icon next to each of them.
51 407 28 389... these aren't the play numbers yelled out at the scrimmage line of a football game but rather the Bin numbers of some of the fine wines served at Salty's on the Columbia for a wine tasting event presenting several of Australia's Penfolds Winery's finest .Jim Gratton, the district manager representing Penfolds introduced the winery as an Australian ‘landmark' founded in the mid 1800's by an English physician who believed that grapes fortified had medicinal properties. The rest is history. Today Penfolds is one of the world's premier producers of fine wines particularly Shiraz's and Cabernet's. They are owned by Foster's Group and have wineries near Adelaide and in Nuriootpa in the Barossa Valley.
The fall dinner was crafted by Salty's executive chef Dana Cress. Our starter was a variety of petit tastes. A splendid light tasty chevre terrine delicately prepared with shiitake mushrooms and leeks was the taster's favorite. A Riesling- Eden Valley Reserve 2007 was matched with the appetizers. The wine was characteristically dry with a hint of sparkle, apparently matured in oak with smoothness to the pallet and an almost flowery aroma.
Shiraz, Penfolds ‘standard bearer' varietal was introduced many years ago into Australia and is one of the most popular grape varieties. A Thomas Hyland 2005 was pared with our next course, a Beaufort Papillion fondue with roasted chanterelle mushrooms, Dungeness crab and a lightly herbed pate a chous. Each was dipped into the delicate fondue which was contained in a traditional mini French bread bowl rather than sourdough.
Seared duck was presented with a very light pumpkin sauce accompanied by a ‘pea vines' and candied walnut salad tossed in a light dressing. The duck was served ‘cold' and as with duck was rich in flavor and somewhat overpowered the spiciness of the sauce.
Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon accompanied the duck. The richness of the duck with the full flavor of the wine was a marvelous combination. Cabernet apparently was introduced into Australia in the 1970's and today is second in production only surpassed by the Shiraz.
As an aside the ‘bin' number that identifies many of the Penfolds wines are numbers that identify locations within the wine cellar. The numbers have nothing to do with the grape origins, ages of the wines or any type of ratings.
The main course was venison prepared in three distinct culinary styles. The meat is characteristically ‘mildly gamey' with light marbling so it is typically less fatty and slightly dryer than traditional beef. The grilled chop was slice thin and pared with a sweet yet tangy black pepper raspberry gastrique. This was quite flavorful and matched well with the chop. The braised shoulder of venison was my favorite. The meat softened by the cooking was richly flavored with a juniper berry gin sauce. A roulade of venison blended with onions was served on the plate too with a butternut squash bread pudding and blue cheese.
A Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2005 was matched with this course and was equal to the fullness of the venison by providing a rich full bodied wine that could stand with red meat especially game.
As a special treat Gratton offered us a tasting of a 1996 limited Shiraz Bin 28 from the Napa Penfolds library- their wine ‘warehouse' where they store current and historical wines for special occasions. This wine was the highlight of the evening. Although unavailable to be purchased the opportunity to sip this wine with the venison demonstrated how important it is to have the ‘right wine' accompaning a gourmet meal to maximize the flavors and tastes of both!
The dinner was topped off with Penfolds classic Grandfather Fine Old Tawny Port, a fortified wine that historically was Dr. Penfolds original purpose of developing wine in Australia. This Port was accompanied by a dark chocolate soufflé, a honey roasted pear and my favorite a rum raisin sabayon-cold, smooth and richly laced with the rum flavoring. I might add that the port was both rich and sweet and as an accompaniment to the dessert was perfect. In fact the port could have stood on its own as an after dinner aperitif but having it as part of the dessert was ‘decadent'.
All in all Salty's Harvest dinner accompanied by Penfolds wines was a great success. The food was great and the wines were grand. All attending were more than pleased and many accolades were offered to Cress, the executive chef, and to Gratton, Penfolds wine representative.
Salty's is located at:
3839 N.E. Marine Drive
Portland, OR 97211
Restaurant (503) 288-4444
