We organised accommodation for that night, knowing that we would not be fit to drive back to town. Our dear friends who have a cottage in the area, which is on Airbnb, did not have a booking for the night and kindly let us stay there. It turned out to be a very, very special two midweek days filled with great wines and superb food, despite the iffy weather
The view from the hill above the estate of the tasting room, restaurant and cellar
On the lawn, photographs were being taken of the plates and wine for the website and for publication
and the weather was playing ball, while the kitchen was being kept very busy, producing photo-ready course after course
The models and a table setting
Carolyn showing Lynne some changes to the front area, where she had hung beautiful plants in her hanging herbarium
You go through Covid protocols before entering. And there are sanitiser bottles on all the tables
All the ingredients in the menu are sourced locally and the menu is gluten free. A Plant based menu can be arranged
The Welcome is warm Popcorn, flavoured with Oregano salt
served with Creation 2020 Sauvignon Blanc - "Minerality Rules", which has classic fig leaf, granadilla on the nose
It is clean, green and zingy with minerality on the palate, a good introduction to the menu
The Experience Creation menu is presented with a perfumed viola, reminiscent of the perfume in Pinot Noir
A huge and beautiful king protea graced our table
Carolyn joined us to explain the new menu and the pairings
We began at 11.30 and the restaurant was full by midday. So do book if you want to come for lunch
This is a wonderful addition, especially during Covid. Hot water is poured into the two front holes, then the wadding rolls are added to those holes and voila! they swell and become warm cloths to clean and refresh your hands
The Creation Sauvignon Blanc 2020
Chapter 1: Passion. A delicious, gluten free warm seed roll with tomato, onion, basil and kelp,
on a vine leaf with a tiny fiddle fern top, and a small dish of herbal chimichurri
Paired with Creation 2020 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend, "Oceans Gift"
The Semillon shines first, then in comes the Sauvignon Blanc
The wine is initially soft and elegant, then layers of lime and lemon flavours appear;
a lovely mouthfeel, crisp and full of fruit and minerality
The salted caramel kelp is local & comes from Betty’s Bay
Should you not want to do this particular pairing menu, there is an A' la Carte menu with larger portions,
each having a suggested paired wine
Chapter 2: Innovation, is paired with Creation 2019 Chardonnay - "Chic Chardonnay" which is a classic
Golden, bready and rich on the nose, full and rounded with lime & golden fruit on the palate
The Art of Chardonnay 2020 and Reserve Chardonnay 2020,
each of which received Five stars in the 2022 Platter, are sold out
The perfect match for the beautiful, soft Langkloof trout ribbons which have been lightly cured and smoked, served with
a spicy sriracha mayonnaise, on a chive, lime and coconut sauce, sprinkled with togarashi spice and sesame seeds
Chapter 3: Déjà Vu, “Sunshine on the Atlantic"
Creation 2020 Cool Climate Chenin. Honey notes with golden stone fruit on the nose, more layers of fruit on the palate,
a good balance of sunshine, fruit, crispness and ripeness, even though it has an R.S. of only 2.2 gm/l
The dish is a slice of seared king oyster mushroom with a good meaty texture, on a smoked duck,
onion and mushroom duxelle, shimeji and shiitake mushrooms and truffle in a green sauce
A truly wonderful dish, where the king mushroom brings out some sweetness in the Chenin; the perfect pairing for it
It is one of those dishes for which people will ask for larger portions; it is that good
The alternate dish for John was off the A' la Carte menu:
Green beans and Miso with a dairy free cheese, topped with lightly pickled red onion
John does not normally like pickles, but he says they made this dish
The beans were crisply al dente, just the way we like them,
and covered in a good umami sauce; the soft, flavourful cheese reminded us of soft white cannellini beans
Chapter 4: Resonance: "Madame Meilland rose" paired with the pretty 2021 Creation Grenache Rosé,
which has an aroma of rose, peach and lime and is summery, slightly savoury (that's the Grenache),
crisp, fruity with minerality, bold and present and oh, so good with food
This dish is inspiring and a real palate cleanser. A blend of clean and summery fresh tomato gazpacho with watermelon,
with small squares of pickled cucumber and topped with a scoop of iced gazpacho to keep you cool
Beautifully presented in a tiny cup on a Creation Pinot Noir leaf dish, made locally
Chapter 5: Charisma "Forever Romantic" with Creation 2020 Reserve Pinot Noir
This wine received Five stars in the 2022 Platter
Perfume, umami, dark berries with a hint of wood on the nose
On the palate, soft and unctuous with complex layers of cherry and berries,
a good acid balance and wood on the end
Carolyn also asked us to try their 2019 Art of Pinot Noir with the dish. A privilege indeed
This wine has recently won Five stars at the Platter Awards and was awarded 97 points by Tim Atkin,
British Master of Wine and international judge. And it is so worthy of these accolades
Perfumed with rose and violets, a raspberry parade with some cherries on the nose; so pretty
Layers and layers of complexity on the deep palate, with lovely raspberry, cherry and mulberry fruit melding into one
Wood is present, but supporting rather than overpowering, and there is perfume right to the end. Special
The dish with its sauces added
Now nicely busy in the restaurant
Chapter 6: Alchemy. Time for dessert paired with Creation Viognier "Vivaldi in a glass"
Titled Apricot, Coconut, Meringue, it is a small pastry tart filled with vanilla crème patissière
and topped with sliced apricot in a case of superbly skilfully made, fine crisp pastry
A dollop of coconut milk ice cream (must try to make this it was so good), a shard of meringue and a crumb,
made with xylitol rather than sugar. A good match with the Viognier,
which echoes the apricot and has enough good fruit acidity to glide softly with the sweetness of the dessert
We were also asked to taste the dessert on the A' la Carte menu,
which is titled Trifle gluten free sponge, coconut and berries
The fresh raspberry sorbet with rosewater is superb and sings with the Rosé
The trifle sponge is topped with strawberries and blueberries, a disk of coconut marshmallow and a disk of berry jelly. Paired with the dessert, the Rosé showed its fine character to the full
We met the two pastry chefs and were asked to comment on the dishes
as they are still doing small tweaks with the menu
One could spend an afternoon enjoying this after the good lunch
It comes with a really decadent chocolate truffle. They should box and sell those
John's double espresso coffee
Without her mask, the new Head Chef, "Prof" Eleanor Niehaus has a charming smile
She has returned to Creation, where she worked previously as a sous chef
Having tasted the menu, we think she is succeeding very well
Another of those superb King Proteas
Pincushion proteas in the garden
The garden is full of wonderful indigenous plantings and special sculptures by Janko de Beer, which are for sale
Creation was awarded the accolade of 10th place in the World’s Best Vineyards 2021 competition
and first place among African wine producers
Aside from being a place of great beauty, Creation offers a very special experience to the visitor,
with excellent wines, paired with a carefully chosen menu and great service. How beautiful is that view?
Click here to follow our blogs
Follow us on Facebook
If you would like to purchase a signed print of one of our photographs, please click here
All content in this article is © John & Lynne Ford, MENU
No comments:
Post a Comment