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Wednesday, September 06, 2017

Steenberg spring wine launch with lunch at Bistro 1682

We were invited to Steenberg's Bistro Sixteen82 on the first day of Spring to come and celebrate the release of their three new wines, all named after the ships involved in the Battle of Muizenberg: a 2017 Ruby Rosé, The Sphynx 2017 Chardonnay and the 2015 Stately Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz blend, which would be served with lunch. The grapes for these wines come from other areas like Robertson

Our welcome was much enhanced by a glass of Steenberg 2011 Lady R MCC

Caroline van Schalkwyk, Steenberg Marketing Manager, Journalist and wine judge Fiona MacDonald, Natalie Collard of the Wine of the Month Club, Dr Winnie Bowman CWM, and Steenberg Cellarmaster JD Pretorius

JD gets a warm welcome from Winnie

Such a happy day! Prosper Gundura from Norman Goodfellows with Chris du Toit, Graham Beck CEO and Kobie Lochner (marketing for Graham Beck and Steenberg)

A welcome and introduction from Caroline van Schalkwyk

JD with Siobhan Robinson of Wines of South Africa and Chris Taylor, vice-chairman of the Muizenberg Historical Conservation Society, who gave us a lecture about the Battle of Muizenberg in 1795 when the British raided the Cape to try and take control from the Dutch using the Royal Navy ships Stately, Ruby and Sphynx

We begin lunch with the first wine, the 2017 Ruby Rosé, a blend of Shiraz and Cinsaut. It has notes of raspberry, Seville orange and light blackberry

The menu

The Home cured duck was lovely but there was very little of it. Dressed with a dollop of sumac labneh cheese, a creamy raspberry vinaigrette, radish, pine nuts and some tinned or preserved raspberries on mixed leaves

In between courses, we had a slide show history lesson about the Battle of Muizenberg

A beautiful pink protea on each table

Here comes the Steenberg Sphynx Chardonnay 2017, It has a nice nose, white peach and a whiff of smoke and stony minerality. On the palate very ripe peaches, some oxidation with quite heavy wood - it has had 100% new oak contact for 6 weeks and 1/3 has gone through malolactic fermentation, which is evident

JD talks us through the wine making process. They have done these three different wines because customers were always asking why Steenberg didn't have a Rosé, a Chardonnay and a red blend

All the Steenberg staff were wearing lovely spring flower corsages

The Sphynx Chardonnay 2017

This was paired with a tuna and avocado tartare, with cucumber dressing, a citrus gremolata sauce and a chilli saffron mayonnaise, lemon segments and topped with very good tiny crisp curried calamari rings. Lots of different elements on one plate

The Stately 2015, a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon and 37% Shiraz. creamy with spiced cherries and black olives on the nose, sweet and sour cherries on the palate with some black berry fruit, spice and dark toasted wood

This was served with the main course of beautifully flavourful confit Springbok neck which just fell apart it was so tender. Served on a cream parsnip puree, brocollini, a cassis sauce and a Stately wine jus, and fresh blueberries, which we thought were just too sweet for this complex dish. The Springbok needed to speak for itself.

Pretty colours. For those who think that we of the fourth estate drink copious amounts with these meas, these are glasses which had not been finished after the first two courses

And with dessert, we were served the Steenberg Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc, such a nice expression of this varietal. Perfumed with elderflowers, it is crisp and lively and gives a beer like head in the glass. It is full of limes, passion fruit and blueberries, with cassis berries and leaves. Think this might be drunk often this summer

Served with dessert it sang with the lovely passion fruit and lemon tart (would have liked a bigger slice it was so good). The plate was fully dressed with the tart, a smear of Italian meringue, lemon curd, marinated strawberry salad, a red berry syrup, and ball of hibiscus ice cream, mint and pansies

A present for the presenter Chris Taylor

Chef Kerry Gilpin with Caroline

A ship in a bottle was one of the table decorations. We don't have a photograph but many of the staff were dressed in historic naval uniform and looked sensational.

Two media fashionistas: Seth Shezi and Tshepang Molisana

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Monday, September 04, 2017

Winemag Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Blend & Wooded Sauvignon Blanc Report 2017

Held at Nitida, this annual award deserves attention; and a sponsor. South African wine drinkers, you are missing a trick! Do we need to bang heads together to get you to pay attention? It is just not cool to ignore blends and only drink single varietals. Many of the famous, most lauded wines of the world are blends - Bordeaux's red and whites particularly. You do not know what you are missing. Yes, some of the bulk producers are filling tanks with bulk wine and selling it cheap as weekend wine, but at the top end of the scale, you find examples like these superb wines. Go on, get with the In Crowd and buy a bottle of one of the wines below and see how it changes your life. Only in South Africa do people ignore the best wines being made for them. The rest of the world snaps them up. To quote wine writer Jancis Robinson, "... Semillon alone is rarely responsible for great white Bordeaux. ... it is in conjunction with Sauvignon Blanc that it displays it's dazzling best”

Wooded Sauvignon Blanc is beginning to make a return from several farms. Do try it; the smoky wood lengthens its life and character. It is also known in French as Blanc Fumé (white smoked). We love it, but only if the wood is supporting, not overwhelming

34 producers submitted 38 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blends this year and 15 producers sent in 18 wooded Sauvignons Blanc - a growing number. These wines were judged to be so outstanding that 23 blends and 11 of the wooded Sauvignon Blanc were rated 90 or higher on the 100-point quality scale. This shows such quality and finesse

The full list of wines is at the end of this story

We began with a glass of Nitida's The Matriarch MCC 2015

Jacqueline Lahoud of Winemag with the certificates which were about to be presented. Only those wines scoring 93 points or higher were given these

A small gathering, mainly of wine makers

Jean Daneel, Cape Point Vineyards' marketing manager Anetha Connan, Eagle's Nest winemaker Stuart Botha, Tokara GM Carl Lambour, Peter Allan Finlayson of Gabriëlskloof

Jos van Wyk, Marianne winemaker, Gosia Zielinska, sommelier at Pot Luck Club and Thierry Haberer, French consultant winemaker at Marianne

Christian Eedes, Editor of Winemag.co.za

Certificates to Rikus Neethling, Bizoe Henrietta 2016

Peter Allan Finlayson of Gabriëlskloof

Highlands Road, winemaker Patricia Simkiss with Michael White

Natasha Williams of Nederburg

Cape Point Vineyards' marketing manager Anetha Connan

Jos van Wyk, Marianne

Nitida. As producer of the best wine overall, Nitida won a new 225-litre Sylvain Blanc barrel worth over R12 800, from Tonnellerie Sylvain, which was presented by Jean Daneel

Gabriëlskloof The Landscape Series Magdalena 2016. Old-vine Semillon from Franschhoek and Sauvignon Blanc from Gabriëlskloof. Very rich, with vanilla toasted oak wood. Needs time, but has it all

Highland Road Sine Cera 2015 from Elgin. Refined Semillon nose, nice and weighty Semillon, with some lovely layers of fruit, mutton fat and fruit acids to ensure long life

Nederburg Private Bin D252 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2016 with a temporary label. We could not find any of the Bin numbered wines on the website, so can give no details. It is shy on the nose to begin with, then opens up; in the lighter style but with good acidity and minerality. The 2011 will be in this year's Nederburg Auction

Nitida Coronata Integration 2016 51% Sauvignon Blanc 49% Semillon. This was the top scoring wine. Rich with some good pyrazines on the nose and a little sea air. Perfumed on the palate, rich, full, layered, harmonious, lighting one up, lovely fruit, full of liveliness and such a good mouth feel from the Semillon. Yes, we really do like this wine

Bizoe Henrietta 2016 is made by negotiant Rikus Neethling in Somerset West, buying in the Semillon from Franschhoek and the Sauvignon Blanc from Journey’s End in the Helderberg

Then the two wooded Sauvignons Blanc

Cape Point wooded Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2015. Green peas on the nose with a little elderflower. Clean on the palate with lean gooseberries and lime, the wood is nicely integrated and does not shout

Marianne 2016 Sauvignon Blanc has wood, cat’s pee and must on the nose, with lots of vanilla wood - they use batonage. Some oxidation, with light flavours which wake up with food