Thursday, July 18, 2019

A Riebeeck Valley weekend. 5. Pulpit Rock

Sunday morning dawned sunny but icy cold. After breakfast we all checked out of the hotel
and some of us headed to Pulpit Rock winery, which IS open on Sundays although not many people were there that day
It is just a very short distance down the road out of Riebeek West in the direction of Moorreesburg
with seating outside on the terrace and inside. They also have a restaurant below, but it was not open on Sunday
They have a lovely walk up the mountain to Pulpit Rock, which is just 2 kilometres up and mostly gentle.  So off we set
It goes through the vineyards and then above to the rock that looks like  a pulpit in this photograph
The valley was still shrouded in freezing fog at 11 am
You could not see the mountains across the valley
The happy band of walkers who, sadly, missed an important red arrow painted on a rock and went merrily along their way in the wrong direction. They thought another rock looked like a pulpit. Sadly, the winery told us that they used to have better signage, but people (vandals) removed it
You can see the cement factory' chimneys peeping out of the fog
And the church steeple became more visible as the day wore on
There is the pulpit that we should have reached and the path up the mountain to it
Back at the winery some of us stopped to do the tasting, which was presented by Mignon
Not sure if this 2004 Nebuchadnezzar is for display or sale
Jocelyn really enjoyed the hike
These tall bluegum trees remind us of those behind our house in Sea Point
that prevented the fires on Signal Hill from getting too close to us. They do seem to act as a fire break
We began with a glass or two of Louisa, their nice crisp Blanc de Blanc Chardonnay MCC Brut, just to celebrate a good weekend. And the walk. Then we realised it was Bastille Day, so we sang - well, Alexandra sang as she knows all the words in French, and the rest of us hummed along the tune of the Marseillaise, just to celebrate that. Les Arms aux Barricades! 
We had a small tasting of their wines, bought some of the Brut and 3 bottles of the Unwooded Chardonnay, which is sweet on the palate at R65, and 3 of  the Shiraz, which has good wood, spicy fruit with pepper, lots of dark plums and tannins. R80. Then it was time to head home for most of us, although a couple of the members stayed another night at the hotel
Posted by MENU at 10:57 pm 1 comments

A Riebeeck Valley weekend. 4. Lunch at Bayleaf & Thyme, Supper at Mama Cucina

Bayleaf and Thyme restaurant for lunch
Wine farms close early on Saturdays in the Riebeek valley, so we had not made any appointments for the afternoon. We had made an appointment for lunch at Bayleaf and Thyme which is in the main square in Riebeek Kasteel. but were a bit late from our superb tasting at Meerhof, which went on till nearly 2. But we phoned and the restaurant was fine with our coming late. It was actually too warm to sit at the table they had kept for us on the sunny porch, so we headed to the shaded side of the verandah and the terrace
We had chosen this restaurant because, after a heavy breakfast, most people wanted something small and fresh
It really fits the bill
They have a daily blackboard menu as well. Those pancakes were tempting, but we resisted
It is nice and crisp, white and light and airy inside
An unusual but talented way to use bottle tops! The cakes look good
And they have a bar, should you want something other than wine
This was the Butternut, caramelised onion and feta cheese filo pasty tartlet which comes with a generous salad
Many of us had the Olive and tomato tart with goats cheese and salad. Good crisp pastry, lots of flavour
and just the right portion size. Olive oil and Balsamic vinegar are available for you to dress your salad
The Caesar Salad without the chicken
and the hamburger and chips comes dressed with caramelised onions, a barbecue sauce, pickled gherkin
and is topped with camembert cheese 
Just chilling in the shade
or having serious discussions. We had a great lunch and we do recommend it. Prices are reasonable
We all had freedom that afternoon to do whatever we wanted. Many went for walks,
some watched the Wimbledon womens’ final; others napped or read
For dinner that night, we were booked into Mama Cucina, which many recommended to us as the best restaurant in the valley
There were differing opinions; some preferred Old Dalby
They are also in Riebeek Kasteel and just around the corner from the main square
Do red check table cloths remind you of Italy? 
They have a standard menu, but the blackboard menu is the one most of us ordered from. It is changed daily
We opened the three bottles of 1999 Swartland Shiraz we had been gifted
Sadly the first bottle was corked. The other two had corks that resisted extraction and broke up
The wine was fruity and good at first, but soon became rather porty, not surprising after 20 years
We were happy to pay R40 corkage on them, but we also ordered other wine for the table
Lynne, who was not very hungry, ordered the Warm Beef salad with an Avocado and Mayonnaise guacamole, which had quite a chilli kick. The beef was in small slivers in a very salty and savoury sauce with chickpeas beneath. Perhaps a good way for the restaurant to use up leftover roast beef? Dressed with slivers of cucumber, raw onion and a lavender stem (we always remember the Masterchef judges comment: "If it is not edible, leave it off the dish")
An enormous plate of Gnocchi with Saffron Chicken with green olives and a lemon sauce, nearly defeated its male recipient
The Caprese salad of baby tomatoes, basil pesto, basil leaves and fior de latte mozzarella morsels was flavourful,
but the tomatoes had seen better days and were bitter. We did send most of them back and told the restaurant why
They made no comment
Drinking an old friend's red wine. The winemaker is Roberto, son of Eugene Mori from Casa Mori in Bottelary, Stellenbosch
John ordered the Quattro Stagione pizza for dinner and could only eat half of it
He got a doggy bag of the rest but then mistakenly left it in our room's fridge the next morning when we checked out!
We hope the staff enjoyed it
Tagliatelle with Roasted red onion, Pesto and spinach
We did not get photos, sadly, of the two dishes that people enjoyed the most, the Aubergine Melanzane
and the dish with Squid steak and Calamari which was raved about as so good
We made the wrong choices, evidently

The kitchen staff: Cathleen Smith, Madeleine Arendse, Elmien Swarts and Suzette Engelbrecht
Not an Italian amongst them. They have been well trained to make these dishes
Posted by MENU at 10:32 pm 0 comments

A Riebeeck Valley weekend. 3. Meerhof Winery

We met Meerhof Cellarmaster Jaco Brand at the Tops at Spar wine show last week and he invited us to bring our wine club to the farm for a tasting while we were in the Riebeek area. One of the inducements was that the farm, besides having very good wines, has the best views in the valley. Meerhof was bought by Koos van Rensburg and his son Erik four years ago
And indeed they do. Situated high on the pass into Riebeek the farm has views across the valley from the old ox wagon trail
As well as back across the valley all the way to Malmesbury
The farm is high above the surrounding countryside and one has a clear view across to Table Mountain
You can see the vines of Kloovenberg below and the town of Riebeek Kasteel below that. And just below the lawn, which was the ox wagon trail, you can see the remains of what is known as the New Road that replaced the ox wagon trail, and below that the new modern tarred road that replaced the "new" road. Getting down that slope in ox wagons must have been challenging
John managed to capture this malachite sunbird (Nectarinia famosa)supping nectar on the flowering winter aloes 
To enjoy the view across the wheat fields to Malmesbury, you can sit under the shady tree
The Swartland (Black country) , having enjoyed the winter rains, is all emerald green for a change
The farmers must be very relieved. And yellow fields of canola are beginning to appear
The old wagon train had to be carved out of the classic Malmesbury shale which is what the vines have to struggle through
This adds minerality to the wines and good structure. Vines like to struggle
We had a coffee and then were taken down into the cellar. Jaco worked with Du Toits Kloof winery and then for 10 years he was cellarmaster at Piekenierskloof Wine Company, previously Citrusdal Wines, which is a collaboration between Fairtrade-certified grape farmers and Fairview’s Charles Back, before joining Meerhof 2 years ago. So he knows the soils, climate and the grapes that do well in the area. Most of Meerhof’s grapes grow on the Malmesbury facing slopes and benefit from cool breezes that come in from the west coast. This area can be very hot in Summer and you need to know how to get the best out of the vines. Jaco obviously does
Jaco, joined by his wife Cornel, gave us a very good tasting of his wines, some paired with chocolate truffles. We began with the 2018 Chenin Blanc, a classic with dusty golden fruit and minerality, good balance of sweet apricot and apple fruit with acidity. R70. Then a cooked apple 2018 Chardonnay, lightly wooded and easy to drink with nice pineapple flavours added to the apple on the end. R70. His premium 2018 White Blend is 41% Chenin blanc, 29% Chardonnay, 20% Grenache blanc and 10% Roussane. These are blends that we will see more often as our climate warms. The Grenache shows first on the perfumed nose, with orange and some new wood. The wine has a lovely mouthfeel. The Roussane shows next and then is joined by the other grapes in harmony. R150. The pairing with the orange and ginger truffle was a good one
Left to right Orange and ginger; orange ginger and hot chilli, voted too hot as it overtook the wine; Dark chocolate for the red wines; and white chocolate with orange and honey was the perfect match for the straw wine. The truffles were large and rather solid and still in the experimental stage for pairing with the wines
The premium Grenache Rosé has had 8 months in new wood so starts with smoke and rose petals. Wildness on the palate with strawberry and raspberry. The chilli in the truffle masked its flavours. We gave it a high score. R130. The 2018 Pinotage is complex and a little bloody on the nose, with umami Bovril flavours and rich red sweet and sour berry fruit. Needs time. R95
Jaco and his wife Cornel were wonderful hosts
The club members really appreciated the time they spent with us and they also bought quite a lot of wine
The classic 2018 Meerhof Cabernet Sauvignon blew us away with its quality and fruit. Cassis fruit with some spice on the nose. 50/50 French and American oak has been used, which adds complexity. It is a beautiful cassis driven wine, with good blackcurrant berry fruit in layers, lovely soft tannins, and the fruit returns for a long end. We bought six immediately. One to watch, we think good enough to win awards, R95 on the farm. This is our Wine of the Week
The 2018 Arbeitsgenot (Work is Satisfaction) Grenache Noir is paler in colour than most, Savoury fruit flavours and aromas, with rhubarb and mulberry. On the palate, wildness and good fruit, umami from the wood. This is another good food wine. R200. The 2018 Arbeitsgenot Shiraz is rich, full and spicy, and goes bang on your nose with huge fruit. Lacy on the palate, it comes and goes with mulberry fruit and then shows some Italian Super Tuscan flavours. It needs more time to gather itself together, but will be good when ready. The last wine was the star of the show and charmed everyone. 2018 Mooistrooi Straw wine has Hanepoot and honey on the so pretty nose, and honey and good citrus to balance the rich sweet fruit. A dash of salt on the end too. And the perfect match with the white chocolate truffle. R300 for a 500 ml bottle. Would go so well with a rich paté as well as many desserts
What a splendid tasting and thank you both for your time and enthusiasm
So enjoyed by the Oenophiles wine club, whose members bought a lot of these wines
Posted by MENU at 9:43 pm 0 comments
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