A
Celebration of Glenelly’s flagship wine
What
an invitation, one we were very keen to accept, as this opportunity does not
come often on wine farms. Not many farms, in making their top wines, celebrate the
vintage and let the wine express it, rather than trying to fit into an annual
'recipe'. On Glenelly in Ida's Valley in Stellenbosch, winemaker Luke
O'Cuinneagain told us they often have vintage variations and he has to let the
wines speak for themselves. And they certainly do, in a very good way, while
still being recognisable as themselves
Our programme for the day was: 10.30am sharp:
Meeting at the winery: Welcome by Nicolas Bureau (Madame’s grandson) and Posy
Hazell. 10.40am Grape tasting in
the vineyard with viticulturist Heinrich Louw. 11.20am: Lady May tasting with
Luke O’Cuinneagain in the barrel cellar 12.20pm:
Tasting and unveiling of the Lady May 2012 with May de Lencquesaing in the
Glass Museum 1.00pm: Lunch in The Vine Bistro hosted by Nicolas Bureau, Luke
O'Cuinneagain, Susan Dehosse and Posy Hazell. 2.30pm: end
The entrance. Glenelly was founded in 2003 by Mme May-Éliane
de Lencquesaing, who was the owner of Second Growth Château Pichon Longueville
Comtesse de Lalande in Bordeaux until she sold it to the Roederer Champagne
house. She started afresh, planting vines where there had been orchards of fruit
trees. It is a valley with good soils and microclimates, with vineyards facing
many different directions. They have 60 hectares. The aim always has been to
plant Bordeaux grapes and produce fine wines
In the wine tasting area where we gathered and met
Madame May's grandson Nicolas Bureau
The views from the modern 6000 square meter
environmentally friendly winery - completed in 2008 - are superb
We head out to see the vineyards, taste some of
the Merlot grapes and watch the staff picking the Cabernet in the distance. It
was HOT
Madame May's grandson Nicolas Bureau, who is their
export director
Viticulturist Heinrich Louw gave us the lowdown on
the vineyards, the terroir, the soil and the climate. He is passionate about
his vineyards, mostly on Hutton and Clovelly decomposed granite soils, topped
with a layer of surface clay in some areas. He subscribes to "giving them great
attention, minimal intervention and using sustainable techniques"
Really healthy grapes in huge trusses. There was
bad hail in the valley during the week, with hailstones the size of ice cubes
but, because of the protective canopy and the direction of the rows, there was
minimal damage to the grapes
The Merlot was being picked on the East facing
slope
Down the rows of neat Cabernet Sauvignon vines.
These will probably only be picked in about three weeks time. The grapes tasted
of the classic cassis but need more time to gain depth of flavour
Very fecund vines
A shady glade in the middle
Heinrich picked a bunch for us to see how small
Cabernet grapes are. These are very healthy
Winemaker Luke O'Cuinneagain joined us. He started
at Glenelly in 2007 and did the first Glenelly harvest in 2008
Grapes coming in for crushing
The barrel cellar. Oh, the smell of a cellar with
good wine fermenting in it is wonderful. They do not use air conditioning, the
building is built in such a way that there is a solar thermal mode, so heat has
little impact and they get constant stable temperatures, without spikes and
troughs, which is what good wine needs to mature
A tasting of the several vintages of their
flagship wine, Lady May, had been set up in the cellar for us. It is a classic
Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with just a splash of Merlot and Petit
Verdot
We began with the first vintage 2008. Luke told us
it was cold and wet winter and spring and they had to harvest in the rain, just
as they have to in Bordeaux. This was 90% Cabernet and 10% Petit Verdot. They
often put this wine in a Master of Wine tasting and no one picks up that it is
from South Africa. It begins quite austere, but then softens and begins to open
up and, suddenly, it is not shy anymore, with the fruit saying “hello” loudly.
Dark claret in colour with browning rim, this has cassis, cherries and incense
wood with pencil shavings on the amazing nose which keeps opening and evolving
in the glass. Silky and full of Cabernet fruit, with chalky, grippy fruit
tannins and some leafy greenness which adds freshness, tobacco hints and some
violets on the end. A powerful wine. Luke uses medium to medium plus toast 300
litre new oak barrels for 24 months minimum. The 2009 has liquorice and black
berry fruit and its very attractive nose has some violets from the Petit
Verdot. This was picked in a warm summer and has rich ripe berries, with
explosive fruit. Dry chalky tannins, more liquorice and marmite, with long,
strong flavours, some graphite, and a slight bitterness (from the wood ?) on
the end. Tim Atkin has awarded the 2013 an astounding 95 points.
We then tasted the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon. It has
a slightly lactic nose, is dark garnet and opaque.. Cassis and morello
cherries, pencil shavings, incense wood and some herbal notes. Spent 12 months
in new French oak. Lovely fruit on the palate, intense, attractive and sweet
with some soft chalky tannins and no bitterness
We also had a taste of the Petit Verdot. So full
of Parma violets on the nose with red and black cherries. So attractive. On the
palate, still mouth puckering tannins, chalk and cassis and rhubarb on the end.
Some black pepper spice and pencil shaving wood
Luke
guiding us through the tasting. And then the Cab Franc. Incense wood, green
leaves, berries are shyly in the background and hints of Chanel perfume. As you
swirl the wine opens, showing mushrooms and forest floor with some oaty notes
from the wood. Tight berries, jujube flavours, like Rowntree’s blackcurrant
gums, clean on the palate. Some green notes appear with pencil shavings as the
wine opens up. We liked all three and wanted to try to make a blend of them to
see what the result might be. But it was time to head to the restaurant for
lunch
Lots of questions to answer about the wines and
the making of them
The tanks for the two Chardonnays. one goes into
oak
The cellar has lovely views over Ida’s Valley
Our table in the restaurant
You can also eat out on the shaded terrace
The menu for the day. The chef is Christophe Dehosse,
a Frenchman from Provence who also has a Bistro restaurant at Joostenberg. His
food is always exciting and a good blend of French with South African
ingredients
The Glenelly Estate 2016 Chardonnay was just what
we needed with the first course. A golden nose of perfumed peaches, a hint of
the sea, crisp and full in a classic French style, ending with refreshing lime
and lemon notes
Oh what an astoundingly good dish this was. Billed
simply as Tomato consommé with yellowtail and langoustine, it was delicate but
complex and was made with sieved tomato water, small cubes of tomato concasse
and cucumber; a cool broth of summer, dressed with green olive oil and fennel,
coriander and chive herbs, topped with crisped basil leaves. And in the bottom ceviché
of yellowtail and langoustine tails that gave the broth a hint of the sea. There
was good sourdough bread on the table as an accompaniment
The Lady May 2012, which is just being launched,
was served with the next course. Its incense wood notes with layers of deep
cassis, cherry and berry fruit, fresh and slightly warmly alcoholic. It was a
poem with the roast lamb ...
... which was the main course. Perfectly cooked fillet
of lamb, tender and pink, roast root vegetables, and puffs of light-as-air
Parisienne gnocchi, well roasted onions, beetroot, heritage carrots with a
thyme jus extraordinaire. And what Lynne thought was a magnificent faggot (chef
likes using offal) but Christoph explained was a lamb mince kofta. So nice to
see properly roasted onion: onion just seared on one face is what most chefs
are serving at the moment and they are mostly inedible
For one guest who does not eat meat, a Seafood
Bouillabaisse, which is on the normal menu. Might have to go back and try that,
soon
Then the 2010 Lady May, which has soft sweet
fruit, is powerful with lovely chalky tannins; this wine is soft and delicious.
Drinking at its peak
This was perfect for the final course of local
cheeses with fresh figs, nuts and grapes from the vineyards
Chef Patron Christophe Dehosse just making a quick
appearance out of his hot kitchen so we could thank him
The beautiful Simonsberg mountains as we left for
home after some good double espressos and their trademark Canelle from Bordeaux,
which we can never get enough of... Thank you all at Glenelly for a truly
marvellous day with great wine and food
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
