My wife and I trekked out to Coal Valley for lunch at Frogmore, as we saw it was open on Boxing…read moreDay, and we thought it would be nice to get out of the immediate Hobart area and check out local wine country. It's hard to miss the turnoff, as there is a pretty big rock slab with Frogmore's name on it, along with highway signage pointing you where to turn. The guest parking is reasonable sized, and while it filled ups reasonable amount by the time we had left in mid-afternoon, we had no trouble grabbing a spot earlier on (around noon). The main building is laid out in a straightforward manner - you can do the wine tasting at the counter to the left, buy various items (they span from cooking accessories to Tasmania-produced liquors) on the right, or go straight ahead and get seated in the restaurant. Without spending too much time on it, I actually think the wines here were the least impressive part of the experience. The wine tasting was perfunctory and done almost as an afterthought (the lady serving us said basically nothing when pouring us the wine - she was quite busy), and the wines themselves were not really all that special. The only one I really enjoyed was their iced Riesling (which is also, perhaps not coincidentally, the grape with which they have appeared to won the most accolades for). The 2016 Pinot Noir, which I had at lunch, was merely okay (I wish I had trusted my instincts and gotten the 2009 reserve edition), and the 2017 Chardonnay (my wife's choice) was a bit lifeless, to put it kindly.
So, one may ask - why such a high rating given that the wine, given this is a winery after all, was mediocre? It comes down to the restaurant experience, which is held in a gorgeous space that has wooden ceilings that stretch quite high, giving the area a big feel and has great views of the vineyards and the water beyond it. Our waiter was a very nice and humorous fellow, and simply put, the food was absolutely phenomenal. You can order wine by the glass or bottle (we stuck with the glass), but it's really the food that is the star. Our dozen Pipe Clay oysters were simply delicious, especially with the red wine mignonette it was served with (possibly the best use of the wine we had?). The oyster were relatively plump and creamy like West Coast oysters found in North America, but they maintained a hint of the brininess that East Coast oysters have as well. It makes them a fabulous way to start the meal. We then shared a veggie dish (truffled potatoes) and a meat dish (pork belly), both which were absolutely amazing. The pork belly was cooked to absolute perfection - the top fatty layers had a chewy, gelatinous binding to the crisped skin, while the middle layer was juicy meat that paired perfectly with the other layers. You also got a few pork croquettes served over a light apple sauce as well - a nice way to add a little fruit and a crunchiness that mirrors that of the skin on the belly. The potatoes was served almost like a tartare (they were crunchy and not cooked through as you would ordinarily have potatoes), but the truffle flavor really gave it depth that you would not have realized otherwise given the fineness of the chopped potato. We finished off with an 'espresso martini' - not a cocktail, but basically a coffee-infused chocolate mousse served with espresso ice cream over dry ice. Aside from being a marvel to look at, the flavor on the mousse was excellent, with he various accouterments (the ice cream, the bar of chocolate, some crunchy chocolate bits) providing lots of texture on top of the smooth palette the mousse provided.
With a great ambiance, gorgeous views, and food that looks great (the presentation is amazing) and tastes even better, Frogmore is absolutely a place one should visit to take in a meal. I would keep expectations tempered for the wine, as previously mentioned (the tasting is quick, don't expect a deep conversation, and it's free if you eat there - $5 if you do not), but as a dining establishment - prepared to be blown away. It's that good.
