It’s always nice opening your Christmas presents, and it’s even more so if it is a gift that you want to get for yourself at Christmas. This year we received four lovely Riedel Pinot Noir glasses for Christmas and our friends even remembered that we have some Cabernet/Merlot and Riesling/Sauvignon Riedel O-series glasses, so they brought us the Pinot/Nebbiolo O-series set to match them. How thoughtful! Ever since we have received this gift, there has been an itch to drink some Pinots, not to mention that I have recently came across a “quails in vine leaves” recipe that I wanted to try out. Alright, two reasons are good enough to organize a Pinot Noir and quails night.
It took me a while to come up with the menu with the constant objections from my husband. I have finally decided on this international dégustation menu.
Trying to find vine leaves in brine was very difficult, I have tried all the possible groceries but still couldn’t find them. Then my husband accidentally saw some whole quails wrapped in vine leaves in a new butcher located in the Lane Cove Market Square, Hudson Meats that sell quality meats. I asked them if they sell vine leaves on its own, they said they don’t but the kind gentleman gave me 12 leaves he uses for his preps for just 50c. I was so lucky and happy, and will definitely go back to this nice butcher for some meat next time!
With the meats marinated overnight in the fridge; quiche, focaccia and other preps done; table set, I pulled out my wine spreadsheet and looked through my Pinot Noir list. I have chosen the Lark Hill Pinot Noir 2006 from the Canberra District and the Louis Jadot Bourgogne 2007. I used to be a bit sceptical with the Canberra District Pinot Noirs since I knew how hot and dry Canberra can be, having lived there for a year, but I was totally surprised by the Lark Hill Pinot Noirs, both their entry level and reserve Pinots. Seriously examining my spreadsheet, I have also decided to drink the aged Waverley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Museum Wine 1991, a delicate aged wine is on the same line as a gentle Pinot. Then my friends arrived, they brought a bottle of the Ten Minutes by Tractor 10X Pinot Noir 2006 and a Geelong Shiraz, Shiraz by Farr 2003. Ten Minutes by Tractor is one of my favourite wineries in the Mornington Peninsula. When we visited the winery in 2008, it was overly crowded and we rushed through the tastings and quickly brought some wines, it will be nice just to enjoy the wine in our leisure tonight.
We looked at all the wines in front of us and spent 15 minutes discussing whether to open the white wines I have pre-chilled to start with, or go straight to our Pinots. We have finally decided to go straight to the Pinot Noirs and sorted out the order of wines for the evening. Our first wine was the Lark Hill Pinot Noir, it has a young bright cherry red colour, nice fruity aroma and soft tannins. The gentle aroma was brought out nicely from the Pinot Noir glass, I have started to appreciate the shapes of the different wine glasses after attending the Riedel Glass Tasting Class, the differences they gave was amazing.
Very soon, the wines in our glasses and the ham and cheese platter were vanished, I guess it was time to start our next wine and courses. We next opened the Ten Minutes by Tractor Pinot Noir and I took out the entrée trio – scallops, mini-quiche and salsa prawns. This second wine also has a bright cherry red colour, stronger fruity and floral aromas such as beautiful apricots, more rounded and fuller body than the first wine. It matched with the steamed scallops and salmon quiche nicely. Having a group of fussy wine drinkers at the table, we have quickly noticed a problem. We had the scallops and the quiche, then we paused … … we all mutually agreed that we wanted a bigger red with the salsa prawns, despite my intention to reduce the spiciness of my salsa prawns, it was still not good enough! Therefore we decanted the Geelong Shiraz and tried, we thought it might need a little bit more time in the decanter, but we couldn’t resist the temptation and have started drinking it slowly. It has a deep red colour, smoky and leathery aroma with a hint of damp earth on the nose. A big wine, strong tannin and long palate, I have intended to come back to it in a few hours if there was any left!
Then I served the beef tataki followed by the duck à l'orange, an interesting Japanese-French fusion that I often found in restaurants. We went back to finish off the Ten Minute by Tractor Pinot Noir and also opened the Waverley Estate aged Cabernet. The Waverley Estate is a winery from the Hunter Valley that specializes in aged wines, the current vintage for their Cabernet is 2000. This 20-year-old wine has a lovely tinted brown colour, leathery and earthy on the nose, and silky soft tannin, a very delicate wine. I really enjoyed it with the duck.
By this time of the evening, we all needed a short break for our food to digest. We continued with our food and wine conversations and had a little whisky tasting. We tried the Talisker 10 years single malt and the Talisker 10 years limited edition single malt Scottish whisky that we brought back from the Isle of Skye when we visited the distillery. The limited edition wine has again matured since I last tried it 2 years ago. Lovely!
The last savoury course for the evening was quails in vine leaves and the Burgundy we saved till the end. This was the first time I cooked quails and it didn’t turned out too well. Nevertheless, this Louis Jadot was a fruity style with a bright red colour and lovely fruity aromas. It was young and complex, from stone fruits to mineral favours, a very well balanced wine.
I noticed a little bit of the Geelong Shiraz left in my glass, it was time to re-examine the wine! The spiciness of the Shiraz has now came out, nice balanced tannin, full body and long palate, very satisfying. At this point, we seemed to have too many empty glasses on the table, and we wanted another red, so I have decided to open the Gapsted Ballerina Canopy Durif 2003 from the King Valley. It has a dark red colour, very smooth and soft tannin, full body but gentle, a nice wine to finish off the evening.
Last but not least, after a long break to digest our mains it was time for dessert. My friend made a lemon tart, a Neil Perry’s recipe, which has a nice zingy flavour to cleanse our palate. I have pre-chilled the Deakin Estate Moscato 2006 from northern Victoria, a sweet wine with only 4.5% alcohol, perfect “Finish” for the night. Nutty pistachio with sweet Moscato, yum!
It took me a while to come up with the menu with the constant objections from my husband. I have finally decided on this international dégustation menu.
* Prosciutto and Chorizo with assorted Cheese platter and Orange Duck Pâté
* Salmon and Dill mini-Quiche
* Steamed Scallop with Ginger and Shallots
* Salsa King Prawns with Garlic and Tomato
* Beef Tataki on Turnips served with Ponzu sauce
* Duck à l'orange - Roast Orange Duck breast on Quinoa served with Grand Mariner sauce
* Pan-fried Quails wrapped in vine leaves on Pumpkin Purée and Pomegranate served with Hazelnuts vinaigrettes
Sides – Freshly baked Rosemary Focaccia,
Garden salad (Friend’s dish)
* Lemon Tart with Pistachio (Friend’s dish)
* Salmon and Dill mini-Quiche
* Steamed Scallop with Ginger and Shallots
* Salsa King Prawns with Garlic and Tomato
* Beef Tataki on Turnips served with Ponzu sauce
* Duck à l'orange - Roast Orange Duck breast on Quinoa served with Grand Mariner sauce
* Pan-fried Quails wrapped in vine leaves on Pumpkin Purée and Pomegranate served with Hazelnuts vinaigrettes
Sides – Freshly baked Rosemary Focaccia,
Garden salad (Friend’s dish)
* Lemon Tart with Pistachio (Friend’s dish)
With the meats marinated overnight in the fridge; quiche, focaccia and other preps done; table set, I pulled out my wine spreadsheet and looked through my Pinot Noir list. I have chosen the Lark Hill Pinot Noir 2006 from the Canberra District and the Louis Jadot Bourgogne 2007. I used to be a bit sceptical with the Canberra District Pinot Noirs since I knew how hot and dry Canberra can be, having lived there for a year, but I was totally surprised by the Lark Hill Pinot Noirs, both their entry level and reserve Pinots. Seriously examining my spreadsheet, I have also decided to drink the aged Waverley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Museum Wine 1991, a delicate aged wine is on the same line as a gentle Pinot. Then my friends arrived, they brought a bottle of the Ten Minutes by Tractor 10X Pinot Noir 2006 and a Geelong Shiraz, Shiraz by Farr 2003. Ten Minutes by Tractor is one of my favourite wineries in the Mornington Peninsula. When we visited the winery in 2008, it was overly crowded and we rushed through the tastings and quickly brought some wines, it will be nice just to enjoy the wine in our leisure tonight. We looked at all the wines in front of us and spent 15 minutes discussing whether to open the white wines I have pre-chilled to start with, or go straight to our Pinots. We have finally decided to go straight to the Pinot Noirs and sorted out the order of wines for the evening. Our first wine was the Lark Hill Pinot Noir, it has a young bright cherry red colour, nice fruity aroma and soft tannins. The gentle aroma was brought out nicely from the Pinot Noir glass, I have started to appreciate the shapes of the different wine glasses after attending the Riedel Glass Tasting Class, the differences they gave was amazing.
Then I served the beef tataki followed by the duck à l'orange, an interesting Japanese-French fusion that I often found in restaurants. We went back to finish off the Ten Minute by Tractor Pinot Noir and also opened the Waverley Estate aged Cabernet. The Waverley Estate is a winery from the Hunter Valley that specializes in aged wines, the current vintage for their Cabernet is 2000. This 20-year-old wine has a lovely tinted brown colour, leathery and earthy on the nose, and silky soft tannin, a very delicate wine. I really enjoyed it with the duck. 
The last savoury course for the evening was quails in vine leaves and the Burgundy we saved till the end. This was the first time I cooked quails and it didn’t turned out too well. Nevertheless, this Louis Jadot was a fruity style with a bright red colour and lovely fruity aromas. It was young and complex, from stone fruits to mineral favours, a very well balanced wine.I noticed a little bit of the Geelong Shiraz left in my glass, it was time to re-examine the wine! The spiciness of the Shiraz has now came out, nice balanced tannin, full body and long palate, very satisfying. At this point, we seemed to have too many empty glasses on the table, and we wanted another red, so I have decided to open the Gapsted Ballerina Canopy Durif 2003 from the King Valley. It has a dark red colour, very smooth and soft tannin, full body but gentle, a nice wine to finish off the evening.
Last but not least, after a long break to digest our mains it was time for dessert. My friend made a lemon tart, a Neil Perry’s recipe, which has a nice zingy flavour to cleanse our palate. I have pre-chilled the Deakin Estate Moscato 2006 from northern Victoria, a sweet wine with only 4.5% alcohol, perfect “Finish” for the night. Nutty pistachio with sweet Moscato, yum!
I love to have quails with Pinot Noir too.
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