripeness levels of 12.0 Baume. The
juices looked amazing, showing bright citrus acidity with pure
melon fruits. Post-ferment both wines were focused and edgy, and it
was a great pleasure to see them unwind and fill out in barrel.
In
2015, we were once again able to source Gippsland Pinot Noir from
the awesome Lightfoot vineyard. This vineyard has become highly
sought after so we were extremely happy to secure 2.5 tons. It was
also an early vintage in Gippsland, with harvesting taking place on
the 9th March, at 12.5 Baume. The wine is delicate and
fine, and those who enjoyed the 2012 will be very happy with this
edition.
Enjoy!
Dylan
McMahon
CHARDONNAY
The
winemaking for both Chardonnays is very similar. First the fruit is
hand-picked to insure only clean, healthy bunches are selected. The
grapes are whole bunch pressed, and the juice is settled overnight
in tank. This is followed by a light racking, directly to barrel
(approx. 95% solids), where natural fermentation then takes place.
MLF is not encouraged, and wines are sulphured directly after
primary ferment. The wines are then matured for 10 months in 30%
new (225 – 500L) French oak barrels.
2015 BURTON McMAHON D'ALOISIO CHARDONNAY
The
D’Aloisio Vineyard is located in the Seville township; it has a north
facing slope, on red volcanic soils, with an altitude of 230 metres
above sea level. The Chardonnay clone used in this vineyard is I10V1.
“….
Pleasant touches of reduction on the bouquet, the palate fine, long
and well balanced; the flavour spectrum is of white peach coupled
with some grapefruit and a touch of nutty oak.” - 95 POINTS JAMES HALLIDAY
2015 BURTON McMAHON GEORGE'S VINEYARD CHARDONNAY
The
George’s Vineyard is situated in Seville East, approximately 180
metres in altitude, featuring grey soils on a north facing slope. The
Chardonnay clone used in this vineyard is also I10V1. This cooler sub
region of the Yarra Valley is perfect for making focused and pure
Chardonnay styles.
“Awash
with flavour, especially up-front, but it quickly turns refreshing
and zippy as it runs down and through the finish. White peach and
nectarine, spicy/cedary oak, and a cleansing wash of acidity.
Excellent wine. Excellent value.” - 94 POINTS CAMPBELL
MATTINSON
PINOT NOIR
Fruit is
handpicked and de-stemmed into 3t open fermentation tanks, where
30% whole bunches are added. The must is cold soaked for four days
prior to wild yeast fermentation, with no temperature control used.
Open ferments are hand plunged daily. The wine is gently pressed
off skins and ran straight to French oak for maturation on lees.
Approximately 30% new oak is used, in larger format, 300 & 500
litre, barrels. Following maturation (10 months), the wine is
carefully racked and bottled, with no filtration or fining.
2015 BURTON McMAHON GIPPSLAND PINOT NOIR
The
grapes for this wine are sourced from the Lightfoot & Sons
vineyard in East Gippsland. The vineyard sits on a ridgeline that
overlooks Gippsland Lakes, and is situated between the foothills of
the Great Dividing Range and Bass Strait. The soils are terra rossa
over limestone, with an altitude of 60 metres above sea level.
“Curiously,
I notice the stem character even more on the nose of this Gippsland
Pinot, the aromatics really quite meaty and spicy. Yet the palate
delivers fresh raspberry fruit to cancel out the cloves and spice,
delivering something quite satisfying, complete with softer tannins and
a little x-factor. There’s still a healthy dose of whole bunch
spiciness, but this feels like a complex and satisfying, low acid,
sappy/juicy Victorian Pinot in a clever modern style.”
- 93
POINTS ANDREW GRAHAM
2015 BURTON McMAHON YARRA VALLEY PINOT NOIR
This
wine is produced from the Syme on Yarra vineyard in the Upper Yarra
Valley. Situated on the red volcanic soils of Seville, this east
facing block produces perfumed, yet structured, Pinot Noir (MV6
clone).
“It’s
a markedly different beast to the Gippsland release. This is firm,
tight, structured and stringy. Herb-infused fruit, bridled with
tannin. Cranberries and red cherries. If it was a band it would be
called: Woody Herb and the Stalky Stalks. There isn’t a lot of fruit
depth but it’s full of tension and puffed with woodsmoke. It needs a
year or two. There’s interest galore here.” - 93 POINTS CAMPBELL
MATTINSON
CELLARING GUIDE
I’ve updated
a table I originally prepared for a newsletter in 2015 showing
every vintage of each wine (except the fortified products) that
we’ve produced since 2009. There is a column showing maximum
cellaring potential, and another column indicating a drinking
window that I feel would suit the majority of people. Please
keep in mind that this table is just a guide, and that for some of
our more innovative wines we’ve been more conservative with maximum
cellaring as there really hasn’t been a precedent to compare
with.
Whites and Rosé
Wine
Vintage
Maximum
Cellaring
Ideal Drinking
Window
Poacher’s
Semillon
2010
2025
Now
- 2018
Poacher’s
Semillon
2012
2023
2017
- 2018
Poacher’s
Semillon
2013
2028
2017
- 2022
Poacher’s
Semillon
2014
2030
2019
- 2023
The
Chase Semillon
2015
2034
2020
- 2025
The
Chase Semillon
2016
2035
2021
- 2026
Hunter's
Semillon
2010
2020
Now
- 2017
Hunter's
Semillon
2011
2019
Now
Hunter's
Semillon
2012
2020
Now
- 2017
Hunter's
Semillon
2013
2020
Now
- 2017
Hunter's
Semillon
2014
2024
2019
- 2022
Hunter's
Semillon
2015
2030
2020
- 2024
Hunter's
Semillon
2016
2031
2021
- 2026
Wild
Semillon
2011
2021
Now
- 2017
Wild
Semillon
2012
2022
2017
- 2020
Wild
Semillon
2013
2020
Now
- 2018
Wild
Semillon
2014
2026
2019
- 2021
Wild
Semillon
2015
2027
2020
- 2024
Wild
Semillon
2016
2031
2021
- 2026
Indomitus
Albus
2014
2024
2017
- 2020
Indomitus
Albus
2015
2025
2018
- 2021
Off-Dry
Semillon
2011
2016
Now
Off-Dry
Semillon
2012
2016
Now
Off-Dry
Semillon
2013
2018
Now
Off-Dry
Semillon
2014
2019
Now
- 2017
Off-Dry
Semillon
2015
2020
Now
- 2018
Off-Dry
Semillon
2016
2021
Now
- 2019
Rosé
2010
2016
Now
Rosé
2011
2018
Now
Rosé
2012
2019
Now
Rosé
2013
2020
Now
Rosé
2014
2022
Now
- 2017
Rosé
2015
2023
Now
- 2018
Rosé
2016
2024
Now
- 2019
Burton
McMahon Chardonnay
2012
2020
Now
- 2018
Burton
McMahon Chardonnay
2013
2020
Now
- 2018
Burton
McMahon Chardonnay
2014
2020
Now-
2020
Burton
McMahon D’Aloisio
Chardonnay
2015
2025
2017
- 2021
Burton
McMahon George’s
Chardonnay
2015
2025
2017
- 2021
Reds
Wine
Vintage
Maximum
Cellaring
Ideal Drinking
Window
Burton
McMahon Pinot Noir
2012
2022
Now
- 2020
Burton
McMahon Pinot Noir
2013
2023
Now
- 2020
Burton
McMahon Pinot Noir
2014
2024
2017
- 2021
Burton
McMahon Yarra
Valley Pinot Noir
2015
2025
2018
- 2023
Burton
McMahon Gippsland
Pinot Noir
2015
2025
2017
- 2022
Hunter’s
Shiraz
2011
2022
Now
- 2020
Hunter’s
Shiraz
2013
2022
2017
- 2020
Hunter’s
Shiraz
2014
2025
2019
- 2022
Hunter’s
Shiraz
2015
2025
2020
- 2023
Estate
Shiraz
2008
2018
Now
Estate
Shiraz
2009
2020
Now
- 2018
Estate
Shiraz
2012
2021
2017
- 2019
Estate
Shiraz
2013
2024
2018
- 2022
Estate
Shiraz
2014
2029
2019
- 2024
Estate
Shiraz
2015
2030
2020
- 2025
Gundagai
Shiraz
2012
2020
Now
- 2018
Squire’s
Shiraz
2012
2022
2017
- 2020
Squire’s
Shiraz
2013
2023
2018
- 2021
Smoking
Barrel Red
2014
2024
Now
- 2020
Smoking
Barrel Red
2015
2025
2017
- 2021
Rare
Game Shiraz
2014
2029
2019
- 2024
Marksman’s
Shiraz
2010
2026
Now
- 2021
Marksman’s
Shiraz
2012
2027
2017
- 2022
Marksman’s
Shiraz
2013
2028
2017
- 2022
Marksman’s
Shiraz
2014
2029
2019
- 2025
Indomitus
Rutilus
2013
2028
2020
- 2025
Indomitus
Rutilus
2014
2029
2018
- 2022
Letter from thE GUNDAROO
vineyard August 2016
A chill
wind on this sunny winter day is blowing through the vineyard where
the recently pruned vines look particularly exposed and vulnerable.
Hardly a bird can be seen and the resident kangaroo family, now
numbering around thirty, huddle on the lee side of large rocks and
clumps of native bush shrubs. It seems to have been a particularly
cold winter here in the Yass Valley, but the stats indicate the
mean temperatures have been fairly average, with the occasional
spike of sub-zero cold throughs, as fronts from the west roll in to
remind us that it is precisely these conditions that brought us
here in search of the ideal cool climate terroir in
which to grow our GUNDOG ESTATE Shiraz grapes.
The dormant grapevines during the Gundaroo Winter.
Like
most of the eastern seaboard we have also experienced our share of
extreme rain events this winter but the total rainfall this year so
far at 440mm is still on average. Testing the soil in the vineyard
indicates an ideal amount of sub-soil moisture to ensure an even
and healthy bud burst when the temperature rises in a month or so
leading, hopefully, to a spectacular growing season and another
great GUNDOG vintage.
One
of the truly great winter delights of living in the Canberra Region
is that the three months of June to August coincide with the
harvesting of Tuber
melanosporum, the fabulous Perigord black truffle, that
local growers are quickly defining as an excellent example of this
exotic, elusive, and delicious, culinary ingredient.
For
visitors and locals alike, one of the best ways to experience the
truffle over this period is by visiting the 25 or so restaurants
and food outlets in the region that are presenting menus featuring
fresh truffles, extending from simple single dishes to full-on truffle
degustation dinners.
Local
produce markets, and gourmet food outlets, also sell freshly
harvested truffles by weight, allowing one to experiment in your
own kitchen with the fascinating aromas and tastes of this complex
little fungus. Although one can find various truffle products
throughout the year such as truffle oil, truffle salsa, truffle
rice etc., it is not possible to successfully preserve the truffle
and enjoying it fresh, in season, is immeasurably the best way to
consume this delicacy.
Like
most people I was somewhat daunted by the prospect of cooking with
fresh truffle for the first time, intimidated by its price (which
has been consistently at $2000 per kilo for the past few years),
but as one needs so little in most recipes, I found that it is
generally no more expensive than any other ingredient in the dish.
Fresh
truffle is also one of the easiest ingredients to use; the less you
do with it, the more effective it is and will provide an entirely
new taste enjoyment level to many existing favourite dishes, both
savoury and sweet. Cooking the fresh truffle itself is to be
avoided – incorporating it into other ingredients, in finely
chopped or thinly sliced pieces, is the best approach in my
opinion. Truffle loves fats, creams, eggs and other carbs –
stirring finely chopped truffle into freshly scrambled eggs,
combining truffles with melted butter and stirred through your
favourite pasta or dolloped onto a hot steak. Try truffles folded
into mashed potato, or truffle shavings layered with ripe creamy
cheese. These are only some of the simplest ways to enjoy
this luxury taste. Investing in a quality truffle hand slicer is a
great idea and ensures you don’t get too generous with the slice
thickness.
Truffle shaved on ripe, creamy
cheese is one of the easiest and best ways to enjoy this luxurious
ingredient.
There are many chef’s recipes available for home cooks
that incorporate fresh truffle into their flavour components. Some of
the older French classic chefs maintain indulgent luxury status for
their truffle dishes, while many of the more contemporary chefs are
using truffle in a much more casual and organic way. Matt Moran,
for instance, whose kitchen expertise is well known to the GUNDOG Cellar Club
Members who attend our regular lunches at Matt’s CHISWICK Restaurant,
has a recipe for Fricassee of chicken with peas, baby onions, and cos
lettuce, finished with truffle slices; which seems to me to be a
perfect example of a modern, truffle, one-dish meal.
Truffle
cultivation, and its increasing adoption into Australian cuisine,
may be a relatively new thing, but the nobbly black, and white,
varieties of the fungus have been around for a very long time,
reportedly as early as 1600BC. The Greeks and Romans ate and
enjoyed around 20 species of truffle, the most prized being
Caesar’s mushroom (Amanita
Caesarea). During the centuries of the Dark Ages
interest in the pleasures of the truffle disappeared along with the
general extinction of culture and learning. The truffle became
known as the devil’s handiwork, grown from the spit of witches.
The
golden age of truffles really began in Italy and France during the
15th century, as the rare delicacy came to be fancied by
the powerful and rich. Francois Pierre de La Varenne, chef to Louis
XIV (the Sun King), recorded in his recipe book, Le cuisinier Francois
(1651), more than 60 recipes featuring truffles; including his
famous pairing of foie
gras and truffles.
Throughout
its history, the mysterious truffle has been thought to possess
magical powers and medicinal virtues, none of which has ever been
proven. It does not appear to have any nutritional value or
qualities as a food, other than as a gloriously aromatic flavour
and pleasure enhancer. Inevitably since earliest times it has been
considered an aphrodisiac; Aristotle called it “a fruit consecrated
to Aphrodite”. The writer, Prunier de Longchamps, warned priests
and nuns that the consumption of truffles was inconsistent with a
vow of chastity. In the 1820s the great French savant of haute
cuisine, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, who regarded the truffle as
“the jewel of cookery”, took it upon himself to explore the erotic
pleasures of the fungus and concluded “the truffle is not a true
aphrodisiac but in certain circumstances it can make women more
affectionate and men more attentive”. Not an unusual expectation
when convivial companions enjoy a fine truffled meal, with
similarly fine and appropriately matching GUNDOG ESTATE wines,
one would think.
The
CANBERRA
TRUFFLE FESTIVAL runs through June to August each
year and is the best guide to hunting, buying, cooking and eating
truffle. Check out: www.trufflefestival.com.au
Recipe
Madeleines
A childhood spent in rural NSW holds many, often
fragmented, memories of winter tastes and sensations. Morning
visits to a neighbouring farm, sitting next to the fuel stove in
the kitchen, munching on a warm scone, just cooked, with lashings
of butter, is one I recall with great pleasure. Sometimes these
days you come across similar scones at CWA cake stalls on country
town streets, but the context is all wrong.
Marcel Proust famously wrote about the fragmentary
nature of memory in his ‘In
Search of Lost Time’. In this case, his
first-person character has a bite of a petit Madeleine cake which
prompts memory of an, otherwise forgotten, childhood experience,
when on Sundays, before Mass, his Aunt always gave him a fresh
Madeleine dunked into a Tissane tea.
Frankly, I think the Madeleine beats the Scone hands
down as a morning coffee/tea cake and it’s great to see it becoming
much more widely on offer in local coffee shops. For those who like
to dunk, as is common in France, the Madeleine is of course the
perfect vehicle. It can even be deliciously dunked in a sweet
wine, or a Muscat, or an early morning Eau de Vie, as one
often sees at French truckie stops.
The following MADELEINE
RECIPE comes from Matt Moran. Madeleines are easy
to make and cook quickly. The only real necessity is a tin
Madeleine mould which are readily available in kitchen accoutrement
shops.
INGREDIENTS
100g unsalted butter
35g honey
100g icing sugar
40g almond meal
40g plain flour
4 egg whites
olive oil spray or butter for greasing
a little caster sugar (optional)
METHOD
1. Melt the butter and honey in a small saucepan.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
2. Combine the icing sugar, almond meal and flour in
an electric mixer.
With the motor at slow speed, slowly add the egg whites.
Once incorporated gradually add the butter and honey mixture and
combine well.
Cover with plastic film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C.
4. Lightly spray the madeleine tray with olive oil or
grease with butter and sprinkle with caster sugar for a nice
crunch. Half fill the moulds with the batter and bake for 8
minutes, or until golden and well risen. Immediately turn out
the madeleines onto a cooling rack. Serve while still warm. Yum.
Bon appétit.
See you at the next GUNDOG ESTATE event.
Geoff
Burton
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