Johan Appels Kruger won the South African Young Winemaker of the Year award in 2005. He grew up in the Bottelary ward of Stellenbosch on a wine farm called Sterhuis and made award winning wines there. He learned the art of winemaking at Jordan wine estate in Stellenbosch as well as abroad in the USA and Burgundy – hence his fine passion for vineyard specific wines. A few years ago, he and his Belgian wife Sofie decided to go it alone and started Kruger Family Wines. They do not own a farm; they rent vineyards and cellar space, which gives Johan a wide choice of South African terroir and different grapes. Johan believes in making wine with minimal intervention and takes a very natural approach to winemaking. Their first vintage was in 2017. Johan said, ”we called our first bottled wine under our new venture, the ‘2017 Sans Chêne Chardonnay’, which means ‘no oak’ in French, but also, no chains (as my Belgian father in law brought to my attention) – this as an expression of my freedom now to go all over the South African winelands to source these amazing parcels and give both the farmer and the vineyard the recognition they deserve". He is also passionate about saving older vineyards and works closely with the Old Vines project. So, of course, we accepted an invitation to join Johan and Sofie at a lunch at Tokara with the Kruger Family Wines
Tokara Wine Estate is located at the top of the Helshoogte Pass between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek
and is owned by merchant banker GT Ferreira
It is an eagle’s aerie and has magnificent views of the Cape Peninsula across its well manicured vineyards
Jaap-Henk Koelewijn, owner of the Tokara Restaurant, had organised the day and made it very special indeed
Michelle Moller, the Head Sommelier at La Colombe restaurant in Constantia, showed her skills and poured us all some water. It was a lovely clear, if hot, day on the terrace beneath the restaurant, where the table for the lunch had been set up
Vines and olives wrap sensuously around the high hill
The first wine was their Pinot Noir Cap Classique Brut Rosé. Eye of the Partridge colour, with lovely aromas of brioche and raspberry perfume. Crisp and satisfying with a good prickle of baking soda mousse with lovely, restrained raspberry fruit and minerality, Long flavours show a very French style. Very enjoyable indeed
Lovely bubbles
Setting up tables out of the sun as people began to arrive
Sofie Kruger is expecting her third child in January and they do know what they are expecting
(a third son), with anticipation. She is glowing with good health
Johan introducing the wines, while Lynne takes notes
Designer of the wine labels, fine artist Sumi Gouws
John Collins represents Kruger Family Wines in South Africa
They also have overseas representatives and the wines are selling well and are very popular in Europe
The Amuse Bouche to go with the Rosé Brut MCC was two plump Saldanha Bay oysters, one with watermelon & fig leaf oil, which John said worked as a combination; the other more traditionally topped with cucumber and salmon caviar
The caviar is always a good partner for oysters. Voted a very good partner for the MCC
Johan told us that he wants to save all the old vines, but must look to business. He loves Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
and has sourced some amazing vineyards as far apart as Hemel and Aarde Valley and Piekenierskloof
Good sourdough bread and mosbolletjies accompanied by whipped butter, olive tapenade and watermelon konfyt
The next two wines: 2020 vintage Old Vine Sauvignon Blanc from Stellenbosch, from a 35 year old vineyard planted in 1988
On the nose, it is indicative of very cool country while it is from warm Stellenbosch, with lots of green fig notes
very tropical on the palate with lots of granadilla and peach and heady oak
Then the 2020 Old Vine Chardonnay, also from Stellenbosch
it was shy on the nose initially, with peach and apple notes, which later opened up and appeared on the palate
Good stony minerality and a good partner with the next dish
Cured yellowtail fish, in a red chilli oil, with green fruit, lime, litchi and lots of coriander in the creamy emulsion
The fish skin had been deep fried to a crisp. The green coriander did fight a little with the wines
To be served with the second course of Pork Belly, was the Kruger Family Old Vines Palomino 2020 - grapes from Piekenierskloof. What an outstanding wine and very different from any other wines we have tasted in South Africa. This grape usually goes into brandy (or sherry in Spain) and you can see that this would make a very, very good dry sherry, were it fashionable again in South Africa. Ah, the delight of a great Spanish Manzanilla! The wine is dry, full of minerality and thankfully without any oxidation. It is very refreshing and has layered fruit with complex flavours; it keeps exciting the palate as a good apéritif should, and makes you long to pair it with food. We think that this will fly onto top restaurant wine lists
The back label has all the information about the vines
We all know how well Chardonnay pairs with Pork Belly and The Kruger Family Klipkop 2019 Piekenierskloof Chardonnay would have no trouble in convincing you. Elegance first, then spicy ginger, yellow persimmon and quince entice you to take the first sip. Such refinement, with crisp clean minerality and some soft chalk. Silky and clean, with lovely yellow peach and citrus flavours; a touch of flint, with wood just supporting and long minerality. It really did compliment the braised umami pork belly (all fat removed), caramelised pear and pear purée, crisp pak choi, mustard leaf and the soy, sesame, ginger and apple cider jus. The dish was made a perfect whole by the savoury Heerenbone (SA version of a lima bean) purée beneath the pork. Topped with a twist of deep fried pork crackling. A triumph of a course which got applause. And yes, the Palomino was also a very good wine paired with this course
What is he saying to Jaap-Henk?! "Just so much!"
The wine for the third course, The Kruger Family Piekenierskloof Old Vine Grenache 2018
A glass composition!
An unusual pairing for an unusual course. Grilled langoustine in their shells, topped with a thick cheese sauce and a slice of crisp Parma ham. We have not had cheese sauce with prawns or langouste before. Lobster Thermidor, perhaps, comes close. It was a good thick cheese sauce, but it did overwhelm the seafood a bit. The wine pairing by Jaap-Henk was instinctively right and worked well: the Old Vine 2018 Grenache from Piekenierskloof. On the nose wild, as Grenache often is, with savoury plums and incense wood. On the palate, zingy red plums and rhubarb with lots of dark wood on the end. It would be good to try this lovely wine with venison in a rich sauce
The wines for the fourth course were two excellent Pinot Noirs, showing the best of their good terroir. The Pearly Gates 2016 Magnum of Pinot Noir from the eponymous Hemel and Aarde Valley and the 2019 version of the same wine, which has smoky bacon, wood, raspberry, cranberry, ripe cherry and minerality on the end. The Magnum wine is more perfumed with violets and cachous, dark wood, red berry fruit and vanilla. On the palate, sweet red berry fruit, so elegant; lovely wood supporting and such a great match with the duck and plums in the dish
These grapes are grown on the Pearly Gates estate owned by Jan and Tanya Hanekom
Seared, sliced duck breast with roasted plums, fresh and roasted beetroot and an earthy beetroot purée,
a tiny parmesan arancini, in a vanilla and port jus. The plums and the duck sang with the Pinots
The sauce was so good that we asked for more bread to soak up the remains
Were we flagging as the fifth course arrived? Not a bit
The selection of local artisanal cheeses was served with guava and another fruit chutney
The blue cheese was superb and we would love to know where it comes from, so that we can buy some
It was accompanied by a magnum of the 2017 Klipkop Chardonnay, from Piekenierskloof grapes, which has wood notes first, then brioche, and lots of zingy apple, citrus and pear on the nose and palate. A great wine for food. Thank you Johan for showing us these really good wines and Jaap-Henk and Chef Carolize Coetzee for putting together such a good wine and food pairing menu. Chef Carolize won the “Haute Performance Award” as South Africa’s most promising chef in the 2020 JHP Gourmet Guide. Her menus are inspired by the South African countryside and its farm produce
The weight of the world on his head? Or Klipkop?
The real title is “Disclosing Decay” by Sculptor Angus Taylor
Patterns of soil and vines
And now for Christmas and, hopefully, a good New Year....
