Eastern & Oriental Hotel Penang hosted another impressive wine pairing dinner in the month of October 2023, and this round the focus of the night is New Zealand wines, featuring vintages from Saint Clair Family Estate.
The event was held at Java Tree, and the chef crafted a 5-course meal to be paired with 5 different wines from Saint Clair Family Estate, including 2 reserves. They are well known of producing one of the best Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand.
Today, the name Saint Clair has been synonymous with quality and its award-winning record continues. Among the significant international accolades included New World Producer of The Year New Zealand Winery of The Year, ranked in top 100 wineries in the world and many more.
The dinner started with a brief introduction by Mr Kyle Thompson, Senior Winemaker for Saint Clair Family Estate. He detailed on the wines we will be having and how it complements the course dinner, while we were treated with Aperitif New Zealand Saint Clair Malborough Origin Sauvignon Blanc 2022.
Bright and offers a fresh grapefruit with a subtle hint of seasalt, this Sauvignon Blanc offers a perfect start for the night. I can feel the immense flavour of the aperetif, and followed by a clean fresh finish.
Starter for the night is Green-Lipped Mussel Gratin to be paired with Saint Clair Wairau Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2021. The reserve marks the top 2% of the batch with remarkable quality over the rest.
The Wairau Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2021 offers a pungent and concentrated aromas of whites with a long lingering finish. It paired perfectly with the flavourful mussel gratin, and further enhanced the fresh seafood scent of the mussels. The wine itself though concentrated, but was considered light in terms of flavour to kick start the night.
It is definitely one of my favourite white.
Dinner then continues with Crayfish Salad on Crispy Kumara, to be paired with Saint Clair Pioneer Block 5 Pinot Gris 2022. The Crayfish itself has a light taste, while the Pinot Gris complemented it with a savoury and rich flavour.
Entre tonight was a tad exotic, featuring Braised Ostrict Fillet on top of Mousseline Garbanzo Bean, Pomegranate, Cilantro and Crispy Paraoa Rewena. Saint Clair Family Estate introduced Saint Clair Pioneer Block 14 Pinor Noir 2021 to go along with this dish.
I recalled I only had a few encounter with ostrich meat as not many restaurant will have this on their menu. The ostrich meat tonight is rich and dense, and bits of rock salts topping it gives it a pleasant briny taste that provided a nice balance.
As for the wine, it is complex, spicy and full bodied. I took a sip of the wine after a bite of the ostrich meat and the flavour was so intense with a long lingering finish. It certainly work well in pair, and when taking alone from the ostrich meat the wine itself is silky smooth with hints of toasty oak and vanilla.
Definitely a great red to have go along with the protein.
Next up is Main Entree of the day, a Herbs crusted - Rack of Spring Lamb on creamy polenta, green peas and mint oil. The wine to be paired for it is the full bodied Saint Clair Omaka Reserve Pinot Nor 2021. This wine itself is complex, and has a fine grained tannin structure. Having it alone and I can feel the immense oak flavour.
The dinner then ends with a Pavlova and a choice of coffee or tea.
All in all, this is an impressive wine event. Not only we get to sample one of the best wines from New Zealand, and the gastronomy experiences are wonderful too.
If you are interested at Saint Clair Family Estate wines, you may check out The Wine Shop. Stay tune for more wine pairing dinner for Eastern & Oriental Hotel via their social media.
Eastern & Oriental Hotel
10, Lebuh Farquhar, 10200, Penang, Malaysia
10, Lebuh Farquhar, 10200, Penang, Malaysia
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