New leaves on the oaks which surround the Blaauwklippen manor house
Into the new restaurant where we would meet the five teams who were finalists this year
Two long tables with magnums of the winning wine which would be opened and served with lunch
It is always a competition to see if any of the teams recognize their own blend
The winners are announced after lunch
The judges this year
L to R: Bussel Retief, one of the four cousins from Van Loveren, winemaker and wine teacher Clive Torr,
Blaauwklippen Wine maker Nerina Cloete, Marius Lategan and broadcaster Guy McDonald
Guy would be acting as Master of Ceremonies at the lunch
Nerina and her sister Nanette de Hart, Blaauwklippen
Brand Home & Destination Manager,
who handles the organisation of the competition
A glass of Blaauwklippen 1682 Cap Classique, the only Blaauwklippen wine still made from Zinfandel
Finding a seat, admiring the art and most importantly talking to the five finalist teams
It usually is four, but two teams had the same blend
The new 2023 Chardonnay. Nerina said there was a gap in the range for a premium wooded white wine,
the first they have produced since 1993
It is a different clone from the earlier Chardonnay which really didn't suit their terroir
the first they have produced since 1993
It is a different clone from the earlier Chardonnay which really didn't suit their terroir
Seats taken, things are about to commence
Butterscotch wood, ripe peach and apricot and hazelnuts on the nose
Full on the palate, with ripe loquats, peach, caramel and Seville orange
Guy McDonald gets things started
Nerina told us that this year, rather than make a ripe and ready blend,
she wanted to make the competition a bit challenging
and she specified that competing teams needed to blend a red wine to age for 40 years
Contestants were sent four bottles of wine to blend, but of three cultivars
A 2022 Merlot which was whole berry fermented
Petite Verdot which was the last grape picked, whole berry fermented and in barrel for 16 months
Shiraz from the same block, but picked separately and fermented in French oak casks
One bottle of 100% whole berry ferment and 1 bottle of 50% whole bunch, 3 weeks ferment
- there was a big enough difference to make a blend
All entries had to make a 75ml blend
Our starter of Mozzarella filled crisp arancini balls served on a rich mushroom sauce
They went very well with the new Chardonnay
John's starter was some hot, deep fried Saganki Haloumi cheese batons, with lemon and pink peppercorns
Time to meet the contestants
The Doktors van der Merwe, friends Analisa and Melissa have the youngest wine club, just two months old
They are from Stellenbosch. Both academics, one of them is the only female PhD in Agriscience
Their love of wine and food is their passion, taking them on a sensual journey
Esther Smit of the Kempton Park Wine Circle, established in 2005, it has 35 members
She said they taste wine by the box in the East Rand but they dont drink boxed wine!
They have restaurant meetings with an eight bottle tasting then a three-course dinner, until the wine runs out
They can spend R20, to R30,000 per meeting and they dont do repeat tastings, there is too much good wine out there
Jan Willem Lotz, who is a radio presenter; he and his sister Merlani form the wine club Merlotz
They are from the Western Cape
Johan Fourie of the Tygerberg Wine Tasting Guild which started in Gauteng; then they moved to Bellville in 1989
They started the club to learn about wine
They would buy a bottle of wine to taste and learn all about it
Over the years they have visited almost all the farms in the Western Cape
Danie Nel of the Venterhootsenmarkram club
His dad wanted to teach the kids about wine, to create memories and togetherness
The club is 33 years old and has 12 members scattered around the country and overseas; the youngest is 18
Now they get together with Zoom meetings or visits
A glass of the blend from the as yet unrevealed winner
Wood notes first; it is very dark in colour and we were looking for the violets usually found in Petit Verdot
They were there, with cherry from the Merlot and spice from the Shiraz
Full on the palate with dark berry fruit, with big fruit acids to the fore and grippy chalky tannins,
lots of dark oak, so indeed a wine built to last
Plenty of fruit with morello cherry, raspberry, mulberry and licorice with a hint of allspice and pepper. And long flavours
Time for lunch. A shared mixed salad with croutons
The main course was lamb shank braised in wine, served on a bed of rosemary mashed potato
Guy building tension about naming the winners
Nerina with the Trophy
and the winners were The Dokters van der Merwe, Analise and Melissa
Clive Torr spoke about the winning blend and said how much he enjoyed the Petit Verdot element
It was 59% Shiraz, 27% Merlot and 14% Petite Verdot
In second place was Kempton Park Wine Circle,
Third was the Tygerberg Wine Tasting Guild
and joint fourth with the same blend were Merlotz and the Venterhootsenmarkram club
Dessert was a Crème Brulée topped with fruit.
All the participants lined up for a photograph
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