Why did Diemersdal make a Grüner Veltliner? “Because I
like the grape and the wine” said the winemaker Thys Louw. Good answer ! and he
has had the patience to plant the grapes and wait the required years for the
grapes to mature and now bottled this lovely fresh and lively white wine, which
is much more common in Austria than anywhere in the New World. We think this
will be a commercial success too.
We met at the
long table in the restaurant. On the
table were glasses of the just released 2013 Grüner Veltliner and a tank sample
of the 2014, What does it taste like? Crisp, dry, very layered, full of limes
and lemons, almost like a sugarless lemonade and it has long flavours. There is
no added acid and it is a wonderful food wine and a quaffer. With age, we see
it becoming more complex and sophisticated.
Hearing about
the grape, the vines and the motivation
Thys has
planted 3 hectares and it is the first grown in South Africa
Chef tells us
how he has matched the food
The menu
The starter
was succulent smoked trout with creamed horseradish and a watercress salad,
with squares of beetroot and some foraged herbs and flowers
The wine
Thys
discussing the wine with Marlene Truter and his father Tienie Louw, who has handed
the keys of the kingdom to Thys
We also had an
Austrian Weingut Bründlmayer 2002 Trocken Grüner Veltliner from Alte Reben with
which to compare it
Main course of
Wiener Schnitzel, potato salad and cranberries. A huge portion but the
cranberry sauce was a lovely complement to the dish and to the wine
Another
Weingut Bründlmayer 2002 Trocken Grüner Veltliner, this one from Langenlois
Thys also
poured us some of his Grenache
The tank sample
in a flask
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014
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