We started the day with a tasting at Bouchard
Finlayson and were delighted that Peter Finlayson, the winemaker, could join
us. He generously gave us a full tasting and added some very special reserve
wines.
This farm is producing superb wines. The Pinot Noirs are exceptional. The
2012 Hannibal, a six part marriage of French and Italian varietals, has
beautiful fruit on the nose. Its soft fruit has long, long flavours with a good
whiff of smoke. As Peter says this is
in the style of a Super Tuscan and is built to last. Kaaimansgat 2013
Chardonnay has rich golden fruit, is well integrated and very satisfying. The
Kaaimansgat 2010 Limited edition has such pretty fruit on the nose and lots of
length and depths. Full of melons, vanilla, peach, sultana grapes it is lean
and clean and very minerally. Very French in style with lovely chalky tannins.
Wish we could drink this every day.. The wine Lynne scored 18 out of 20 is the
Missionvale Chardonnay 2010 Clean and crisp, full of limes and lemon and also
extremely French in style, a wine to quaff often, if you can afford to. Tasting room manager Danel Theron served us a lovely platter of olives, salami, bread and tapenade with the
wines and gave us a lovely welcome.
Then it was off the Newton Johnson to have lunch at
The Restaurant to sample chef Eric Bulpitt’s food and then to taste their
wines.
Everything happens around the pass where the chef runs
a very organised and silently industrious kitchen.
We were shown to a table with a superb view over the
valley and looking through to Walker Bay
The menu is small but offers something for most
people, including very good vegetarian options. They try to use only locally
sourced ingredients and the chef does do some foraging.
The bread platter had small hot rolls and a very dense
seed and fruit bread. This comes with a slightly sweet olive tapenade.
Delicious and irresistible.
Two of us went for the slow braised tongue with carrot
puree starter. Interestingly the tongue was a large wedge rather than the usual
unsatisfying thin slices, and it softly fell apart. The carrot puree was
inspired as the sweetness and smoothness complemented the rich meaty tongue.
The mustard seed and nasturtium leaves added good piquancy. The rich jus was
also much appreciated. It was paired with the Felicité Rosé
John’s starter was Tilapia, a freshwater fish
accompanied by green apple slices, Amasi (local buttermilk) was the sauce and
it was dotted with a mango atchar oil and strewn with micro greens and herbs. It was paired, very elegantly, with the 2012 Resonance white blend
The view across the valley on a hot day, so lots of
heat haze
Lynne’s main course was loin of Pork accompanied by
roasted pieces of cauliflower and dots of cauliflower puree. There were also
blobs of apple puree and both went well with the freshly cooked pork. Squares
of cooked apple and mustard, braised cherries and some lemon completed the
taste profile of a good dish which was decorated with sorrel leaves.
Our host Terry ordered the perfectly cooked hake
encrusted with cashew nuts perched on a ragout of summer vegetables, dune
spinach and samphire. Hope this is on again said Lynne, would love to try it.
John’s main was sliced aged sirloin with crisp roast
baby potatoes, pickled turnips and bone marrow with a good beefy jus. The 2009 Full Stop Rock red blend was a brilliant partner.
We also
ordered a dish of the triple cooked French fries for the table and recommend
everyone who goes to the Restaurant does the same. They were also outstanding. Perhaps
a touch of truffle salt next time?
Chef Eric with his wife, Celeste, who supports him in the
restaurant.
Bevan Newton Johnson then generously gave us an
extended and in depth tasting of their wines in the tasting room in Spiegelau glasses.
We were so impressed with the wines we tasted. Every single one is
printed in red in Platter which means they all get at least four stars. We
started with Resonance 2012. Lynne has written Scrumptious, BUY and scored it
19 out of 20. It is a blend of single vineyard Sauvignon Blanc grown on the
farm blended with 15% Semillon. This is the blend that can bring South African
wines international recognition. It is light floral notes and then full on the
palate but finishes lean and elegant. Sadly no longer available on the farm but
it is available out there in the trade so check out your local wine emporium. The
next vintage should be bottled some time in April or May.
The Family Vineyard Chardonnay 2012 is butterscotch,
cream and marmalade with vanilla notes. Elegant, buttery and long with nice
gentle wooding. A food wine of note.
And then we tasted the three current 2012 Pinot Noirs,
all single vineyard wines from below the cellar. And although they grow within
just a couple of 100 meters of each other, the terroir dictates their
difference. And different they are but tasting them all together it was hard to
pin down which one was your best choice, as they change and grow in the glass
all the time. Luckily, at the moment you can buy them together in threes at R600 a box of three from the farm.
Lynne absolutely loved the Windansea Pinot when she
tasted it at the Platter awards, where it was voted the best red wine in Platter
this year and she has coveted it ever since. The nose is pretty and fragrantly floral,
and the fruit is reminiscent of raspberry and red current cordial. On the
palate, it has lovely clean fresh Pinot fruit, which develops on your palate into
something very special indeed, and it keeps on giving. And there is a note of
sea salt. The Mrs M, full of maraschino cherries and full-on sweet fruit that is
velvety in texture and the Block 6 is still restrained on the nose, but has
great integrated fruit tempting one to drink. Sweet and sour fruit appear with
nice dark licorice wood on the end.
Then we tasted the Family Vineyard Pinot Noir, which
is an intriguing blend of all three, but a complete individual with a very
complete nose and it is a classic. You probably need to go to the farm to taste
these while there is still stock. Do take your wallet with you, you will need
it. We had an expensive visit if it is any comfort.
Thank you Bevan and their lovely tasting room
manager, Lisa. Here are the three in a row
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