Beaumonts
push the boat out
Now
this is the way to do a trade tasting of wine. Hire a venue in the centre of
town with plenty of parking - The Union, 110 Bree Street, on Heritage Square. Put
up a sail in case of rain - it didn't. Have an inside venue "in case"
(not needed). Have lots of tables and seating. Pile them with lovely things to
nibble while you taste the wines. Food, after all, is what wine normally
accompanies. Invite lots of interesting people. All of which is what the Beaumonts did on Monday night. The quality of their wines is never in question, we knew
they would be worth tasting and enjoyable. As Platter puts it, they produce
individual wines
Lynne catching up with Cathy Raath of
Cathy Raath Wines, who markets Beaumont wines with her son Dane
Nici and Sebastian Beaumont, enjoying
the evening. Sebastian got his tan surfing at Stilbaai with all the other
winemaker surfers. It is an annual event, held in the middle of August each
year (August is winter; winemakers aren’t busy)
Nici Beaumont's company, Zest Catering, prepared all the food and it was
scrumptious. She made really impressive French style terrine, liver paté
& salmon paté. There was great sourdough bread (made with flour ground in the antique water mill on their farm), excellent Parma ham and
perfectly à point runny brie and camembert with preserves. She told us this is
what they are now serving on their farm in Bot Rivier
Also good parmesan, quince paste
'membrillo' with raw almonds and olives
There were platters on all the tables,
sometimes two
Oh, forgot to mention mustard and
pickled gherkins
Wines were served on the barrels
They also showcased the new labels
which are on the left. We find the text a little small - it is hard to make out
the name of the wine and/or varietal and this needs addressing, as wine shops &
supermarket shelves are sometimes particularly gloomy and badly lit places and
shoppers don’t always have 20/20 vision
The Vitruvian 2011 a blend of Shiraz
& Mourvedre is amazingly elegant and full. We particularly liked the Ariane,
a Merlot-led Bordeaux blend; it really delivers. Both are 4½ star Platter wines
Lots of sommeliers attended
James Pietersen with Sebastian,
tasting their Hope Marguerite Chenin Blanc, rich and elegant from very old
Chenin vines, this is a 5 star Platter wine.
Nici with a tray of crisp chips with truffle
mayo. They went like hot cakes
Kim Maxwell and Julian Richfield
getting involved with the chips
More of Nici's delights, duck spring rolls with a
sweet chilli plum dipping sauce
And dessert, especially matched to
their superb Goutte d'Or Noble Late Harvest wine, was a mini cheesecake topped
with macadamia brittle. Brilliant pairing. Of special mention was the new Demi
Sec (slightly sweet) Chenin Blanc they showed, served in a magnum bottle; also
a good match for desserts, and we suspect, warmer spicy foods, because of its
great sugar/fruit acid balance
Thank you Beaumonts and the Raaths for
a super tasting of great wines and food. No one wanted to leave
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015