A GlenWood Experience
When you have driven into Franschhoek, you might have noticed a sign on the right hand side of the main road pointing to Robertsvlei. Should you take the turn, you will find
yourself in a quiet, hidden valley behind the Franschhoek hills. The road turns
to gravel for just 8 km and in the middle of this you will find a gem of a
wine farm called Glenwood. If you continue, the road will take you to the top end
of Franschhoek, near the Monument, a circular route we bet few know about; it is worth exploring
where a panoply of glasses awaited us
The Food Palette pairing of wine and food.
When you have finished the tasting, you choose the dish you liked the most and
you'll have that dish for lunch as a
main course, together with a glass of the wine paired with it. The cost is R395
From left to right: a tiny smoked trout
roulade filled with a mousse and topped with dill; Paired with the
Sauvignon/Blanc Semillon which is unwooded. Crisp and full of those racy fruit
acids that Franschhoek produces, with some nice fullness from the Semillon
component. A very good match with the trout
Next the Unoaked 2017 Chardonnay crisp and
zesty with citrus, paired with a Ceviche of fresh Yellowtail, with pickled
onion, radish and a lemon slice with a soy dressing that added the right amount
of umami
Then an unusual pairing of the 2017 Merlot
with a mini Chicken Caesar Salad. The savoury anchovies, chicken, bacon and
cheese do indeed go well with the Merlot which is fruit driven, with spice and
perfume, dry chalky tannins and refreshing red berry fruit acidity
The
Rugby Snack is next, a piece of ostrich biltong and a piece of droëwors which
is paired with 2015 Grand Duc Syrah. We were told that this is for those who
don't want a main course, just a snack. The wine is peppery, hot and spicy,
with warm red berry juice and hints of chutney; a yummy match
Then the 2015 barrel fermented Grand Duc
Chardonnay paired with a small Chicken leg set on mash and butternut purée - a
match that works because of the similarity of flavours in the food and wine
And finally the hot, juicy and spicy 2016
Vigneron's Selection Shiraz served with Rump Steak. The steak is in an unusual
Maple sauce and Teriyaki marinade which makes a really flavourful sauce for
steak
DP joined us for the main course and told
us how their harvest was going, they were due to finish the following day. It
has been a slow but beautiful harvest, with firm acids, The hail storm that hit
the Cape on the 15th of March did hit them with ice cube hailstones and damaged
some of the grapes. But they have recovered. As has he from his heart attack
last year, leaving him a wiser calmer man. He has always been fit, loving
riding his horse and mountain biking, in fact he had the attack while cycling
... where Zinaschke drew wine from the
barrels for us to taste. The 2018 Barrel Fermented Grand Duc Chardonnay still
has to go through malolactic fermentation but tastes fresh with nice balanced .
acidity, the 2017 has wood and lees on the nose and is a clean pure expression
of a barrel fermented chardonnay, one to watch, this will be bottled in
April/May 2019. It has beautiful fruit and glints with purity
The 2016 Barrel Fermented Grand Duc is
shy on the nose with fennel notes, soft and delicate with warm alcohol and, from
another barrel, different flavours; sesame added to the fennel, more gentle,
long fruit flavours and not warm at all. This is why clever blending is so
skilled and important. It will be very interesting to see the result. They also
use some ceramic lined barrels that don't impart any wood flavours, so they have
choices when blending of how much wood to show
Then a tasting from the barrel of the
2018 Grand Duc Semillon, the storm wine, has apricots and lanolin on the nose
at present, clean, clear beautiful acidity with lots of minerality, and fresh
grape acidity, a ten year wine from disaster to amazing. And finally the
Noblesse 2017 which is golden honey in the glass with honey, apricots and
sultanas on the nose and a palate, a Botrytus Noble Late Harvest wine from Semillon
grapes. 125 gm/l, we mark this to win future awards
Paintings on the walls of the cellar
The paint used was red wine
The 2015 Grand Duc Semillon Sauvignon Blanc which has won
all those awards and is a 5 star Platter wine, is 80% Semillon 20% Sauvignon
Blanc. The grapey Semillon has mutton fat notes and fullness on the palate with
warmth which suffuses, It is supported by the Sauvignon Blanc freshness
underneath the full rich layered Semillon and is still holding beautifully. None
of us in the wine industry can understand why our local wine drinkers do not
understand or drink these delicious, elegant white blends and turn up their
noses at them. Luckily people overseas do, so they sell well there and are
deservedly lauded. Leaves more for us to enjoy...
Next the 2013 Grand Duc Chardonnay, from the
oldest vines in the vineyard, now over 30 years. It has had 24 months in
barrel, has gentle wood notes, a beautiful chardonnay with zingy fruit, lovely
crisp minerality, with wood notes at the end and so at its peak right now. A
pinnacle wine
DP had asked the chef to whip us up some
dessert and this was the result. A very tempting semi fredo ice cream with choc
chips, a berry coulis, caramel sauce, nuts and sliced strawberries and
raspberries. Very sweet and decadent
Early morning light on the vines and the
mountains. "This is a lovely quiet retreat. This property immediately
attracted me because, not only was it suitable for farming grapes to make
quality wine, but it also gave me a wonderful sense of being at the very heart
of nature while still being close to the village”, said owner Alastair Wood
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
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