WineNZ Summer 18-19 (1)
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food | bars & restaurants<br />
Lamb sweetbreads with fat, crunchy green beans,<br />
crisp croutons and melting lardo.<br />
A blackboard list of additional wines by the glass makes your mouth water.<br />
A&M Quenard, Chignin, 2016, red,<br />
peppery with firm tannins, that went well<br />
with the richness of the dish.<br />
Smoked eel in this instance came with<br />
summery gazpacho, beautifully tomatoey,<br />
with croutons for a bit of crunch and torn<br />
pieces of lovage leaf to add a savoury<br />
touch - a well balanced dish, crisp and fresh,<br />
especially with a Greek rosé from Naousa.<br />
No matter what comes with it, samphire<br />
is one of those things you can’t pass when<br />
you see it on the menu. In this case it<br />
came with seared thornback ray with tiny<br />
brown shrimp and capers. Josh suggested<br />
a white Burgundy, either a chardonnay<br />
from Pouilly-Vinzelles or an aligoté, the<br />
other white from Burgundy, so I selected<br />
a small glass of each to compare. The<br />
chardonnay was more complex, but there<br />
was too much going on in it to complement<br />
the crisp, buttery ray with salty capers<br />
and samphire. The blander aligoté was a<br />
friendlier accompaniment.<br />
Crispy-skinned, grilled lamb saddle from<br />
Swaledale in Yorkshire came with a roll of<br />
lamb belly, Coco de Paimpol beans from<br />
Brittany, chunky green sauce and a salty<br />
jus. It was matched with a fruity Spanish<br />
red, Daterra Viticoltores Casas de Enriba<br />
from Valdeorras in Galicia.<br />
Although we had little room left for<br />
dessert, we couldn’t resist, especially as<br />
each had a recommended wine match.<br />
At last, here is a rare restaurant that cares<br />
about the difficult art of matching wine<br />
with dessert! I have to admit we selected<br />
the wine first and then the dessert that<br />
went with it.<br />
I chose a Madeira, 10-year old Malmsey<br />
from M Blandy, delicious both by itself<br />
and with a warm, chocolatey and slightly<br />
bitter mousse with crunchy salt on top and<br />
a scoop of that delectable British speciality,<br />
clotted cream.<br />
An unusual natural wine, La Stoppa,<br />
Vigna del Volta passito from Emilia<br />
Romagna, golden in colour, cloudy with<br />
oodles of ripe tropical fruit and a long<br />
finish, was accompanied by blueberry<br />
tart with slivered almonds and clotted<br />
cream at the side. Interestingly, like the<br />
rest of the food, the desserts were plainly<br />
presented without all the squiggles and<br />
fancy garnishes so beloved of many New<br />
Zealand chefs.<br />
All in all, it was a satisfying night, one<br />
of those special places that takes wine and<br />
food and their matching seriously, and has<br />
extremely knowledgeable staff to help you<br />
navigate an extensive and exciting wine list.<br />
The food was fascinating with its English<br />
and European specialities, even if some<br />
dishes were a tad too salty for my palate.<br />
And it wasn’t much more expensive than<br />
one might spend in a good New Zealand<br />
restaurant.<br />
Food<br />
Wine List<br />
Ambience<br />
Service<br />
Overall<br />
Reviewed by Charmian Smith<br />
<br />
<br />
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Note: In Wellington there is a wine<br />
bar also called Noble Rot, which is not<br />
connected with the original in London.<br />
Lincolnshire smoked eel in a fresh, summery<br />
gazpacho with lovage.<br />
Samphire with ray,<br />
tiny brown shrimps and capers.<br />
Grilled Swaledale lamb saddle, lamb roll, with<br />
haricot beans and green sauce.<br />
76 <strong>WineNZ</strong> Magazine | <strong>Summer</strong> 20<strong>18</strong>-<strong>19</strong>