Lynne asked Cathy what the harvest had been like
and the reply was that although everyone says it's a superb, almost perfect year for wine,
she wants to wait and see the outcome
All the wines set out for the tasting
Lynne was a little concerned as she hadn't tasted any wine since her hip replacement operation on April 14th!
Too many pills got in the way... It was fine, just a small sip of the best,
just enough to describe the wine and there was lots of best...
The iconic Catherine Marshall art labels
... and more
Rui Blanco of Constantia Wine and Craft emporium, Zonnika, Bryan-John Judd (Judd's local) and Cathy
A view of the Polkadraai wine area from the cellar door - with a line of birds, the small black dots in the sky
More people arriving with the tables set up for the tasting
Time to begin the tasting, we had a full house
Cathy spoke at length about each wine, the area it was grown in
and why she buys grapes from those areas and vineyards
We began with Amatra Jono's Wave Chenin Blanc 2024 - 70% Voor Paardeberg 30% Elgin
Complex, with layers of golden fruit on the nose
Wood first, then quality; good acidity, more layers of peach and nectarine fruit, length
A wine for food, which is why it is on many top restaurants' lists
The 2023 Chenin Blanc Fermented in Clay from the Art Collection is fermented in amphorae made here in the Cape
It is aromatic with notes of cooked apple and peach
Crisp and full of flavour, it expands on the palate with ripe peach and nectarine fruit
Grapes are from Voor Paardeberg and Bottelary grapes
The Ode to Arges Semillon 2023 has stone fruit that echos the soil minerality and a hint of oak. Long legs in the glass
Boom! a wake up on the palate with lots of personality and flavours of green grapes and nectarine
The 2024 is a little shy on the nose but has Chanel Christalle echos, (Lynne favourite summer perfume),
a hint of the soil and some smoke
Wood first on the palate; baked apple and pear with long flavours, this has a future
Both Semillons come from 100% Elgin grapes
The Catherine Marshall 2024 Sauvignon Blanc delighted us with its "cat's pee on a gooseberry bush" pyrazines
We love them and do prefer this style to the more tropical Sauvignons Blanc
It has lots of elegance. Slightly petillant on the young palate,
crisp and dry with layers of fruit and some golden notes with lovely rolling lees on the end
The 2024 Catherine Marshall Riesling has complexity and is correct to the varietal
A crisp, lean, juicy food wine with layers of lime, lemon, peach and nectarine
To avoid Terpenes, Cathy insists that the leaf canopy must cover the grapes. They develop in sunburnt grapes
These are removed from the bunches before pressing
Straight lines and winter vines - newly planted Polkadraai vineyards
On to the red wines
Negotiant Sue Anderson represents Cathy in the trade
Pouring the Pinots first
First was the 2024 Catherine Marshall On Sandstone Soils
with its beautiful dive-in nose of ripe cherry and raspberry, vanilla oak and, yes, a hint of truffle
Soft on the palate, with some supporting acidity it shows its youth as the fruit reappears. It has huge potential
The 2024 Catherine Marshall On Clay Soils Pinot Noir was initally shy
and then appeared more solid aromas, a hint of smoke, vanilla and truffle
Soft fruit, integrated, it's a very delicate Pinot in character with dark oak notes with minerality
We scored this highly; it has lots of potential
Then the Finite Elements 2024 Pinot Noir. Elegance and minerality, red cherry, berry fruit all melding together on the nose
It's a Wow on the palate, with superb fruit, tannins and wood in balance, depth and promise with long flavours, so special
Our favourite of the tasting, and many others agreed
Then on to taste some of the older Pinot Noirs
The 2021 Sandstone Pinot had pale edges
It's ethereal on the nose, definitely Pinot with integrated aromas, very special with hints of careful wooding
Dark cherry fruit, a hint of amaretto and some grip from tannins and wood on the end
It's in balance and called for food. It is aging well and has a future
The 2021 Clay Pinot Noir has perfume, vanilla and red berry fruit, almost a cordial nose, attractive and integrated
On the palate, sweetness and some crispness to balance the red berry fruit
Long flavours, but not forward, and some chalky tannins
The 2021 Finite Elements Pinot Noir is showing good berry fruit, minerality and hints of wood
Very similar on the palate to the Clay Pinot, a food wine and staying very lively
The 2023 Catherine Marshall Grenache is just about to be released. Savouriness and lovely fruit entice you in
On the palate, layers of lively red grapes and berry fruit, tannins, minerality and smoke all blend. It's an intriguing grape
With the savoury character, there are some candy floss hints and Turkish delight from the carbonic maceration
"Give me food", it shouts
The 2021 Catherine Marshall Grenache also has that required savoury character
with some elegance and good fruit on the nose
Zingy on the tongue, layered, with tight tannins, good berry fruit with some chalkiness on the end
It's a good wine and has much more time to go
Also for tasting was the 2021 Catherine Marshall Peter's Vision Bordeaux Blend
Sadly, Lynne did not taste it, but John enjoyed a glass with his lunch
It is a merlot-led wine with initial dark red fruit,
backed by a little smoky spice, dark wood elements and then lovely sweetness to balance the mouthful
Lunch was a buffet with good sour dough bread, dips, Cous cous and salads
Cooked chicken portions and warm aubergine in a good thick tomato sauce.
A selection of breads
and some really wonderful figgy tarts with nuts and crisp pastry
which some of us took to be savoury but actually was dessert
Selfie time. Rui Blanco, Cathy and Zonnika
The valuable amphorae
In the barrel cellar
Cathy has some lovely old foudres, which belong to Miles Mossop, in her cellar
All our stories can be opened from the archive list near the top of the column on the right of this page
If you do not wish to receive e-mails from us, please email menucape@gmail.com with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in your email
