Tracy van Maaren trade tasting at Auslese

Tracy van Maaren represents a small range of wine farms and, once a year, we are treated to a very good tasting of their wines. This year, again, it was held at Auslese, the function venue in Gardens owned by Chef Harald Bresselschmidt of Aubergine restaurant. He creates a food pairing for each of the wines on show.

RJ Botha from Kleine Zalze started off our evening with a taste of their Mèthode Cap Classique 2010 bubbly

paired with Poached Kingklip with an oyster and lime vinaigrette

Then their Family Reserve Sauvignon Blanc

paired with some Duck ham with cabbage salad

The two Silverthorn MCC’s were paired well. Here presented by Karen Loubser

The Genie with tibbouleh with a seed tuile biscuit

and The Jewel Box with sweetbreads, white vegetables in a champagne sauce

Gavin Bruwer from Raats was presenting B Vintners, a division of Raats wines and they had a very, very interesting wine, Haarlem to Hope, a blend of Chenin, Semillon and a small amount of Muscat de Alexandrie. Lynne couldn’t detect the Muscat at all, but found that the addition of Semillon add

ed huge depth and elegance to the rich crisp Chenin. She liked it very much

This was paired with crisp deep fried Arancini rice balls

Their Chardonnay was paired with a potato parfait. Lots of white food, lots of starches

A good seafood bisque went with Vriesenhof’s excellent Chardonnay

Richard Kershaw’s complex and layered Chardonnay

went with a bouncy fish terrine with a saffron vinaigrette.

Catherine Marshall had her 2014 Elgin Sauvignon Blanc, so crisp and exciting. A good pairing was the tuna ceviche on a goat cheese coulis

And Harald's match of the veal with pomegranate sauce did highlight the fruit in Cathy’s excellent, sophisticated Pinot Noir. Best red wine of the evening for us

Chef Harald in conversation with Mark Herd of Sunset Beach Wine and Deli

Sean Skibbe of South Hill wines in Elgin, enjoying the evening

A lovely rabbit confit on barley, with dragon fruit, to go with Bruwer Raats Family Old Vines Chenin Blanc 2013

And some Kudu fillet to pair with the 2012 Cabernet Franc

Complex layers of cherries and berries and toasted wood

Which one shall we try?

A juicy plate of lamb kebabs with Maitake mushrooms

to go with the Eagles Nest 2012 Shiraz

A pressed terrine of yellow peppers and tamarillo tomatoes

 The peppers are full of chrome and it rather fought with the Eagles Nest 2014 Viognier

The team from the Pot Luck Club

Chef Rudi Liebenberg of the Mount Nelson

Slices of Springbok Carpaccio to go with the Vriesenhof 2013 Pinot Noir

Nicky Claasens of Vriesenhof was presenting their wines

Cathy Marston of WSET with Mariette Kershaw of Kershaw wines

Alison Adams-Witbooi

After the power outage or, as our government terms it, "Load Shedding". The tasting went on with no one paying any attention. Just in pitch darkness - the photograph illuminated by flash

John Loubser of Silverthorn wines

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

Glen Carlou celebrates Arco Laarman's 20th year as a winemaker

Arco’s winemaking career started as a worker with Danie Steytler in the cellar at Kaapzicht. After a few years there, winemaker David Finlayson appointed him assistant winemaker at Glen Carlou and, when the Finlaysons sold the farm to the Hess Family Estates and David left, Arco took over as Cellarmaster. Over the years, he has experimented with different barrels for the wines they make and has also made wines from grapes sourced elsewhere, often rare varieties. These are now being released as The Curator’s Collection and are available only on the farm. We were invited to lunch to celebrate his winemaking career and to taste these very interesting wines.

The view from Glen Carlou looking towards Paarl on a day when there was a fire in Bains Kloof

The tasting room, all set up for the event

Girls just gotta have fun in the tasting room. Or standing out on the terrace admiring the view

We take our seats for the tasting

This is the line up of the wines we tasted in The Curator’s Collection. From the left: A barrel sample of 2015 Chenin Blanc; the 2013 Chenin Blanc; a barrel sample of the 2015 Viognier; the 2010 Tannat; the 2011 Malbec; and everyone’s favourite, a barrel sample of the 2013 Cabernet Franc which has spent two years in Sylvain barrels. It has 10% Tannat added and will be released shortly. It is a very interesting wine: herbal green with basil and buchu on the nose, opening out to berries and vanilla wood. The palate is soft, juicy and so delicious. It is savoury, almost meaty, full of berries with some herbs at the end. The intense fruit flavours remain

Everyone tweeting?

Arco with Johan Erasmus, GM of Glen Carlou. Johan thinks that Arco is one of the most underrated winemakers in the Cape. Some of us so agree

Johan gives us a run down on Arco’s career at Glen Carlou. Their Sales & Marketing Manager, Georgie Prout, is on the right

Arco explains why he started making the Curator wines. It began by his earmarking the best barrels in each vintage and then being offered different and interesting wines to vinify. Both the Chenins come from the Agter Paarl region from older vines. They both have very good acid/fruit balance and are true to type and very enjoyable

Concentration required - Platter editor Philip van Zyl through a glass, clearly

Johan Erasmus, GM of Glen Carlou

Two vintages of Kaapzicht’s Danie Steytler, Father and son

An aperitif before lunch was the Glen Carlou MCC 2007

We get some sun on the terrace

Arco with Danie and a bottle of the prize-winning Kaapzicht 1996 Pinotage. Arco is one of the few winemakers who has not had a formal college or university education in wine. Danie encouraged Arco and taught him at Kaapzicht in Arco’s first job when he displayed his keenness to study and make wine, and then helped him get the job at Glen Carlou to train under David Finlayson

Johan Erasmus thanking Danie for coming and for his influence on Arco

The lunch menu

The mushroom butter was delicious and very clever

What we drank with the starter. 2013 Curator’s Collection Chenin Blanc

Beginning the meal

The Amuse Bouche. A mini smoked salmon and belnori goats cheese roulade with pickled candy beetroot with a horseradish cream

Use third one Starter was a quail ballotine with butternut puree, chorizo, mushrooms and figs. John got no mushrooms, as requested. Lynne missed out on the figs

Main Course was a rare ostrich fillet en crepinette with poached pear, buttered curried lentils and a thyme demi-glace. The pear was a lovely foil to the rich ostrich and the perfect demi-glace sauce. The lentils did not go with, and were far too curried for, the delicate ostrich. This was served with the Curator’s Collection 2010 Tannat and it showed its strengths as a food wine

The Welder, 2013 Natural Sweet Chenin Blanc, served with Dessert

Canoli (deep fried pasta dough) filled with sweetened lemon mascarpone, passion fruit sorbet and pineapple. The flavours mirrored the wine

Arco Laarman, Chef Johan Stander and Marketing manager Georgie Prout

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015