An
invitation this week to attend a tasting of Vriesenhof wines at Auslese with
the wines paired with food prepared in Chef Harald Bresselschmidt's kitchen
sounded really exciting. He is rather good at this
We were welcomed by Delight Aitken, helping out on her day off. She had the two vintages of
Vriesenhof's unwooded Chardonnay, 2016 and 2017 on offer. Both fresh and crisp
and refreshing, the 2017 still settling
Julian Richfield enjoying the
tasting with PRO Pippa Pringle
Vriesenhof owner Jan Boland
Coetzee with industry guests David Smollan and Claudio Missaglia
Paired with the 2015 wooded
Chardonnay, full of apple and pears and gooseberries
was this Prawn mousse with
cucumber and tomatillo
was this Prawn mousse with
cucumber and tomatillo
And with the 2011 wooded
Chardonnay rich and elegant , a pairing of seared Swordfish on a creamy caper
sauce with water lilies
The Vriesenhof Pinot Noirs
always impress, they are juicy, full of raspberries and strawberries with
minerality and aging potential without showing any heavy wooding or tight
tannins
The 2015 was paired with duck hearts and breast with a forest mushroom
ragout, a very good pairing
The 2015 was paired with duck hearts and breast with a forest mushroom
ragout, a very good pairing
And a juicy roll of springbok
loin marinated with aged raspberry balsamic vinegar was another special match
We were able to taste a 2015, a
2009 and a 2003, The 2009 really sang
Then to the 2016 Pinotage,
perfumed and full of blueberries and raspberry fruit, showing more of the Pinot
face, it is delicate with no metallic flavours or heavy wood. It was paired
with a rather cold Cape Malay Lamb Bobotie topped with a relish of pineapple,
peppadew and carrot, spicy but better warm
Lynne being schmoozed by Ed
Saunders of Fork, he is very good at it
Graham Howe dips in to hear
some industry gossip
A selection of the wines we tasted
There was another pairing for
the 2016 Pinotage; pork shoulder on skewers with Jerusalem artichoke slices and
a prune jus
Two chefs, no doubt discussing
business. Pete Goffe-Wood talking to Chef Harald Bresselschmidt. And in the
background, another Chef, Giorgio Nava of Carne and 96 Keerom St
Kallista is one of Vriesenhof's
flagship wines, a rich and complex Bordeaux blend it never fails to impress. We
tasted three vintages and they just got better and better as they got older.
The 2013 pairing was an ostrich medallion with a bone marrow crisp, on a
broccoli fondu
Paired with the 2013 was cured
air dried Beef Tartare with a blackberry dressing, one of the favourites of the
tasting, it kept having to be replaced. Deliciously moist and flavourful beef
with the blackberry dressing perfectly matching the cassis flavour in the wine
We really like the new labels
The Vriesenhof 2015 Grenache
was meaty and a little wild with dark fruit, as one expects from this grape. A
food wine. The pairing with Lamb’s liver with black garlic was the talk of the
room; you were encouraged to go and taste this excellent pairing
The Grenache had another
pairing - Beetroot Borscht with a crisp rabbit Pierogi, very flavourful
With the Vriesenhof 2016 Red
blend of Grenache 50%, Shiraz 34% and Mourvedre 16%, there were another two
pairings. This was a really nice wine with which to finish the tasting; good
dark fruit, spicy with black cherries and pepper. First, Duck Ham with purple
Kohlrabi - puréed and made into a crisp salad
Giorgio Nava with the Bryan sisters from the Caribbean, Mala and Nasheka
And then with a small cup of
warm mushroom soup, with roasted leeks and pine ring mushroom cubes, very comforting
indeed and a great ending to an epic tasting
Broadcaster Guy MacDonald of
Magic Radio delegated to take a photo with an unfamiliar camera
Another happy group enjoying
the day was Seth Shezi, Tshepang Molisana, Malu Lambert and Lesedi Ramonyane
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
