We
attended the Nederburg Auction last year and Lynne did manage to secure one
lot, despite heavy bidding, of Graham Beck 2009 Blanc de blancs MCC for John
for his 70th Birthday. So we were delighted to be invited to taste the wines
that will be auctioned this year. However, because of heavy home going traffic
it became an exercise in speed tasting. A good friend kindly lent us her car
and we left Sea Point at 10 to 4. We reached Durbanville Hills at 10 to 6 - they
were closing at 6. Luckily, others had also been working or delayed and they
kindly stayed open to allow us to taste till nearly 7 o'clock, for which we are
very grateful
The tasting was held in Durbanville Hills' spacious
restaurant with great views, a good venue for something like this, unless you
are vying g with going home traffic
Old friend, hotelier Michael Pownall, was busy
tasting when we got there and was able to point us to some gems
The Cabernet Sauvignon wines available for
tasting. Many have some age and are from well known wine farms. The Glenelly
magnum really impressed John
Lynne tasted mostly white wines and found some
good Sauvignons Blanc. Good to see Almenkerk there this year
A small but good selection of wines in the Other
White varietals. The Semillons rocked. The Viognier is a little shy, waiting to
come to the fore
Our marvellous white blends. Some very exciting
wines here.
Lynne tasted all the Chardonnays and was impressed
with the strength and depth of this varietal. Wooded or unwooded, they are an elegant
group
The great and the good in the Chenin patch. We
suspect the Forrester Meinert FMC will, as usual, soar and we particularly
enjoyed the two Remhoogte wines 2011 & 2013 Honeybunch
Bottles of the JC Le Roux Scintilla 2003 entered
for the Auction. It appears to have been used as a welcome drink
Then the classic Bordeaux Blends. Jordan’s magnum
of Cobblers Hill 2009 was showing well, but then it always does. There were
lots to taste. One or two were a little tired
Lynne and Michael trying the large Shiraz/Syrah
group
Everyone who was left trying to taste as quickly
as possible before they closed
The port selections. These always do so well and
there are some aged gems
Noble Late Harvest. These are our jewels. We wish
locals would appreciate them more. Overseas recognition is growing for their
honeyed fruit, clean acid sugar balance, purity and long life. The 1979
Nederburg Edelkeur deserves its iconic status, dark brown in colour, but still rich and unctuous, the
sweetness and acidity in perfect balance
Talking to Michael van Deventer
from Distell about his and our experiences
The Auction will be held at Nederburg on Friday, 16th and Saturday, 17th September
© John & Lynne
Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016
No comments:
Post a Comment