Hellenic Republic 'Mesimeriano', Lygon Street Brunswick

Some of you know that my young son Henry is not sleeping that well right now, so that means his dad doesn’t either. This means we now need a more structured regime when it comes to afternoon naps. We have got in to the habit on a Saturday lately of heading out for a walk at about 4ish so he can nod off for a bit.

Now at this time of the day it is too late for a coffee, so we keep walking past ‘A Minor Place’ on Albion Street. On the other hand it is too early for a glass of something something at ‘Mr. Wilkinson’, ‘The Alderman’ or next door to the new 'Bar Idda'.

So it is off to ‘Hellenic Republic’ at the northern end of Lygon (which is a handy five minute walk from my place) for the Hellenic Republic 'Mesimeriano'.

As a restaurant, I have visited Hellenic Republic about four times, with mixed opinions being had over theses visits. Yet it is the mid afternoon mezze the Republic offers that has seen me struggle with my son’s pram through those bloody great big heavy front doors – sorry George.

For the last two weekends I have headed down there for a simple and tasty late afternoon sup of Taramasolata and pita, a beer for me, lemonade for Imogen and a sleep for Henry. The menu on offer is small due to preparation and changeover for the dinner service.

The menu comprises about 15 savoury items and six sweet ones, with my favourite sardines not being a part of this – sigh! What I really like though is the way the staff are comfortable in their surroundings while they are eating their staff dinners, or staffies as it is known in the industry. On my first ‘Mesimeriano’ visit, the staff on their break were dishing up meat and vegetarian lasagne, to which I asked what it was, and was then invited to join them. This is hospitality! I politely refused on the grounds it would bring back bad memories of past ‘staffies’ and resumed chowing down on my Taramasolata and Mythos beer.

I am not going to give out a Birk for the ‘Hellenic Republic Mesimeriano’ because all it is a little respite for me and Henry on a Saturday afternoon where he can sleep and I can gaze out on Lygon sipping my beer. See you on the weekend I guess!

Fathers Day

‘Children’s children are the crown of old men;
And the glory of children are their fathers.’

Proverbs, 17:6

Don’t worry, I’m not getting all religious on you now.

Yesterday was father’s day across Australia, with most of us having a sleep in followed by bacon and eggs, paper and strong coffee.

One of my three presents (all being books on food) was ‘Fat’, a great book on that misunderstood ingredient by Jennifer McLagen, where on page three I had my own Jerry McGuire moment with her first three words being, ‘I love Fat...’. What a dame hey!!

With this as ammo, I headed off to the Queen Victoria markets with Henry in tow in search of the biggest Rib eye I could find, and I did.

Dusting off the BBQ, I started slow roasting at about 4.30pm, at which time I also decanted the wine of choice for the night, the Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Hunter Valley Shiraz 2001. What a wine hey!! Massive deep red colour with a pinkish hue. On the nose there was immense cigar box aroma with a little bit of sweet plum and leather after about two hours in the decanter. In the mouth were still very firm tannins and gorgeous acid with savoury herbs and liquorice in the glass – almost Barolo like actually. Absolutely divine! Brilliant balance, huge length and wonderfully complex with super layered structure. Just faultless really with typical Hunter woft. Mucho Fantastico!!

It’s a shame that we didn’t save any wine, cos’ there is still more than half of the Rib eye (cooked rare medium rare)left; looks like beef sandwiches all round for the next week – big sigh!!!

Drink till 2031
Drink with above Rib eye
98
Quality cork 13.5% $90

Season of Soup - French Onion and Pichot Domaine Coteau de la Biche Vouvray Moelleux 2002

With each new day dawning to blue sky in cosmopolitan Brunswick, my daughter Imogen asks me if spring is now over and is summer coming sooo quickly. Well my dear, I am sorry to say this is Melbourne, home of the ‘G’, the upside down river and those glorious four seasons in one day....

‘.... lying in the depths of your imagination, Worlds above
and worlds below, the sunshine’s on the black clouds hanging
over the domain.
Even when you’re feeling warm, the temperature could drop away
Like four seasons in one day......’

'Four Seasons In One Day' Crowded House

So with one eye on a beach towel and the other on an umbrella, we in Melbourne are still in the throes of winter, which brings me to soup. But this is no ordinary ‘Season of Soup’ entry. Today is not only our favourite soup (Erin and me), but a Susan match that I reckon is one of the best!

French Onion Soup with Pichot Domaine Coteau de la Biche Vouvray Moelleux 2002 – a big mouthful, but a good one.

French onion soup is pretty much that, onions and lots of them!!!! This is sort of like risotto; lots of looking and lots of stirring. The key element to a good French Onion soup is making sure the pot and onions brown. So here is my French Onion soup.

· brown onions, plenty of them (14 serves four)
· olive oil
· flour, just a pinch
· Gruyere cheese
· butter, optional though
· salt to taste
· crusty bread
· water
· swimming goggles

After cutting up the multitude of onions, add a good glug of oil to the pot and heat. Add onions and add another glug of oil over the onions. Let it sit for a while on heat with the occasional stir. Once there is an obvious reduction in volume or the pot, add butter and season to taste. Keep stirring!! After a while the pot will start to brown over in the hot spots – this is good. Keep stirring.

Once you have the contents a good brown, add flour and stir for another five minutes. This thickens the contents of the pot so it is easier to reduce evenly. Add water to cover entire volume and add a few small cubes of Gruyere for a creamy edge. Reduce to a good ratio of onion and water. Grate some Gruyere over some bread and grill to your liking.

It is important to let the soup sit for a while so you don’t burn your tongue – this bugger is super hot just out of the pot.

Now the wine. Just to let you know that Vouvray is Chenin Blanc. Now Chenin Blanc in Australia gets a bad rap I reckon. Why you ask? Because we don’t get it; that’s at both levels – producing and drinking.

The very best Chenin Blanc’s come out of the Loire Valley in France. Now before you start thinking that I am banging on about French wines and how they are superior to ours (well yes), I’ll just remind everyone that in France they can only grow certain fruit in certain areas, unlike here where we can bloody grow anything any-bloody-where.

So back to the Loire Valley, and in particular to a little town called Vouvray. You punters out there may know this name from a couple of years ago when a nag by the same name was favourite in a couple of group 1 races. If you are like me and put a few bucks on it and are cursing the sound of the name ‘Vouvray’ (cos’ the mongrel didn’t salute once), I am sorry for bringing back bad memories.

Vouvray is situated on the Loire River just west of Tours in central France where Chenin Blanc is King. Here there are three styles, sec, demi-sec and Moelleux; dry, semi dry and Moelleux which is the sweetest of the three and by far the most sought after.

Moelleux wines can have up to 500 grams/litre of residual sugar in them, making them syrupy sweet and perfect with rich food such as Foire Gras.

This Pichot Moelleux has only 94 grams/litre of residual sugar, but this by no means makes it a light weight in this style. The colour is a beautiful light golden/straw with a yellowish hue coming through. The nose is super sweet with candied orange and saffron. Decanting this wine will benefit. After a while in the glass and decanter, this wine develops richness similar to Sauternes that produces a very warming mouth feel with glycerol, honey and marmalade coming through.

The reason I have given this combo the ‘Susan’ is that I reckon this pairing has got equal measure of richness – both develop a natural viscosity with time – and natural sweetness from the caramelised onions and candied orange in the wine. Ohh I do love it!!

Drink till 2032

94

Quality cork (blackened at tip is an indication that it spent time in underground cave)

$55 12.5% a/v

De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon 2006 & 1996, Riverina NSW

Q. what’s brown and sticky?
A. De Bortoli Noble One 1996
Q. what’s pale gold and sticky?
A. De Bortoli Noble One 2006

I really do love Botrytis wine, and De Bortoli knows how to get it right. The 2006 example is the best one I have tasted since the 1996 (still have two bottles left). A seamless example of this style with stewed peach and marmalade primary to the nose and palate. The longer in the mouth comes that glycerol feeling which warms up at the end with honey and a lick of spice for good measure.

The 1996 from my notes from about two months show the nose being a massive hit of honey and molasses with mouth following suit plus a very generous lick of Asian spice

Great balances, wonderful length with heaps of complexity – super stuff these two.

2006
Drink till 2022
Drink with caramelised pear tart
90
Screwcap $56 (750mL) 10% a/v

1996
Drink now
Drink with warm pecan pie – a Susan no-brainer!
95
Quality cork $? 11.5% a/v

Fraser Gallop Estate Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2007

I was having coffee this morning with a friend at a local cafe, with the conversation being about this and that; kids and kindy, the weather and whether the celebrity ‘Master Chef’ will work? As per usual, the conversation turned to wine, where my friend noted that I am far too generous with my ratings, especially the mucho fantasticos, and he has a point, I am far too generous.

So, as of today, I will now rate wine out of 100 with the mucho fantastico going to wine 97+. Here we go then.

Fraser Gallop Estate Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2007. A good year out west, with wind during flowering the biggest issue during the growing season I have been told. The colour is very dense with a purplish inky hue. On the nose is a very distinctive cough drop aroma – the old cherry style one. In the mouth there clean acid and good firm tannins up front with cherry and that cough drop flavour coming through at the end. If you have a decanter, use it with this wine cos’ it really does show a hell of lot more after about an hour with a more brambly fruit driven hit.

A good honest wine as Jack Dyer would say. Good balance, nice length and nice complexity

Drink till 2013
Drink with lamb burger
84/100
Screwcap $14 14.5% a/v

Carrick Central Otago Pinot Noir 2005

Yes, I am a Mucho Fantastico slut, yeah but what are you going to do! We have all read the quote about life being too short to drink bad wine*. This is true, and I guess I have followed that mantra with most of my posts so far.

So, we know that I am a Mucho Fantastico slut, and the next wine to gain this moniker is the Carrick Central Otago 2005 Pinot Noir. While working at Vue de monde I reckon I suggested this wine, the 2002 and 2003 vintages, probably every second service. This is always a very well made wine.

To look at it you would not pick it as a Pinot Noir. Very dense red, almost blood red. The nose is very busy with game and funk with a little bit of red fruit, not ripe, but just there tingling the nose. The longer in the decanter a more bacon fat itch comes through. Like the nose, there is a lot happening in the mouth with more secondary flavours coming through. The length is long with firm tannins still hanging around, and those secondary flavours being spice – cassia bark and cinnamon noticeable.

Just a great wine with huge complexity and length. Mucho fantastico again!

Drink with BBQ quail
Drink till 2015
18.9/20
Quality cork $40 (mailing list 2007) 13.5% a/v

*I was having a think about this comment, and have decided to rephrase down here; there is no such thing as a bad wine, but only wine that you like, anyone who says such and such wine is bad, is either too caught up in their lofty opinion or has far too much time on their hands (or drinks Barossa Pinot Noir!).

Cheerio

Giaconda Warner Vineyard Beechworth Shiraz 2006

‘Here comes johnny yen again

With the liquor and drugs

And the flesh machineHes gonna do another strip tease.

Hey man, whered ya get that lotion?

Ive been hurting since Ive bought the gimmick

About something called love

Yeah, something called love.
Well, thats like hypnotizing chickens.

Well, Im just a modern guy Of course,

Ive had it in the ear before.

I have a lust for life

cause of a lust for life....’

Iggy Pop – ‘Lust for life’

As if you didn’t know that!

The funny thing is that just as I was serving dinner and having another sip of this fine wine, my iPod shuffle started screaming this little gem out, and I thought ‘yep, spot on’ – who knows. What we do know is that this blog has a new wine of the year. Giaconda Warner Vineyard Beechworth Shiraz 2006. Mucho Fantastico!!!!

When the 2006 vintage mailing list went out on November 1 2006 I was in like a flash nabbing a six pack of both Chardonnay and Shiraz. The worst thing about this is you have to pay right then to wait for your wine to be delivered more than 12 months later – the wait was excruciating I tell ya.

Beechworth in 2006 was a very good year for grape growing with the start of the season being text book stuff. It was only toward the end when January and February heat started messing up the berry development. All in all though, 2006 produced some super stuff up there.

As I said before, the wait for this wine was agonising, so as soon as I got my delivery I opened up the boxes, fawned over the bottles for a few minutes and packed them straight off to the cellar. Boring you say – yep!

Fast forward to two weeks ago and I needed something nice to drink; I wanted something nice to drink. The 2006 Giaconda Shiraz was right there – no brainer.

The colour of this wine is very dense with an almost blackish purple hue to it. As I said, this is the best wine I have had this year (no doubt that will change again!), with the nose being a great mix a graphite and brambly fruit up front, but after about an hour in the decanter was showing more of a cured meat aroma, like a charcuterie plate, with black pepper also bobbing its head up. In the mouth was all elegance with super fine firm tannins and acid that pulls the flavours through the longer in the glass and decanter. With only 13.5% a/v, this wine has plenty of life left in it. Pure joy this one.

If anyone knows what the lyrics mean in the song, let me know. All I know is that I have five bottles left of this bad boy and really don’t know why I shouldn’t have another tonight.

beautiful balance, beautiful length and wonderful complexity – genuine lust!

Drink till 2030
Drink with rare rib eye beef
19.8/20
Screwcap $68 (mailing list two years ago)