The Tradition of Morgenhof
It is a while since we visited this beautiful farm in
Stellenbosch and it was delightful to be asked to come for lunch and taste
their new vintages on Thursday. Owner Madame Anne Huchon was there to welcome
us and despite it being another chilly grey day, the fires were lit and we had
a good tasting followed by an excellent lunch. She was at pains to tell us that
she is NOT trying to produce French style wines here in South Africa but, working
with viticulturist Pieter Haasbroek (who has been there since 1998) and
winemaker Andries de Klerk (since 2012), they are trying to express the best
their dry land terroir can give them. It certainly shows in the wines Morgenhof
has always produced excellent Chenin blanc from really old bush vines and the
vintage we tasted, 2011, was full of lovely tropical fruits with the richness
nicely balanced by good acidity. Their reds do need time as they have both
structure and elegance and we enjoyed drinking them with food very much,
particularly the Cabernet Franc, which is drinking beautifully and is a lovely
food pairing wine. Which leads us on to a great lunch prepared by chef Thys Esterhuizen.
The start of
the tasting
The line up: Morgenhof
Brut 2008, Chenin 2011, Merlot 2010, Estate 2005, Pinotage, Cabernet Franc
Owner Mme.
Anne Cointreau welcomes us and tells us of her philosophy of wine making in South
Africa
Rapt attention
DUPLICATE TAKE
OUT
DUPLICATE TAKE
OUT
Anetha Connan, Morgenhof’s marketing manager, is about to go and live in California
Herschel ? has
joined from Nitida Swop with below
Winemaker
Andries de Klerk
The wines on
show
Lots of
canapés with the Morgenhof bubbly
We have an
aperitif while waiting for lunch
Herschel,
Winemaker Andries de Klerk and viticulturist Pieter Haasbroek
The restaurant
with another welcome fire
Pearl Oliver sommelier at the Mount Nelson's Planet restaurant, Siobhan Thompson, new head of WOSA, Andrew Baker
of WineWorx, who represent Morgenhof, and Kimi Blackadder, sommelier at Rust en Vrede
Two menus: the
one on the left is a special for John with no mushrooms. The food was really
good. And Chef has taken on board many of the Banting rules so we were able to
enjoy most of the dishes without much guilt (with the exception of the ravioli
and the arancini! Which were irresistible and thankfully small)
So clever, so
smooth and savoury: Curried chicken & goats cheese crème brulée. Another
one to copy at home
Prawn and
salmon ravioli in beurre blanc (butter with reduced shallots and vinegar) sauce
with paprika oil. A very pretty dish
Mozzarella
stuffed arancini (risotto rice ball) in a beautiful mushroom velouté (rich
creamy soup)
John’s version
was in a Basil velouté
Beef fillet
wrapped in leeks and mushrooms in mushroom broth topped with sweet potato crisps
John’s version
had the mushrooms and the broth removed and was surrounded by a rich Morgenhof
Estate jus
Under a pepper
tree just outside the restaurant, a small hen had made her nest and laid so many
eggs that some were escaping.
The esteemed David Hughes enjoying his lunch
The final
course was Almond crusted lamb cutlets on beetroot and butternut purees with a five
spice polenta disc, glazed carrots and the rich Morgenhof Estate jus
Anne Cointreau introduced us to the Chef Thys Esterhuizen
Dave Hughes
said Grace at the beginning and thanked the farm at the end for a great tasting and lunch
At which point
we discovered there was another course. Scrumptious chocolates and biscotti to
go with coffee. A happy end to a good day
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor
& Bacchus 2014
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