Having enjoyed a collaboration between Gusbourne, the Kent-based English wine maker, and Simpsons restaurant quite recently I was pleased to trip along to The Wilderness for another Gusbourne collaboration with a leading Birmingham restaurant in the expectation of downing the highly enjoyable wine alongside a wholly different style of cuisine.
The wine was indeed enjoyable with particular pleasure flowing from a glass of Blanc de Blanc, its minerality particularly refreshing and even exhilarating.though the Pinot noir served with the meat course was still somewhat insubstantial signalling that English red still has a fair distance to go before one is ready to go out of one’s way to order it. But the story of English wine is gradually unravelling as new chapters are turned to.
But the food’s the thing and it seemed that Marius Gedminas was in particularly good form for this happy event. The delightful little snack of cheese and onion espums tart, playfully named Ploughman’s, lead off a parade of enjoyable dishes and was immediately succeeded by a pleasing dish which involved crème fraiche, tonic and a smidgeon of caviar.
Then a truly great dish was presented to be accompanied by a Gusbourne rosé, this was a little pile of tasty crab covered with an espuma of rhubarb, ponzu and rose and enhanced brilliantly with charred leaf. This was a highly memorable which I pray I shall encounter again in the future. Then another memorable and delicious dish of BBQ halibut - accurately cooked - gorgeously balanced with a citrus espuma and given an exciting texture and additional flavour from hazelnuts.
I found the meat dish of BBQ hogget with beetroot and shiso to be, sadly, the weakest dish with the meat looking beautifully cooked but not as tender as I expected and I did not particularly enjoy the accompanying elements of the dish.
But we were back on track with the pleasing dessert - poached pair with Dulce and a ginger ice cream - and the now cpvary familiar Wilderness chocolate frog to accompany the coffee. Gusbourne’s representative kept the full house of diners informed as the wine which accompanied each course was served and a good evening was had by all. Different, it is true, from that staged at Simpsons but then again you woukd expect that wouldn’t you?
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