Thursday, November 10, 2022

A Weekend stay at Seven Oaks estate, Breedekloof

Seven Oaks Wine Estate is in the Breedekloof area and is on the way to Wolseley
We were invited by owners Patrick and Jacqui Pols to join them for a special Pop-Up lunch and, when we accepted,
we were invited to stay for the weekend and bring another couple
We had no idea what fun and entertainment we were in for
By the way, Seven Oaks has only six mature oak trees and a new baby oak
When the very hospitable owner Patrick bought the farm on an impulse in an auction, he thought he had counted seven!
The farm's logo shows six large trees and a baby and their best wines are labelled 6+1
It is set in the most beautiful countryside
The best route to the farm is to drive from Wellington over the spectacular Bain’s Kloof Pass
which brings you very close to the farm

We drove up through the vines until we came to the sign directing us to the cottages

There are four self catering cottages, named after grape varieties. Merlot was ours for Friday and Saturday nights

It is very spacious inside with a binne braai, dining table,
a relaxing seating area and doors which open onto the back garden patio

and there is a small and perfectly supplied kitchen
In fact, this was one of the best supplied cottages we have ever stayed in; they had thought of everything one could possibly need

Bedroom 1 has a large king size bed

Bedroom 2 can be fitted as two single beds or be made up a to provide a large king for our other couple

Once we had dropped our luggage and settled in,
we strolled off to the Tasting venue to check in, accompanied by the farm’s geese

Hmmmm… Christmas dinner? Love geese....

Violet and blue mountains looking over the vines. They are the Waterfall mountains to the West
This valley is on the watershed between the drainage basins of the Breede River,
which flows south to the Indian Ocean, and the Berg River, which flows north to the Atlantic Ocean

and after being warmly welcomed, we discovered that owner Patrick and Willem Viljoen,
his viticulturist and farm manager, were about to take us on a short tour of the farm
The initials on the truck stand for "Hier kom Groot Kak Wyn Motor"

Patrick and Willem gave us each a glass of the Seven Oaks Sauvignon Blanc to enjoy on the trip






A farm worker rolling the dirt roads flat!

A view of the tasting room buildings over the vines with the spectacular Witzenberg mountains behind them to the East,
where the sun rises and where the sunset turns the slopes to orange each evening

Next, a taste of the 2022 Seven Oaks Chenin Blanc, named Sam’s wine, a wine which quickly became a favourite
They found an empty urn in the vineyard, labelled “Sam” – presumably it had contained the ashes of a person or a pet
It gave a name to the vineyard

A small graveyard on the farm for previous owners and their family

Rosy peaks at sunset




John’s new lens can get incredible detail at very long distances;
here the crags and pinnacles of the mountain at sunset

Time to braai back at Merlot Cottage, so the fire is lit!

Very good Rooikrans Boerewors from Checkers and some tender lamb chops
and some good wines to go with the meal
Perdeberg Brut Reserve Chenin blanc Cap Classique got us off to a flying start
and, with the meat, a very supple and full Ernie Els 2015 Syrah

Baked potatoes and a simple salad and then a relatively early night for us all

John got up at the crack of dawn, which is about 5.30 this month (November),
and went off for a lovely walk around the farm with his camera

A cover crop of wheat grass between the vines

A new vine replacement just coming into leaf

Morning mist rising over the hills

Up a small hill 

Looking over to the Breedekloof road

A new shoot on a grape vine

Blue mountains in the early morning light over the vines



Walking back through the vines to the Tasting room and our cottage which is on the left

A Cape Robin-chat (Cossypha caffra) on an apple tree branch

Insect war. A crane fly, aka daddy long legs, attacks a mating pair of Soapberry Bugs

Sitting down to breakfast outside near the braai and the hot tub
which is heated by burning wood in a pit under the contraption on the left

One of our favourite bougainvilleas, white touched with pink

Peter and Michele deciding which way to go for their walk

Early grape flowers on the Chardonnay

Apple blossom

The farm is a wonderful place for bird watching
We heard but didn't see a Piet my Vrou, named for his call. It is a red-chested cuckoo in the family Cuculidae
Here are a Cape sparrow or mossie (Passer melanurus) and a watching Cape white eye (Zosterops virens)
Lynne has never understood why the beautiful moss coloured bird on the right is called a white eye and not a mossie!

A speckled mousebird (Colius striatus). They have lovely long tail feathers and are a delight to watch

A malachite sunbird (Nectarinia famosa)

A southern fiscal, common fiscal or fiscal shrike (Lanius collaris)
It is also sometimes named Jackie hangman or butcher bird

It has a rather nasty habit of pinning its prey on barbed wire or thorns for later consumption

The bokmakierie (Telophorus zeylonus) is a bushshrike
This family of passerine birds is closely related to the true shrikes in the family Laniidae,
and was once included in that group. It is endemic to southern Africa

We had a very simple supper after the long Saturday lunch we had been invited to,
but we did succumb to opening some wines we had both brought to enjoy
Valmoissine 2019 Louis Latour Pinot Noir Burgundy, Glen Carlou 2017 Curators Selection Chenin Blanc
- one of only 3000 bottles, picked from old vines in the Swartland,
Newton Johnson 2015 Resonance, a Sauvignon Blanc Semillon White Bordeaux blend
They were all outstanding
The evening was perfect, still and warm and few insects to bother us

Peter stoked the hot tub fire for ages and he and Michele bravely ventured in
It was not for John and far too tepid for Lynne

All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

If you do not wish to receive e-mails from us, please email menucape@gmail.com with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in your email

Posted by MENU at 12:48 pm 1 comments

A Drive through the Breede River Valley

On our way to the Breedekloof area for a lovely weekend away with friends,
we stopped off at the Florida Padstal near Wellington for some additions to our food boxes

They have some quite good temptations and we ended up with crisp syrupy koeksisters,
a huge jar of honey and some date loaf

Next was a stop to taste the wines at Bovlei which is the home of Wellington Wines
They had some on-line specials, but we all wanted to taste the wines first

A very impressive tasting room

Very traditional, lovely ceilings

and great views from the stoep. We shared two tastings and were ably helped by Nxolo
who has lots of information to impart about the wines. If you buy wine, you do not pay the tasting fee

The very tropical Duke 2022 Sauvignon Blanc (R70) has some elderflower on the nose
Warm fruit, high acidity with limes and elderflower follows through on the palate
The Cave 2020 Chenin Blanc (R150) took time to open up
Initially shy with tropical fruit, lots of litchi, lovely cooked quince and apple, long flavours and a good mouthfeel
The Duke 2019 Shiraz (R80) has expensive wood notes but, sadly, also had some Brett
which gives a smell and taste of Elastoplast
The 2020 Merlot (R80) is complex and spicy on the nose, drying tannins on the palate,
with good fruit and a lot of very dark oak, it needs time
The NV Frizzante Blanc Muscato with 4% Pinot Noir (R60) was light and fizzy and slightly sweet
The Frizzante Rosé (R60) has less muscat and sweetness
They also produce a bottled aperitif called Hari Kalahari Gold which they refer to as a cider,
made from Chenin Blanc and indeed it is rather like a good semi-sweet sparkling cider, and very fresh. R120 for 6 bottles

The La Cave Chenin Blanc 2020 impressed us the most

Wonderful views over the Wellington Valley

We were heading for the Bains Kloof Pass which goes over these mountains;
it was the quickest route to our weekend destination, Seven Oaks Wine Estate

Halfway to the top of the pass, we found that the road has been much improved
and the passing places have been widened and cleaned up. We were very impressed

Looking back to the Wellington valley below

Small farms with Groenberg in the background

Up and up you wind, taking in the breathtaking scenery

And, finally, you come to the next valley, where we stopped at Bergsig estate
They have superb proteas around the tasting room

Yellow Pincushion Proteas

The tasting room

and inside it is cool, comfortable and welcoming

Lots of different seating options

We opted to taste five wines which we chose from their list
The Chenin Blanc has a good nose, tropical with a hint of muscat
Crisp acidity with long flavours of lime, pineapple, guava and apricot (R62)
The Sauvignon Blanc has more zesty tropical notes on the nose, clean and crisp
Good flavours on the lovely full palate, easy drinking, a summer wine so we bought a case (R73)
 Then came the 2021 Chardonnay with a lovely classic nose, slightly leesy, full on the palate with apple and lime,
so another case was purchased (R99)
Nice to find some Gewürztraminer; so many farms have stopped making this charming wine (R85)
Lots of rose petals on the beautiful nose, easy on the palate and quite dry, as we like it (R85)
The Merlot was rather sanguine on the nose and palate with lots of green herbs

Friends Peter and Michele Roos, who accompanied us on our adventure weekend in the Breedekloof area

At the end of the weekend, on our way back to Cape Town, we called in at Du Toitskloof winery
to taste some of our favourite wines from the Rawsonville area

Their impressive new tasting room is now open

Tables all set up for tastings

We tasted the wines in the garden outside; it was a warm day and the shady tree was attractive

The Du Toitskloof 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is young, fresh and zesty on the palate,
with some tropical notes as well as some pyrazines

The 2022 Chenin Blanc has garnered several awards here and overseas
It is a wine we are quite familiar with; we take a 3 litre box in our suitcases when we travel abroad,
so that we have wine available for an aperitif before we go out to dinner, or for picnics along the way
It has a lovely tropical fruit nose, with apple, pear and pineapple on the well balanced palate,
very easy drinking and great with food

A new find for us, Du Toitskloof 2018 Dimension
a blend of Mulberry and cassis, chocolate, mocca and plum on the complex nose
a wine with great dimension and quality, layers of properly wooded wine, deep and luscious on the layered palate
a Shiraz-led bled with Pinotage, Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon (R135)

Bougainvillea is in season and you see hedges of such vibrant colours all over the Cape now

Heat haze over the valley

and a young tree in the breeze

It was a great weekend
Click here to read our stories on Seven Oaks and see what fun we had there

All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

If you do not wish to receive e-mails from us, please email menucape@gmail.com with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in your email

Posted by MENU at 7:27 am 0 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)