Tasting in Walker Bay and Hemel en Aarde; lunch at Newton Johnson

The tasting room at Benguela Cove is on the edge of the Botrivier lagoon. Construction of a new very large conference centre and hotel is taking place next to this

Inside, a warm welcome from Leandre Muller, the manager of the tasting room

She took us through all their newly released wines

Some of the new wines with their newly redesigned labels

The current range of wines. We started with Matilda's Secret 2015 Sauvignon Blanc Its in the tropical style, with lots of granadilla, racy acidity and a grapefruit end. R70. Then the magic 2015 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blend. This was made for them by Johann Fourie who is also Chief winemaker at KWV and Diners Club winemaker of the year 2015. Herbal and green pyroxene notes on the elegant nose, the lovely mutton fat mouth feel of a crisp satisfying classic white blend using Semillon. The perfect wine for seafood, crayfish, prawns, scallops and rich sauces. R140. A case came home with us. The Benguela Cove Sauvignon blanc is full of green peppers and herbs, green melon on the palate, clean and crisp with a long finish. The Benguela Cove Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 months on new oak, has vanilla ice cream, dark chocolate, plums and cassis and needs 5 years. The 2014 Merlot is classic with cherries, pears in red wine; soft and fruity, no bitterness or greenness and has great potential. The 2014 Shiraz is spicy and peppery with salty liquorice and cherries, warmth from 14.5% alcohol, a lovely mouth feel and chalky tannins on the end. We finished with the Noble Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, which has mango, litchi and roses on the nose, is light and honeyed with some acidity, but It could do with a bit more for contrast and punch. A good tasting

Then as it was only 11h15, we headed for La Vierge in the Hemel and Aarde Valley to taste their wines which, we had heard, are improving under the guidance of winemaker Gerhard Smith

Lunch menu, not very inspiring, but the views are superb

The tasting lounge

Wines available for tasting. You can taste 6 wines for R30, which is deducted if you buy wine. We shared the tasting, as we often do, not to save money but to save wine and our livers

The restaurant

We began with the Sauvignon Blanc, tropical and warm with some semillon added. High acidity and more of a chenin character. Then the 2015 Jezebelle wooded Chardonnay, apples, caramel, long flavours, nice wine. The Pinot Noir, called Seduction, has plums and perfume on the nose, soft earthy fruit, dark wood. Anthelia Shiraz: smoky bacon, vanilla from US oak and soft deep fruit. Satyricon 2012 is a wild and sexy blend of Italian grapes Sangiovese, Barbera, Nebbiolo. The still chalky tannins indicate that it needs more time

And then the Nymphomane 2014, R115, a classic Bordeaux Blend of Cabernet, Merlot, Cab Franc and Malbec that delighted us. The Cab Franc leads the nose and this wine has everything to offer that it should, but in the future. Definitely one to buy and mature for several years. We risked a case to hide in the back of our cellar

The view from the terrace

And then, suddenly, it was time to race up the hill to Newton Johnson for lunch, cooked by talented chef Eric Bulpitt, where they gave us a table with a view

It is an open kitchen, but not very easy to see from the restaurant

Atmosphere

Guests consulting the chef about the lunch menu

Chef preparing Lynne’s Kabeljou for the sous vide bath

The menu is concise and looks simple, but has something for everyone. We chose the 2 course option and ordered glasses of Newton Johnson wine

First you get the home baked bread. Wicked fritters, whipped lard, very nutty health loaf, glazed rolls and homemade butter filled with some honey - an idea to copy at home. It's a course on its own and comes free of charge

Starter of soft smoked salmon trout, done in the kitchen, with superb deep fried spiced cauliflower - it tasted as if it had been barbequed, really delicious. Cauliflower also came raw and as a puree and there was homemade grainy mustard for an added kick, also given by the mini nasturtium leaves and the green olive oil. Lynne drank a glass of the Newton Johnson Chardonnay with this

Friends at another table had the Soup and Sandwich which one of their children enjoyed

John’s starter was the Chalmar beef tartare, nice cubes of chopped tender beef, with all the required flavours mixed in, topped with potato crisps, and served with pureed and pickled turnip. Sadly, the picture has disappeared

Lynne's main course of Sous Vide butter poached Kabeljou (AKA Kob), a meaty white fish that can grow very large. They warn you that, when it is cooked, it will be slightly translucent and much softer than usual. It was amazing, one of the best fish dishes she has ever eaten and she was not deterred by the soft flesh. It was topped by a thick lemon Hollandaise sauce, perfect foil for the rich fish. and came with rather woody, slightly bitter radishes, and cauliflower greens. She still had her glass of Newton Johnson Southend Chardonnay. You do get a good large pouring

John's main course was tender Pork fillet in a lentil casserole, wonderful deep flavours, reminiscent of cassoulet, served with pommes puree and a Mint salsa verde. He had this with a glass of the Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Pinot Noir

We finished lunch with double espresso and the view of the autumnal vineyards below

The bill

Chef Eric and his wife Celeste coming for a quick chat after lunch

There is always wildlife and good fynbos to see on the hill above the winery. This is a bloukop koggelmander, or blue headed agama lizard

And a baby basking on a hot rock

A lovely day, great wines were tasted and great food was eaten. You do need to book if you want to eat at The Restaurant at Newton Johnson

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

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A day of tasting in Bot River: Beaumont, Luddite & Manny's Portuguese prawns

As we were in Botrivier, we thought we would visit some of our wine friends in the area. We had just received an email from Beaumont, telling us about their new releases, and we had been meaning to visit Penny and Niels Verburg on Luddite for ages. Appointments were made during the week and off we set on Saturday morning. Lunch was to be at Manny's 'on the plein' in Botrivier - a Portuguese restaurant with great sea food, we were told.

We hadn’t visited the Hermanus market at Hermanuspietersfontein for a few years, so we drove through after breakfast. It has shrunk a lot, but there is still humour about. A vernacular Afrikaans sign which translated says "Smile Madam, our tents are full of happiness "

People arriving for the market. It now has mostly food to eat there, with a small selection of products to take home, like cheese and honey

Seating in the wine cellar and plates ready for food

The morning was chilly, so perhaps people stayed at home Those there seemed to be enjoying the day

Kids playing on the slide and in the sandpit

Perhaps you are getting a bit big for this? We left and headed for Beaumont in Botrivier

where we met our friends, Peter and Michele, who joined us for the wine tasting, ably led by Beaumont's Lynne, who was on duty in the tasting room

Really enjoying the newly bottled 2015 Unwooded Chenin Blanc, full of apple and pineapple flavours, R90 from the farm. Then the Hope Marguerite 2014, R240, their flagship wooded Chenin, made from old vines. It needs time to open up in the glass or in your cellar but, when it does, it’s full of golden fruit layers, smoky oak and very elegant. The 2015 we were allowed to taste, smells of warm linen, it's fresh with lime and apple notes, as good as it ever could be. The wood is holding it, but not over commanding. It has been a great harvest; the wines are going to be sensational, we hear

These were the wines we tasted. The Ariane 2014 (R180) is a Cabernet led Bordeaux blend. It is perfumed with mulberries and cassis and soft wood, silky on the palate with some salty liquorice on the end. We also tasted the 2012 Mourvedre, which has wildness on the nose, savoury and dark with lots of wood. The 2013 Mourvedre is exciting. It has more smoke and vanilla and notes of marzipan, it is full of soft, juicy fruit that gets the juices flowing and is a definite food wine for red meats. Lynne could not resist buying a case and a bottle each of the Ariane, Hope Marguerite and Shiraz Mourvedre. The Vitruvian 2012 is newly released. It's a blend of 42% Mourvedre, 34% Shiraz, 12% of both Pinotage and Cabernet Franc. Roses, cassis and cigar box; soft and chalky tannins with good fruit, but tight. Will be perfect in 6 to 8 years time. We also tasted the Goutte D'or NLH chenin, which is sweet with honey notes

Then we were off round the corner and up the hill to Luddite. We have known the Verburgs for many years, and their wines, but this was the first time we had been to the farm. This is the entrance to the tasting room and the winery

Lovely views looking across Beaumont and Wildekrans to the Babylonstoren

The cellar is below the tasting room

Penny was there to take us through their wines. Niels was playing cricket

A wine barrel floor pattern. The dogs stay outside

More great views from the picture windows

Great packaging. They recently won the award for the best label for the Saboteur red blend

Logs for winter fires and decor

Good paintings too

Their mission statement on every bottle. We found that the 2014 Chenin had slight notes of wet dog and smoky wood and, once it has opened up, has lovely layers of zesty fruit. Needs decanting. It’s from 60 year old bush vines, whole bunch fermented in old barrels and treated like a red wine. No added yeast and sulphur only at the end. Matured in 5th fill barrels. R250

Saboteur was Penny's idea, not associated with Luddite. It's a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet and Mourvedre. They used to put the cabernet into Niels' Cape Winemakers Guild blend and feed the Mourvedre to the guinea fowl, but now, after 10 years, the vines have come into their own, so they blend the two and use new oak and yeast. The first sold out immediately. It's their Julius Malema wine with a red beret, in your face and a 5 star Platter wine. Not closed with a cork, but in a cider bottle topped with a crown cap. Distributed by David Clark. It shows the expensive wood, bruléed sweet and sour fruit, almost cola like with lots of depth and different flavours appearing, like spice, pepper and liquorice. It has a lovely light mouth feel and changes as it opens up. R230

The award

We also tasted their 2011 Shiraz. They are changing from cork to Diam, as they have had too many problems with bad corks. It is a full-on wine, with fruit, alcohol and wood to the fore. Incense and violets on the nose, sweet, savoury and balsamic mulberries and dark plums on the palate, with pepper, bruléed wood at the end, a lovely wine, to mature for 5 to 7 years

Their price list, but some are sold out

Then it was time for lunch in the Plein in Botrivier. The hotel is across the way from Manny’s

The autumn weather was pleasant enough for us to sit out on the terrace

Manny, the owner and chef, is quite a character

The menu is on a blackboard and we were concerned to see that most things were sold out. Manny said not to worry, he could find us some prawns and calamari

The bar and the inside of the restaurant

We did have a bit of a misunderstanding, as Manny thought we were waiting for Penny to join us, so lunch took a very long time to arrive. We comforted ourselves with some of the Luddite wines Penny had opened for the tasting and then given to us. Prawns Calamari and Rice platter

Note the peri peri sauce on the table.

Or you could have Prawns, Calamari and VERY crispy chips. This is how they should be done. Bravo Manny. The price came to R625 with service for four plates. They do not have a licence and don’t charge corkage

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus

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