Match of the week
Duck with figs and Kooyong Ferrous Pinot Noir
I know duck and Pinot is a bit of a no-brainer but this was such a great dish and such a stellar wine that it's worth revisiting. (Coupled with the fact that some of you may be having duck for Christmas.)
It was at the restaurant at the Port Phillip Estate on the Mornington Peninsula where I spent a day and a half last week. (Not at the restaurant, I hasten to add - in the region). It has the most amazing views over the vineyards to the Bass Strait.
The dish was a nicely rare duck breast served with confit duck made into a crisp duck cake, poached figs and a spiced duck glaze obviously designed to complement the Kooyong Pinots.
The wine we were drinking was the 2010 Kooyong Ferrous Pinot Noir, one of a number of single vineyard bottlings, a superbly structured yet opulent, cherry-fruited pinot that was perfectly pitched for the dish.
Kooyong and Port Phillip were nominated combined wineries of the year in James Halliday's 2012 wine guide.
Unfortunately the Ferrous seems to be out of stock currently in its main stockist Great Western Wine. I'm not surprised.
Seared cod with red wine sauce and Premier Cru Santenay
There’s still a bit of resistance to drinking red wine with fish, let alone with a white fish like cod but last week I had the perfect dish to combine with a good red burgundy.
It was prepared for us by Gordon McDermott the head of Waitrose’s very swish new Cookery School when we went for a tasting the other day and I imagine was an easy dish to make. The cod was seared then served on a bed of wilted, shredded leeks with a red wine and butter sauce that was probably made by deglazing the pan with red wine and whisking in soft butter.
It was a perfect match both with the lovely Domaine Lucien Muzard 2008 Santenay Premier Cru La Maladière (£19.99 in 20 selected branches and Waitrose Wine Direct*) which I thought tasted of autumn raspberries and with the truly delicious 2008 Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir from Merrick’s Grove (£23.99 from only 2 branches and Waitrose Wine Direct), one of the best Aussie Pinots I’ve tasted. Great for a romantic dinner for two.
* Neither of these wines seem to be on the site yet. I'll try and find out when they're coming in.
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