Wednesday, September 06, 2023

40th Blaauwklippen Blending Awards

 
New leaves on the oaks which surround the Blaauwklippen manor house


Into the new restaurant where we would meet the five teams who were finalists this year


Two long tables with magnums of the winning wine which would be opened and served with lunch
It is always a competition to see if any of the teams recognize their own blend
The winners are announced after lunch

The judges this year
L to R: Bussel Retief, one of the four cousins from Van Loveren, winemaker and wine teacher Clive Torr,
Blaauwklippen Wine maker Nerina Cloete, Marius Lategan and broadcaster Guy McDonald
Guy would be acting as Master of Ceremonies at the lunch

Nerina and her sister Nanette de Hart, Blaauwklippen
Brand Home & Destination Manager,
who handles the organisation of the competition

A glass of Blaauwklippen 1682 Cap Classique, the only Blaauwklippen wine still made from Zinfandel

Finding a seat, admiring the art and most importantly talking to the five finalist teams
It usually is four, but two teams had the same blend

The new 2023 Chardonnay. Nerina said there was a gap in the range for a premium wooded white wine,
the first they have produced since 1993
It is a different clone from the earlier Chardonnay which really didn't suit their terroir

Seats taken, things are about to commence

Butterscotch wood, ripe peach and apricot and hazelnuts on the nose
Full on the palate, with ripe loquats, peach, caramel and Seville orange

Guy McDonald gets things started

Nerina told us that this year, rather than make a ripe and ready blend,
she wanted to make the competition a bit challenging
and she specified that competing teams needed to blend a red wine to age for 40 years
 Contestants were sent four bottles of wine to blend, but of three cultivars
A 2022 Merlot which was whole berry fermented
Petite Verdot which was the last grape picked, whole berry fermented and in barrel for 16 months
Shiraz from the same block, but picked separately and fermented in French oak casks
One bottle of 100% whole berry ferment and 1 bottle of 50% whole bunch, 3 weeks ferment
- there was a big enough difference to make a blend
All entries had to make a 75ml blend

Our starter of Mozzarella filled crisp arancini balls served on a rich mushroom sauce
They went very well with the new Chardonnay

John's starter was some hot, deep fried  Saganki Haloumi cheese batons, with lemon and pink peppercorns

Time to meet the contestants
The Doktors van der Merwe, friends Analisa and Melissa have the youngest wine club, just two months old
They are from Stellenbosch. Both academics, one of them is the only female PhD in Agriscience
Their love of wine and food is their passion, taking them on a sensual journey

Esther Smit of the Kempton Park Wine Circle, established in 2005, it has 35 members
She said they taste wine by the box in the East Rand but they dont drink boxed wine!
They have restaurant meetings with an eight bottle tasting then a three-course dinner, until the wine runs out
They can spend R20, to R30,000 per meeting and they dont do repeat tastings, there is too much good wine out there

Jan Willem Lotz, who is a radio presenter; he and his sister Merlani form the wine club Merlotz
They are from the Western Cape

Johan Fourie of the Tygerberg Wine Tasting Guild  which started in Gauteng; then they moved to Bellville in 1989
They started the club to learn about wine
They would buy a bottle of wine to taste and learn all about it
Over the years they have visited almost all the farms in the Western Cape

Danie Nel of the Venterhootsenmarkram club
His dad wanted to teach the kids about wine, to create memories and togetherness
The club is 33 years old and has 12 members scattered around the country and overseas; the youngest is 18
Now they get together with Zoom meetings or visits

A glass of the blend from the as yet unrevealed winner
Wood notes first; it is very dark in colour and we were looking for the violets usually found in Petit Verdot
They were there, with cherry from the Merlot and spice from the Shiraz
Full on the palate with dark berry fruit, with big fruit acids to the fore and grippy chalky tannins,
lots of dark oak, so indeed a wine built to last
Plenty of fruit with morello cherry, raspberry, mulberry and licorice with a hint of allspice and pepper. And long flavours

Time for lunch. A shared mixed salad with croutons

The main course was lamb shank braised in wine, served on a bed of rosemary mashed potato

Guy building tension about naming the winners

Nerina with the Trophy

and the winners were The Dokters van der Merwe, Analise and Melissa

Clive Torr spoke about the winning blend and said how much he enjoyed the Petit Verdot element
It was 59% Shiraz, 27% Merlot and 14% Petite Verdot
In second place was Kempton Park Wine Circle,
Third was the Tygerberg Wine Tasting Guild
and joint fourth with the same blend were Merlotz and the Venterhootsenmarkram club

Dessert was a Crème Brulée topped with fruit.

All the participants lined up for a photograph

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

If you do not wish to receive e-mails from us, please email menucape@gmail.com with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in your email

Posted by MENU at 5:29 pm 0 comments

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

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

If you do not wish to receive e-mails from us, please email menucape@gmail.com with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in your email

Posted by MENU at 2:25 pm 0 comments

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

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

If you do not wish to receive e-mails from us, please email menucape@gmail.com with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in your email

Posted by MENU at 3:29 pm 0 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)