Sir
David Graaff, 3rd Baronet, passed away at home on the De Grendel family farm on
Saturday, 24 January 2015, after a short illness. His son Sir de Villiers
Graaff, is now the 4th Baronet and he invited the media to this event.
We
know, when we visit De Grendel, that we are going to taste great wines. Charles
Hopkins makes them and his care and attention to detail shows in each bottle. Their
Koetshuis 2015 Sauvignon Blanc is one of our favourites and is crisp and full
of all the lovely gooseberries, elderflower, green pepper and asparagus tastes
we so enjoy in this varietal. We hear that our favourite blend The Winifred
will have a small release this year to De Grendel’s wine club members only, and
the 2012 Op die Berg Pinot Noir we tasted was a quintessential example full of
smoky cherries and vanilla, gently perfumed with well integrated fruit but it
needs time. They have completely changed the old tasting room into a
comfortable lounge with those amazing views out over the sea to Table Mountain.
The restaurant downstairs has also had some changes.
A line up of bubbly
glasses waiting to be filled
And a bottle of the De Grendel MCC Brut 2013 filling them. It's made
by winemaker Elzette Du Preez and is a blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot
Noir. Full of citrus and apple, crisp and beautifully dry and elegant
The new comfortable tasting lounge ...
... has wonderful views of the
mountain. Luvo Nteso and Bianca Coleman catch up
The gang's all here: Shante Hutton,
Graham Howe, Lynne and Mike Bampfield Duggan
Charles Hopkins and Sir De Villiers
Graaff tell us about the wines and the change on the farm
Charles Hopkins knows how to captivate
an audience.
He is so knowledgeable about wine and
its chemistry and terroir and growth
Sir de Villiers Graaff told us of his
herd of Angus cows who have embryo Holstein calves growing in them, so they
will be surrogate mothers. Also about their new on-line shop which is also
tablet and cell phone friendly.
We then moved downstairs to the
restaurant for lunch
Chef Ian Bergh explains what we will
be having
The menu with the pairings
Succulent cured salmon with beetroot,
radish, baby leaves and an interesting liquorice fennel sauce, a nice fresh start
with the Koetshuis Sauvignon Blanc
Sir de Villiers talks about the
restaurant
The main course was a tender beef
fillet, a steamed Chinese bun (bao) with a pea puree, oyster mushrooms and
truffle, baby corn, an aubergine puree and a good red wine jus. Again, a good
match with the 2012 Op die Berg Pinot Noir
Jason Probert, who manages the IT Marketing
for De Grendel, tells us about the new
web site
Dessert was that perfectly made gooey
chocolate fondant, served with a chocolate and nut Greek inspired tuile with
cinnamon ice cream and dots of dulce de leché. Yum was heard repeatedly at our
table. Served with the sticky sweet delight of the De Grendel 2014 NLH Sauvignon Blanc
A parting shot after a very good
event. Thank you De Grendel & Sir de Villiers. Gina Oosthuizen with Lynne and Sir de Villiers
