Thursday, August 24, 2023

SA Terroir Awards 2023 at Lanzerac

The South African Terroir Wine Awards competition is the brainchild of Marius Labuschagne,
renowned wine writer and marketer from Durbanville

It was created in 2005 to define the various terroir types of the Cape
and then award specific wines as being the best examples in that terroir
The awards highlight our many different wine growing areas

Terroir is where elements like soil, climate and altitude come together
to result in the radically different tastes and characters of wines grown in the same area or region
South Africa can be proud of the wines it produces and of the top quality terroir that is cultivated
It shows in those wines

The 2023 Terroir Awards were presented at a lunch at the historic Lanzerac Wine Estate in Stellenbosch

It was a lovely late winter day and the squirrels were dining on buried acorns

We met in the hotel foyer and were welcomed with a glass of Lanzerac Cap Classique

Canapés were served. These were topped with smoked salmon mousse 

Two tables of white wines and two of red wines that were entered into the competition were there for us to taste
And we found lots to like
The elegant 2020 Chardonnay from Almenkerk in Elgin, the classy Old Road Stone Trail 2019 Chenin from Franschhoek
Bergsig's (Wellington) Patmos 2021 Chenin Blanc so impressed and enchanted
that we hoped we would have it with lunch, and we did
Arbeidsgenot in Malmesbury (Swartland) produced such a good Verdelho that Lynne wrote 'Buy' in her notes
And, again, for the Roodezandt Blushing Bride rosé from McGregor
This doesn't happen very often in competitions. So Terroir really matters when it shows on the palate

Arancini rice balls 

Beetroot and cream cheese

The wines were conventionally arranged, starting with a dry Sauvignon Blanc
and finishing with a dessert wine, so you could taste in a circle

The red wine table
This turned into a speed tasting as there were so many to sample
The Rietvallei 2019 (Robertson) Cabernet Franc had us in raptures,
such good quality, fruit, wood and a true expression of this charming grape
La Vierge Apogée Pinot Noir is a good Upper Hemel & Aarde Pinot
and Martin Meinert's 2018 Merlot (Devon Valley Stellenbosch)
with roses, cherries and incense oak which follows through on the palate, has real quality
And on they came

A lot of preparation... Bennie Howard checking that it is all in place

Tables set and ready for the lunch during which the awards would be presented

and a selection of wines entered into the competition which we could try with lunch

Chefs preparing canapés in the open kitchen

"Which wine shall we try with the starter?"

And we are off. Bennie Howard gets the proceedings underway. These awards were first held in 2006
And he gave us one of his famous quotes:
"Drink wine and be saved. The answer may not be at the bottom of the bottle, but do check"

Chairman Christo Pienaar welcomed us to the 18th presentation of the Terroir Awards
and named all their sponsors: SA Litho, Winfield United, Ontbyt Sake

2023 SA Terroir Trophy Winners
Trophy for SA Terroir Top Wine: 2018 Alto Cabernet Sauvignon
Trophy for SA Terroir Top Producer: Rietvallei Wine Estate
Trophy for SA Terroir Top Wine Estate: Rietvallei Wine Estate
Trophy for SA Terroir Top Single Vineyard Wine: 2020 Almenkerk Chardonnay (wooded)
Trophy for SA Terroir Top Area: Malmesbury
To see all the awards in detail click on this link 
http://terroirwineawards.co.za/

Jeff Grier was one of the judges this year, together with Elunda Basson, Conrad Louw, Anton Swart and Janine van Zyl


The presentation of a Certificate of Recognition to the Wine and Spirit Board and the Wine of Origin Scheme
for the work they do certifying the terroir and the wines
 2023 is the 50th Anniversary of the Wine of Origin scheme

The starter; a corn chowder with flamed smoked snoek, marinated mussels and a cauliflower arancini,
topped with a red onion relish, fresh coriander and cucumber
We had the Patmos Chenin and it was the perfect match

Dawrian Salies, representing sponsor SA Litho

Two National Winner certificates for Benguela Cove for their Semillon and their Noble Late Harvest. 
Received by Michelle Waldeck, Junior Winemaker at Benguela Cove
and presented by Louis Mclaren of Kyknet programme Ontbytsake

De Wet Lategan of Bergsig Estate in Breedekloof
received two awards for their Chenin Blanc and Weisser Reisling

Kobus Burger of Rietvallei with two awards for his excellent Cabernet Franc and his Red Blend

The main course; a tender beef fillet and a braised beef cheek, a Grana Padano cheese layered potato slice,
charred onion, a dab of spinach purée and a delicious concentrated beef jus

Daniela Jansen, winemaker at Saronsberg in Tulbagh, with awards for their Grenache and Mourvèdre

and Jaco Brand, Cellarmaster at Meerhof in Riebeek Valley received three awards
for his Arbeitsgenot (Malmesbury) Grenache Blanc, Verdelho and Roussanne

A very happy Joris van Almenkerk with a joyous Bennie Howard

receiving his Trophy for SA Terroir Top Single Vineyard Wine: 2020 Almenkerk Chardonnay (wooded) from Elgin

Kobus Burger of Rietvallei with his trophy. He received two:
the  Trophy for SA Terroir Top Producer and 
Trophy for SA Terroir Top Wine Estate
We sat with him at lunch and there was much celebrating

Jaco Brand received the Trophy for SA Terroir Top Area: Malmesbury

Bertho van der Westhuizen of Alto in Stellenbosch received the Trophy for SA Terroir Top Wine
2018 Alto Cabernet Sauvignon

The four trophy winners

Dessert was a honey poached pear, with a lovely salted caramel ice cream, candied nuts, and an almond mousse
A good way to end the happy day


The kitchen staff came out to be congratulated on a great meal

Executive Chef Stephen Fraser

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

Posted by MENU at 12:52 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

David & Nadia tasting at Culture Wine Bar

A chance to taste the newly released 2022 vintage Swartland wines of David and Nadia Sadie was exciting
It was arranged at the Culture Club venue in Grub and Vine in Cape Town by Karen Visser of Great Domaines

The lineup of the 2022 David and Nadia Vintage release for the Great Domaines trade tasting

David and Nadia Sadie farm at Paardebosch Farm on Paardeberg Mountain

The tasting was well attended by members of the wine trade and media

The wines we were to taste. It was a really impressive view of what good winemaking can produce

Wine being poured by Karin Visser of Great Domaines wines.  Impressive glasses for the tasting

David and Nadia also poured

All the wines are grown in the Swartland from several different sites
There was a discussion about corks and they now prefer to use 100% Diam, which gives them good results

We began with the Chenin Blanc and Aristargos
The 2022 Chenin has 20% new oak the wine is from old vines. It's a classic Swartland Chenin
Clean fruit on the nose, some ripeness
Lovely layered fruit on the palate which is a blend of tropical and golden fruit, with a long finish
Aristargos is an unusual blend of Chenin Blanc , Semillon, Claret Blanche and Verdelho
All pickings are timed differently
Vanilla oak, greyness from the semillon, minerality and good peach and apricot fruit on the nose
Superb on the palate with integrated fruit, it is exciting and goes on and on, with good acidity and in full balance
A food wine and rather Southern French in character

Hoësteen 2022 Chenin Blanc is complex on the nose with hints of lees/wood. From clay slopes in Malmesbury
Clean, crisp and full with long flavours, a little chalky tannin, another great food wine
2021 was the most extreme vintage with heat waves and they lost 10 to 15% of the crop
All the grapes come from dryland farms
Rondevlei 2022 Chenin Blanc comes from a single vineyard in Malmesbury West, a flat oasis
Made in concrete, with a portion in barrel. Richness of fruit, a whiff of oak. Golden and complex, it draws you in
On the palate, clean fruit, great structure, good acid balance with limes appearing on the end with dark oak

Platbos 2022 Chenin Blanc is from 3.7 hectares, their biggest vineyard
They are grafting and replanting on old neglected vineyards
An ethereal nose, golden fruit with wood supporting, very different, very good
Clean and crisp with underlying richness and fullness in layers
Skaliekop 2022 Chenin Blanc has mature fruit and vanilla oak on the nose
Ripe loquat fruit with more crisp lime on the end palate, with some pastry

Grenache Noir 2022 is made in concrete and older barrels
Wildness on the nose, it wants to break free with mulberry and morello cherry fruit and a whiff of dark oak
It fills the palate with lovely red berry fruit, some soft chalky tannins and a good fruit acid balance,
a long finish with some salty licorice on the end
Epidios 2021 is a blend of Grenache noir 38%, Syrah 36%, Pinotage 10%, Carignan 9%, Cinsault 7%
An interesting nose as vanilla appears first, then the Pinotage & Cinsault showing their Pinot like character,
with cherry and raspberry, then darker fruit and spice from the Syrah
Chalk and fruit circle the palate with pepper, sour cherry, rhubarb and mulberry, with more chalk on the end

An exceptional, educational and exciting tasting of well-made wines
Thank you both Sadies and Karin for arranging it

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

Posted by MENU at 6:08 pm 0 comments

Cape Wine Masters Graduation lunch at Durbanville Hills

An invitation to attend the induction of two new Cape Wine Masters at a lunch
held in the Tangram restaurant at Durbanville Hills
Tangram is a Chinese geometrical puzzle consisting of a square cut into seven pieces
which can be arranged to make various other shapes
Some of the wines now bear this name

A friendly welcome
with a glass of Durbanville Hills special Blanc de Blanc 2015 Cap Classique with some good age character
90% made in tanks and 10% made in old barrels
With lovely, full and exciting fruit, some savouriness,
it's a bone-dry Chardonnay, wood is discernible and it still has a good mousse

Kobus Gerber, Durbanville Hills white winemaker, Andy Roediger CWM, Wilhelm Coetzee, red winemaker

Mary-Lyn Raath CWM, Albert Gerber, MD at Durbanville Hills, Lyn Woodward CWM, Burton Swain, Heineken

First a tasting of Durbanville Hills wines, beginning with their just released 2023 Sauvignon Blanc
Identifiably Durbanville, with floral perfume, some green pyrazines and a little hint of hanepoot
Zesty and full on the palate with lime, guava, granadilla and a little green pepper
The 2016 Tangram Bordeaux style white blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon
was the first vintage of the blend with grapes specially selected from the vineyards
Each varietal was matured separately for two years, after which only the best barrels were identified for the final blend
Golden fruit on the nose with a whiff of smoke; full on the palate with limes, melons, long flavours
Some salinity on the end, and it developed well with food

We were told that they can handle 8000 tons of wine in the cellar; it is the largest wine cellar in the world
Durbanville Hills 2021 Merlot has a concentrated nose, with dark cherry mulberry and plum
No barrels were used; chips were added to the 5000 litre tank
Silky soft on the palate, zingy and crisp fruit with long layered flavours
The 2016 Cape of Good Hope Collector's Reserve Cabernet is a cassis bomb
with berries and leaves on the nose and structure from 100% French oak
Cassis and morello cherry with leather
2012 Tangram Bordeaux Blend is a little balsamic with licorice and good fruit
The salty licorice follows through on the palate with good fruit and good wood holding it together
Showing some good age.

Bennie Howard made the opening speech and also spoke of Cellarmaster Martin Moore
who established Durbanville Hills and who, tragically, died earlier this year
We all miss him very much; he was such a good friend and mentor to us in our early career in wine

Inside the rather full restaurant

Wilhelm Coetzee, red winemaker, introduced us to the wines

Attentive staff

Kobus Gerber, white winemaker, spoke about his side of the business


The lineup of the wines we tasted 

Sharon Keith, Marketing Director, Heineken SA explained why Heineken, a beer and cider company,
bought into the South African wine market (Distell and Durbanville Hills)
We await a copy of her speech to add to this article

Marlee Malan, newly qualified CWM. She wrote her thesis on enzymes in wine. 

Sister and brother Cape Wine Masters, Kathy and Jeff Grier having fun

Heidi Duminy, Principal of the Cape Wine Academy,
told us that 275 candidates are registered to do the Cape Wine Master course

Marlee Malan accepting her certificate. She works for Vinochem
She said there are few things in life better than enjoying wine

Wine for lunch

The second new Cape Wine Master is Rudolph Steenkamp, a winemaker in his own right with Salt Rock wine
His Thesis was Conversion of Conventional framing to Organic.

He has worked for several wine farms in Constantia and Stellenbosch
He quoted Bob Marley, "Don't gain the world and lose your soul"

It is a very prestigious qualification and it takes a great deal of hard work to earn it
and rather a lot of wine tasting from all over the world, which makes it worthwhile

The Cape Wine Masters who attended the event
They also gathered for a weekend in the Hemel and Aarde valley
We have since heard that it was a very good experience

A lovely view across the vineyards, looking at "that damn quarry!" to quote Martin Moore
He hated it, it is an eyesore and eats up valuable wine terroir

Time for lunch. Grilled and very tender Chalmar beef fillet,
roasted corn puree, roasted baby potatoes, caramelized onion and sage relish with chimichurri

Line fish, pineapple yellow curry, fragrant cauliflower rice, tomato salsa and crispy calamari

Jacques Steyn CWM, current chair of the Institute of Cape Wine Masters and GM of Jordan wine estate in Stellenbosch

Melk Tert

Very rich and delicious chocolate tart, which was wonderful with the Durbanville Hills 10 year old Potstill brandy
with honeycomb, sable biscuit and toffee on the nose.  Hot and spicy apricots and peach on the warm palate

 A checkerboard of spring green vineyards, looking not at sprouting vines, but the cover crops

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

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Posted by MENU at 5:05 pm 0 comments
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