Thursday, July 19, 2018

Raath Promotions Trade Show at La Mouette

On to our second Trade tasting of the day, to taste the wines that Raath Promotions represents. The tasting was held at one of our favourite local restaurants, La Mouette, which is in Sea Point, next to Checkers. It was a very busy and lively tasting, with the diverse wines on offer attracting many trade people. We cannot, at a tasting as large as this expect or even try to taste everything

Allée Bleue marketing manager Carol Maggs with winemaker Van Zyl du Toit
The Van Loveren girls had quite a large selection of the farm's wines for tasting
Teddy and Doreen Hall discussing their wines with Lydia Nobrega of the Chapman's Peak Hotel. We tasted Teddy's Pinotage Brut Rosé and the perfumed Doreen Sauvignon Blanc. His Dr Jan Cats 2013 Reserve Chenin Blanc was superb, Teddy is at his best when dealing with Chenin and it so reminded us of those past Chenins he made which got huge acclaim. He is right on form
and enjoyed showing them to a group of sommeliers who were very appreciative
Nadia Beaumont pouring Beaumont Dangerfield Syrah for Jordan Restaurant's Lazz Masango. The Beaumont wines were showing very well. The 2018 Chenin Blanc was full of fruit and class, the Hope Marguerite was as expected, exceptional and covetable. It sells out very quickly, so get your orders in now. The cool climate Dangerfield 2014 Syrah has full fruit in layers, with some spice and long long finish, really good
Beer Merchant Martin Tucker with winemaker Sebastian Beaumont. The two wines that knocked us over were the 2013 Mourvedre, savoury with green herbal notes, full on the palate with intense fruit and a nice kick of salt on the end making this a good food wine. But the wine of the evening for us was the Beaumont New Baby; it so impressed us. After we tasted it, we discovered that it was the wine that everyone was talking about at the tasting. It is an unusual blend of old vine Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay and Colombar, all grown on the farm. It is heady with the aromas of the five components and full, with complex flavours taking something from each of the varietals – some ripe conference pear, white peaches and good lemon acidity. The flavours are excitingly mutable and lasting on the palate. It is going to be exceptional with food - seafood, fish, rich mushroom dishes. What an amazing wine, different and delicious
Two of the Beaumont wines, Dangerfield Syrah and New Baby white blend
 We so enjoyed chatting to Tony and Angela da Costa of Liquor City, Claremont about their trip to Portugal
Leigh Lisk and Lucy Beard, distillers of Hope on Hopkins Gin, learning about sparkling wine production with John Loubser, producer of Silverthorn. There are several spirit companies represented by Raath Promotions. Musgrave Gins, Copeland Rum, Scottish Cousin Whisky and even the Franschhoek Beer Company
Winemaker John Laubser and his wife Karen of Silverthorn wines in Bonnievale were both on their stand and we had a great tasting. The Jewel Box 2014 Brut MCC is quite simply, a superb sparkling wine, with brioche on the nose, crisp limes and lemons, length and structure. It was good to be able to taste some of the older vintages of The Green Man MCC; the 2012 is yeasty, bready and lively, SO good. The 2011 is at the top of our list - so crisp and full of life and great flavours, with lees at both the beginning and the end and lots of apples and peach notes
The  Bouchard Finlayson wine range from the upper Hemel en Aarde valley. The table was so popular it was hard to get to taste many; we have to visit the farm soon to do another in depth tasting. They have a very good winemaker, Chris Albrecht. He worked for 9 years under the renowned Peter Finlayson and has now taken the lead. The Kaaimansgat 2015 Chardonnay is absolutely superb, with wood adding structure but not interfering with the fruit and the elegance. The Missionvale 2015 Chardonnay has less wood and is beautifully layered
"You don't say!" Melusi Magodhi of Ellerman House and Lizette Kühn of Bouchard Finlayson
Space for tweeting, tasting and comparing notes in the upstairs lounge, and deciding what they are going to buy for their wine lists
and in the tasting area where many of the spirits producers could be found Lynne tasted the Barker and Quin tonics made without any added sweeteners or extracts and was delighted to see that they have a "Light at Heart" tonic with less sugar. She finds most of the other commercial tonics too sweet. They were pouring Gins and tonic using their John Ross Gin
Darren Hoffmann mixing cocktails with Copeland Rum
Musgrave's Pink Gin had a tonic dispenser
So good to see old friends. Hotel fundis Nils and Sabine Hecksher and Michael Pownall with Philip Engelen

Dane Raath and industry friends
Kathy Raath with Teddy & Doreen Hall and friends
Canapes were served; this was tuna tartare with a dot of chilli
Glazed squares of pork belly topped with sesame
La Mouette's famous Cheese and truffle croquettes and, on the right, some ham croquettes
Joseph Dafana, La Colombe Sommelier and Jeanri-Tine van Zyl, with swapped name tags
Claire Robertson of Devine Intervention with Darren Hoffmann of Copeland Rum
On the Raats stand, we tasted the rather woody 2017 Old Vines Chenin Blanc; age will soften that. The Dolomite 2016 Cabernet Franc is powerful and savoury. The Raats Jasper 2016 Red blend is complex with layers of fruit, warmth and wood, very drinkable indeed. The Raats Family Cabernet Franc delighted with its intensity, incense wood, perfume and soft juicy fruit. Sappig in Afrikaans! 
Melusi Magodhi with Thinus Neethling and Bernard Dewey of Chamonix. We were about to taste when time ran out and everyone had to pack up and go home. But we know the wines are excellent
Posted by MENU at 7:01 pm 0 comments

Tasting the wines of Neil Ellis at The Stack

Two more trade tastings this week, and both on the same day. The first was Neil Ellis Wines, which was held at The Stack in Gardens and was very well attended. There were lots of wines to sample including some older vintages, for which we are very grateful, as tasting older vintages is very important in judging how a farm's wines mature..

We began at the white table and enjoyed the Neil Ellis 2018 Groenekloof Sauvignon Blanc, a very popular wine, found on many wine lists. We were also fascinated by the 2017 Op Sy Moer (Transl. On Its Lees) a quirky blend of 37% Palomino, 33% Grenache Blanc and 30% Chenin Blanc. It’s a naturally made wine, so it’s a bit cloudy and spritzy, with lots of apple flavours, rather resembling a cider and very enjoyable. The 2017 Whitehall Chardonnay is rather heavy with wood, so needs lots of time and the absolutely delightful Noble Late Harvest Semillon 2016 blew us away. This will win awards. Well done, winemaker Warren Ellis
Charl Ellis was behind one of the tables with the second tier red wines
Warren Ellis, the winemaker, was pouring and talking about the wines on the first red wine table. The Piekenierskloof 2014 Grenache had people talking. Savoury and herbal with juicy fruit, black pepper, mulberries and dark toasted wood. The 2012 Rodanos is still a wine for your cellar; it has rich red berries and chalky tannins, good acid structure and dark toasted wood, while the 2012 Insignium is ready NOW with soft, seductive berry fruit in layers, much appreciated. The 2012 Webb Ellis has violets on the nose from the Petit Verdot addition, spices and cassis are richly layered. The one we liked the most is the cracking Groenekloof 2015 Cinsault. Pale edges and light red, with a typical Cinsault slightly tinny nose, it is juicy, soft and ready right now. Full of rhubarb and mulberry fruit this food wine is so approachable.
On the other table were the Regional wines, these more commercial and less expensive wines of Neil Ellis, many of which you will find on wine lists. The 2017 Aenigma has a pretty nose, elegance, incense wood, soft sweet fruit and is easy drinking. The 2016 Syrah is fairly classic with lots of pepper on the nose. The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend is pretty, floral, spicy with cassis and mulberries and is soft and sweet, with wood on the end. The 2015 Cabernet is shy on the nose and has some interesting fruit flavours
Nice to have the time to sit and savour the wines for your wine list!
Neil Ellis is represented by Vinimark nationally. This is Andrew Baker and Gemma Botha
Blonde bombshells all: PRO Posy Hazell, Wine Merchant Caroline Rillema and Sarah Revell who represents Vinimark
And finally, Neil Ellis himself on the vintage table. The 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from Elgin was amazing. Yes, you can definitely keep and enjoy older white wines, if they are correctly stored*. Full of asparagus and green pepper on the nose, balanced by good crisp acidity and fruit in wonderful layers of flavour, this wine keeps on giving. The 2005 Jonkershoek Syrah has Incense wood, notes of spice, pepper and soft sweet berry fruit, with dark toasted wood on the end. This would be so enjoyable with good meat dishes. The 2004 Syrah is complex, fruity, spicy and the pretty nose draws you in to the velvety wine with a follow through of softened oak. The 2010 Grenache has savoury herb notes with some bruléed caramel on the nose. Alcohol is still playing a part and the lovely palate has sour plums and mulberries that go so well with food.
*In a cool, dark environment with minimal temperature fluctuation
The two older Sauvignons Blanc
The Neil Ellis family at the tasting. L to R Charl, Margot, Neil and Warren Ellis. A great wine family. Thank you, it was a very informative and enjoyable tasting. Great to see what you are doing
Posted by MENU at 3:38 pm 0 comments

On the MENU this Week Smoked Gammon with Spiced Garlic Potatoes.


Lynne found this recipe in her old tried and true recipe box and she hasn’t made it for years. It originates from Jocelyn Dimbleby, who travelled extensively. No clue as to where it comes from, but the rather Moorish or Middle Eastern flavours of this dish speak to North Africa – where they don’t use much pork or bacon! It is surprisingly spicy, we think from the fresh black pepper. It is almost a potjie and certainly doesn’t require much preparation. Marvellous flavours, so we know you will love it. Serve with fresh green vegetables like beans and broccoli or a large mixed salad, perhaps with shaved fennel and orange. We had this with a Paul Cluver 2015 Ferricrete Gewürztraminer which went perfectly with the spice. Beer would also go well
1 kilo of potatoes – 3 T olive oil – 4 large cloves of garlic, chopped – 3 t cumin seeds - 350 g tomatoes, chopped - 4 large Kassler chops or a small joint of gammon about 1.5 kilos without fat or skin – 2 t mace - 1 large onion, roughly chopped - 2 bay leaves – 1 T wine vinegar – freshly ground black pepper
Peel the potatoes, and then cut into 1 cm slices. Put a good drizzle of olive oil in the base of a casserole with a lid and layer in the potatoes. Mix together two thirds of the garlic, 2 t of the cumin seeds, the mace, the chopped onion, the tomato, bay leaves, oil, wine vinegar and several good grindings of black pepper. Put this on top of the potatoes. Mix the remaining garlic with 2 t of cumin seeds and plenty of black pepper and rub this onto the pork, then place it on top of the potato mixture. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and bake for 40 minutes if using chops or until the potatoes are cooked; 1¾ to 2 hours if using a gammon joint. Serve the meat and potato mix together with the juices from the pan (with slices of the gammon if using).
Remember: 1 T is a tablespoon 1 t is a teaspoon

Posted by MENU at 3:06 pm 0 comments

The TOPS at SPAR Cape Town wine show

Tops at Spar Wine Show took place at Grand West Casino last weekend and we were invited by Jon Meinking to visit the show and taste 16 wines blind in his SA Wine Showcase Theatre. What a fun experience; we tasted so many good wines and some were really unusual. Good news for those of you in other cities, this show is travelling round the country and will be in Port Elizabeth 26th to 28th July and in Nelspruit from 29th November to 1st December. It has already been to Durban and Johannesburg
The theme in Cape Town was Winter Wonderland and it was snowing inside as we arrived (OK fake snow machines, but fun)
Two wine princesses to welcome you
Jon did three tastings on Friday. The show opened at 5 pm and we arrived just in time for his 5.15 tasting, Friday night traffic nearly made us late
Jon about to launch proceedings. You taste 16 different wines (they are all represented at the show), and try to guess the varietals and anything else you can manage, like the farm, the area and even the age! Not many of us got beyond the varietal and we were not particularly good at that!
Asking for comments from the audience. The wines were quite challenging to one’s perceptions and there were a couple in there that we mistook for wines that we know and love. Overall it was a great tasting and much enjoyed by the people attending, who contributed a lot at our session. Nice to see Jon's parents in the front row
After the session was over, we had time to explore the show for a while and kept bumping into people whom we know in the industry, like Jax Lahoud of winemag.co.za
Loved this bit of cork art!
There are three theatres of wine; this one was not open while we were there
And at the Tops at Spar shop you could buy any of the wines
We tasted some wine and chatted at the Viljoensdrift stand - they are in Robertson
and stopped for a chat at the NSRI stand, one of the charities we support, an essential one if you live by the sea
Tasted and chatted at the Overhex wines stand from Worcester. They are beginning to wine good awards and recognition for their wines. Their Survivor Sauvignon blanc won a Gold Medal in this year’s Old Mutual Trophy competition
Then to Laborie to taste one of our favourite Blanc de Blanc MCC bubblies from KWV
Saying hello on the Stofberg Family Wines Stand to Mariette and her husband. They are from the Breedekloof area. We particularly like their Mia Chenin blanc
Who or what is Die Mas from Kakamas? Well it’s a wine farm that makes wine, gin and brandy in the Northern Cape Kalahari. The Brandy called Die Kalahari Truffle would not pass the Trade Descriptions Act in the UK, as it does not contain any truffle. We were sad about that, it could have been interesting
And finally, our friends on the Perdeberg stand, led by Johan van Dyk, Perdeberg's marketing manager. Yet again we were blown away by the quality of their Chenin Blancs. Lynne bought a case of the Dry Land Reserve Chenin and John a case of the Perdeberg everyday drinking Chenin Blanc
Posted by MENU at 12:32 pm 0 comments
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