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On the Wine Menu this week: Durbanville Hills Rhinofields Sauvignon blanc 2013

Lees and pears on the nose complemented with vanilla

Layers of crisp clean fruit delight in their complexity. Pears, apricots, pineapple add to the tingle. Such a good wine to pair with food

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Saturday at the 2016 Nederburg Auction

This year's Nederburg Auction had 146 items, 1034 lots, 10 506 litres of wine to auction and made a final total of R7 593 200 with total sales increasing by 23% over last year, in spite of a slightly lower volume on offer of 4% from the 2015. Tsogo Sun was the top buyer for 2016, with a total of just over R1 million, followed by the SPAR group and the Singita group of luxury lodges. We attended on Saturday and had an interesting and enjoyable day. We didnt buy anything this year, the high prices were daunting

The invitation asked us to be there at 9am so that registration could take place and people could collect their paddles for bidding in the auction

Then it’s time for a glass of bubbly, or a coffee and croissant for breakfast

Oh, there were some canapés as well

Fruit on a stick, oysters and some orange juice

The Sommeliers were out in force to keep us full of bubbly all day. On offer in the morning was Pongracz Brut and Rosé, others were there later. This is Ndaba Dube from the Vineyard Hotel with a colleague

Lynne had a word with Ewan MacKenzie Badge aka The Wine Thief

Mark Norrish of Ultra Liquors in his lucky patriotic tie with his pretty daughter Julia

A happy band of auction warriors: Judy Brower of Wine.co.za, Benny Howard CWM of Meerendal, who is also one of the organisers of the auction, with the two English auctioneers David Elswood, International Head of Wine for Christie’s, and Anthony Barne MW from Bonham’s

Prior to the auction, which begins with a keynote speaker, we were able to taste the wines which would be on auction. Here is Riana Hall of Rudera

Clark Truter of Morvino & Siris Vintners tasting the Seven Springs Chardonnay from the Hemel and Aarde valley with winemaker Riana van der Merwe

The Downes of Shannon vineyards in Elgin have their wine in the auction and were obviously planning to bid for others, L to R: Stuart, Elizabeth and James Downes

Jean Vincent Ridon of Signal Hill wines with his auction wine Eszencia, made in the style of Tokai from Furmint and Sauvignon blanc. It is the highest ever rated South African wine on the US market, awarded 96/100 by Steven Tanzer

Guy Webber of Stellenzicht with his Stellenzicht 1994

Johann de Wet and his wife had a very exciting day. Their De Wetshof Finesse Chardonnay 1993 was the top white wine of the day, making a record price of R2000 per 750 ml bottle

Jane Beaumont and her daughter-in-law Nadia Hope with their Chenin blanc auction wine Hope Marguerite 2008

Following the official auction, there is always the charity auction and these were the lots for bidding on. That auction too broke all records

With all the current interest in Cinsaut and its positive effect on wines when they age, this Stellenbosch Cinsaut 1974 was a very interesting lot

A bottle of Zonnebloem Pinotage 1986. Pinotage does age extremely well

11 o’clock time for Tim Atkin MW to give his keynote address. The theme he chose was titled Heritage: Boom or Burden?

In his 45 minute speech we were given a full history of South African wine and, at the end, some stern comments to the industry that our wines are too cheap, with the result that these excellent wines are not respected in international markets. How can you sell a 95 point wine for £10? We must build an international brand and we must work together. We have heard this several times before and we agree

Tim Atkin has recently come up with a 5 tier Cru rating of South African wines, it is quite contentious but this does deserve consideration, and possibly a bit of re-jigging – some of our top wines ended up on lower tiers than they deserve, in our opinion

The audience

Razvan Macici, Head Winemaker of Distell, listens with interest

Dalene Steyn of Nederburg presents Tim Atkin with a token of thanks while he refreshes his palate with an apple

Auctioneer Anthony Barne MW of Bonham’s gets the auction underway

Just in case we were still peckish and too weak to bid, we were each given this platter of canapés. A small fishcake, a jar of aioli with fresh vegetables and a tiny muffin stuffed with paté

Spot the bids!

Lots were going fast and furiously and the prices were good. To speed up the day as Friday had been slow, they combined each single lot with another, so the minimum bid was for 2 cases

Yes, they keep us well hydrated too. Here Angelo Casu of Grand Dedale and Michael Pownall enjoy some Desiderius MCC as they were so busy bidding

Pearl Oliver, Sommelier at the Taj Hotel, enjoying the sale with a glass of Rosé MCC

Natalie Opstaele of Almenkerk looking unusually serious as she waits for their wine to come up

And the auction ends with lot 1034 Nederburg Private Bin Edelkeur Noble Late Harvest which went for R8 500 for one lot of 6 x 375ml bottles. The final total for the auction is in the top right hand corner of the screen: R7 582 400. At ± £427 000, one has to conjecture what a similar auction at Bonham's or Christie's in the UK would bring

Time for lunch, which was very delayed due to the auction running over about an hour and a half

The starter was a plate of smoked yellowtail and fresh mussels with a Cape Malay curry emulsion. We had some of the wines from the auction with our lunch

The second course was beetroot done three ways with some goats cheese, a good refreshing dish. The chef was one of our top chefs, Bertus Basson. His menu was very clever and none of the food was affected by the long delay

Then between the second starter and the main course they held the charity auction. Everyone could bid and the 18 lots made R500 033. The 33 Rand was a bit of fun that auctioneer Roland Peens of The Wine Cellar added to the Château Petrus 1988, signed by Christian Moueix, donated by Anthony Barne MW as that was the duty he had to pay on the bottle he donated to the auction. In front Ross Sleet and his wife Jan are wondering whether to bid on the Petrus or not?

Greg Parton was the successful bidder for the 1988 Petrus for which he had to pay R70 000. A snip!

The auctioneers relaxing over lunch with Benny Howard after a very tiring two days

Time for the main course. It did look a little weary, (it wasn’t) but it tasted delicious. The carrot is an aged carrot. They are fashionable at the moment and the aging in a straw clamp (as our ancestors used to do before refrigeration) intensifies the flavours but dehydrates the carrot slightly,. which is why it looks so wrinkled. The rich deboned oxtail stew was wrapped in a crepinette parcel, it was on a base of samp (dried maize reconstituted) and peas and came with a jus made with rich meat juices and some NLH?

You know dessert is on the way when some Eminence 2010 NLH arrives on your table. This was the last wine in the auction. We had some blancmange, very sweet. And a cheese platter

Grangehurst Winemaker Jeremy Walker and his wife Mandy were obviously enjoying themselves. Their wine earned very good prices

We shared a table and some good wines with Gavin Ferreira and Greg Mutambe, Deputy General Manager and Head Sommelier of The Twelve Apostles Hotel

A tired chef Bertus Basson with Sommelier Higgo Jacobs, who was responsible for all the wines served that day

Some of the auction wines which were available for drinking with lunch

A final double espresso please before going home at 5.30. An enjoyable day

2016 Cap Classique Challenge Awards lunch at the Twelve Apostles

The 15th year of the Amorim Cap Classique Challenge

The awards ceremony for this prestigious competition, sponsored by Portuguese cork producer Amorim, was held last Wednesday at the Twelve Apostles Hotel. There were 113 entries for the four categories: Blanc de Blancs, Rosé, Blended Brut and a Museum Class for wines including and before the 2008 vintage. And there were a few surprises this year. The labels usually at the top were not up there and two producers both took home two top awards. The wines are tasted blind by a panel of experienced judges and this year there was a change in judging procedures in that categories were narrowed, with judging no longer being done separately on vintage and non-vintage wines. And to promote inclusivity among producers, entries were open to non-members of the Cap Classique Producers Association. The winners are: Best Brut and Overall Winner: Anura Brut 2011; Best Rosé: J.C. Le Roux Pinot Noir Rosé 2010; Best Blanc de Blanc: Colmant Brut Chardonnay NV; Best Museum Class: J.C. Le Roux Scintilla Vintage Reserve 2008; Frans Malan Legacy Award: John and Erica Platter

The 12 Apostles Hotel has become the home of this award ceremony , now the second longest running competition for a single category of wine. It is not difficult to see why, when celebrating MCC with this wonderful view on such a beautiful day.

Taking our seats inside the conference venue

PRO for the Cap Classique Producers Association, Emile Joubert, gets proceedings started

Joaquim Sá, Managing Director for Amorim South Africa, told us that in 2015 MCC producers in SA sold 3,5m bottles in South Africa, with another 2,5m being exported to Africa, Europe, the Far East and America. 15 years ago local sales of MCC were just 700 000 bottles p.a. But they must look to their laurels as there has been an explosion of sales of imported Champagne in South Africa, which sold over 700 000 bottles last year and sales seem to be growing by 20% per annum

We were poured some Colmant Brut Chardonnay MCC non-vintage to accompany our starter. Our waiter Alfred Muswaka, who is training as a sommelier, pours here for Fatima Oliveira and Marlize Uys

Also at our table were Lucille Botha, Christian Eedes and Nicolas Follet and, not in the picture, Heidi Duminy, Higgo Jacobs and JP Colmant

The astoundingly simple starter of Eggs on Toast; what an absolute hit. A sweet brioche toasted, buttered, covered with a very fresh hen's egg cooked sous vide at 63⁰C, with pickled shimeji mushrooms, nicely browned field mushrooms, crisp smoked bacon pieces (missing on my plate!) covered in a potato and chive foam sauce and topped with a little truffle. OK, not that simple, just delicious. The textures and flavours all went so well together and with the crisp, rather French style Colmant Blanc de Blanc

Francois Jacques Malan of Simonsig. His Grandfather, Frans Malan, produced the first MCC

Next, head judge Alan Mullins told us that the wines have improved year on year. He has judged since the start and this year there were lots of smiles, as the judges were left bubbling with enthusiasm for the quality and the consistency. The judges this year were: Allan Mullins (Chair), Jeff Grier, Higgo Jacobs, Cathy Marston, Paul Gerber, Linley Schultz and Heidi Duminy. Sandile Mkhwanazi joined the panel as associate judge. “In previous years there has been a fair percentage of unacceptable Cap Classiques”, says Mullins. “We found wines made with unripe grapes that were distinctly green and acidic, others that had been released too early and lacked flavour, and those that showed clumsy handling in the cellar. “But this year we were overwhelmed with fresh, bright and well-made wines”. They tasted the wines out of wine glasses rather than flutes as it shows the wine to better advantage. There were not many double golds this year because of the high quality of entries. They don't want ripe fruity flavours, just good acidity, and no greenness. Crushing is important, blending very. The blenders of MCC are the rock stars of this difficult art. Wines need to spend time on the lees for richness, but the cost of the time on lees is also important and dosages are vital as they bring balance to the wine

Alan gets a round of applause

Next we were served the JC Le Roux Scintilla Vintage Reserve 2008 while we watched the awards being presented. JP Colmant won the trophy for Best Blanc de Blancs with the Colmant Brut Chardonnay MCC non-vintage. The panel especially found the Blanc de Blancs Class a big improvement on previous years. “Wooding of the base wines was evident, but this had been well judged and subtle. There was a move towards broader wines rather than austere acidic examples”, Alan Mullins says. The House of JC le Roux, one of South Africa’s premier Cap Classique producers, took two trophies, winning the Rosé section with the JC le Roux Pinot Noir Rosé 2010 as well as the Museum Class with the JC le Roux Scintilla Vintage Reserve 2008. Anura Vineyards won the Best Blended Brut category and they were the overall winners

Jean Pierre Colmant brought his Trophy for the best Blanc de Blancs to his place at our table

Lots of discussion about the awards at the tables while we wait to be served the second course

The second course, smoked Hout Bay Hake with a pea puree, spicy crisp chorizo, corn salad and a creme fraiche mousse. The fish on our plates was pappy and completely tasteless, but we really liked the flavours and textures of the rest of the dish, although calling the pea puree pannacotta was a bit of a stretch. It was paired with the JC le Roux Scintilla Vintage Reserve 2008, winner in the Museum class

Then for the main course of Barbequed Pork Belly on an aubergine puree and a great Sherry Prune Jus, a burnt apple gel, pickled Daikon and an interesting Bitterballen. A rich well flavoured dish, tender, if a little fatty, pork with a lovely sauce, rich aubergine, the daikon made no impact and the popcorn crackling underwhelmed

Served with the winning Brut, Anura Vineyards’ MCC Brut 2011. This was a wine you either loved, or not. It is complex

Elunda Basson, cellarmaster for J C le Roux

Joaquim Sá, managing director for Amorim South Africa presents the top award, a handsome sword (useful for doing sabrage on bubbly bottles) to outgoing Anura Cellarmaster Johnny Calitz

Tymen makes his speech of thanks

Once a year they present the special Frans Malan Legacy Award to people in the industry for their past services. This year it was presented by Francois Malan jointly to John and Erica Platter, who started the John Platter Wine Guide in 1980. They sold the Guide a few years ago, and it is now owned by the John Platter SA Wine Guide (Pty) Ltd and sponsored by Diners Club

Erica Platter, who edited the guide, made a very amusing thank you speech about being regarded as the wife in support rather than the equal partner she is. Lynne empathises

John Platter's killer remark in his speech was that they really knew very little about wine, something most of us would roundly contradict

Head Sommelier of the 12 Apostles Hotel Greg Mutambe

The winners with their trophies pose with Joaquim Sá, managing director for Amorim South Africa

Erica Platter with their award and Francois Malan

Francois Jacques Malan, John Platter, Erica Platter and Francois Malan with the Frans Malan Trophy

Dessert was a lovely mango mousse, a rich milk chocolate Crémeux, a nice sharp contrasting kiwi sorbet and a coconut whipped ganache, crisp and crumbly. Don't know who did the whipping? or why? It wasn't bad. The hazelnut sponge looked like broken brown bread and didn't add much to the dish

And finally with good black coffee, some Petit Fours. Liked the little chocolate cups filled with a tea? flavoured cream topped with mini Maltesers. Those caramel rice crispy bars were a bit soggy and stuck to the teeth