Several weeks ago I was invited to a wine tasting event by Cape Mentelle at Neo Tamarind in KL. This was my second time to Neo Tamarind and my very first time trying Cape Mentelle wines. The invitation promises a great night of food and drinks, and delivered them magnificently.

Cape Mentelle wine and food pairing at Neo Tamarind, KL
Cape Mentelle wine and food pairing at Neo Tamarind, KL

Cape Mentelle is one of Margaret River’s ‘founding five’ wineries, and pioneered many of the region’s wine styles. The brand is a benchmark for the quality of wines from Margaret River, or in short, if you aren’t exactly well versed in wines but want to make sure you get something that’s appropriate for gifts for a party, this would be a good choice.

For the night, we were presented five wines from Cape Mentelle’s collections – Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2012, Chardonnay 2011, Cabernet Merlot 2010, Shiraz 2011, and Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 in that order.

this is how you do pre-dinner correctly, with finger foods & wine
prior to dinner, finger foods & Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2012

We started off with Sauvignon Blanc Semillon as apéritif and there were several canapes to go around. Black ink risotto with salmon roe, deep fried crisp calamari cajun, spicy sauce Angus beef, tataki with chili roasted rice, and tomato bruschetta. I think I had 2-3 servings of those Angus beef.

The Semillon was sweet and proved to be fitting as the first wine for the night.

steamed white cod with coconut reduction, Chardonnay 2012
steamed white cod with coconut herbs reduction, Chardonnay 2012

Unknowingly, I seated myself right next to the viticulturist of Cape Mentelle himself – Ashley Wood. His job is to ensure that Cape Mentelle grows quality grapes which directly affects the production of the wines. This requires extensive knowledge of soil type, diseases, pests, when to harvest grapes and more. Not exactly your backyard grape grower.

Our first of the four-course dish was the steamed white code with coconut herbs reduction, paired with Chardonnay. This was an easy pairing, citrusy and well balanced wine contrasts well with the coconut based sauce of the craft-fully prepared fish. I enjoyed this, and oh, the skin of the cod is faced down and was my favorite part of the dish.

roasted chicken with garlic bulb, Cabernet Merlot 2010
roasted chicken with garlic bulb, Cabernet Merlot 2010

Next up was roasted chicken served with garlic bulb, whipped potato, apple sauce & chicken jus. Cabernet Merlot was the wine of choice to go with the poultry.

The wine was plenty fruity and carries a hint of red fruits, aniseed and tobacco bouquet. The chicken was perfectly prepared, smooth and smoky, and that garlic bulb was easy one of my favorite part of the entire dinner. It was just excellent execution that brought out the flavor of garlic without any of its harsh characteristics. I managed to convinced Eiling to eat almost half her portion even though she normally wouldn’t touch it.

The one other place I know which serves garlic bulb this way is the old school ramen shop at Wisma Central by the name of Tenka Daiichi.

roast duck breast with red cabbage puree & mustard sauce, Shiraz 2011
roast duck breast with red cabbage puree & mustard sauce, Shiraz 2011

Duct breast is one of my favorite ingredients ever, and while the roast duck breast with red cabbage pureer & mustard sauce here looks excellent, the meat itself was a slight disappointment. I think a combination of having a very thick cut and slight under cooking contributed to the chewiness of the red meat. Good potential, and quite easily fixed though.

Shiraz is one of my favorite red wines, and the version at Cape Mentelle did not disappoint at all. The peppery and spicy palate has good depth and carries a rich nose of pepper and aniseed with berries. With this, I somehow finished the duck breast anyway.

grilled beef tenderloin with Eryngii mushroom, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
grilled beef tenderloin with Eryngii mushroom, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

The fourth course was the grilled beef tenderloin with Ergyngii mushroom, scallion oil & beef jus. Medium rare and plenty juicy, the beef was a welcoming redemption after the disappointing duck breast, even though if I were to be critical, it was just a tad slightly overcooked.

Cabernet Sauvignon accompanied us for this last dish, a full bodied wine with good complexity, with black fruits, subtle flavours of chocolate, plum and aniseed and hint of oak on the palate. A very fine ending.

with Eiling & WeiZhi, green tea creme brulee
with Eiling and Wei Zhi, the dessert

No course dinner shall end without dessert, and so we had green tea crème brulee as the final dish.

This was also probably the last food review session that Eiling and I are sharing before she makes a permanent move to Belgium. Interestingly, she is also the one of my first “blog friends” when we met for the first time and went to Peony Garden 5 years ago (unfortunately that place has since closed down).
map to Neo Tamarind & Tamarind Hill

Address:
Neo Tamarind
19, Jalan Sultan Ismail,
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.15292, 101.70829
Tel: 03-2148 3200
Web: tamarindrestaurants.com
Hours: lunch and dinner daily except Monday

KY eats – Cape Mentelle Wine pairing at Neo Tamarind, KL
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8 thoughts on “KY eats – Cape Mentelle Wine pairing at Neo Tamarind, KL

  • June 10, 2013 at 3:14 pm
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    Ooh, I don’t think I’ve ever tried any Cape Mentelle wines before. Must pergi cari. And if anyone doesn’t wanna eat their garlic, I’d be very happy to eat it for them! (Though at least u managed to prove once and for all during this dinner that Eiling’s not a vampire) 😀

    Reply
    • June 10, 2013 at 4:19 pm
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      Sean: Hahahaha, I’ve also never seen Eiling suck any blood :/

      Reply
  • June 10, 2013 at 4:56 pm
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    Ooohhhh so sweet of you ky!! I’ll miss you too. But why am I a vampire? I drink wine, not blood!!!

    Reply
    • June 11, 2013 at 8:10 am
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      Eiling: hahah vampires don’t eat garlic.

      Reply
  • June 10, 2013 at 6:32 pm
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    I must try Cape Mantelle, hope its worth the money.
    Such a lucky guy!

    Reply
    • June 11, 2013 at 8:11 am
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      Michelle: hehe yesss, do it.

      Reply
  • June 10, 2013 at 6:39 pm
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    too bad we missed it coz we were in Sydney.. but we had a whole load of Cape Mentelle wines there.. like every night. hehe 😛

    Reply
    • June 11, 2013 at 8:11 am
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      ciki: how is life fair, ciki, how?

      Reply

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