Monday, February 28, 2022

Tasting her wines with Catherine Marshall

What a wonderful way to spend a morning in the winelands
We were in for one of the best wine tastings we have had for a very long time

While we were in Stellenbosch and Helderberg for the weekend, we made appointments and plans to visit four wine farms. The first was to see Catherine Marshall at her winery at the Lavinia farm, Polkadraai Road. We have known Cathy for a long time and have always been a fan of her detailed, professional and beautiful wines. We had not had a chance to taste them for quite a long time due to Covid lock downs. We could not wait to see what gems she has been producing. We were not disappointed; we had a marvellous tasting with her

Catherine graduated from Elsenburg in 1991. Apprenticeships followed at various local cellars, interspersed with international experiences in France (Burgundy and St-Émilion-Bordeaux), USA (California and Oregon) and Australia

Resident winemaking positions followed at four wineries in Stellenbosch and Paarl before she embarked on a solo career in 2007, establishing and running the wine business. At this time, she was instrumental in formalising the Garagiste Movement, which has gone on to become very successful in South Africa

She has been here for the last three years and welcomes visitors to the tasting room

Check out her website for details. https://cmwines.co.za/

In the tasting room with Catherine. It is run by her tasting room manager, Mark

You can sit outside on the deck and taste while you enjoy the lovely views looking across to the Simonsberg 

The current range of her wines on display

We began with the 2021 Chenin Blanc, fermented in clay amphorae which were hand made for Catherine by a friend who is a talented local potter. She told us she is in love with the amphorae and the wines that they produce. Her description of the wine is peach juice over wet stones and it certainly lives up to that. There is richness on the nose with minerality and it is lovely and rounded on the palate with golden apricots, ripe golden juicy peach, with layered complexity and joy and some lees character. Grapes from Elgin and a small portion from old bush vines in Bottelary

Next Amatra Jono's Wave 2021 Chenin Blanc, with grapes primarily from Elgin, some from Stellenbosch, plus sites in Stanford and Franschhoek. Jono, who loves to surf - he says it's his religion - is Cathy son, who has now joined her in the business. Cathy says this is a wine meant for celebrations. 70% fermented in old French barrels, which adds another lovely dimension as you taste this rich, golden wine. It delights in layers of fruit; peach, litchi, and ripe pears, with fresh acidity to balance the fruit and wood

The 2021 Riesling is grown on red slate, which is perfect for this grape, which needs to struggle to grow. Perfumed with white flower notes, it has a lovely freshness on both the nose and palate with honey, lemon and limes. It is nicely balanced, with lovely zingy acids, good ripe fruit and has some tension from the minerality. A very good example of a South African Riesling

Catherine currently produces three excellent, but different, Pinot Noirs, and she is known to be one of the best Pinot winemakers in the country, as she consistently produces excellent examples of this difficult heartbreak grape. Her Pinots are very much in the Burgundy style. We were lucky enough to be tasting older ones, in sequence

Pinot Noir on Sandstone 2017, from the Elgin area. You can smell the terroir first, the ground and fynbos, then the beautiful cherry fruit and incense wood. On the palate, soft, ripe seductive fruit with a hint of dark chocolate wood; the wine had good structure, supported by balanced chalky tannins. Pinot Noir on Clay Soil 2017 has an intriguing dive-in nose full of cranberry and rhubarb. Soft chalky tannins, unctuous mulberry, cherry and rhubarb fruit and dark licorice wood. This wine calls loudly for food

The 2017 "Finite Elements" Pinot Noir, from the best sites and the best grapes, on both Clay and Sandstone soils in Elgin. This wine has a lovely, almost ethereal nose, very Burgundian, with Morello cherries, mulberries and raspberries. On the palate, it is like melting a dark chocolate-covered cherry in one's mouth, so delicious. It has good minerality, soft chalk and long, ripe fruit flavours

A treat, to taste the new 2021 Grenache, from the Swartland area near Malmesbury. Just bottled, not yet labelled. Richly perfumed, with roses and violets, almost a perfume to put behind your ear; some Turkish delight notes as well. Sheer pleasure on the palate. Umami notes and ripe berry fruit with lovely chalky support and light wood on the end. Another great food wine par excellence. Order soon

Amatra The Oreads 2020 Merlot. Catherine says that this wine epitomises their lifestyle in Kalk Bay, celebrating with the mountain nymphs (from Greek myth, Echo was one) in the caves above. It has lots of minerality, good wood and fruit. It is soft and silky on the palate, with ripe red plums and some peppery notes on the top palate

Our last wine is a celebration of life and is dedicated to Peter, Catherine's late husband. Peter's Vision 2017 is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot from Elgin grapes. Whether Right Bank Bordeaux or Super Tuscan in style, this wine has it all. Hints of both varietals on the nose, with some umami, violet, minerality and dark berry fruit on the silky and complete palate, with a hint of salty licorice drop on the end. Another major food wine

Cathy loves her skilfully hand made amphorae and we love her wine
Thank you so much for your time and the great experience


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A Visit to Waterkloof Estate

Which wine farms to visit when you are in the Somerset West Helderberg area on a Saturday morning?
It had been rather a long time since we'd visited Waterkloof, so they were top of our list
There have been some changes; Covid has been tough and the excellent restaurant has closed
Its Chef, Gregory Czarnecki is currently judging the SA MasterChef television competition

The wind was howling, so we hurried in through the tasting room entrance

Very modern in design, you can look down into the wine cellar as you walk through. It is now filled with amphorae

Our hostess with the mostest was Kudzai, originally from Zimbabwe and very informed;
she is taking the Cape Wine Academy exams

Looking back at where the restaurant used to be. You can still do platters

We always want the best view, but were not tempted to sit outside with the South Easter blowing
It was a bit hazy, but you can look down on Somerset West, Strand, Gordon’s Bay and the coast beyond from on high

There was a horrible fire burning in Elgin and the smoke was coming over the mountain
Here you get a good view of the vineyards

We opted to share a tasting and we chose the 6 wines we wanted to taste from their Premium list

They charge for tastings as follows:
6 wines from the False Bay range for (R80)
Premium wine tasting: 6 wines from the Waterkloof, Circumstance, Seriously Cool and Circle of Life Ranges (R120)

We began with their Astraeus Cap Classique Blanc de Blanc which has been on the lees for 3½ years
The grapes come from Elgin. Bready on the nose, very crisp with a good mousse,
with flavours of litchi, lime, greengage and pear, it is elegant and nicely dry, just the way we like it. Lynne scored it 18/20

Normally R240 a bottle, you can buy unlabelled bottles at R175

Next came the Circumstance wooded Sauvignon Blanc 2020
Hints of green leaves and green fruit on the nose, with wood smoke, a classic Blanc Fumé;
more a Bordeaux, Grave, style than a Sancerre
Smooth and round on the palate, the hints of honey and lime, with evident toasted wood on the end
The flavours are well integrated, very different in style from most South African Sauvignons

John risked going outside for a minute to capture the coastal view

The Circumstance 2020 Viognier has a shyly aromatic and pretty nose
Round and unctuous on the palate, dry with peach flavours, wood is present but doesn’t overwhelm
Again, more in the French style

The Circumstance 2020 Chenin Blanc is powerful and well made
Chalky tannins grip at first then honey and buttercups
 Golden fruit, over ripe apple and pear, then wood and more tannin and chalk on the end. Built to last

The Circumstance Cabernet Franc 2018 has a classic varietal nose, dark and deep, black cherry and a hint of the wood
Only 9% new oak, the rest in older barrels. It currently has tannins for Africa, grippy and chalky,
with savouriness and dark cherry, rhubarb fruit with long flavours
Another built to last, it needs cellaring and may reward with time

The Circumstance 2018 Petit Verdot spent 32 months in mostly old oak, only 11% new
On the nose it delights with perfume like Chanel No.5; roses and violets
Again built to last, so very young and tannic and chalky, but with long flavours and long glycerol tears on the glass
Put it down for 5 to 10 years. Impressive

The cellarmaster is Nadia Langenegger

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Wines, Olives and Oil at Morgenster

What a lovely way to spend an afternoon. The previous afternoon, at the CVC tasting at neighbouring Vergelegen, we spoke to the Morgenster tasting room manager, James Burnham-King, who invited us to visit and taste the estate's olive products and wines. Italian entrepreneur Giulio Bertrand bought Morgenster in 1992 from the owners of Vergelegen, restored the farm and brought olives from Italy. He planted the first vines in 1995. The olives and oils have achieved great respect, as have the wines, and, since he died in 2018, his family has continued running the estate

Giulio Bertrand, 13 March 1927 – 20 May 2018

Beautiful views


The elegant tasting room

The barrel cellar can be seen through the glass wall of the tasting room

We opted to sit outside. It was a lovely calm, warm afternoon

Across the lake, silvery reeds waving in the wind

We had been invited to do the Olive Oil tasting 

which comes accompanied by a green olive paste, (these are not tapenades, they contain no anchovy)
and some large, salty green olives, a black olive paste and juicy black Kalamata olives
with some crisp crackers and some ciabatta bread to dip into the oils and pastes

Vuyina Tshengu took us through the instructive tasting; there is much to learn

We both went on extensive courses on olive oils when we had our food shop and sold the best,
but we still enjoy new experiences. Here you take up the glass in your hand to warm up the oil as you swirl it
Then you smell and taste

The Extra Virgin oil is a blend of all 14 varieties they grow on the farm and is grassy and green,
with fig leaf, olive bitter and spicy notes

The second oil is named for its variety of olive, Don Carlo, and we loved its golden, bold spiciness
It is complex with grass, thyme, artichoke, asparagus and almond flavours
We bought a bottle and have been enjoying using it on food

The Lemon enhanced oil is full of crisp lemon zest extract
They say you can use it on ice cream and yogurt! Also lamb and fish

The Morgenster Balsamic vinegar is a 3 year old and is the real thing, imported from Italy

Tasting Room manager James Burnham-King came to join us and took us through a great tasting of the wines

We began with the Italian Collection wines. The winemaker is Yolandi van Staden

The 2021 Vermentino has notes of muscat and porcelain on the shy nose but, on the palate,
it is full of layers of fruit and excitement: guava and peach, lemon soda and zest, with pepper spice and green fig notes
It dances on the palate and is just different. We bought some and have so enjoyed it with summer dinners

Next the 2021 Sangiovese. Light and spicy on the nose with strawberry aromas
On the palate it pings off the tongue with lots of complexity:
pepper, strawberries, ripe cherry, lovely soft tannins and chalk and a hint of golden oak

The 2020 Cabernet Franc just blew Lynne away. Incense wood on the nose, dark fruit:
cassis, blackberry, mulberry and green cassis leaves
Richness first, then lovely fruit, zingy acidity, a small grip of tannin and some soft chalk
and then some salty licorice wood on the end
WOW. 18.5/20 Yes, a case came home with us

The 2016 Tosca is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc
A barrel pong, then fruit, oregano and rue; then the Sangiovese takes over with its wildness on the nose
And it follows through on the palate with rhubarb, mulberry and cherry
with a nice, chalky dry end, showing lasting possibilities

The 2015 Nabucco is 100% Nebbiolo and has aromas of vanilla wood, grass, green herbs and fennel
On the palate, cooked red plums, chocolate and Morello cherries; this is a food wine

The 2015 Lourens Valley is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Cabernet Franc
Cassis berries and leaves, cherries, incense oak on the nose
Umami from the Cabernet Franc, beautifully silky on the fruity palate, still so young with lively fruit
and has all the necessary components to last much longer but so enjoyable now

The 2014 Estate Reserve is the Morgenster flagship red Bordeaux-style blend
Grapes are specially hand-selected from the best vineyard sites at Morgenster
Elegant and classic with good French oak barrel maturation
Perfumed, and full of cassis berries and leaves on the nose
Soft licorice and cherry berry flavours, Lynne could not stop tasting its layered deliciousness

What a wonderful tasting we had been privileged to experience. We had meant to head home at 3
it was well past 4.30 when we finally said our thanks to James and departed

Click here for our story about the launch of the new olive press at Morgenster in 2017

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Cape Vintner Classification Summer Soirée at Vergelegen

An invitation to the Cape Vintner Classification Summer Soirée at Vergelegen had us raring to go; the first proper, organised wine tasting with our peers to be held since the end of lock down. It was an opportunity to walk around the tables of the different wine farms and taste some of the best vintage wines from their cellars. Who could resist, especially when the wine farms involved included some of the very best in our industry: Almenkerk, Anthonij Rupert, De Morgenzon, De Wetshof, Diemersdal, Kanonkop, Morgenster, Vergelegen, Waterford and Wildekrans. It was held from 4 till 7 pm on a Friday evening, so we booked overnight accommodation in the area, so that we didn’t have to drive back to Cape Town afterwards

The welcome drink from Vergelegen was the superb 2018 Semillon;
full and layered and a perfect example of how beautiful Semillon can be when grown and made here
A hundred years ago, Semillon was the most planted white varietal in the country


"The Cape Vintner Classification is a platform to promote the best expression of site, credibility and consistency amongst South Africa’s best producers and their wines”, said Johann Krige, 2021 CVC Chairman on the CVC website. The purpose of the CVC is thus to lay a lasting foundation on which to create Cape wines that stand alongside the finest wines in the world

Billie Lambrechts, who invited us, had some very interesting aged specimens for tasting on her table

These included the Groot Constantia Gouverneur’s Reserve 2016 White, among some older wines at the entrance
Exceptional quality and flavours from this classic blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon

Almenkerk had their 2012 Sauvignon Blanc for tasting
If any wine can persuade people to try and buy older Sauvignons Blanc, it is this one
It was as fresh as a daisy, full of lively, zingy acidity and good fruit; quite remarkable and very enjoyable

We both wandered around the different tables, tasting but, obviously, we could not taste everything, so this is a short précis of the wines we tasted and liked. At a tasting like this you have to spend time tasting the wines with age and show them appreciation. There were many we missed due to lack of time, which we regret. It was also great to see our friends and cohorts in the wine industry after such a long hiatus

Almenkerk had a very good selection of their wines to taste
and there was such a good buzz in the room about them, so people were obviously impressed

Diemersdal has always produced excellent Sauvignons Blanc and to taste some older ones was very special. The M.M. Louw 2019 sauvignon Blanc has a floral perfume on the nose, and was rounded with flavour in layers, superb. The Journal 2019 is drier, very sophisticated and is fermented in French oak barrels, where the lees are stirred to give it a rich mouthfeel and a long finish of minerality, fruit and vanilla wood

The 2009 Diemersdal Pinotage was also impressive, a classic expression of the grape;
incense wood on the nose, lots of dark berry fruit in layers. This wine is built to last

There were tables outside and people also sat on the lawn, nicely spaced apart
We only sat down to eat our supper, there were so many interesting wines with age to taste



We tasted through some of the great older De Wetshof Chardonnays and were especially impressed with the Finesse Chardonnays; two vintages, 2015 and the current 2021. “Crisp, clean and dry, lingering and joyous”, wrote Lynne, "Now I need to eat". And we were not the only ones, people kept talking about it and kept coming to the stand to taste it, sent by their friends. It is great when you pick up a buzz about a particular wine at a tasting

Francois Rautenbach of Singita Lodges and Bennie Stipp, De Wetshof marketing manager

A prestigious wine couple: Platter Guide Editor Philip van Zyl and Cathy van Zyl MW



Everyone was given one of these boxes, containing charcuterie, chicken liver pâté, cheeses, grapes, mixed olives, an apple confit, good butter and a roll. An excellent way to complement a marvellous tasting and assuage any hunger pangs

The event was held on the terrace of the Camphors Restaurant
which is able to accommodate a large group without overcrowding

We loved the De Morgenzon Chenin 2019, another classic made by former winemaker Carl van de Merwe. Lovely floral notes, then ripe stone fruit, and a hint of honey, which follows through on the full and delicious palate perfectly balanced between ripeness, good fruit acidity and, just supporting, golden vanilla oak

Caroline van Schalkwyk, principal of CvS Communications
and Chef Michael Bridgeman of Stables Restaurant at Vergelegen

Waterford winemaker Mark le Roux and English sommelier James O'Leary, who is doing an internship at De Morgenzon
He was very impressed with the wines he tasted and hopefully it will influence his buying when he returns to the UK!

The highlight of the evening was the chance to taste the 2004 The Jem from Waterford. It is their flagship blend, named after the owner of Waterford Estate, Jeremy Ord, or “Jem”, as he is affectionately known. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Shiraz, Mourvedre and Barbera and was superb with an integrated nose of classic dark berry fruit and good French oak; on the palate, full of chocolate and cherries with a kick of pepper and spice. We sold this wine in Main Ingredient from the end of 2007. The 2014 was also impressive and is definitely going to catch up as it ages, although it seems more Italian in style at present, than does the classic 2004. Sangiovese has been added to the blend

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