Friday, June 14, 2024

Siris trade wine tasting at the Mount Nelson

Trade tastings are coming thick and fast this year, with little time to recover!
But we love what we do and this is always a chance to catch up with our winemaker friends and meet new ones
The Siris Trade tasting was held this year in the Mount Nelson Ballroom
We arrived early as Lynne had to attend another event that evening

We began with Bruwer Raats to taste his much talked about Vlag (flag in English) Cabernet Franc. It is a really WOW wine
A lovely nose, almost Pinot with cherries in character, good expensive French oak and some minerality and salt
On the palate. classic Cabernet Franc to the fore. Umami, salty liquorice,
then lots of dark berry fruit with loads of elegance and promise
It's a "Now find me something to eat with this" wine

Good to see winemaker Lourens van der Westhuizen with his range of wines
The Chenin Blanc has smoke, fruit and excitement on the nose
Quince and peach, long flavours and buttery wood on the end
The 2022 Chardonnay is full and rounded on the nose, with golden ripe fruit
Elegance on both the nose and palate with long flavours, it will age well

On the Brookdale stand, we tasted their Mason Road Chenin Blanc
It has lovely richness on the nose, complete and dive-in
Golden fruit crisp loquat peach and dark oak on the palate
Their Rosé, made from Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault is full of ripe berries but not sweet
It has gravitas, so definitely a food wine
The 2016 Brookdale Chenin, made in amphora and tank, has no wood and pings excitedly off the palate
 The Brookdale white Rhône Field blend Sixteen
is complex on the nose with salty minerality, crisp grape flavours and is just different,
as are the varietals that talented young winemaker Kiara Scott uses
To quote them "A celebration of the lost art of field-blend winemaking;
16 white varietals were inter-planted as bush vines on decomposed shale and granite"

Groote Post winemaker Lukas Wentzel and owner Nick Pentz
We have bought every vintage of their Sea Salter Sauvignon Blanc
it's such a great food wine, especially with sea food and their new Chardonnay, which is sold out, is really exceptional
We're waiting for the new vintage to be released

Megan and Shane Mullis of Domaine des Dieux produce very exceptional Cap Classiques
The Claudia is 80% Chardonnay 20% Pinot Noir
RIchness of lees and chardonnay, crispness of limes and lemons, a good mousse
A lovely and satisfying celebration on the palate

The Anna Louse 2011 Blanc de Blanc is made only in exceptional years
Bready nose showing its maturity. It spends seven years on the lees and two under cork
Richness and lime, long flavours and a tiny prickling mousse

Bevan Newton Johnson showing their exceptional range of wines from the Hemel and Aarde Valley
The Family Vineyard Pinot Noir has always been a favourite as is the Full Stop Rock blend of Syrah and Grenache
The first Albariño to be produced in South Africa is a stunning food wine and,
as for their Chardonnays well, go and taste them
Their restaurant, under Chef Tullishe le Roux, is being talked about and is excellent

The Sauvignon Blanc is in the lovely elegant style produced in the valley. Crisp, green and exciting on the palate

The Albariño and Sauvignon Blanc 

Petra and Nicolas van der Merwe with their daughter



Their Nicolas Cap Classique Brut Rosé is pale with a bready nose, raspberry and lemon with golden tones on the end. 60% Chardonnay 40 Pinot Noir
The Sauvignon Blanc is crisp with lemon and limes, some green flavours with golden notes on the end
Their 2019 Nicolas Chenin Blanc is rounded, rich and full of golden fruit, very satisfying.  

Fanus, Martin and Estelle Bruwer of Quando are old friends who make very good wines


The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc is exceptionally good, drawing one in with complexity on the nose
Rich and full with good green notes, it is juicy and a great food wine
The 2024 Sauvignon Blanc has green pyrazines on the classic nose, showing its Bonnievale terroir
Richness, fullness and the layers of flavours open up with a bang. Lots of depth too
The Mourvedre Rosé 2023 is pale pink with lovely berry fruit on the nose
which follows through with strawberry, raspberry and pomegranate on the palate. A food wine

Rob Boustred of Remhoogte

One favourite and a wine to seek out is their Honeybunch Chenin Blanc
The 2023 is sophisticated on the nose then the lovely honeyed fruit arrives in layers
It is sappig, with juicy fruit, but a serious wine, with richness of fruit supported by chalky tannins
and flavours that go on and on. It will last in the cellar

Three Remhoogte Chenins


Anura Vineyards winemaker Stander Maass and sales manager Emil Kanstinger
The 2023 Anura Chardonnay is lightly wooded in French oak
Richness of golden fruit on the nose, lemon lime crispness then fullness with golden grape, peach and nectarine flavours

Martin Smith with his Paserene and his second label Swift wines
His 2022 Moya Meaker Pinot Noir has a good complex nose,
cherries and raspberries with light wood smoke and salty minerality
Full of block buster red berry fruit, alcohol and wood
It needs time in your cellar and will be very special in about 5 years time, we predict
The 2022 Damascene Stellenbosch Syrah has rose petal perfume, spice and berry fruit
Good fruit in layers dark and spicy - a food wine
The 2022 Syrah from the Swartland has spice and incense wood,
a blend of sweet and sour fruit on the palate, needs time

Cape Point Vineyards general manager Hannes Meyer and winemaker Anzette Visser
The Isliedh won a Trophy at the Investec Trophy Awards

Doolhof winemaker Rüdger van Wyk with Ralph Reynolds, sommelier at Aubergine Restaurant

The Doolhof Bloedklip Malbec with smoke and umami and dark berries on the nose

Richness of more dark fruit, plush velvet on the palate with long flavours and excitement
There is a change midway from berry to rhubarb, minerality and salty tannins
Needs and ask for rich food like Duck, Chateaubriand and heady sauces
The Single Vineyard Malbec has greenness then fruit on the nose
Richness, full of good dark fruit, with long flavours, umami and chalky tannins, will age well
The Doolhof Môrestond 2021 Chardonnay is very French initially on the nose and palate, but too big and local to be French
A celebration of good chardonnay with minerality and good tannins. 8 months in 20% 1st fill French oak barrels

Sales manager AJ Nel of Lievland
The Cabernet sauvignon, Bush vine Pinotage and Old Vines Chenin blanc are all excellent
Lievland is jointly owned by Tyrrel Myburgh of Joostenberg and José Conde of Stark-Condé

The colour temperatures of the mixed lighting in the Ballroom varied from one part of the room to another
We apologise for the somewhat sepia appearance of some of the photographs

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


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Raath Promotions trade wine tasting at The Winchester

This is the time of the year when many wine, beer and spirit trade tastings take place
and we enjoy tasting the new products, vintages and, usually, something new

The Raath Trade tasting took place at the Winchester Mansions in Sea Point; a good venue for this

As we arrived we met Springbok front row forward Stephen Kitshoff, a key member of the famous "Bomb Squad"
He was there to promote the Bomb Squad beers, produced by the Nuy Valley Saggy Stone brewery

Lynne enjoyed the Pilsner. It's hoppy, slightly sweet flavours cleanse the palate
(especially after a rather hot chilli canapé)
We would buy this. Their IPA is up there with the best available from good Cape Town brewers

John Loubser was showing the new vintages of the Silverthorn Cap Classiques from his Bonnievale vineyards
He had released the Jewel Box that week - 70% Chardonnay 30% Pinot Noir,
it spends 55 months on the lees and is from the 2019 vintage
Clean and crisp with a hint of cherry and good rich lees,
which shows that it's worth aging these wines before releasing them

Canapés of rare beef topped with pea shoots and chopped spinach

The Genie Rosé is 100% Shiraz
Full of berry fruit in layers on the nose and palate, juicy and crisp with mulberry and raspberry with long flavours
John certainly knows how to produce the best quality Cap Classiques

We always like to start a tasting with a crisp and elegant bubbly
and John was positioned correctly at the door to the tasting
And he is very popular in the trade. You will find is wines at many of the top restaurants and wine merchants

Another canapé - a gentle Malay curry

Lynne chatted to the Beaumonts, and tasted their 2023 unwooded Chenin with lots of caramel and ripe fruit
The 2024 Chenin was a new release and has freshness, is beautifully perfumed with jasmine and pear flavour
which repeats on the palate with a hint of cherry and lime

The 2023 Hope Marguerite, our favourite, was initially shy but it's young
It becomes a big wine when it opens up and announces "I'm back" with its superb full, rich, juicy and sophisticated palate
A major food wine

Dane Raath chatting to his trade customers

Bouchard Finlayson winemaker Chris Albrecht with Sebastian Beaumont
The Beaumont New Baby has golden fruit on the nose and is sophisticated and complex
Apples, cooked pears and plum with some oak. Food calls for this wine

Chris Albrecht and Barend Erasmus, his assistant winemaker. They had all their excellent wines for tasting
The venue's lights were adding quite a lot of sparkle to the bottles...

Good to see Marthinus Ferreira, chef patron of the Jordan Restaurant with his PA, Lee Simmabarie

Gerard Holden of Holden Manz where we tasted their Semillon. Perfumed with white fruit and lots of oak

Dirk Human, winemaker at Black Oystercatcher was showcasing his Cap Classique Brut Rosé 2018,
made, unusually, from Merlot. It has spent 5 years on the lees, which adds complexity

David van Velden of Overgaauw gave us his 2023 Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc to taste
Clean and crisp with some green pepper notes, ripe fruit and some black current hints
On the palate, complex and different, lots of oak and some sophistication. Can age well

His Merlot is one of our favourites. The 2022 full bodied, rich with deep dark fruit
A dive-in nose with silky dark fruit on the palate layered and in perfect balance of ripeness and acidity
The 2020 Merlot has richness, is attractive, well made and complex
Silky soft with deep dark fruit in layers, very enjoyable, A wine for food

Illimis owner/winemaker Lucinda Heyns
explaining her excellent Cinsault, Grenache noir and Chenin blanc to Barend Erasmus

Wikus Pretorius of La Petit Ferme had some impressive wines

A lightly oaked 2023 Chardonnay with crisp lime, lemon and peach with wood just supporting

The 2023 Viognier goes into old chardonnay barrels and is left on the lees
It's rather French in style, shy at first, crisp then full on the palate. Oak notes then ripe peach & complex

Their Grenache noir rosé has a lovely fruity zing

The Shiraz has good berry fruit with white pepper on the nose,
dark berries, cherry, chocolate and coffee on the enjoyable palate

The 2021 Cabernet is classic Cabernet on the nose; full and satisfying and enticing you to taste
Long flavours of spiky cassis and berry fruit with dark licorice and oak

Rynie Oosthuizen, Kleinood winemaker
His Viognier is peaches and cream, superb

The 2022 Grenache Blanc has really good fruit on nose and palate, zingy with red berry and peach flavours

The 2022 Mourvedre is what we look for in this varietal
Richness of fruit on nose and palate, lovely deep dark berry fruit with pomegranate and mulberry

Pierre Wahl, Cellarmaster at Survivor Wines

The 2021 Chenin got top marks from us. It's a big wine, made in big barrels, with ripe golden fruit on the nose
The palate follows the nose; so ripe, so delicious. Wood is the structure surrounding the golden fruit. Wow

The 2022 Survivor Chardonnay has golden peach on the nose - very sophisticated, and French in style
It is rounded on the palate with rich deep flavours of cooked apple and peach and  good wood
A Tarte Tatin accompaniment for sure

Avondale winemaker Corné Marais. An impressive selection to taste

The 2016 Blanc de Blanc Cap Classique spent 16 months on the lees which shows as butterscotch which softens,
then a zing of crisp lime and a good mousse

The 2020 Anima, a long time favourite, has beautiful velvety roundness of fruit, made half in barrel and half in Amphora
Apple, butterscotch and lime on the lovely palate

The 2019 five way blend, Cyclus,
made from Roussanne, Chenin, Viognier, Chardonnay and Semillon is a wine Lynne says she could drink every day
So integrated, but you do taste all the various components

And it livens the palate so much that you want to eat immediately. A restaurant wine list essential

The enjoyable Rosé, Camissa, is made from 50% Grenache, 35% Mourvedre and, unusually,
15% red Muscat de Frontignan grapes which were added in this vintage to improve the wine and indeed it does

Qvevri Red 2022 is a blend of Grenache (50%), Syrah (26%) and Mourvèdre (24%) grapes
that is made in the unique clay Qvevri vessels
It's an earthy wines with rich dark berry fruit that encompasses your palate
and leads you straight to needing to be fed - NOW!

Samsara Syrah 2016 was made in 600 litre barrels
Spicy, with lovely dark berry fruit, attractive nose
Then mulberry cherry fruit soft and so approachable on the palate. Delicious

La Luna 2016 Bordeaux Blend is a classic

Jayne Beaumont showing her wines
The 2022 Electrique has classic peach on the nose, very sophisticated
Sweet golden fruit; so enjoyable, another great food wine. One second fill barrel is all she made

Sebastian Beaumont

Mini burgers to enjoy

Very happy to catch up with Nils and Sabine Hecksher 
When we first met Nils, he was General Manager of the hotel in its former guise as the Winchester Mansions

Stephen Kitshoff and his beer

Marthinus Ferreira and his Jordan Restaurant team, with Kathy Raath and Stephen Kitshoff

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Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Tasting the wines of Oldenburg

An invitation to visit and taste the wines at Oldenburg
from Stefan Reinmuth, their Private Client Manager and head Sommelier, was quickly accepted
The farm is in Banghoek, eight kilometres from Stellenbosch, on the road to Franschhoek
To quote them "Off the beaten track, a winding road leads deep into the Banghoek Valley
Our unique location benefits from the confluence of 8 Natural Elements,
creating a distinctive terroir and allowing us to make wines that truly reflect their Place"
We know they produce wines of quality that are often awarded and it had been a while since our last tasting on the farm
with winemaker Nic van Aarde, shortly after he had he first joined them

A very warm welcome from Freda when we arrived; we were seated at a table by the open windows 

The tasting room can be closed up tight in bad weather and opened up to nature on good days



Sommelier Gregory Lorimer ably guided us through the wines
A team of sommeliers takes you on the journey to understanding and enjoying the wines

Half way through the tasting, just when we were in need of some sustenance,
this great platter with shaved Gruberg cheese from Klein Rivier, good black olives and crisp crackers
This is complimentary with a tasting. The expanding hand towels in front are supplied to every table

We were to taste several of these wines

Their price list

And should you want to join, they have a wine club, with lots on offer.

Modern Scandinavian is the mood in the airy tasting room with high thatched roofs

The famous Rondeklip hill is the view in front
This round hill, covered in Oldenburg vineyards, is surrounded by an amphitheatre of spectacular Cape mountains

We began with their two white wines
The 2023 Chenin Blanc has rich golden fruit and smoke on the nose
and is full and rich on the palate with ripe fruit and the crispness of limes, granadilla and orange rind
It spends 10 months in old oak in 250 litre foudres and 3rd and 4th fill barrels and is allowed natural fermentation

The 2023 Chardonnay was shy at first, then a little smoke from 24 months in new French oak before the fruit appeared
On the palate, it is crisp with lemon/lime; it fills the palate with depth of flavour and length
with some orange peel notes on the end

The 2029 Syrah is given 25% new French oak, the rest in older barrels. Again, natural fermentation
Spicy, perfume and red berry fruit fill the nose
On the palate it is juicy, silky smooth with cranberry and red cherry giving length and depth with spice on the end,
ready to drink now but will age well

The 2016 Cabernet Franc has that classic savoury nose
with lovely dark mulberry fruit, Bing Cherry, smoke and spice and a hint of the expected umami
A lovely palate with a hint of warmth, the fruit and umami repeats as salty licorice on the end
Wood supports and rounds off this lovely food wine

The hill has some lovely fynbos and proteas and is full of birds

Sunbirds were flitting about gathering nectar

Vines, having given up their harvest, are now going dormant for the winter

The 2022 Grenache Noir shows smoke and fruit combined on the enticing palate, sophisticated and intriguing
Savoury and sweet layers of berry fruit and dark oak meld together without being overwhelming,
long flavours, a wine to serve with meat or game
85% Grenache, 15% Shiraz from bush vines and only old barrels are used

The 9 year old 2015 Cabernet was a treat to taste
Blackcurrants, very mature and green herbaceous with incense wood on the nose
A classic Stellenbosch Cabernet. 20 months in French oak, 40% new
It is a cassis bomb; fruit lingers on the palate, with a hint of grippy tannins that are softening, and long flavours

Those spectacular mountains that surround the farm

Each table is given its own trained sommelier to guide you through the tasting you choose
Do book, this farm is very popular with visitors.

We were then given a tasting of two of their Flagship wines, which are poured using a Coravin aerator

and swirled in a carafe, enlivening the flavours
This means you can get an idea of how they will develop with age

Per Se 2021 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The name means “by itself” or “intrinsically"
Smoke and cassis, deep aromas, minerality, complex and also some delicacy
Silky on the palate, then powerful cassis and warmth take over building its future age, good chalky tannins
Sweet and sour in balance, with plums and cassis; it opens up more on the palate and is juicy
A great wine, needs and calls for food

The Rhodium Blend 2021 refers to the gems in Oldenburg's ancient African soils and its grapes
A blend of 55% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot & 10% Cabernet Sauvignon with 14.5% alcohol it's a really impressive wine
Black cherry and lovely oak supports with a whiff of incense
On the palate, lovely fruit, a mélange of ripe berries, all visible, some umami, licorice and salty minerality. Impressive
As was the entire experience. we are very impressed with the quality of the wines and the excellent service

An autumnal Liquid Amber tree

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

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