This
was the release of the 2016 vintage of Limestone Hill, De Wetshof's unwooded
easy drinking Chardonnay from the De Wetshof stable of 6 different Chardonnays.
Charango is in4 Bree Street so we took the bus and enjoyed the welcome Pisco
sour. Then over lunch we discovered that Limestone Hill is the perfect wine to
go with all sorts of different foods, heat levels and tastes. And great to
quaff.
Charango Peruvian Bar and Grill has menu dedicated
to Peruvian-Japanese fusion, or Nikkei cuisine supervised by Head Chef Kieran
Whyte. They have a fairly small but very interesting menu
Both De Wet brothers Johann (viticulture and
marketing) and Peter (winemaker) were there with PRO Emil Joubert to welcome us
The Pisco sour welcome drink. Pisco is a high
alcohol grape brandy made in Peru. It is made with egg white, lime juice, simple syrup, and
bitters and served on ice. It is wonderfully sour and packs a punch
The barman adding the necessary touch of bitters to the
cocktail
Old friends Michael Olivier and Mike Bampfield Duggan
and, behind them, Peter de Wet
Opening speeches by Emil Joubert and Johan de Wet
Johann tells us all about the Limestone Hill which
takes its name from the terroir heavy clay with limestone on which it is grown
in Robertson. It is full of lively limes, apple and lemons with good minerality
and long after flavours. It aids and supports the food it is served with,
making them more delicious. American wine critic Robert Parker has said about
it: "Understated and less tropical than some of the better un-oaked
Chardonnays, this wine possesses far better balance and sheer drinkability –
not to mention more finesse – than 99% of the world’s Chardonnay I have
experienced.” We loved it enough to make it our wine of the week
The wine
Head Chef Kieran Whyte tells us about the menu
which will be served tapas size and style
Sending information on to Facebook and Twitter! Next
to Lynne is Bennie Stipp Marketing Director for De Wetshof
The gentle seared Tuna Tataki came first bedecked
with sesame seed , caviar and mayonnaise in a ponzu (soy with a citrus added) and
miso sauce with preserved ginger. We love winter in the Cape when we get
beautiful fresh tuna like this. It did need more dipping sauce as the ponzu was
only a drizzle. Luckily , it came with the next course. The ginger sang with the
wine. So great for sushi too
Prawn toasts. You often get these in Chinese
restaurants. They are topped with minced prawn, sprinkled with sesame and then
deep fried till crisp. They came with a good soy dipping sauce
Next: Dirt rubbed Tuna tacos. More of the fresh tuna,
covered with a spicy earthy rub then cooked briefly before being enclosed by the
soft tacos with crisp slaw, avocado and wasabi. Really good. The slaw came with
lots of mayo and could have disguised the tuna but the wine cut through it to
the fish
Allan Mullins of Woolworths chats to Jeanri-Tine van Zyl. Next to Allan is Michelle Coburn, Features Editor of Woolworths TASTE magazine
Then shredded pork tacos with apple, pickles and
chipotle chillies. Completely different from the tuna, equally as good. These
bite sized dishes were bursting with flavour and texture. The pork was a bit
fatty, the wine swept the grease away
'Chicha' Pork Belly with sweet corn, and chorizo
sausage. This seems to be a traditional Andean dish. The sweet corn sauce was
lovely and the pork quite tender. The crackling however was a bit of a
disappointment. It was melt in the mouth with little flavour. We prefer the other
style with the crunch and the taste of pork fat.
Dessert: there were two. First a crisp wafer taco
filled with a rich dark Peruvian chocolate mousse, popping candy and mini
whispers - fun, messy and very moreish. The wine stood up the chocolate!
And then Picarones, the traditional warm sweet
potato donuts served with dulché de leché (caramelised condensed milk). A great
end to a good introduction to a lovely wine and some interesting food. We must
go back and try some more, with a bottle of the Limestone Hill
© John & Lynne
Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016
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