Would you like to completely pamper someone you love?
Then take them for a break to Laborie in beautiful Paarl for a night or two. The
room rate for one of their en suite rooms is a very reasonable R485 pp with a
huge breakfast served in the Manor House. You can be welcomed by a bottle of
their superb Blanc de Blanc bubbly on the terrace outside your suite. You can
eat lunch at Harvest Restaurant on their terrace or dinner inside with soft
candlelight. You can do a wine and chocolate pairing in the tasting room, or a
charcuterie and cheese lunch on the lawn under the trees. And you can come home
with boxes of wine at very reasonable prices. How do we know? We were invited
there and were thoroughly spoilt for two days last week doing all the above. We
SO recommend this.
We were
collected from our home by Laborie’s very friendly and experienced driver
Geoffrey Samuels. Yes, our street is very steep
The Laborie
Manor House is dated 1800
Warmly greeted
by Zelda Oelofse-Cornthwaite, Hospitality & Events Manager at Laborie
There was a
beautifully chilled bottle of Laborie Blanc de Blanc, always one of our
favourites, to get us in the mood
Our suite for
the night with our own porch, so we started with a glass of Blanc de Blanc while
enjoying the view
Huge bed and nice
lounge area. You can see the en suite bathroom leading off this room
There is WiFi
and a flat screen TV, but we didn’t manage to find time to watch it
A well
supplied drinks cabinet and the fridge was also filled with good wines and
other beverages
The view from
our terrace on the morning we arrived
Guests may
wander into the Manor house to look around
The long table
inside the voorkamer in the Manor House
The bedroom in
the Manor House
The
magnificent Gilgamesh panel by Cecil Skotnes, whose works are on walls throughout
the manor house and Harvest Restaurant
One of the original windows of the
manor house
The view of
Paarl valley from the manor house terrace
There are lots of squirrels
on the werf, eating the acorns and pecan nuts
A rowdy
Egyptian goose was soon chased away
Our next stop
was the tasting room
where we met
the friendly staff,
inspected the brandy still
and went to
sit out on their balcony for the chocolate and wine tasting and the magnificent
view of Paarl Rock – The Pearl
Rosé MCC, Chardonnay and Laborie's good
Pineau with three paired chocolates
Cabernet,
Shiraz and our favourite Cape Brandy, the Laborie Alambic, with another three
chocolate pairings. We shared the tasting and enjoyed it very much indeed. Best
matches for us were the brandy and the Pineau
Noelle Pheiffer, our tasting
room hostess, explains how the tasting works
Franciska Pienaar, Public Relations Officer, runs the
tasting room and is extremely helpful
Off to what we intended to have as a light
lunch at Harvest restaurant, which is run by Executive Chef Matthew Gordon
An impressive
line-up of different sizes of Laborie wine bottles, all full
Inside the
dining room, it was not very busy because it was a beautiful day
and everyone
wanted to sit outside, ourselves included
Lynne studies
the menu
There are
always daily specials on the blackboard
Zelda joined
us for a drink
Lynne was
extremely happy with her Chorizo and Squid salad
John opted for
a Cape Malay lamb curry with rice. It was delicious and had lots of coconut, so
it tasted similar to a Rendang, but the portion was much more generous than he'd anticipated, and he couldn't finish it
Afternoon
light at the back of the manor house
John went for
a stroll in the vineyards behind the Werf,
climbed
the steep hill behind and took this view of the farm from up the hill
Owls live in
these historic oaks
After a nap,
we finished the MCC Blanc de Blanc and then it was time to go back to Harvest
for dinner
Autumn was
nipping the air, so most of us chose to eat indoors
The restaurant
did fill up as it is a popular venue in Paarl for dinner
Our lovely
waitress, Zethu Qalekiso, is full of life, laughter and personality
Chef Shirene Patrick came out to welcome us
Our starter
was chosen by the chef. It was a tuna carpaccio, coated in sesame seeds, served
with a salad
We both chose the irresistible Springbok shanks for
our main course. These were from an incredibly large springbok and one shank would have fed both of
us. They were delicious
We couldn't face
dessert, but could manage an espresso with the chocolate and brandy option. It
was just right as an ending to a good meal
More spoiling
as Nicole Arries, the Assistant Restaurant manager, presents us with a gift of two Laborie
wines.
The manor
house by moonlight. It was floodlit, but there was a huge harvest moon rising
over the mountains
The morning
view of the vineyards and tasting centre
Lynne on the
way to breakfast in the manor house
The long table
laid for breakfast with other guests partaking
The breakfast menu
Perfect
breakfast for John
Perfect
breakfast for Lynne
The wet winter
has produced lots and lots of perfect acorns
The Paarl Rock behind the farm
The air is filled with swifts catching flying bugs and the lawns with wagtails looking for the crawlers
A Jonkershuis next to the swimming pool
The swimming
pool for guests
Autumn puts its colour on the vine leaves
Relaxing with
the crossword and a glass of chilled Laborie Chenin Blanc
This
magnificent cheese and charcuterie platter, ordered from Harvest, can be had in
the tasting room or on the lawn in front. We had it with a bottle of the Lazy
Days Rosé which was so good that we bought a case to take home - and a bottle of the
Alambic brandy.
And then, when we were feeling extremely relaxed, Harvest's Assistant manager Martell Smit drove us home to Sea
Point. Thank you all involved, it was a wonderful break for busy journos.
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014
Our suite for
the night with our own porch, so we started with a glass of Blanc de Blanc while
enjoying the view
Perfect
breakfast for Lynne
And then, when we were feeling extremely relaxed, Harvest's Assistant manager Martell Smit drove us home to Sea
Point. Thank you all involved, it was a wonderful break for busy journos.
