Via Twitter, @RexWineCo suggested I check out http://www.thelocalnose.com/ for listings of local wine events and I stumbled across an ad for the Katnook Dinner on Friday 28th Jan at Picotin Bistro & Bar. I signed up straight away as I've been a fan of Katnook wines since the early 90's, plus I can never turn down the chance of a good feed!
In a bizarre twist of fate it is this Twitter conversation that led me to Sarah Mayo and an offer of some freelance writing work on the Local Nose website. So, this write-up is a precursor to my Local Nose piece, for my pleasure, and hopefully yours; for the meal was a real pleasure - great food, great wine and great company. If you don't want to read anymore, here's my opinion in the first paragraph; book yourself onto one of the Local Nose events and meet some interesting people and try some excellent wines. You might get to try some fabulous food too if you're lucky, and we were.
Picotin is nestled in the slope of Turf Club Road, Bukit Timah, Singapore. We arrived by taxi via some roads that also included the word "club" in their names. Eventually the taxi driver cottoned on my non-Singaporean patois and dumped us outside what looked like a national park. It maybe a national park...
You'd never guess from the road that a gem-of-a-bar was hidden behind the tropical leaves, but on closer inspection we found an airy, relaxed watering hole with a real buzz.
We were ushered over to meet Alison Harvey from Katnook Wines by John who helps provide a chilled, unpretentious front-of-house atmosphere. Alison was similarly unpretentious, which is really refreshing in the world of wine.
We got stuck into some Katnook Estate Riesling as an aperitif which really complemented the very grand hors d'oeuvre that followed. Crab Croquetes with Saffron Mayonnaise, Foie Gras on Toasted Raisin Bread and Sea bass Tartare with Lime Dressing set the tone for the evening. The Riesling was displaying some classic petrol aromas with a succulent twist of lime on the palate to get the taste buds leaping.
As we sat at the table awaiting the first of 5 courses I thought how thoroughly informal it all was, and all the better for it. "Wine Dinner" sounds very starchy but this was far from it. Everyone was chatting and laughing as if they'd known each other for years. Some had, it turned out! This is the fun thing about these Singapore get-togethers; they're uncomplicated, and people always come back for seconds.
Next came the Chicken & Mushroom Ravioli with Pumpkin Puree & Sage Butter, paired with Katnook Estate Chardonnay. The ravioli was light and flavoursome, matching well with the almost Burgundian-style wine with it's undertones of satsuma and mint. One of the best Australian Chardonnays I think I've had, showing real elegance and poise.
Duck Foie Gras made a welcome return with the second course, this time with a red onion marmalade. My only criticism would be that there was maybe too much of it (a huge slab of the stuff!) - but who's complaining? Maybe the duck, but certainly not me.
The Katnook Estate Merlot was selected with this course, but Alison quickly pointed out that the wine was too warm. It had been left waiting too long and the aromas were muted and the smell of alcohol was too prevalent. Almost unheard of in the UK, the wine was sent away to be cooled, but when it returned the flavours of smoke, licorice and beefy Marmite were really coming through. It's hard in Singapore's humidity to get "room temperature" right!
With air-con and fans the wintery Braised Beef & Roasted Swede Puree tasted fabulous in the heat of Singapore. The soft, velvety beef, drizzled with a deep, rich gravy over sweet root vegetable went perfectly with the Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. The vanilla oak and green pepper nose, combined with plump loganberry & blackcurrant fruit on the palate blended well with each mouthful of the beef.
Billed as Roasted Lamb Shoulder, but delivered as Half Rack of Lamb, with Asparagus & Red Wine Shallots, the next course was top notch. Pink lamb and caramelized onions, with the pungently difficult wine-matcher, asparagus is a hard one to pull off with a Shiraz but here the Katnook Estate Prodigy did the job very nicely indeed. The Prodigy was jam-packed full of dark chocolate, cherry, black olive and radicio flavours, each one in harmony, not competition.
The only wine-pairing that didn't work was the last. On it's own, the Dark Chocolate Cake with Black Cherry Ice Cream was a lovely finish. Likewise, the Katnook Estate Odyssey as a wine was a serious Cabernet, meant to age gracefully with good tannin and acidity balancing the leather, stewed fruit crumble and red apple flavours. Together, however, they just didn't work. But, it was a minor blip in an otherwise faultless evening.
Cigars puffed, phone numbers were exchanged and wine continued to flow but eventually the evening came to end as the stragglers fell into cabs and disappeared into the warm evening glow. We left Picotin with full bellies and big smiles, looking forward to our next adventure.
Thanks to Sarah Mayo at The Local Nose; Kelvin at HC Wines &Spirits and Alison Harvey at Katnook Estate Wines. Oh, and of course Picotin for having us!
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