We were invited to celebrate this 30th anniversary
over lunch, which was paired with the new wines. Glen Carlou is on the
Simondium Road in the Paarl vineyards, at the foothills of the renowned
Simonsberg Mountain; the road you travel down to get to Franschhoek. Owned
for many years by the Hess family, the farm has recently been sold to the Pactolus
Consortium, whose chairman is Wayne Pitout, a leading figure in the mobile data
industry. We were told, "Today begins a new season at Glen Carlou"
We were from collected the
V&A Waterfront by bus, which departed from the V&A Hotel near the Cape
Wheel. It was a glorious day
A popular event, especially
when they provide transport, which is much appreciated
Glen Carlou's restaurant and tasting room is in a lovely building, built when Walter Finlayson owned the farm. Glass panels in the floor give a view of the underground barrel maturation cellar
Inside this lovely thatched
building, tables were set for the event
Ah, twin minds. Neil Pendock
and Greg Landman in matching shirts. And no, they didn't consult each other
Time to taste the wines. We
began with the Unwooded Chardonnay which has pears and white peaches on the
nose and palate, with limes and good minerality. And the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc
with an almost muscat perfume on the nose, full of tastes of tropical fruit,
guavas and limes from Darling fruit and a long finish. Here Fiona MacDonald,
Greg Landman and Sue Wardrop get their first pour
The canapés were superb. Fresh
salmon gravadlax with salmon caviar and marinated shaved fennel
Lorna and Dave Hughes enjoying
the day and the wine (um, Dave ... is that a beer in your glass? Recovering
from last night's Tribute dinner?). It was a beer, from CBC Brewery across the
valley
Very fresh oysters and there
were also lamb crostini
Time to begin, with MD Johan
Erasmus welcoming us. Time to celebrate the 30th Vintage, which is also the
first vintage for the new shareholders and winemaker Johnnie Calitz, who joined
in December 2016. Today begins a new season at Glen Carlou
An attentive audience
The menu
We had the 2017 Curator’s Collection
Sauvignon Blanc next. This was served with a fish rillette topped with radish
and served with pressed cucumber and a beetroot ketchup
Next came a small salad of
tomato, strawberry and bocconcini mozzarella - the dressing of tarragon and
tomato water seemed to be missing as was the seasoning?
It was paired with the
delightful 2017 Pinot Noir Rosé which has a
nice tongue tingle and lots of strawberries, light and refreshing, a very nice
summery wine. It made a good dressing for the salad
Next, a Spring pea soup, poured
at the table with a piece of chicken thigh, some crisp chicken skin and some
cured bacon bits. Before the pour
and after. A really lovely
PPPPP soup. This was served with the six month wooded Curator’s Collection
Chenin Blanc, full of golden fruit, tropical flavours and some oxidative lees
character at the end
Winemaker Johnnie Calitz talked
us through some of the wines. He says that the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc is primary
fruit, uncomplicated, to enjoy. The Rosé goes with
everything except, perhaps, cocoa pops and the Pinot Noir is made to age in the
bottle
A line up of the bottles
The next wine was the Quartz
Stone 2016 wooded Chardonnay with wood notes on the nose; it is a lively wine
with good peaches and limes, rounded off with wood, an excellent Chardonnay
Our next course was a twice
baked Parmesan and gorgonzola cheese soufflé, light as air, with good deep
cheese flavours and served with a walnut pesto, dill and an apple and leek slaw
Thank heavens the courses were
small, as there were so many of them. The kitchen was doing a sterling job. Next
came the slices of beef fillet with grilled asparagus, horseradish, unctuous
bone marrow and a lovely jus. It was paired with the 2011 Gravel Quarry
Cabernet Sauvignon, with incense wood and cassis on the nose, rich berries,
cherries and warm alcohol on the palate. Not long
Dessert was a wobbly and mousse-y
lemon cheesecake , served with lemon curd, frozen lemon yoghurt, candied lemon,
a nutty crumble .... and olive oil. Served with a glass of 2015 The Welder,
Natural Sweet Chenin Blanc. The wine was really good with the lemon sweetness
of the dessert. The olive oil got a bit in the way, especially of the sweetness
The end to a marvellous day of great wines, and
lovely food. We were able to salute and thank the chefs and the kitchen staff
and our serving staff. We can heartily recommend the wines, the venue and the
Glen Carlou restaurant
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
