Friday, March 15, 2024

Jordan 2024 Harvest Lunch

An invitation from Jordan Wine Estate to their annual Harvest Lunch
where we were welcomed with a glass of their newly released Rosé

It is made in the Rhône style from early harvested fruit, free run juice from Merlot and Shiraz and is in a very sexy bottle
You can taste both varietals and it is full of layers of berry fruit. 

Impressive manicure! 

Lynne and Jacques Steyn, Jordan GM, chatting about the harvest

Prosper Gundura of Norman Goodfellows with Alex Littleford and his colleague from Pier Restaurant

Visiting from Dusseldorf, Germany, the Krauses always stay at the Jordan cottages for a month,
so they were welcomed to the tasting

Jacques Steyn gave us a full briefing on the  harvest
following the dreadful winter and increased rain and storms we had in 2023
Jordan had no floods, but they did have to watch their dams and the vine roots did get stressed with so much water
This year it has been warm and windy, they have had 28 days of >30ºC
so they have had to manage the soil temperatures with good canopy management
When it is hot the sugar levels rise quickly but the phenolics do not catch up, so intervention is the key

He then told us about making the new Rosé which is made from early picking of Merlot and Syrah
and explained the two methods of making rosé
It was released in December 2023 and the sales have been very good
The rest of the Merlot and Syrah grapes were coming in as he spoke about the red wines

Marketing manager Thea van der Merwe who is leaving Jordan to spend time with her new son
She will be missed very much

Great to be introduced to Sales manager Melanie Melvill
She has taken over from Marsha Cook who has immigrated to New Zealand
Melanie has been with the farm for several years in other positions and is ready to take over the job
Her aim is to grow consumption of Jordan wines.

Down into the busy cellar, redolent with harvest aromas to do some fresh juice and fermenting wine tastings  

We watched and heard a huge overhead tank being filled with just-picked grapes

We were told that Jordan is planting eleven hectares of new vines
They are leaning toward grapes that thrive in warmer conditions

Winemaker Sjaak Nelson produced the fresh grape juice from the just-picked Sauvignon Blanc
It was full of good Sauvignon flavours with some good green notes, with lots of body
You can taste the grapes and the high sugar levels which will be fermented out into alcohol in the tanks
We tasted two different juices which will be treated with Vin 7 and Vin 13 yeasts
Looks like a good year for Sauvignon Blanc

We also tasted the Assyrtiko which is almost smoky and there is good balance between the sugar and the acids

The Syrah tank sample was next. The Jordan grapes are on their Northern slopes with a view of Table Mountain
Bright aubergine in colour with good raspberry fruit on the nose and palate
The Rosy pink Merlot was sweet, yeasty and tasted of rhubarb with long flavours.  

The two offerings

Walking through the tanks is wine writer Jono Le Feuvre of Han Drinks Solo Wine Community

Then down into the barrel cellar and a visit to the amphora and the concrete egg for an explanation of how they work
At the moment they are used experimentally and are giving good results

We did have a taste of the Barrel Fermented Chardonnay
which has dark honey perfume and wood on the nose, deep flavours initially
then a lovely lemon lime crispness follows

Time for lunch on the terrace of the tasting centre. Cold roast potatoes and a beetroot, butternut and carrot salad

Olives and some dips with a selection of breads and cheeses

Some small Beef short rib pot pies and spiced chicken in rice paper rolls 

We love the views from the Jordan decks and the restaurant

Great T-Shirts worn by the staff. We think they should sell them! 

The menu and the wines we could taste

A noisy and happy table of Wine tourism folk, journos, wine trade and bloggers

and a glass or two of the wines available for tasting
including the excellent 9 Yards 2022 Chardonnay and the 2017 Sophia, much enjoyed

Tarryn Vincent, Ms Riedel in Cape Town, whose glasses were on the tables

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

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Wednesday, March 13, 2024

LAPD Distributors French Champagne, Wine and Spirits Trade Show at Grub & Vine, The Norval Foundation

Dane Raath is a wine and other beverages negociant
He and his mother Kathy Raath have a very successful business
He invited us to something different, the LAPD trade tasting of many different French wines,
well known and respected French brands who want to enter the South African market
It was quite a tasting and extremely well attended by the trade
so there was a very good buzz on the Norval Foundation terrace as we all compared notes and recommendations
We began with Laurent Perrier Champagnes and tasted and enjoyed the range
The aged Millesime is so good, especially  if you have a taste for Champagnes with some age

The Whispering Angel rosé from Cuvées D'esclan from Côte de Provence
is a wine that was much talked about at the tasting,  and much enjoyed
It did take one back to enjoying a wine like this when visiting the South of France

Brand Ambassador Anaëlle Hautier of Château Desclans 
with a Jeroboam of their Rock Angel barrel aged Rosé, another success

Many of these wines are familiar to Lynne from her misspent youth
learning about wine in London Wine Bars over 27 years, where much 'sampling' went on
She especially liked this J. Moreau & Fil Chablis from Domaine Billaud-Simon
Their Bourgogne Aligoté was delicious, reasonable and the most talked about wine at the tasting in the trade
 We hope to see this available soon so that we can buy some

Sommelier Marlvin Gweze tasting the Sancerres of Pascal Jolivet
We really enjoyed their Blanc Fumé, a style of wine not seen here much, but very popular in France
Jeff Grier used to make a super one at Villiera

and a pair of Sancerre Pinots with Metis Sauvignon Blanc made at Klein Constantia,
 inspired by Pascal Jolivet and his holistic approach to winemaking in Sancerre
Much richer in flavour with more fruit than in the French Sancerres thanks to the Cape sun

Pascal Jolivet with his wife


Vins d'Alsace from Gustave Lorentz
We tasted so many of these at Vin Expo in Bordeaux a few years ago; they have a huge range
The Pinot Blanc Reserve was complex, layered and crisp
The Pinot Gris Reserve was excellent, a really good wine for food
The Brut, which is a Crémant, also really impressed with crisp fruity layers 


Dane Raath introduced us to this producer at Vinexpo in Bordeaux in 2007
We had an extended tasting of his wines at the end of the show, all varietals, many vintages


Chapoutier, a wine negociant and wine producer, is very well known in Europe
They produce organic and biodynamic wines from appellations across the Rhône region
Most well known and lauded are their Hermitage wines, both red and white
We found their Côtes du Rhône Belleruche Rouge juicy and enjoyable
Their Gigondas Rouge shows its warm country wine character and is delicious and satisfying

We travelled through the Rhône in 2002 and photographed some of the incredibly steep Chapoutier Condrieu (Viognier) vineyards


Harvesting must be hell

The Chateau de Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines  were surprising, sweeter than expected
Is global worming really affecting the vineyards with higher sugar levels?
The Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc was complex with a good nose, full with some sweetness
As was the enjoyable Les Cassagnes from Viognier, very typical of wines grown in the area

Another well known brand in Europe, Chateau Cheval  from Mahler-Besse
A crisp Chateau Cheval Bordeaux Blanc, a pretty nose on the Cheval Noir Bordeaux Rouge, dark and dense
The Chateau Cheval Noir Cuvée la Fer, St Émilion is in another league,
very good with lots of cassis and wood on the nose and palate

Famille J M Cazes were showing some iconic wines from Bordeaux, a treat to taste them
Chateau Lynch Bage, Pauillac is the wine to put into your cellar to age, really excellent,
a bit steep in price, as it is in four figures, but worth it
The Chateau Haut-Batailly from Pauillac has richness on the nose, and needs time
We really enjoyed the more affordable Verso which is much more approachable now

Three good white wines,
two from Billaud-Simon from  the Chablis area and one Chardonnay from Faiveley in Burgundy. Sadly not tasted

Four reds from Joseph Faiveley
A Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Le Framboise(raspberry) from Mercurey, situated just below Burgundy,
and two Pinot Noirs from very well known Bordeaux vineyards,
Nuit St Georges "Les Lavières" and Gevrey Chambertin Vielle Vignes  Much to our regret, not tasted. It was a very busy stand


Southern wines from Gerard Bertrand in Languedoc
The Cigalus Blanc, a blend of Southern Rhône varietals,
 has good roundness on the palate from Viognier, crispness from Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay 

Two good local Stellenbosch red wines from The High Road were included in the tasting 

Four more Bordeaux wines from Mahler-Besse from different areas
Château Picard from Sainte Estèphe, Château Haute Reys from Graves
There were two more wines in the collection which impressed us
The Château Larrieu Terrefort from Margaux was as Lynne put it "Tres Bien!"
Intense flavours on the nose and palate with fine wooding
The Domaine de Cartujac, Haut-Medoc has beautiful notes of violets from the Cabernet Franc
and good breadth, depth, flavour and character

Our favourite wine of the tasting was from Les Vins de Crus Château Teyssier from St Émilion,
an area for which we have to confess that we have a preference
It scored higher than many of the more lauded and expensive wines both on the nose and on the excellent palate
A 5 star wine

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Thursday, February 22, 2024

In MENU This Issue. Michael Olivier RIP, Simonsig, Buitenverwachting, Melting Pot, Creation, Newton Johnson, Bientang's Cave, Bouchard Finlayson

We're back! There has been a long gap between stories. Like many people in the Western Cape, we have been inundated with visitors since late last year, so we have been generating stories with too little time to publish them. So here, if a little belatedly, is a selection. They are all on Facebook and LinkedIn, so you can see them there or here on our blog site. Click on the titles and pictures to open them

Michael Olivier RIP

Michael Olivier was responsible for many memorable meals enjoyed at important times in John's life. He has special memories of meals at Lanzerac when visiting the Cape from the big dusty city in the North, on family holidays and on his honeymoon with Pam in 1974. Michael re-introduced him to classic Cape food. Read on…

Wine tasting at Simonsig

A Sunday trip to Stellenbosch for our friend from the UK nearly proved abortive. The first wine farm we went to no longer sells wine, just beer! The second and third were closed (seems to be a growing thing in that area) so we headed for one we knew would produce the goods and be open – Simonsig. Warmly welcomed by Paulina Pietersen. She introduced us to the many varied tasting options on their menu. Read on…

Wine tasting at Buitenverwachting

A friend visiting from the UK wanted to visit Constantia and we decided that a tasting at Buitenverwachting would be a good start. Sarah, a recent ID graduate, now at Discovery in Johannesburg, was our wine server and very good at it too! Read on…

The Melting Pot at Oak Valley revisited

Another overseas visitor, so another visit to The Melting Pot in Elgin for lunch, this time by the pool as it was a gloriously warm day. The Hydrangeas were in full bloom. Our excellent Sommelier, Kwanele Mhlobo, brought us a tasting of two Oak Valley Wines. Read on…

A visit to Creation

while we are in the Hemel and Aarde valley is almost a given and, because one of the farms we had planned to visit was surprisingly closed, we ventured back to what is one of our favourite wine farms. Although it was quite late in the Sunday afternoon, we found that Carolyn Martin was still there and she was kind enough to come and sit with us and chat...

Tasting and lunch at Newton Johnson

Staying in the Hemel and Aarde in Summer is such a great place to be. All the roads are accessible now, so the valley is there for you to explore. We were there for four days so we relaxed, slept well, did some major bird watching. from the stoep of the cottage we stay at and, of course, made appointments to visit some of our favourite wine farms and the one with some of the best views and, in our estimation, some of the best wines is Newton Johnson. Read on…

Lunch at Bientang's Cave, Hermanus

Another visit to Hermanus and a beautiful morning meant a walk on one of the loveliest beaches in the region. No wind and the perfect temperature had this Monday morning off to a good start. Sea birds on the estuary at Prawn Flats and, after the walk, lunch at Bientang's Cave, to introduce yet another of our British friends to this gem. Read on…

Tasting the wines of Bouchard Finlayson

Before we left the Hemel en Aarde valley, we visited Bouchard Finlayson where John had organised a tasting for us and our English guest. The winery was fast preparing for harvest which began later that month. A taste of the Blanc de Mer 2023, a  blend of 65% Weisser Reisling, with Viognier and Chardonnay that goes so well with sea food dishes and is a lovely quaffing wine as well, good on picnics. Perfumed, with sea minerality and richness of the fruit. It defies expectations on the palate, crisp, zesty and long Read on…

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

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Posted by MENU at 12:25 pm 0 comments
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