The historic wine
estate was hit by a devastating bush fire last year. It destroyed the
historic farmhouse which was built in about 1700. The owners, Georg and Dorothee Kirchner
and Jens-Peter Stein, had lovingly restored it over 6 years. They also lost guest cottages,
their wine tank cellar and other outbuildings and all their
possessions
Image © Justin Sullivan
They have now rebuilt the essentials - not the historic farmhouse - and we were invited with other media representatives to visit this week to see the new buildings, taste some wines, old and new, and have
lunch with the owners
The
tasting and lunch were held in one of the buildings which had survived the fire
Tables
laid for the tasting while we all catch up with each other
Winemaker/viticulturist
Alexandra McFarlane, PRO Pippa Pringle and owner Dorothee Kirchner
Some
of the wines we were to taste
Luckily
the barrel cellar, which was separate, was not destroyed, so they did not lose
all their wine. It seems the aircon unit did not stop working and kept the
barrels cool enough to survive
The
tank cellar had to be completely rebuilt - the previous tanks had bubbled and
melted in areas. However they can now make more wine, as they were able to enlarge
the cellar
Food
was being prepared in the Vinoteque by the staff of Olivier Jaggi, the Swiss chef/patron of Terra
Mare restaurant in Paarl, who is a personal friend of the owners
Prink
prawns
Tuna fillet coated in sesame seeds and waiting to be seared
Dorothee
welcomes us ...
... and Alexandra begins telling us about the
wines we were tasting. T3 is their signature blend made of three Iberian grape
varieties
First we tasted three vintages of T3: 2011, 2012 and 2013. The best
was the first one, showing richness, dark berries with a hint of wood, silky
and full of red and black fruit, good grape acidity, and long flavours of
mulberries and cherries showing the Iberian parentage. And then 2018 samples of
the wines, made from the three component grapes
All the wines are made in second fill oak
The
2018 Tinta Amarela, a Portuguese varietal also known as Trincadeira, has
raisins and sultana, watermelon jam on the nose. Soft sweet and light fruit, it
is almost Pinot in character with sweeter berries cherries and plums on the
palate. The 2018 Tempranillo (aka Tinta
Roriz) is rich and musty with sesame notes; it is young. Mouth puckering, chalky
tannins typical of this grape, dark deep red berries, burnt caramel, mulberries
and dark red plums and a little cassis. It spends 5 weeks on the skins. This is
the backbone of the blend
We were
surprised to see Tannat (2018) vinified separately, this dark, black, opaque
wine is often used for colour. It has wildness on the nose and was a bit fizzy
on the palate, perhaps from the added acid which Alex told us they need to use
in this hot area. Dark and mysterious flavours, with salty licorice, black
berries, blackcurrants and black cherries. MUCH better than expected. She makes only one barrel from each of these grapes,
and a tank of the blend
Georg,
Alex and Dorothee. If you are wondering
what the name of the farm means, it is Don’t squeeze (or push) me. Apparently, originally a gift to the
bridegroom in about 1700 from his new father in law! Dorothee told Lynne that there was one
advantage that came out of the fire. When they rebuilt they were able to change many of the things that they had wanted to change on the farm; things that you
notice after several years, that would be good to improve
The
lunch menu
Before lunch, we did a small cellar tour with a glass of their C68
Chenin Blanc in our hands. It is wooded
and complex, showing some age and lots of rich golden fruit flavours. Very enjoyable,
especially with the Trio of Tuna
One
person at the table could not eat fish and he had a Carpaccio of beef instead
The
C68 Chenin
Next
we tasted the Kastenmeier’s Rosé, which is a whole bunch press of Merlot. Lovely,
pale and light. Served with a very good
Brandy seafood bisque - many of us had two servings, it was so full of dark
caramel and deliciousness
Chef
Olivier Jaggi from Terra Mare restaurant in Paarl
The
next course was the prawns with very spicy chorizo sausage. This rather
overwhelmed the prawns and nearly the wine...
...
which was the 2013 Malbec; it has violets, savoury, deep, dark fruit aromas and
flavours; very enjoyable
The main course was Kudu Fillet on cous cous
and a dark caramel sauce, slightly bitter. with al dente carrots, mange tout
and patty pan squash. Paired with the 2012 T3 which is very aromatic and shows
cherries and violets
We
then were served dessert, which was a rich, creamy and light mousse au
chocolat, just the way it should be, with a tiny cup of crème brulée with fresh
mango and raspberries
This
was served with the honey sweet 2015 Puella Straw Wine, a great match
We
also tasted the 2014 Mirus Syrah. Incense wood and coffee on the rose with some
spice, rich flavours of dark berries and licorice with chalky grippy tannins,
spice and wood on the end. This was served with a cheese board which, sadly, we
did not have time to taste as our transport was ready to take us back to Cape
Town. A pity
Thank you all at Druk my Niet for a very enjoyable tasting and
lunch
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
