Thursday, February 06, 2020

Buitenverwachting - Living up to Expectation

We discovered that it had been three years since we last visited Buitenverwachting in Constantia, so an invitation from Cellarmaster Brad Paton to come and taste some of his wines with him was gratefully accepted. And very much appreciated, as he is in the middle of what looks like becoming a successful harvest
The farm Buitenverwachting (it means beyond expectation) originally formed part of the Constantia Estate which was founded in 1679 by Simon van der Stel, the first Governor of the new Dutch Cape colony. Buitenverwachting as a separate entity dates back to 1769. It is owned by the Mueller family and Lars Maack, son of Mrs Christine Mueller, is the Managing Director
We met at their Tasting room and, because it was a hot day, took a seat under cover on the cooler porch on the right
Inside the tasting room, the staff were being kept busy by the many visitors sitting outside
Our cool table
Each weekend this lawn and another nearby are covered in people enjoying the lovely casual, unpressured atmosphere of Buitenverwachting, enjoying the wine, the platters, each others' company and just chilling.  It is where Constantia Fresh annual wine and gourmet food festival will be held on Sunday the 23rd of February. Details here  http://www.constantiafresh.com/tickets
Brad is one of the longest serving winemakers in Constantia, having been at Buitenverwachting since 2004
The tasting sheet, but we were to taste a few more wines, some of Brad's new ventures and some of his special new wines
We began with the classic Buitenverwachting 2019 Sauvignon Blanc. The style of this wine defines the Sauvignon Blancs that Constantia can produce, and it never fails to disappoint. On the nose, green herbs and leaves, elderflower and good pyrazines.  Crisp, full and layered on the palate with greengage plums, elderflower and green peppers. There is a hint of gunflint minerality
Husseys Vlei 2019 Sauvignon Blanc has long been a favourite of ours. From a single vineyard, it is intense with green peppers on the nose and flinty. Crisp and beautiful, it charms. Cool at first, then intense clean flavours of green peppers appear with elderflower. It is unwooded, but has a hint of gun smoke, from the terroir
Then, from the Limited Release White Range, Maximus 2017 Sauvignon Blanc. This single vineyard wine has complex Sauvignon Blanc flavours with nuances of other grapes.  It is fermented on the lees in older barrels with no batonage or stirring. As John says, near impossible to spit, this is a fantastic food wine and was just released in December. Citrus, peach and loquat on the palate, long rounded flavours which keep developing and are in great balance
The 2018 Limited Release G is a classic Gewürztraminer and is one of the best in the Cape in our estimation. Perfumed with soft rose petals and Turkish delight on the nose, it even has that hint of cornflour that coats the Turkish delight. Clean, complex and surprisingly mature in flavour, the perfect wine for spicy food. There are flavours of orange, litchi and sandalwood, with citrus on the end. It has spent 10 months in old oak
The 2018 Chardonnay has golden oak notes on the nose, lovely fruit and smoke whiffs. Peach fruit and blossom, then other golden fruit appears in layers; it is mouth watering, so a  definite food wine. We would like this with cheese, fish and complex sauces. This is the style of Chardonnay we should continue to produce. It s complexity is due to 20% being fermented in three different ways: whole bunch, direct press to barrel and destemmed grapes. The direct press produces very reductive wine and flintstone characteristics from autolysis. Matured in light blond toasted barrels of different ages
We tasted the 2019 Blanc de Noir, a pretty rosé with raspberry flavours from the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot grapes. It is zingy and crisp with good raspberry fruit, easy drinking and friendly and great with food. Brad has a new rosé coming which will be a limited edition called Gracious (after his daughter); we tasted it. It is very elegant, with cherry, mulberry and tobacco hints, silky soft on the palate with some cherry flavours. Very interesting. We tasted it again later when it was chilled and it was perfumed with cherry blossom. It is a beautiful rosé, so easy to drink, in the style that we want to drink
Sun dappled oak shadow on the awning above us
and a persistent hadeda ibis roams the lawn, spiking for worms
Under the shade of the central Norfolk Pine, families and friends picnic and enjoy the wines
Time for the red wines. First the 2017 Meifort; it sells so well and is terrific value for money at R110. Incense shows expensive wood on the nose, layers of rich berry fruit, with cassis leaves. The initial tight fruit with chalky tannins shows such promise for this wine. If you lay it down for a year or three it will astound you. But it is eminently drinkable now. Lynne's first thought was: "What am I going to eat with this wine?" and the answer was red meat! Better than a braai wine, it will go so well with steak and roasts. There is softness and concentration in the wine that opens to cherry, berry fruit, so lekker (Afrikaans for delicious)
John has coined a new phrase for this unreleased wine, here served in a decanter, which opens the wine up more
It is "Beyond expectoration"
We did taste another superb red wine that Brad has made but which is not yet released. All we can say is that it was spectacular and we think is going to change things. A lot. You may have noticed a slight difference in colour between glass and decanter in the photo above. Both of the above two wines are in the picture. And Brad has some other new babies in the pipeline. We tasted one of them, a blend, and the palate was extraordinary - this is going to win awards. Watch for their new releases

 The 2015 Phoenix is another Buitenverwachting Limited Release, made from 100% Petit Verdot, only 3000 bottles. It spends 36 months in 100% new French Oak and is totally in balance. On the nose, you can smell the expensive wood with the mulberry fruit. Soft berries and chalky tannins make this a 10 year wine, some good brulée notes, mulberry, rhubarb and cherry. It reminds us of the older red wines of the valley which have lasted so well
You might think that these large bottles of Christine are just too expensive or too large, but they are actually perfect for a large dinner party, a special occasion with lots of guests and for Weddings. The wine matures much better in larger bottles. They are available for purchase in the tasting room.
We were rather ravenous after such a wonderful tasting and Buitenverwachting produced this huge platter for us to enjoy. It certainly satisfied. Three dips, humus, feta and olives on tomato and a spicy peppadew. Great bread, butter, crackers, olives, grapes, preserved fig, peppers and other crudités, cornichon, dried apricots, cheese and meat. Great value at R230 for 2 (R245 on the lawn)

They do have other food as well (image courtesy of Buitenverwachting)
Their wine tasting fee is R60 per person for 5 wines
Our final wine is a knockout. The 2017 Buitenverwachting 1769 Noble Late Harvest dessert wine from Muscat de Frontignan, as good, if not better than some of the other iconic Constantia dessert wines. Brad says this is the best he has produced. Saffron yellow in colour, floral with herbal notes of oregano and mint, with honey and toffee on the nose; it is a classic. Pure honeycomb honey dripping into the glass, followed by a squeeze or two of lemon and lime, some apricots and crisp apple, so much in balance. Long lasting flavours, barley sugar, complexity and good viscosity, so impressive. It spends 10 months in barrel
Baby steps. A Swiss couple and their enchanting child, learning to stand and walk
Thank you Brad and the Buitenverwachting staff, so much, for a really superb tasting and day at Buitenverwachting
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All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
Our final wine is a knockout.  The 2017  Buitenverwachting 1760 Noble Late Harvest dessert wine from Muscat de Frontignan, as good, if not better than some of the other iconic Constantia dessert wines. Brad says this is he best he has produced.  Saffron yellow in colour, floral with herbal notes of oregano and mint, with honey, and toffee on the nose,  it is a classic.  Pure honeycomb honey dripping into the glass followed by a squeeze or two of lemon and lime, some apricots and crisp apple, so much in balance. long lasting flavours, barley sugar, complexity and good viscosity, so impressive. It spends 10 months in barrel/
 Baby steps. A Swiss couple and their enchanting child, leaning to stand and walk.
Thank you Brad and the staff, so much for a really superb tasting and day at Buitenverwachting. 
Posted by MENU at 5:16 pm 0 comments

Meze lunch at Mykonos, Camps Bay

Vegetarian friends told us that they have been going to Mykonos in Camp Bay and how enjoyable the food was there, so we decided to meet them there for lunch last Saturday. Apparently it started as a take away, as they did not have serving staff, but that has changed and the staff are lovely and helpful and certainly have got the Hoppa! and other Greek phrases going. It is behind the PicknPay centre right next to CodFather on the corner of Camps Bay Drive and The Drive. There is parking available in the area, in the centre in front, but definitely not on Beach Road!
We have great memories of past holidays in Greece, but one does need to know that Greek restaurant food is quite simple with not much variation; if prepared well, it can be delicious. If you have travelled there, you will have a favourite. In the far gone days in Greece there were no menus, you were welcomed into the small restaurant kitchen where Mama was cooking a couple of standard dishes and you could lift lids on pots to see what you wanted and enjoy them sitting on small tables on the side of the street.. The food was often rather one note and a bit monotonous and by the end of the first week, Greek salads had lost their charm. One great memory Lynne has of a hot day lying on the beach in Lindos (before it was overwhelmed by hotels and cruise liners) when a shout went up: "Get to the restaurant (there was only one) they have something special!" It was fresh eggs, not often seen on the hot island of Rhodes, so we all had omelettes for lunch. We were able to visit the kitchen and choose at Costa's Taverna when we visited Diakofto in the Peloponnese in 2015
They seat you on the glassed-in terrace or inside, where they cook on a grill. Very sensible architecture, given the howling South Easters to which Camps Bay is prone. The restaurant is light and bright white with the obligatory touches of turquoise blue, so we didn’t need any lighting. They cook on coals, but cannot during a power cut as the fan to remove the fumes of the fire does not function without electricity and the fumes can be lethal. Light by load shedding

They don't (yet?) have a licence, so you take your own wine and beers, no corkage charge. They do have good wine glasses
We began with a bottle of Caroline Rillema’s excellent Celestina Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Blend
Ronnie had recently bought 12 and was going to buy more; he and we love it
Sadly, we arrived at 12.30 just in time for a 2 hour power cut, so we could only eat a limited selection off the menu; things that did not need cooking. Just enough hot coals to allow us to order two souvlakis. If they could use some gas rings or a gas braai on the stoep, it might help them for the future cuts, which are really making business difficult for restaurants. Sadly, we were the only customers while we were there. They deserve better and we hope you will visit
The menu. We definitely will be back to taste more from this. Hopefully, when the electricity is on and we can try the Saganaki
- grilled Haloumi cheese with lemon, the Spanakopita spinach and cheese pies, Tiropita
(Oh, such memories of Mykonos Island where they were first enjoyed), calamari and the Gyros
In fact we might just start with one of the Meze platters
We ordered a large Greek salad for the four of us to share while the rest of the food was prepared
Nice fresh tomatoes with flavour, good salty feta, red onions, cucumber, olives and green pepper slices
Do note, there is never lettuce in a Greek Salad. The country is dry and lettuce is not a successful crop for them
We all ordered portions of the Humus Reloaded, which comes topped with silky aubergine melanzane in tomato,
good golden olive oil, crumbled feta and roasted pine nuts. It is a revelation; why have we not seen this before?
The serving is plenty for two to share or great as a main for a single vegetarian. Ditto the dolmades,
which have good herb-flavoured rice and kind vine leaves, not the raw rough ones that spike your tongue
Lynne enjoyed these for the first time ever and she has tried many
The pita bread is soft and this is a portion for four people. It was just enough for the Humus
You can of course order more. It is R25 for a serving of one pita cut into four
The Lamb souvlaki was a little tough, but full of flavour, and lots of oregano is used
It comes with lemon and a serving of tzatziki (yogurt, garlic and cucumber dip sprinkled with chives)
The beef souvlaki is similar, nicely medium rare and was much enjoyed
Our second wine was the Middelvlei Rooster Sauvignon Blanc, quite astringent, but good with the olive oil drenched food
No Greek coffee this time but, when they have electricity, definitely. Did you know they have different names for their coffee?
Called sketos, if you’d like it without sugar, metrios, with a teaspoon of sugar, glykos, sweet, with 2 teaspoons of sugar
or variglykos, cloyingly sweet and strong! And all served black and strong
Our bill came to R660 with service
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Friday, January 31, 2020

This Week’s MENU. Groote Post Market, Oldenburg, Giulio’s Breakfast, Jambon Persillé, Oldenburg Chenin

Blue crane mating dance

A week in which we visited two wine estates; both in relatively cool areas, with very different characters, and both producing superb wines. What our stories do show is the enormous diversity in our wine producing areas. One is in Stellenbosch which is a main go-to area for foreign visitors, the other, in the hills near Darling. Both show how wonderful areas only an hour from Cape Town on excellent roads, are for you to visit. Cape Town is a great central point for visits to at least eight different areas with different climates and topographies and no more than an hour away. This season, the harvest, is prime time.  Treat yourself to a visit


At the end of last year, we were invited to the last Groote Post Country Market of the year, but we were already committed and had to take a rain check. We picked up the cheque last week and, on Sunday, we went to Groote Post wine estate to attend their 50th Sunday market. Their Country Markets are held on the last Sunday of every month. The weather was perfect; the day began with a few showers which had all cleared by 10 and it stayed sunny and at about 24ºC all day. Read On…

Harvest will soon start at Oldenburg wine estate in the beautiful Banhoek valley and we were invited to do a vineyard tour and tasting with General Manager and winemaker Nick van Aarde this week. We were warmly welcomed by Nick and by Managing Director Judi Dyer and Marthélize Tredoux, the Direct Sales Manager. Read On…

Some South African friends who now live in Perth were visiting and asked us for recommendations of places for breakfast near where they were staying in town. So of course we recommended Guilio’s on the corner of Loop and Riebeek Street. So they took US there for breakfast! Read On… 

There is still a lot of gammon in the supermarkets after Christmas. And Gammon is also very good served at Easter. But if you have some left over, this is a lovely easy dish to make for a summer lunch with friends. Lynne made this dish with some of ours which was left over from Christmas. You can of course double up this recipe. Read On…

This has been a week in which we have tasted many excellent wines and it has been difficult to choose. We decided on this one because it is such a great summer wine, full-flavoured and still fresh with a silky mouthfeel. Read On…
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Thursday, January 30, 2020

MENU's Wine of the Week. Oldenburg Chenin blanc 2019

This has been a week in which we have tasted many excellent wines and it has been difficult to choose. We decided on this one because it is such a great summer wine, full-flavoured and still fresh with a silky mouthfeel.
The 2019 Chenin Blanc has gone through natural fermentation in 20% new oak. Complex fruit on the nose, orange, ripe spanspek melon, granadilla and loquats. A sunny wine with a great balance of fruit and freshness. It appears almost slightly aged in character, but has the potential to keep for several years in the cellar. R140 from the cellar

Posted by MENU at 11:47 pm 0 comments

On the MENU this Week. Shortcut Jambon Persillé

There is still a lot of gammon in the supermarkets after Christmas. And Gammon is also very good served at Easter. But if you have some left over, this is a lovely easy dish to make for a summer lunch with friends. Lynne made this dish with some of ours which was left over from Christmas. You can of course double up this recipe.
Jambon Persillé - Gammon ham with parsley using left over gammon
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients 
500 g cooked gammon - 1/2 bottle (375 ml) crisp unwooded Chardonnay - 90 ml veal, chicken or vegetable stock - 2 bay leaves - 2 to 3 sprigs of fresh thyme - 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns - a medium bunch of flat leaf parsley, about two cups - 1/4 cup boiling water – 3 leaves of gelatine (15 g) - 3 spring onions, finely chopped - 1 garlic clove, finely chopped - Salt and white pepper
Preparation 
Cut the cooked gammon into small slices, 2 to 3 cm long discarding the fat and any sinew. Set aside. 
Wash and dry the parsley. Strip the parsley leaves from the stems. (Keep the stems aside.) Roughly chop the parsley leaves and put them into a small bowl. Pour the boiling water over the leaves to set the colour, drain and leave to cool. This keeps the parsley leaves nice and green.

 Combine the wine, the stock, bay leaves, parsley stems, thyme and peppercorns in a saucepan. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Let it simmer, covered, very gently for about 30 minutes. Take off the heat. Strain the wine mixture into a measuring jug. There should be 355 ml (1½ cups); if necessary add a little water.

 Soak the three sheets of gelatine in a little cold water till just soft, it only takes a minute or two. Remove them from the water and add them to the hot stock. Stir till they dissolve. Put back onto the heat if they do not. 
Pour into a bowl and leave the aspic to cool until tepid; then stir in the parsley, spring onions and garlic. Taste the aspic and season it with salt and white pepper (remember that the gammon is salty). Aspic will thicken quite suddenly when cold, so do not chill it. 

 To mould the gammon, add a shallow layer of aspic (90 ml) to a terrine mould, small loaf tin or glass bowl and chill it in the refrigerator or over ice water until almost set. Mix the ham into the rest of the tepid aspic containing the shallots, garlic and parsley in a large bowl, then put into your mould. Press the pieces of ham well below the surface of the aspic and make sure no air bubbles are trapped beneath the ham. Cover the mould and chill it until set, at least 3 hours. 

 To unmold and serve, dip the mould in hot water for 30 seconds to loosen the aspic. Run a knife around the edge, unmold the ham onto a platter, and cut it in slices or wedges for serving. It keeps well for up to a week, but, once cut, should be eaten within a day or two. Serve with cornichons (baby gherkins), grainy French mustard and good sour dough bread and butter. And of course some more of that crisp unwooded Chardonnay.  Limestone Hill from De Wetshof would be perfect. 
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Posted by MENU at 11:37 pm 0 comments

Breakfast with Giulio

Some South African friends who now live in Perth were visiting and asked us for recommendations of places for breakfast
near where they were staying in town. So of course we recommended Guilio’s on the corner of Loop and Riebeek Streets
So they took US there for breakfast!
Entrances on both streets and parking is relatively easy on the weekend or after 9, when everyone has gone to work
You don’t need a booking, but it is safer to make one
Inside it is light and airy with a slightly Tuscan and arty feel
The breakfast menu makes choosing very, very hard
This is the outrageous Pancakes a L'Americana, a stack of three,
light as air, loaded with a wicked toffee and banana sauce and topped with crisp bacon. Yummo
The same pancakes, but here with berries and a completely mad addition of a hat of candy floss!
One of us doesn’t do much that is sweet, so she had her favourite, La Bianca - 2 poached eggs Florentine on a croissant,
with lots of smoked salmon, spinach and slathered with a good thick Hollandaise sauce, sprinkled with some chives
No need for lunch that day
And Sir ordered a dish that we have to share one day
Three slices of perfectly crisp French toast with a granola topping that adds great texture, mixed berries,
 berry cream cheese compôte, berry coulis, maple syrup and, yes, a stack of crisp bacon
And that loony hat of candy floss that no one ate. Very pretty though, gilding the lily
Excellent Italian coffee was enjoyed by the sweet eaters, and a pot of mint tea went well with the smoked salmon
Thank you Phil and Di. xxx
Saying hello to talented owner baker Giulio Loreggian
Of course we will be back. Well, after the diet
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All content ©  John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
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