Capel Vale Wine Dinner at D’Empire Restaurant - surprisingly okay...

October 10th 2019

Been a while since I posted - last one was in April…  wow...   looking back, figure was a combination of factors revolving around getting depressed over massively intermittent Broadband access causing feelings of non productive uselessness. Could not get the head together to put finger to keyboard. Sometimes I think we men are much like dogs - only happy when we feel useful. Should me more like cats - wtf so long as there is food, milk and tickles...

Anyhow....   I must say I didn't really want to go to this one, but our friend said she had booked a table of ten and could we please help fill the gaps. How to say no?

Reason for the recalcitrance was two fold: first was that we had just landed the day before from a seven day tour around Croatia with a group of foodie friends and we expected to be a bit knackered from the flight; and second was that my memory of a previous Wine Dinner with Capel Vale wines from about fifteen years ago was that the wines were not particularly memorable. Though memorable enough for me to remember the evening...  And Margaret River is on the Bucket List for a visit and a roam around the vineyards sipping the Cabernets. Oh, and three and four fold was that previous food at the D’Empire had proven pleasant but not stunning and it was going to cost about RM300 for the experience. I seem to be getting to be a miserable grumpy old scrooge in my early dotage. Bah.

And Five fold was the screamingly slow traffic that needed forty minutes of negotiation to get to the Pavilion. It is really not pleasant trying to get into KL town of an evening. Most of the time the traffic moves very slowly and sometimes it is dead stop; digression to share a recent experience trying to get to the Hakka Restaurant - the Kia Peng Road was impenetrable and I had to drive up the wrong side and barge my way in. Not the normal way I like to drive but increasingly needs must in the city. You have to be very aggressive in KL these days. 

The Foie Gras and untouched salad

So... we got into D’Empire pretty much on the Eight O'Clock dot to find our table already seated and with glasses of something fizzy being poured. After the usual hellos and how were your holidays, we got stuck in. Seating was what I call Taliban style, with all the ladies at one end of the table and all the men at the other. Think the thinking is that all the men can talk among themselves. As can all the ladies. Seems to work, of a fashion. 

The fizz was a quite pleasant Prosecco, all flighty bubbles and lightly sweet apples and lemon both on the nose and on the tongue. Nice bead which held for quite long and a clean refreshing finish. Nice way to get things going.

The brilliantly seared Salmon

First thoughts - food was good, though steak was absolutely memorable, medium rare and all oozing juice and very good meat. Would happily go back for this. The Foie gras was full taste and excellent with the home baked bread, though I left the salad - never quite trust salad from anywhere; who has washed it and in what kind of water are my usual OCD issues. Is also my first usual suspect of bad belly, so I rarely take it (I also don't really like it, but there you go...). Soup was meaty and full and lush with a dab of cream but ultimately a bit ordinary (what can you do with pureed mushroom?). Salmon was a perfect pan fry and sear, all juicy flakes and perfect cook and the crunchy ratatouille made a useful plate partner. As said, the ribeye was excellent though I can't remember the added risotto and asparagus. Dessert looked pretty though I avoided, preferring to chug on the very drinkable Cabernet Sauvignon that our friend with the bottle seemed happy to pour for the table. 

The excellent Black Angus Ribeye

Winewise, the prosecco was eminently drinkable, the Riesling a bit industrial though with sufficient mouth grip and fruit to compensate, the Chardonnay a bit overoaked and woody, the Shiraz was perky and chewy and the Cabernet the star of the night - good silk in the mouth, full fruit and nicely balanced. Drinking nicely now but should have an extra couple of years in it. The Verdelho was tasty enough if you like dessert wines - they don't drive me though I will still drink them.

Dessert

The staff seemed a fun bunch, with Chef de Cuisine Dallan Tan leading them all out to dance to the keyboard and singer that had been hired to entertain the assembled (about 25 in total). I was called upon to sing a couple of songs to close the evening and we all made our ways home. Despite my misgivings, I ended up enjoying the evening, with both wine and food surprising on the upside. And making new friends around the table is always fun. And finding old friends is also fun - discovered an IWFS Member Peter operates the wine distribution for the Capel Vale wines in KL. Sounds like I might be bending his ear to get some of the Cabs...  hopefully at a generous discount - we are IWFS after all  ;D

Chef Dallan Tan with new friends

The Pavilion is a bugger after 10pm because they shut down most of the escalators which makes it a double bugger to try and retrace to where you parked the car. As it was, the Lenglui displayed an unusual level of sensory awareness and figured out which lift to take to the parking level and where the car was parked. She never ceases to amaze...

Menu

Welcome Drink

Masottina Prosecco Extra Dry DOCG

First Course
Foie Gras De Canard, baby greens, caramelised grapes
Masottina Prosecco Extra Dry DOCG

Second Course
Wild Button Mushroom Soup
Capel Vale Mt Barker Riesling

Third Course
Norwegian Salmon, ratatouille, lemon cream sauce
Capel Vale Margaret River Chardonnay

Fourth Course
Australian Angus Black Ribeye Dry Aged 21 days
Red wine rosotto, sauteed button mushroom, aspaaragus
Capel Vale Mt Barker Shiraz
Capel Vale Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon

Fift Course
French Garnache with Truffle Chocolate, Vanilla Ice Cream
Roustabout Late Harvest Verdelho

Voyager Estate at Stoked - good!

March 14, 2018 - This was another email from Yin-How at Stoked alerting the world to a wine dinner that paired the Bertha delights with the latest offerings from Margaret River's Voyager Estate. 

The email actually told of two wine dinners on consecutive days, the other showcasing wines from Barossa Valley's Yalumba winery. We find that wine dinners on the bounce are generally to be avoided, since the system usually takes a day to recover and is not really up to scratch in time to appreciate and enjoy the second. We opted for the Voyager in memory of a delightful bottle or three enjoyed at lunch on one of the IWFS Ipoh trips - lush, velvet, potent and powerful beast it was. Totally memorable. 

Voyager Estate Export Director Fiona Findlay and the Lenglui

I had shared the email with my Wine Sifu, knowing he enjoys the good meat with the good wine. He was not able to join, but shared that he had visited the Voyager Estate winery and had had a well jolly time of things there. He gets around, does Wine Sifu. 

Yin-How's email noted that the wines of Margaret River have "been rightly regarded as one of the true pretenders to crafting authentic convincing Bordeaux style wines. While there is undoubtedly more dense core of fruit in wines from this region, the underlying mineral and leafy nuances are still present. Voyager Estate is one of the foremost established quality producers from Margaret River and personally, the Cabernet Merlot 2001 remains for me one of the best new world Bordeaux blends I have ever tasted, complex, cigar box notes mixed with pure cassis fruit and soft grainy tannins. We will taste the spicy, plummy refined Shiraz as well as their flagship Cabernet Merlot."

Cured Mackerel. Watermelon, Pesto

Which I think was the one we had had in Ipoh. Belter of a wine, and as Yin-How says, one of those that somehow sticks in the memory. Wines that would be served on the night were

Girt by Sea Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2016

Girt by Sea Chardonnay 2016

Girt by Sea Cabernet Merlot 

Estate Shiraz 2013

Estate Cabernet Merlot 2012

Iberico, Asparagus, Parmesan

All wines would be specially discounted on the night as well. How to resist?

We arrived slightly late (as usual) at the Stoked. Everyone was sat with their aperitif wine, a charming Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend which we quaffed voraciously and cheered our table guests, one of whom would turn out to be Voyager Estate Export Director Fiona Findlay who would be our guide for the wines on the night. Hugely warm and full of stories, Fiona was a delightful companion for the evening. 

Lenglui later remarked that of late we seemed to be getting parked with the wine reps at the wine dinners we attended. I had not noticed it, but on reflection it proved true - we got sat with the people who were either making the wine or bringing it in. Possibly is because of this blog and the thinking being that I can get more detail and content for writing up the dinner. Never considered that I might garner a reputation for keeping this diary. There you go. 

Now nearly a month gone, I can't remember too much about the first few courses. I recall them having good tastes and matching the wines nicely, but the individual tastes and combos - gone. The beef was a standout - could really taste the age on it and the rich cheek busting jus, er, busted the cheeks and tongue nicely. Dessert was also a standout, with yoghurt and blueberry getting supercharged by the lime to lend a creamy citrus end to the evening. The Mackerel was a fishy basil bite somewhat both sparked and diluted by the fiery herbs and raspy watermelon, which equally diluted the light acidity in the mid bodied Chardonnay. And the Iberico felt a bit sad compared to the vervy servings Chef has produced on previous visits. Seem to recall a soft crust on the meat which did not quite do it for me. Can't remember the Girt by Sea Red, though there was none left in the glass. 

Dry Aged 60 day Sirloin

The wines were pretty much on point, and Ms Fiona talked well and not overlong about them. I recall enjoying the Semillon/SB as a very good and friendly ice breaker - a convivial wine perfect as aperitif. The Chardonnay had perhaps a shade too much power for balance, though perhaps needs a bit of time in bottle. Can't remember the Girt Cab/Merlot. One of those where taking notes seemed uncultured, especially sat next to the Export Director. The fact that we did not buy any of the whites is suggestive that they were not quite to our taste or value proposition. I tend to be very Scotsman in spending on the booze; Lenglui not so. 

But we did buy six of the Estate Cabernet Merlot, though in fairness the Shiraz showed better on the night. There was good fruit and solid power and just enough boldness to stand up to the full and firm aged meat and rich coffee tinted jus. To which the Maitake mushroom gave good earth and chewy bite. All smack and whack in the mouth from both food and wine. The Boys Club would love this one. Can't remember the Kelp paste.

The Cab/Merlot was softer and could not quite face down the beef. But we are not huge fans of the big and the bold (sounds like a TV series…) and the Cab/Merlot is a lovely wine that will match the home grilled steak. As said, we bought six which are now stored in the bathroom awaiting space in the wine fridge. I had planned to take a couple to a dinner with my  Wine Sifu the following week at the Butcher's Table (click here to read my report>>) - in the end I decided against; we ran into each other at a wine dinner in DC Restaurant with DC Vajra wines (report hopefully upcoming) where he said he would bring his big Voyager Estate Tom Price 2004 to try with the Butcher's Rib Eye - I felt the Cab/Merlot was a bit lightweight and would get sucker punched. Which proved right - see the above link. 

Blueberries Compote, Lime,
Yoghurt Ice Cream

Stoked Restaurant

T : +60320948262     M : +6012 2802948     

F : +603 20948264

E : yhwong@vintry.com.my                   

W : www.vintry.com.my

MENU

Voyager Estate Wine Dinner 

Marinated Pear, Lavender Honeycomb, Cured Lardo Potato and Roe Crispy Leaves and Sofrito 

Voyager Estate Sauvignon Blanc – Semillon 2016

Cured Mackerel, Watermelon, Pesto 

Voyager Estate 'Girt By Sea' Chardonnay, 2016 

Iberico Intercostal, Asparagus, Parmesan Veloute 

Voyager Estate 'Girt By Sea' Cabernet - Merlot, 2012 

Dry-Aged 60days Sirloin, Grilled Maitake with Kelp Paste 

Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot 2012 

Voyager Estate Shiraz, 2013

Blueberries Compote, Lime Zest and Oil, Yoghurt Ice Cream

Bailey’s Bon Bon Coffee & Tea