Thelema, situated on the slopes of the Simonsberg at the top of the Helshoogte Pass, is
one of our premium wine farms and its wines have a great reputation. They also
make wines in cooler Elgin, marketed as Sutherland wines, and these are
also excellent. We went to taste these wines, some of them new season releases, last week at Auslese in the Gardens where chef owner Harald Bresselschmidt
delighted John with his food pairings
Auslese is a function venue you may hire from Chef
Harald Bresselschmidt. It is in Hope Street in the Gardens
Thelema’s MCC Brut 2013 gets us off to a good
start
Pardon Taguzu, Sommelier of Aubergine Restaurant
and Auslese, tries some of the Brut with Ralph Reynolds
Mark Herd of Sunset Beach wines chats about the Thelema White
wines. We liked their crisp and zingy Verdelho 2015, probably profuse in the
future of the Cape with global warming. Ed's Reserve Chardonnay 2014 always
awakens interest with this interesting 'muscat' clone of chardonnay which give
is perfume, litchi and zestiness
Paired with these white wines was a seafood paella
Another pairing for the white wines was this
Potato parfait and goats cheese. We found it went well with the Sutherland 2013
Viognier/Roussanne. A southern wine for summer, filled with apricots, orange
blossom and warm citrus. The Sutherland Chardonnay 2014 deserves to end up on
several wine lists. Fresh citrus flavours with toasty oak and a long fresh
finish makes it a great food wine
This was the most popular pairing of the tasting,
everyone was raving about how well the Rieslings, the Semillon 2013 Late
Harvest and the 2013 Vin de Hel Muscat Late Harvest went with these spicy Thai
fish cakes. The delicate off-dry rose petal Muscat de Frontignan is full of litchi
and the Semillon has thick honey, apricots, ripe figs and cream; made for the
gods
The Thelema reds were paired with this lamb stuffed
ravioli. All are good, but of special note is The Mint 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon. Such
an elegant, elevated wine, full of cassis and plums with dark After Eight mint
chocolate on the end. The 2012 Rabelais has a perfumed nose from the Petite
Verdot and is soft and sweet with some spice and with warmth on the end. A food
wine
To another table to taste the Sutherland reds, which
were paired with this classic Quail coq au vin; unusual with orange beetroot
which added a lot to the flavour
Winemaker Rudi Schultz was busy on this popular
table showcasing the Sutherland reds. We often buy the Sutherland Shiraz and
think the 2011 is worth laying down for a while. Then we found a gem and we
were not the only ones, it was the most talked about wine at the tasting:
Sutherland Cabernet Sauvignon Petit Verdot 2011. Perfumed with violets from the
Petit Verdot, it is silky soft on the palate, then comes a nice kick of warm
spice, dark fruits and lots and lots of length. Some is on order! The Pinot
Noir is packed with cherries
Two well known Waterfront Sommeliers: Tatiana Marcetteau of
The Cape Grace and Luvo Ntezo from The One and Only
© John & Lynne
Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016
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