Lunch
with Meyer Joubert at Joubert Tradauw on the way home.
We
met Meyer at the recent tasting of Klein Karoo wines which inspired this trip
and he said that we should join him for lunch if we were passing. As we had
never visited the farm before, this was the perfect opportunity
It’s
just outside of Barrydale, on the famous R62 road, a place we always mean to
visit but haven't got to yet. The farm has lovely gardens and a tapas style
restaurant, just redesigned and extended
We had a tour of the wine cellar
Four generations of Jouberts in the new tasting room
and the deli section of the restaurant
Lots of seating under the pergola
The old cellar doors
The barrel cellar
and an old shuttered window
Lots of wine maturing in barrels
New and older empty barrels awaiting
the next harvest
Wonderful proteas and local flowers
and a superb jade plant
A glass of the Joubert Tradauw French
oak matured Chardonnay. It’s a lovely example, full of nuts, citrus and butter
with a hint of vanilla wood
A mixed salad made with crisp apple
and cheese and homemade bread to start
And one of their cheese and
charcuterie platters with humus, chicken liver pate, great black olive
tapenade, fresh beetroot and crisp spanakopita (filo pastry filled with cheese
and spinach) A lovely satisfying selection
Meyer spoke about his plans for the
farm, the wines and the history. His Grandfather bought the farm 61 years ago. They
farmed fruit and wine grapes and sold them. In 1999 the first grapes were harvested
for their own wines. The R62 Merlot/Cabernet Blend (60:40) was released after a
14-month ageing period in Burgundy oak barrels. Meyer is the winemaker and
trained at Elsenburg and the in the Napa Valley in California. Tradauw or
tradau means "the footpath of the women", the path they took through
the valley in olden times.
Tasting wine from the barrel in the
cellar. Meyer is passionate about his Shiraz
A picture of us together for a change
Admiring the new changes inside. Thank
you Meyer for your generous gift of time and the wine and the lunch. We will be
back
Then it was time for us to be on the
road to get back home after a marvellous trip. One we encourage you to emulate.
The countryside changes so much on the round trip, with so much to see and
experience. We only scratched the surface. There are good places to stay, good
wine to drink, good food to eat and more importantly friendly and hospitable
people on the route. It is one of the many little slices of heaven in South
Africa
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor
& Bacchus 2015
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