Christian Eedes' Prescient Chardonnay Awards 2015

Financial organisation Prescient Limited is the new sponsor of these Chardonnay Awards run by Winemag.co.za. They promise to be around for many years to come. 60 top Chardonnays are invited to enter. This is not a top 10 competition, but a certificate is given to every Chardonnay (29 of them) entered that scored 90 points & over (out of 100). We were able to taste all the wines that scored over 92 at the awards ceremony at Momo gallery in Buitengracht this week. There are some fire crackers. Public tastings are to be held in Johannesburg on 4th November at 18h00 at the Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel and in Cape Town on 11th November at 18h00 at the Radisson Blu Hotel. Waterfront Tickets cost R225 and are available from Winemag.co.za.

To quote Christian Eedes: "While other bigger tastings can have a useful talent spotting function, the intention here is very much to do good by what might be called the seeded players, the finite line-up in particular intended to avoid the perils of palate fatigue. The judging panel was chaired by myself and further consisted of two trusted colleagues, namely Roland Peens and James Pietersen, both of Wine Cellar, a Cape Town firm which brokers and cellars fine wine. We tasted blind, scoring done according to the 100-point system."

Lynne chatting to Mike Ratcliffe of Warwick

Bubbly for the evening was the Graham Beck Blanc de Blanc MCC

Some controversial art in the cavernous and rather echoey gallery

Entertainment by a local band

Lots of discussion while waiting for the award announcements

Christian Eedes with Lara Shargey and Christian Coetzee of Uva Mira and a friend

Jacqueline Lahoud of Winemag.co.za gets things underway

Taking notes on the winning formula

Craig Mockford, CEO of the Prescient unit trust management company talks about their enthusiasm for the competition and their love for wine

Two wine writers having fun: Anel Grobler and Cathy Marston

Christian begins the announcements

Wines scoring 90 points: Ataraxia 2013; Bartinney 2014; Buitenverwachting 2014; DeMorgenzon Reserve 2014; Mulderbosch 2014; Rustenberg Five Soldiers 2013

Wines scoring 91 points: Chamonix 2014; Iona Elgin 2014; Môreson Mercator Premium 2014; Radford Dale 2013; Vriesenhof 2014; Warwick White Lady 2014

Wiines scoring 92 points: Julien Schaal Evidence 2014; Hamilton Russell Vineyards 2014; Hartenberg 2013; Newton Johnson Southend 2014; Oak Valley Elgin 2014; Tokara Reserve Collection Stellenbosch 2014; Vergelegen Reserve 2014

Two wines scored 93 points: StellenRust Barrel Fermented 2014 (Tertius Boshoff) ...

... and Uva Mira The Mira 2014 (Christiaan Coetzee)

And a remarkable 8 wines scored 94 points:
Eikendal 2014 (Nico Grobler)

Groot Constantia 2014 (made by Boela Gerber)

KWV The Mentors 2013 (Kosie van der Merwe)

Paul Cluver Estate 2014 (Andries Burger)

and
Paul Cluver Seven Flags 2014

Richard Kershaw Elgin Clonal Selection 2014

Sumaridge 2013 (Gavin Patterson)

Uva Mira The Single Tree 2014 (Christiaan Coetzee)

Many of these wines are Platter 4.5 or 5 star Chardonnays

Canapés circulated after the awards while we tasted the winning wines: Brie with figs, olives with blue cheese

Vegetable wraps

Smoked salmon & cream cheese on cucumber

Very special tempura jumbo prawns with chilli jam

Spanakopita and chicken kebabs

Chefs doing the Food were Executive Chef Robert Heeger and Sous Chef Werner Reichert of Steenberg Golf & Residential Estate

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

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Durbanville Season of Sauvignon

This annual festival heralds the new releases of the Sauvignons Blanc from the Durbanville Valley. We went on Saturday and we started at the furthest farm, Phizante Kraal, where we were given a tasting of four bubblies from the area, two made from Sauvignon Blanc, in the media lounge. They had also laid on brunch, but we were rather tardy after our long Karoo trip and there was not much left when we got there, entirely our fault but we had eaten breakfast.

Each farm had organised its own tasting, its own entrance price, its own deposit on glasses and its own entertainment. So those farms who could afford to go to town had a lot of visitors, more than the others. At previous festivals people circulated from farm to farm much more than we saw this time. We managed to get to 8 farms but didn't manage to taste at all of them. And a 9th was just too popular and we were not allowed to go in. We had a good lunch at Hillcrest

Four bubblies to start the day off well: Nitida The Matriarch MCC, Diemersdal Sauvignon Blanc; Daria Pop Song Sauvignon Blanc & Bloemendal MCC from Chardonnay & Pinot Noir

Brunch is almost over

Some egg, cheese and bacon quiches topped with pesto

Cheese and apple on French toast

PR manager for the valley, Angela Fourie

Off to Diemersdal next, but the car park was full to bursting. They were charging R100 entrance per head, so people were spending the day there. We had media passes, but had you moved around a bit, the day could have become quite expensive with all the individual charges. We skipped on to Signal Gun, where Marli Geldenhuys very kindly gave us a tasting glass to take with us, as well as a gift of some wine and their craft beer. We were not given any glasses for the day and were expected to put deposits on glasses at several of the farms, on one of which the staff were quite rude about it. Paying and then retrieving the deposit at each farm would have taken up a lot of time and we didn't have much cash on us - we live a fairly cashless life; debit cards are king. We had two glasses in our car already, there for emergencies such as this, but managed to break one of them trying to hold glasses and camera while closing the heavy lid!

We spotted this butterfly romping in the lavender there

People having fun at Signal Gun

One good thing was you could taste all the Durbanville Sauvignons at each farm, if you knew where to look! But you could only buy the one from the farm you were on. Here, they were on a barrel next to the tasting area and you could help yourself

The most stunning banks of vygies (mesembryanthemums) in clashing colours

More on the way out. On the left were the farm's emus in their enclosure

Next, to friendly Meerendal, where David Sibande and Denise Croy looked after us. We were offered lunch, but we had already been booked into Hillcrest. We will return soon

There was a Saturday morning market on the green and lots of things for children to do. And they were not too busy

The roses are spectacular at the moment

Marketing Manager, Bennie Howard CWM, was giving a guided tasting of Sauvignons in the cellar, including one each from Chile and New Zealand, and we were rushed in to join it and received a warm welcome

Luckily it had just begun. We tasted some great Sauvignon Blancs and especially liked the older 2009

SA, drink your Sauvignon Blancs with some age, they really do get better and less acidic. Bennie generously gave us a bottle of the wonderful 2009 Meerendal to take home

Bennie with winemaker Liza Goodwin and broadcaster Guy McDonald of Magic 828 AM

The 2015 Durbanville 12 - made with grapes from 12 Durbanville wine farms

The Meerendal Hotel in the historic manor house. The farm was founded in 1702

Off to lunch at Hillcrest, where the organisers had booked us for lunch. Loriane Grobbelaar found us and she ably organised wine and lunch

Not exactly a selfie, but he asked nicely

Graeme Read, winemaker and now brewer, with a sample of his brew. They also gave us some olive tapenade and some olive oil to take home

We bumped into friends at the Restaurant and John had a great Burger and Lynne a steak salad. We enjoyed a bottle of the 2015 Hillcrest Sauvignon Blanc, always a favourite

Then off to Altydgedacht, which was thinning out. The restaurant had been busy, we were told

Owner and Cellar master Oliver Parker tasting some of the other valley wines.

Ollo with his son David

We did a quick tasting with the girls and then it was time to be off to the next farm. It was almost time for the Rugby to start

Baby calves and their mothers and some who looked just about to calve

A quick call to Durbanville Hills next; it wouldn't be the Sauvignon festival without a visit here

They were open till 5 but had just closed the tasting room at 4 because there were too many enthusiastic tasters so, sadly, we didn't get to taste the new wines. However, they did give us a bottle of the new Sauvignon Blanc in a cooler bag to take home. We will just have to return soon and see our friend, Cellarmaster Martin Moore, who was overseas

Brand Home Manager Kate Jackson with friends of Durbanville Hills

The view toward Klein Roosboom from the terrace at Durbanville Hills

Everyone was sitting in the marquee watching the Rugby World Cup semi-final against the All Blacks when we got to Klein Roosboom. John was recording it on PVR so we didn't want to watch too much until we could see it at home

Nice to hear the anthems though

We said a quick hello to Karin de Villiers winemaker/owner and tasted the delicious new Sauvignon Blanc. She kindly gave us the open bottle and another to take home

Our final stop was De Grendel, who were staying open till 7. We thought a glass of their Sauvignon Blanc on the terrace in the sunshine with the fantastic view would be a lovely end to the day

Sadly, the view was covered in sea mist, as the day was quite hot and the sea still Antarctic cold! They were not busy

We stayed for a little while, then went home to watch the disappointing Rugby

Stephanie Phelps and Shannon Stirrup, the girls in the Tasting room were super and very welcoming. They were hoping Sunday would be busier

Thank you to all the farms we visited and thank you for the wines and generous presents we received from some of them and the lunch and the tastings

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

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This week's recipe: Veal Limone with fried Fennel

Both of us have picked up a lot of weight over the last few months on the media circuit, so we are back to Banting and eating lots of fresh food for a while to see if we can avoid canapés and eat healthy. Lynne spotted some mini steaks in Checkers that were so pale she surmised they might just be baby beef. She batted them out with a mallet and made this for supper last night. It is very quick and tastes heavenly. We hope you will try it. You need thin slices of beef or veal steak or you could use pork leg. Instead of using just salt and pepper as a seasoning Lynne uses the Woolworths Steak & Chops spice mixture in the large grinder. This contains fennel seeds with other herbs and spices and garlic and really adds more flavour to the dish.

Veal Limone with fried Fennel

1 or 2 large bulbs of fennel, thinly sliced - 2 T olive oil - 2 T butter - salt and freshly ground pepper - 8 thin slices of veal, beef or pork steak - 1/4 cup of flour - Steak & Chop seasoning - zest and juice of one lemon - 1/2 cup of dry white wine - 1 cup of good chicken stock - 1/2 T butter

Put the meat, one piece at a time, into a plastic bag and bash with a meat mallet on both sides until it is thin and twice its original size. Set aside. Mix the flour with the seasoning. Heat a frying pan till it is sizzle hot, add the oil and the butter and when foaming add the sliced fennel. Season it. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, till it is golden brown and softening. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm. If necessary add more oil and butter to the pan.

Dip the meat into the seasoned flour on both sides and fry a couple of pieces at a time for just a minute on each side till they are golden on the outside. Put in a dish under foil while you finish the sauce. Add the wine to the hot pan and let it reduce, then add stock and the lemon zest and juice. Let it reduce till it begins to thicken, taste and adjust the seasoning. Monté the sauce (this enriches it and makes it glossy) by adding the half a tablespoon of butter in small pieces. Put the meat back into the sauce and serve immediately on a bed of the fried fennel. Feeds 4. You can halve the recipe for 2

We had this with a large salad with lettuce, rocket, tomatoes, avocado, sliced courgettes and olives and drank a good unwooded Chardonnay (from Ashton) which went perfectly with the lemon and butter flavours of the sauce.

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015

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