We wanted to take our Dutch friends on a local
wine tour and Durbanville is very close to town. The weather was perfect and we
began at Bloemendal, had lunch at Diemersdal (Lynne had heard very good things
about the restaurant and we knew the wine was superb) and finished the day with
at last sigh at the view from De Grendel
We began at Bloemendal, which
we haven't visited for a while. This is the restaurant, but we wanted the
tasting room. Bloemendal grow possibly the best Sauvignon Blanc grapes in
Durbanville, on the legendary Suider Terras vineyard
We were directed to "cross
the bridge" over there (it was on the other side!) and had a lengthy walk
around the farm until we found the outdoor tasting centre at the back of the
farm, near the stables which are now guest accommodation. We don't know why
they have hidden it. Surely they are proud of the wines? We were warmly
welcomed by Etienne le Roux, the Tasting room manager
Tables are under a white
marquee, rather wedding-like. We enjoyed some of their wines, starting with
their second label Waterlily Sauvignon Blanc at R70. This is the Suider Terras,
made in tanks. The Limited Edition is sold out. And then the 2015 Kanonberg
Limited Edition SB full of grass, asparagus, green peppers on the nose. This
has 30% Semillon added and is made from bush vines. Dry minerality, round
mouth, white peaches, pear and granadilla.
We loved the 2014
Semillon, a very limited release as only 1000 bottles were made. It is slightly
smoky with groendruif minerality and vanilla, with greengage flavours, mutton
fat and crisp acidity, but a sweeter end
The best, the 2014 Chardonnay has
vanilla oak limoncello nose; citrus full and round with lemons and limes, very
satisfying. Both sell for R175 These wines were all made by consultant Francois
Haasbroek
We tasted the 2013 Tierberg
Shiraz which is lactic with vanilla ice cream on the nose; a blockbuster red,
full of dark berries and spice and black pepper and a bit of brettanomyces
character, so it will last
And then we then tasted all the Waterlily reds. The
Pinotage shows its soft, perfumed Pinot parent with some leather, very
satisfying with a peppery end. The Waterlily merlot was much enjoyed and scored
very highly. Loads of cassis and cherries, sweet fruit, dark wood, and milk
chocolate rounds it off, with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. No greenness and no
mint detected. Thank you Etienne
Then we were off down the
valley to Diemersdal, famous for their Sauvignon Blancs. Lynne had heard
rumours that the restaurant was doing wonderful things. Indeed it was. We have
since discovered that the Royal Portfolio has put it at #5 on their Favourite
Restaurants in the Cape Winelands list http://www.theroyalportfolio.com/our-stories/top-10-restaurants-in-the-cape-winelands/
'Twas a hot summer midday with
the cicadas singing - we call them Christmas beetles
We chose to sit outside under
an umbrella rather than eat in the restaurant
and ordered a bottle of the 8
Rows Sauvignon Blanc, our favourite, but we do like all of their Sauvignons
A lovely lady having lunch with
her family
We were in for a treat. Our
expectation was usual farm restaurant fare. Two of us chose the tapas menu, the
choices sounded interesting
And this is what arrived. Wow. Chef
Martin de Kok trained at the Greenhouse and at Jordan under George Jardine. His
focus is on locally grown, regionally sourced ingredients. From top left: a
deep fried fish ball in a green mustard sauce; Not ground down left over fish, great texture and flavour. Then a
lamb confit in a white bean purée - sweet lamb so soft it was in shreds, with a
rich bean paste, very French in style. Slices of perfectly rare and pink
sirloin steak in a classic Béarnaise sauce (yes with tarragon) and Moutard Moût
de Raisin, a French mustard made with grape must. A fresh chilled Asparagus and
pea soup which was superb. It still had some texture and was dressed with good
olive oil and herbs. And finally a small Barley risotto with dark mushrooms,
topped with celeriac puree. Great flavours and texture. Definitely going back
for more.
The lads opted for the sirloin
steak, rare with the Béarnaise sauce, baked onions, and crisp chips which they
loved. Enjoyed with a glass of the Estate Red
The tapas also comes with a
dessert, a rather cheffy bread and butter pudding with figs, crème Anglaise and
dots of sharp berry jam. Taste and texture more like cake than bread
Owner Tienie Louw in the
tasting room
We also made a turn at
Altydgedacht, one of the oldest wine farms in the Cape, owned for five
generations by the Parker family. We had a quick tasting of the beautiful bone
dry, litchi and rose perfumed Gewürztraminer, the excellent smoky Pinotage and
the classic dark fruit Barbera as we wanted to introduce them to our friends. Sadly
no The Ollo to taste, all sold out
until the new vintage is released later in the year. It's a great blend of 35%
Semillon, 31% Chardonnay, 23% Viognier, and 11% Chenin blanc. Behind the
counter was Robyn, the lovely daughter of viticulturalist John Parker
And with just half an hour
before they closed we had to visit de Grendel for the beautiful views and to
taste their Sauvignon Blanc
We sat on the cool enclosed terrace
This lovely, polite young man
really looked after us, giving us the three wines we asked to taste: Koetshuis
2016 Sauvignon Blanc, classic green pea, elderflower with a mineral note and a
hint of wood and a touch of Durbanville salt on the finish; Winifred white
blend of Semillon, Viognier and Chardonnay, a complex food wine and 2014 Rubaiyat,
a Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, and
Cabernet Franc, showing classic Cabernet characteristics, good now, but needs
at least five years to show its true worth. The Rubaiyat was named after Omar
Khayyam’s poems, much loved by the late Sir David Graaff
It was a hot day and we were
offered a taste of their new Obex apple cider which impressed Lynne so much,
she bought six. It is a proper dry cider, not sweet apple juice turned into
alcohol
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
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