Sunday, March 17, 2024

Jack@Skye Rooftop Bar and Restaurant launch at the Hyde Hotel, Sea Point

Bruce Jack is in town! We get many invitations to wine events but rarely do they happen in our area, which is Sea Point
So an invitation to come to the Hyde Hotel in London Road to taste Bruce Jack wines lifted our spirits.
And the good news is, it is a permanent location where you too can go and taste Bruce's wines on the rooftop of the hotel
A great place to watch the sunset and enjoy the wines. 

 

Chatting to Jean-Mari Reyneke who works for Bruce and Journalist Greg Landman

Great platters to dive in had been presented for the event, here charcuterie

and here a selection of cheeses

Nuts and biltong on this one

The welcome drink was the 2023 Bruce Jack Viognier, crisp with citrus and full of those desired peach notes,
great balance and looong flavours

or his 2022 Boer Maak 'n Plan Chenin Blanc which has richness on the nose and palate,
complexity from barrel fermentation and great apple and melon fruit  fruit with a zing on the end

Awonke Tyumse, sommelier at Skye Restaurant on the roof of The Hyde Hotel, will be running the tasting area
and he knows his stuff
There is a good selection of Bruce Jack wines to taste. There is a charge for the tasting
The hotel has 2 restaurants, the SKYE Deck, Dining & Roof bar, where Bruce is situated,
and the London Road Bistro, which we will try next week

Bruce has many different "names and faces" on his bottles

If the weather is inclement, there is a good indoor area

Jason Snell, Global Sales Manager, Bruce Jack Wines with sommelier Awonke Tyumse

The mountain view, with Christian Eedes chatting to another guest
The cloud 'hat' covering Lion's Head means rain in 24 hours and we did get some

We were all gathered around the pool enjoying tasting the wines

Bruce explained that he really needed a place in town where people could taste his wines
His farm The Drift is near Bredasdorp
Bruce Jack wines will be at the Triangle Wine Festival at The Black Oyster Catcher in Elim on the 22nd and 23rd of March
See you there...

Rod Hemphill, Owner of The Hyde Hotel and Spa

Bruce introduced Awonke, with whom he has worked with for a while

An English Intern working for Bruce

Busy guys behind the bar

Catherine Searle, Jack-of-all-Trades at Bruce Jack Wines

People loved the swing!

Cathrine with her sister who was the photographer for the evening

Some canapés, savoury and sweet, circulated

Bruce charming the ladies

Penelope Jack having fun

Naughty but nice

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Friday, March 15, 2024

Jordan 2024 Harvest Lunch

An invitation from Jordan Wine Estate to their annual Harvest Lunch
where we were welcomed with a glass of their newly released Rosé

It is made in the Rhône style from early harvested fruit, free run juice from Merlot and Shiraz and is in a very sexy bottle
You can taste both varietals and it is full of layers of berry fruit. 

Impressive manicure! 

Lynne and Jacques Steyn, Jordan GM, chatting about the harvest

Prosper Gundura of Norman Goodfellows with Alex Littleford and his colleague from Pier Restaurant

Visiting from Dusseldorf, Germany, the Krauses always stay at the Jordan cottages for a month,
so they were welcomed to the tasting

Jacques Steyn gave us a full briefing on the  harvest
following the dreadful winter and increased rain and storms we had in 2023
Jordan had no floods, but they did have to watch their dams and the vine roots did get stressed with so much water
This year it has been warm and windy, they have had 28 days of >30ºC
so they have had to manage the soil temperatures with good canopy management
When it is hot the sugar levels rise quickly but the phenolics do not catch up, so intervention is the key

He then told us about making the new Rosé which is made from early picking of Merlot and Syrah
and explained the two methods of making rosé
It was released in December 2023 and the sales have been very good
The rest of the Merlot and Syrah grapes were coming in as he spoke about the red wines

Marketing manager Thea van der Merwe who is leaving Jordan to spend time with her new son
She will be missed very much

Great to be introduced to Sales manager Melanie Melvill
She has taken over from Marsha Cook who has immigrated to New Zealand
Melanie has been with the farm for several years in other positions and is ready to take over the job
Her aim is to grow consumption of Jordan wines.

Down into the busy cellar, redolent with harvest aromas to do some fresh juice and fermenting wine tastings  

We watched and heard a huge overhead tank being filled with just-picked grapes

We were told that Jordan is planting eleven hectares of new vines
They are leaning toward grapes that thrive in warmer conditions

Winemaker Sjaak Nelson produced the fresh grape juice from the just-picked Sauvignon Blanc
It was full of good Sauvignon flavours with some good green notes, with lots of body
You can taste the grapes and the high sugar levels which will be fermented out into alcohol in the tanks
We tasted two different juices which will be treated with Vin 7 and Vin 13 yeasts
Looks like a good year for Sauvignon Blanc

We also tasted the Assyrtiko which is almost smoky and there is good balance between the sugar and the acids

The Syrah tank sample was next. The Jordan grapes are on their Northern slopes with a view of Table Mountain
Bright aubergine in colour with good raspberry fruit on the nose and palate
The Rosy pink Merlot was sweet, yeasty and tasted of rhubarb with long flavours.  

The two offerings

Walking through the tanks is wine writer Jono Le Feuvre of Han Drinks Solo Wine Community

Then down into the barrel cellar and a visit to the amphora and the concrete egg for an explanation of how they work
At the moment they are used experimentally and are giving good results

We did have a taste of the Barrel Fermented Chardonnay
which has dark honey perfume and wood on the nose, deep flavours initially
then a lovely lemon lime crispness follows

Time for lunch on the terrace of the tasting centre. Cold roast potatoes and a beetroot, butternut and carrot salad

Olives and some dips with a selection of breads and cheeses

Some small Beef short rib pot pies and spiced chicken in rice paper rolls 

We love the views from the Jordan decks and the restaurant

Great T-Shirts worn by the staff. We think they should sell them! 

The menu and the wines we could taste

A noisy and happy table of Wine tourism folk, journos, wine trade and bloggers

and a glass or two of the wines available for tasting
including the excellent 9 Yards 2022 Chardonnay and the 2017 Sophia, much enjoyed

Tarryn Vincent, Ms Riedel in Cape Town, whose glasses were on the tables

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