Last week, we visited Vondeling in the Paardeberg area
to try their brand new wine, a Méthode Ancestral made from 100% Chardonnay. To
quote Jancis Robinson: “Méthode Ancestrale, sometimes called Méthode Artisanale
or Méthode Rurale, very traditional sparkling wine making method, used chiefly
in Limoux, resulting in a lightly sparkling, medium sweet wine, sometimes
complete with sediment”. There is no sediment in the Vondeling wine, and it is
beautifully dry and full. It is the first of its kind registered with the SA
Wine and Spirit Board.
Where did we first taste it? Well they took about 20
journalists in 4x4s up to the very top of their mountain, Kanonkop, and served
it to us ice cold with freshly shucked oysters and some killer smoked salmon
sandwiches. It is a very steep and long track and we hear that it going to be
part of the Cape Epic this year. Good luck to those crazy cyclists!
It was a beautiful day and we could see from Hangklip
on the False Bay side of the Peninsula all the way round to the Piketberg
mountains and the Atlantic in the north. The mountain is 750 metres above sea
level, so you really did feel on top of the world. Then back down the mountain
we drove, to lunch in the winery with vertical tasting of their white blend,
Babiana, and another of Erica, their Shiraz. It was a sensational event.
A welcome cup of coffee in the tasting room after an early start from town
Spring green in the vineyards on a
lovely morning
The cellar, the tasting room and their
small chapel, which is used for weddings and other ceremonies. The local bishop
will be blessing this very soon
Vines being thinned and trained as
they sprout
Our beautiful mountain from the top of
theirs, looking over the Durbanville Hills
We begin a very short hike to the top
of the mountain from the 4x4s that drove us up
The Paardeberg mountains are covered
in the most beautiful fynbos and are part of the Nature Conservancy in the
area. Bridget Johnsen, wife of Director Julian Johnsen, is very involved in this.
This is a watsonia
Julian welcomes us to the summit
A table bearing the Méthode Ancestrale
and the smoked salmon sandwiches. The young man on the left opens and serves
fresh oysters from his buckets and can be hired for events He has Tabasco and pepper
in the top of his leather apron and lemon in the bucket to flavour them
A view back to the farm in the valley
and looking towards Wellington and Paarl Rock on the right
The ancient cannon that was dragged up
the mountain centuries ago to protect and notify the valley of visiting ships
Winemaker Matthew Copeland pours the
first Méthode Ancestrale for Bridget
and Julian
Chilling nicely in a huge ice bucket.
Someone had to bring all this up to the summit
Matthew explains Méthode Ancestrale to us
We get to taste and enjoy
It is lovely and fresh and full, with
some brioche on the nose and rich pear and green apple flavours. Not at all
like Champagne, but patently French in style.
To
quote winemaker Matthew: “Natural fermentation commences in the tank and when
only a small, but critical amount of sugar remains, the fermenting wine is
bottled and capped. Bottling must take place at the precise moment when there
is enough remaining sugar to create a healthy, vibrant mousse, but not so much
as to cause the bottles to explode. This single, continuous fermentation, using
fruit which is approximately three weeks riper than base wine used to make
Champagne, is what makes Méthode
Ancestrale unique.
The wine is matured on its lees for 16
months before being disgorged. Autolysis of the yeast cells creates further
richness and adds palate weight and creaminess in the wine. After being hand
riddled over a one month period, it is disgorged and topped using Rurale from
the same vintage, as an alternative to liqueur d’expedition. It is therefore
not sweetened and considered zero dosage. Because of the ripeness of the fruit,
it’s flavour profile is more in line with a Brut, rather than an extra-brut.
It is a highly labour-intensive way to
produce sparkling wine, and for this reason, only 1200 bottles of the 2012
vintage were produced. All grapes are grown and vinified at Vondeling. Recommended
retail price R220
Having a wonderful time on the
mountain drinking great bubbly and eating smoked salmon sandwiches
or oysters
Bridget Johnsen telling us about the
biodiversity of the fynbos and the mountain conservancy project that she is
passionate about and very involved in
The green fields of grapes and wheat
that grow so well in the valley, looking towards Malmesbury, Tulbagh and the
far Piketberg
You can always tell a 4x4 owner
Sunshine and celebration
Time for the hairy drive back down the
mountain ‘road’
Vondeling’s chapel
They laid a long table for lunch
We had three vintages of Vondeling Babiana 2009, 2011 & 12. It’s a blend
of Chenin, Viognier, Chardonnay and Grenache Blanc. Full of golden yellow
plums, peaches, honey and pineapple, but it’s not sweet. It has a lovely mouth
feel and long juicy flavours
The three vintages of this primrose
yellow wine
Then three vintages of Erica – a
shiraz. 2007, 2009, 2010. All rather different from each other but all good, spicy
shiraz. The 09, which is a food wine, gives a lovely mouthful of rich cherries
and cassis with some spice and vanilla, and lightly toasted oak.
Jane Eedes promotes and sells the
wines for Vondeling
The winemaker tells us about the
dessert wine we were served, Sweet Caroline, a divine Muscat de Frontenac with
an RS of 140. It is made by crimping and twisting the bunches on the vine to
concentrate the fruit sugars and is classified as a Vin du Paille
Lunch was prepared by Mariaan Harris, who manages the tasting room and functions
It started with a lovely fresh
salad with beautifully lightly hot smoked salmon. We then had a lovely soft
fillet of beef with a rich mushroom and cream sauce
And finished with an Eaton Mess with
raspberries and mango served with Sweet Caroline.
Thank you all at Vondeling
for a really impressive and very enjoyable day
Photo of John by Maggie Mostert, Batonage
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014
