Monday, September 04, 2023

Cape Winemakers Guild 2023 VIP Tasting at the Westin

The 2023 Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild auction will take place over two days,
Friday 6th of October and Saturday 7th October, at the Lord Charles Hotel, Somerset West and on line
hosted by auctioneers Strauss & Co
Click here for details: https://www.capewinemakersguild.com/auction/ 

Before the evening Public tasting of this year's auction wines, a VIP tasting of the wines,
presented by the winemakers, was held in the ballroom at the Westin Hotel, next to the CTICC
The wines in this year auction are really spectacular; we were so impressed
There will be one more VIP tasting just before the Auction
and the wines will be available for tasting early on the days of the auction
We have written about a random selection here

A full auditorium, with guests on the left and the winemakers and sponsor's guests on the right

Gordon Newton Johnson, President of the Guild, made the opening address
The Guild currently has 40 members and membership is only by invitation from the members
This is the 39th year of the Guild auction
Last year's was the most successful action, bringing in just shy of R14,000,000
and they are so glad to see that white wines are growing in value and beginning to compete with the red wines
The online Protégé Auction was also a success; it will be held this year from the 25th September to the 9th of October
The CWG Protégé programme has nurtured some of our up and coming talent in the wine industry.

Nedbank has sponsored the CWG for several years. Anton Paterson, Provincial Sales Manager at Nedbank,
spoke about their past and future collaboration with the Guild

There were 29 wines in the guided tasting and 10 more were available in the atrium for tasting informally later

John Loubser began the tasting by telling us about his ancient Bokkeveld soils which, Professor Bell explained,
are 400 million years old and predate the Table Mountain sandstone
They are the oldest soils on the planet
His Silverthorn Big Dog IX 2018 Cap Classique, 69% Chardonnay, 31% Pinot Noir, is from his 20th vintage
It has a golden sparkle, character from lees, citrus and a hint of oak
Crisp and fiery on the exciting palate, clean and dry with lime on the end

Pieter Ferreira had his Graham Beck Blanc de Blanc Cuvée 108 Chardonnay 2014
It was just disgorged in time for the auction tasting
It was given extended time on the lees and 50% of the base wine was matured in French oak
Golden in colour and with golden fruit on the nose with lees, wood and maturity
A good mousse with flavours of apple, caramel, lime and brioche

The two Cap Classiques

Richard Kershaw had his Ziggurat Chardonnay
The grapes came from Babilonstoren mountainside vineyards on the Hemel and Aarde ridge
Full on nose from Richard as always, lovely integrated fruit and smoke
Peach, nectarine, a zing of lime and grapefruit on the lasting palate. A food wine

Gordon Newton Johnson's Family Vineyards 2021 Sandford Chardonnay
is an impressive naturally fermented big wine
Shy initially and then honeycomb appears with yellow cling peach
It's a wow on the palate with beautiful peach, yellow plum, lime, salty minerality and gun flint

It was Gary Jordan's 62nd birthday and he was given a rousingly sung Happy Birthday from the room
The 2022 Jordan CWG Chardonnay has smoke, golden stone fruit, lemon lime and vanilla oak and lasting flavours
Built to last. He will also have the 2021 Jordan Sophia Bordeaux blend in the auction

Sebastian Beaumont had the Beaumont Family Wines Arturo's 2021 Pinotage from their oldest block
Rich red fruit, full of everything you could want from Pinotage on the nose
Grippy chalky tannins, sharp plums and cherries and licorice wood on the end
It has years to go. He will also have the Hope Single Vineyard 2022 Chenin Blanc in the auction

Donovan Rall had his 2021 Noa Syrah with spice, pepper, yards of red velvet fruit on the nose and palate
Some black tea, chalky tannins, wood and spice remain

Carel Nel, Boplaas, announced his retirement from the Guild after 35 years. He, and we, were very emotional
He spoke about two wines: Boplaas CWG 2021 Daniel's Legacy named for his father
It's a blend of Touriga National, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Tinta Barocca
Perfumed with lovely berry fruit. Big flavours of balanced fruit and acids,
it's a Mediterranean influenced food wine, with good length and it shows its terroir
He will also have Boplaas Cape Tawny Colheita 2007 in the auction 

Alex Starey made his Auction debut with one of the best wines of the tasting,
Keermont Vineyards 2021 Where the Mountains Meet, a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Franc & Cabernet Sauvignon
from their three vineyards high up where the Stellenberg meets the Helderberg
It has such richness and depth and a very attractive nose
Ripe cherry, red plum, great minerality, chalky tannins and wood just supporting

Erika Obermeyer is also making her auction debut, with a celebration wine, 2021 Silver Linings,
a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault and a dash of Cabernet Sauvignon
Richness, fullness, layers of berry fruit and perfume and smoky wood
Savoury on the initial palate with minerality, then soft full fruit with chalky tannins to hold it together for years
The future looks bright for the Guild

Rianie Strydom has just joined Cavalli estate as cellarmaster
She had her Strydom Family Wine, 2018 The Game Changer from Cabernet Franc and Merlot
Full, with layers of powerful berry fruit. Savoury, then a lovely mouth full of ripe berry fruit. Hard to spit it out!
Chalk, fruit, length, dark wood on the end. Yes! 

Bartho Eksteen gave us some excitement and controversy
He insisted that his Vloekskoot wooded Sauvignon Blanc 2022, should be tasted in the middle of the red wines
And we thought it a very good idea, it so refreshed our palates. A rather French thing to do but it works
A classic "cat's pee on a gooseberry bush" Sauvignon
with a hint of oak and elderflower and lime, refreshing, clean and very crisp

David Trafford  will open the auction this year with his Glenrosa 2021 Syrah, so be there on time
Spicy with, turmeric, allspice, black pepper, rose and green leaf, soft deep berry fruit, chalky tannins,
it's creamy, long and delicious

Miles Mossop showed his 2020 Maximilian: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot
A cassis bomb which has layers of fruit on the nose with some rose perfume
Another wine hard to spit, so delicious with great fruit and elegance on the layered palate
Well made and special

Following the tasting, we returned to the atrium where canapés were served
Fresh, plump oysters

Freshly made sushi is always popular

Kevin Grant entered his Ataraxia Under the Gavel 2022 Chardonnay

Andrea Mullineaux entered her Swartland "The Gris" 2022 Old Vine Semillon
and the Leeu Passant Franschhoek Hillside 2021 Cabernet Franc

Bruwer Raats will sell his Raats Family Wines 2019 Stella Nova Cabernet Franc
and his The Fountain Specific 2022 Chenin Blanc

Carel Nel's Boplaas 2007 Cape Tawny Colheita
A classic, rich Tawny Port

Soft shell BBQ Tacos with spiced veg, avocado, tahini yoghurt dressing

Bubs Hyland with Duncan Savage, who will sell his Duncan Savage Wines 2021 Auction Syrah

Father and son Christo and Etienne LeRiche

Hoteliers Angelo Casu and Michael Pownall

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Thursday, August 31, 2023

NT Wines and Ree Marketing trade tasting at the Pepper Club

Nicoleen Traut (NT Wines) and Riana Smit (Ree Marketing)
are independent wine distributors who, between them, represent eleven farms
They are friends who work as two independents and sometimes collaborate with one another
They put on a tasting of their farms' wines at the Pepper Club 

A good venue with ample room to taste

Great to see Hempies du Toit; it has been a long time - he spends much of his time on his Karoo farm
We tasted two of his Annandale wines from Stellenbosch
First, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon, which has dark fruit richness and great wood on the nose
It is a classic Cabernet, with lovely soft tannins, great fruit, with length, depth and wood on the end. Built to last
The Annandale Shiraz has incense wood, pepper and red berry fruit with some spice and sweetness

Rudi Schultz was showcasing his impressive Schultz Family wines
North Beach is his 2021 Sauvignon Blanc from Sutherland, Karoo grapes
Elegance with green notes of pepper, fig leaves; a classic
Rounded on the palate, green and full of lovely ripe fruit with salty minerality
Skeleton Bay 2022 Chenin Blanc from an old (1961) vineyard in Paarl, whole bunch pressed
and the juice was allowed to settle overnight
Barrel fermentation completed in old Burgundy barrels has produced a rich Chenin that cries out for food
His Pepper Street Shiraz is produced in as Rhône a style as he can make it
Razzle Dazzle on the nose and palate with chocolate, dark cherry, plum, good chalky tannins and licorice on the end
Boneyards 2019, a blend of 64% Malbec and 36% Petit Verdot has roses, violets, vanilla oak and dark berry fruit
Lighter than expected on the palate, with long fruit flavours

Annalie van Dyk – Winemaker at Hidden Valley, Stellenbosch
The Hidden Valley 2019 Cap Classique Brut, 50/50 Chardonnay Pinot Noir,
spent three and a half years on the lees and it shows well on the nose
Initially Lime/lemon then the pinot fruit appears. It has some salty minerality
The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc has a good green nose and palate which we like,
and some granadilla adding long fruit flavours; a good food wine

Lizelle Gerber, showing the Org de Rac organic wines from the Swartland, had an excellent Cap Classique, La Verne
90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir; biscuity on the nose, it has a lovely crunch of crisp fruit and good mousse

Wines from the Hasher Family Estate in Hemel and Aarde (it was previously called Sumaridge)
The 2022 Fat Lady Sauvignon Blanc is from grapes planted in 1997; the 2022 vintage is the swansong for this wine
Lots of ripe tropical and gooseberry fruit
Marimist is a reference to the cool Atlantic sea mist
which is  blown into the valley every evening and departs early in the morning
70% of this 2022 Chardonnay was fermented in 228L French oak barrels, of which 20% was new wood
so wood is present along with lime, citrus and peach

Bernard le Roux, Zorgvliet winemaker

The Zorgvliet 2022 Sauvignon Blanc has good fruit on the nose and English gooseberries with salty minerality on the palate
Simoné, their white Bordeaux blend of Semillon (58%) and Sauvignon Blanc
has grey Semillon on the nose with citrus and marmalade on the palate,
Semillon creaminess, long flavours melding together, a good food wine

We were impressed with Zorgvliet's 2023 100% Cabernet Franc rosé
Perfumed with jasmine, rose and strawberry. These remain on the crisp palate; it's as charming as it can be

Alvi's Drift wines from Rawsonville, presented by Junel van der Merwe CWM
The 2022 Chenin Blanc has a classic nose, good fruit on the palate, not too tropical with crisp lime notes; quaffable

Klaas Coetzee presented his Kusafiri certified organic wines. The name means 'journey' in Swahili
His Sauvignon Blanc is crisp, fruity and interesting. He not only bottles his wine, but also sells it in cans
His Wellington 2022 Viognier is matured in barrel, so wood is present
It has the correct peach-filled nose and follows through on the palate

We used to sell a lot of Riebeek Cellars' Pieter Kruithof carbonated bubbly at Main Ingredient, our shop
Made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; it is still a popular wine
The Barrel-fermented Chenin Blanc from Paarl has some sweet, ripe golden fruit on the nose and palate with hints of oak
The RAAR 2023 Grenache is interesting. Quite grey on the nose; sweet jubejube fruit, with potential

Luan Aucamp - Sales Manager at Ridgeback Wine.
The 2022 Ridgeback Viognier has a whiff of wood with peaches and nectarines on the nose,
which follow through on the palate with ripe fruit

Annelien Loubser showing the Stettyn wines to Tony Garcia of Liquor City
We really liked their entry level Sauvignon Blanc with its green fig leaves and asparagus on the nose,
refreshing green crispness on the layered and vibrant palate with salty minerality
Their Chenin Blanc was classic, another lovely mouthful of fruit with good crispness and balance

Walking out through the Pepper Hotel reception

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Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Sunday Brunch at The Granary Cafe, The Silo Hotel

The Silo building was a grain silo in the Cape Town docks
It has been adapted and hugely altered by heatherwick studio into premises for two tenants:
The Silo Hotel and the Zeitz Mocaa Art Gallery
After a fortuitous meeting at a wine tasting, we received an invitation to sample their Brunch
which takes place from 11.30am to 3pm every Sunday in the hotel's Granary restaurant

The Hotel and restaurant reception area is filled with art, but still has some of the features of the original grain silo
The sparkly picture of the woman must have nearly blinded the artist
It is made up of tiny sequins, each one applied individually

Heavily detailed restaurant entrance with Ardmore fabric-covered sofas and a display of African tribal art

The bar and serving area under heavy steel beams which support the mezzanine floor above
and the signature floor to ceiling faceted glass windows give views of the city and harbour from many angles

A welcoming glass of Graham Beck Brut Cap Classique

The menu of the day. The cost is R350 per person

Such helpful and friendly staff, which shows that excellent training can result in happy staff

A view of the wintry Table Mountain, wreathed in cloud, from our corner table, with the Synchrolift below us
It is used for refurbishing smaller vessels

Enigma XK is a converted former British Coastguard vessel
She is now an ultra-luxury expedition yacht and is for sale with an asking price of US$18 000 000,
should you be in the market for a useful toy....

Soup arrived in a charming vintage china cup and saucer
It was a rich and savoury butternut, so deliciously savoury that Lynne thought that she tasted duck stock
but we were informed that it's purely good vegetable stock

Next comes the Brunch Etagere to share
It means " a piece of furniture with open shelves for displaying small ornaments, which is very appropriate 
Top shelf had a crisp and buttery croissant dough onion roll which is very moreish, and some melba toast
Below: good Parma ham and some rolled ham, with some dressed leaf salad
Bottom shelf: two delicious smoked salmon rolls with capers and lemon, perfect with the onion roll,
and some local hard cheeses

To go with our Brunch, we ordered two different rosés by the glass:
La Residence Rosemary Jane Rosé, served very cold
Rather like an Orange wine with notes of sherry lees on the nose and flavours of orange and oak
It is made for the hotels in the Royal Portfolio
which includes La Residence in Franschhoek and The Silo
Clifton Atlantic Rosé is produced from Mourvèdre for The Clifton Collection
by Bottega Family Wine’s winemaker, Reino Thiart
It was shy to begin with but had good fruit; a food wine

We could then chose one of the courses listed on the menu
The Tempura Prawns served on sushi rice,
with pickled cucumber, and lots of avocado and spicy siracha mayonnaise, was really enjoyable
It's rather like eating a very large plate of fried sushi
Three large prawns with perfectly crisp Tempura batter
The soy sauce was poured below the rice, and the accompanying salad added refreshment
Perhaps some dressing for the salad?

The rather small hamburger is served on an English muffin, topped with a fried egg (John ordered sunny side up),
half an avocado, lots of bacon and cubes of feta cheese

We were ably serenaded all during the meal by John Neil who is a versatile Cape Town recording artist

We had been invited for the previous Sunday, Lynne's Birthday
but, because of the Taxi strike, were moved to a week later, which we didn't mind at all
They had not forgotten the birthday and a lovely plate arrived with a slice of rich chocolate cake
which reminded Lynne of her favourite Opera cake
Served with a swirl of orange gel and piped white chocolate mousse 

There were two choices of dessert, so we had one each
A true to expectations moist Sticky Toffee pudding with cinnamon ice cream
set  on a streusel crumb with leaves of caramel toffee

A light as air milk chocolate mousse, tasting of really good chocolate like Valrhona; pale but full bodied
 Topped with chocolate shavings and tiny squares of moist, dark, almost gelled chocolate
and piped white chocolate, a dessert full of flavour and texture
A very satisfying meal and a lovely way to spend a Sunday


We must thank all the staff who were so good to us. Johandri Ras the Assistant General Manager of the hotel,
Anika de Jongh, Food and Beverage manager, Andre the Assistant Food and Beverage Manager
and, especially, kind, gentle and helpful Peter, our Malawian waiter
We had been invited by Johandri Ras and he came to see that we had enjoyed the lunch
He asked if we would like to go with him to see some of the suites in the hotel and he took us up to see two
First, the Red Suite which has its own lounge with dining/meeting table and kitchen area

It is on a corner of the building and has magnificent city views

Can you imagine waking up to this? The windows are all one way glass, so no one can see inside

A comfortable bed with views of the harbour and the mountain

Oh my, what a way to enjoy a bath. Love the red Chinese cabinet holding the lotions and potions

Then into another room, beautifully decorated and with huge crystal chandeliers
This is their entry level room should you wish to book:  https://www.theroyalportfolio.com/the-silo-hotel

With its own balcony

and its own bathroom, which also has a chandelier

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

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