Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Blaauwklippen Blending Competition Winners' lunch

We have had a very busy two weeks with several large and important events. We attended the Blaauwklippen Blending Competition lunch on Thursday, before the Cape Winemakers Guild Auction, great fun for all and we enjoyed it.. Welcomed by their friendly waiting staff and a glass of the Blaauwklippen Brut Rosé

Some Brandade; flavoured, deep fried, crumbed mashed potato balls

and bobotie and chutney on a crisp slice of baguette was innovative, if a little difficult to eat

Zandvliet winemaker Jacques Cilliers, Van Loveren head winemaker Chris Crafford
and Blaauwklippen Vineyard Manager Jaco van der Westhuizen chatting on the terrace

Narina Cloete, Blaauwklippen's winemaker, chatting to some of the contending teams

Clive Torr, one of the judges, chatting to Dane Raath who, with his mother Cathy, represents the brand

A long table set out for lunch

and, to intrigue us, the winning blend in a magnum awaits opening
at the announcement of this year’s winning team

Four wine club teams this year and we sat with them
Franz and Marina von Moltke of the DeVine wine club in Saldanha Bay up the West Coast

Riana and Willie Marx from Polokwane in Limpopo; their wine club is called Yin and Yang

Sam Rolland with his wife and new son, representing their Gauteng wine club, Carignan My Wayward Friend
(A co-incidence, John worked with his father Peter at Young Advertising)

Sonja Matthee representing the Kultivaria wine club from Port Elizabeth with her guest Hennie Smit

A toast to the winners

Experienced Toast Master, Broadcaster and actor Guy McDonald was our MC for the day
and it was time to announce the winner

Narina told us how close the results were. This year, the brief was to make a Bordeaux style blend
The wines provided for blending were Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec
Malbec has always been one of the most impressive grapes grown on Blaauwklippen
The instruction for the blend was to use a maximum of 60% of any of the varietals and a minimum of 5% of any of them

Cabernet, Malbec and Merlot was the order of the wines used in the blend for all of the four finalist clubs!
All four clubs had used the same varietals in the same order, just different amounts
And the competition was very close; the judges spent some time on the very first tasting and then had to retaste
Narina then asked the clubs to comment on how they had blended the wines

The Blend comparisons

Carignan entered the competition as a sharing experience
This is their third year in the competition and they were finalists last year
DeVine have taken part in the competition for between 15 and 20 years
and Franz Moltke did the blending at his 65th birthday on their stoep at Gansbaai
Kultivaria have been taking part in the competition since its inception
and Dr William Marx of Polokwane was given the wine blending kit for his birthday!

It was time for lunch and we were served a glass of the Blaauwklippen 2022 Blush Rosé
Lovely pale rose pink, perfumed nose with rose petals and strawberry, which follows through on the dry palate;
a good pairing wine with seafood and summer dishes

There was a selection of flatbreads and salads for starters
This was the Pork belly with red onion, peppadew and stewed apples

The menu

Moroccan chicken humus, pickled red onion, coriander, basil, garlic and mozzarella

Roasted root vegetable salad with whipped feta and ciabatta lace

The main course of Herb crusted Sirloin served with potato terrine, cauliflower purée and a red wine jus

We then had a chance to taste the still unidentified winning blend with the main course
It is very attractive on the nose, good cherry and cassis fruit, a hint of perfume, almond and vanilla wood
Smooth as silk on the palate with layers of dark amaretto cherry and red and black berry fruit
Some light chalky tannins and dark oak on the end. So easy to drink, no faults
Definitely the best winner in the competition that we have tasted over several years,
so enjoyable and it went very well with lunch

The dessert, a Poached pear frangipane tartlet with cold costar, fudge crumble and cranberries
reminded us of our childhood and was delicious

The Trophy!

Two of the judges, Marius Lategan and Zandvliet winemaker Jacques Cilliers
The other judges under Narina were Clive Torr and Elmarie Rabe of Stellenbosch Wine Tourism

Drum roll... and Narina announced the blends in order and then the winner

and the winners are: Franz and Marina von Moltke of the DeVine wine club with their 40/40/20% blend
Here receiving the trophy and decanter prize from Narina Cloete
The trophy and decanter are donated each year by Vitria Glass

Enjoying the win outside in the sunshine in front of the Blaauwklippen manor house

and then we bumped into the world's most famous rugby "water boy"
Johan "Rassie" Erasmus, SARU Director of Rugby celebrating the last day of his year of being banned
by the International Rugby Board from association with any team on a match day
because of his justified criticism of the poor standard of refereeing

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A re-introduction to Stellenzicht wine estate

Stellenzicht wine estate, in the heart of Stellenbosch's Golden Triangle, has gone through a kind of renaissance since it was bought by Baron Hans von Staff-Reitzenstein from Distell in 2017. The Baron is also part owner of Alto and Ernie Els Wines. L'Ré Burger is the winemaker; she has worked under MD Louis Strydom, winemaker at Ernie Els, for several years before taking over here. They have gone through a huge programme of replacing and digging up some of the seriously virus-ridden vineyards and only plan to replace some of them now. L'Re said they are also very keen on biodiversity on the farm and have planted quite a lot of fynbos in designated areas between the vineyards. We were there to be introduced to those new wines and to meet the team. We met at the newly expanded Wine Pod

They told us that it has become a popular venue for people who come to meet friends,
to enjoy the wines and the pizzas they make

Joshua Raats, their Brand Manager, chatting to Nicola Toet, Dax Bailey of Vinimark and Louis from The Newspaper 

A long table had been laid under the umbrellas for the small party

The wine-tasting counter is inside the wine pod and the small kitchen is behind it

Jeanette de Fleuriot, Vinimark marketing manager, told us about their role in marketing the wines to the trade

The wines we were to taste

L'Ré Burger told us of their efforts help create an eco-system that protects the dragonfly population
as well as the rich fauna and flora on the farm
The dragonfly has become their symbol and is incorporated in the logo on the wine labels and elsewhere
This philosophy of sustainability drives their daily activities, as they strive to pursue balance
They do spray but only with 'permitted' chemicals

They have spent a great deal of time determining soil types in order to plant the right varieties on the ideal sites,
adjusting their sustainable farming and winemaking practices
in order to best express the soils and terroir through the grapes and wines

Martin Mtuata making our lunch in the pizza oven

Joshua Raats bringing us chilled bottles, it was a lovely warm day

Other visitors were also enjoying the wines and the venue

The welcoming wine was the Thunderstone 2020 Chardonnay
It tasted quite mature, with lots of cooked apple, quince, orange and orange zest with a hint of wood
Thunderstone is the name the early settlers gave to the stone axes and other stone age implements
that are found in abundance in the Stellenbosch vineyards
They thought that they were formed by thunder and lightning. It sells for R105 on the farm

The Thunderstone 2020 Rosé is a blend of 81% Shiraz. 14% Cinsault, 5% Grenache from coastal areas
Pretty (pale salmon pink), perfumed with apple blossom, red berries and raspberry sherbet
Fresh, juicy, crisp on the palate with strawberry and pomegranate, long flavours sherbet on the end
It is whole bunch pressed in stainless steel then put into very old (10-15 year) oak barrels for storage.
R105. A good wine with the pizza we had for lunch

The 2020 Acheulean Chardonnay was initially shy on the nose,
crisp and slightly tropical on the palate, with layers of flavour
Made in Amphorae as well as in 500L barrels. After fermentation is complete,
the amphorae and barrels are topped up and the wine left on the lees for up to 12 months. R450

2018 was L'Ré's first harvest on the farm

The 2018 Thunderstone Red is a blend of 40% Cinsault, 30% Syrah and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon
W.O. Coastal grapes. Quite leathery, woody, with spice, a little heady and full, with cassis berries on the nose at the end
The Cabernet predominates on the palate, with tight, grippy chalky tannins, dark berry fruit and licorice
with some rhubarb and pomegranate acidity on the end palate. R165

The 2019 Silcrete Cinsault comes from 31 year old bush vines in the Voor Paardeberg
Cinsault has been planted on Stellenzicht, but they won’t pick until it is of the same quality
30-50% of the grapes are whole bunch wild yeast fermented then transferred into 500 litre French oak for 18 months
It goes through malo in the tank, not in the barrels. It has wildness, red berry fruit and green herbal notes on the nose;
Sauvage, wildness with crisp pomegranate and rhubarb fruit, and some licorice salinity on the oaked end
Priced at R300, it was a good foil to the pizzas

The 2018 Arenite Syrah also has 50% whole bunch fermentation
It has a pretty nose, good fruit and smoke with a hint of Merlot cherry berry fruit and green cassis leaves on the nose
On the palate, tight, crisp fruit acidity, warmth of alcohol, and cinnamon, pepper and coriander seed spice
Then cassis and black olive umami on the end. R225

The 2018 Tristone Cabernet Sauvignon is whole berry fermented
Richness, complexity, a classic cabernet nose with cassis and some black cherry, lead pencils and wood
A Cassis bomb on the palate with very chalky tannins, lots of fruit in layers,
some salinity and green cassis leaves and dark oak on the end. 30% in new French oak for 16 months. R225

The final red was the flagship 2018 Acheulean Red, a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Shiraz and 15% Cinsault
Whole berry fermented in 40% French Oak. An aromatic nose, a dark cassis berry base with good dark oak
Dark berries, good flavour and much enjoyment, with spice and soft tannins,
a long cassis end with salinity and oak. R850

Time for lunch and we could try all the wines with the food. Pizza time!
Chorizo, onion and Feta on a Neapolitan base

Mixed peppers, onion, olives and artichokes

Chicken and avocado on a cheesy Neapolitan base

Classic Neapolitan with basil

All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

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