Thursday, November 09, 2017

MENU's Wines of the Week - Aristea Chardonnay 2016; De Wet Cellar Chenin Blanc 2016

This week we have two. The first is a beautiful wine, but expensive and only made in small quantities. The second you will find easy to source and is much more affordable. Both would go well with the Greek Lamb.
First - Aristea Chardonnay. It is very Burgundian in style, with a little African sun added
Light wood is present but will soften , a subtle nose with a little stone fruit. The wine has a lovely silky mouth feel and flavours of limes, white peaches, butter and toast with a touch marmalade on the finish. So good to drink. 2016 vintage: R290 a bottle from Matthew Krone
Second and more affordable: De Wet Chenin Blanc 2016. R35 from the cellar. This perfumed wine must have a little Muscat somewhere as the nose is so floral, perhaps it's a different clone of Chenin Blanc. So fresh and racy on the palate, full of tropical notes with guava and peach, perfect for Mediterranean foods or just for quaffing with friends
The 2017 has just been released. Collect some next time you drive through Worcester. The cellar is on the northern side of the town, next to the N1

What's on the Menu this week. Greek Lamb Marinade

Summer is breaking out and we are starting to think of outdoor eating and braais (barbeques.) This is the classic way the Greeks have of cooking their lamb. The marinade will help to tenderise and adds lovely flavour too
Juice of large 2 lemons - 1/4 cup/60 ml extra virgin olive oil - 2-3 cloves garlic, grated or minced - 2 tablespoons/30 ml fresh oregano leaves, finely chopped (or 2 or 3 teaspoons dried oregano) - 1 teaspoon/5 ml fresh thyme leaves - 1 whole bay leaf - 1 teaspoon/5 ml sea salt - 1/4 teaspoon/1.25 ml freshly ground black pepper
Mix well to emulsify and marinate the lamb for 4 to 5 hours if chops or shanks and 8 to 24 hours for a 2 kilo joint of lamb
Roast the lamb using the marinade as a basting sauce. You can double up the recipe for larger joints of lamb

I used two leg chops and put them under the grill, then sliced them. I served them on some orzo pasta with some of the red peppers and tomato mix from last week's recipe, to which I added some sliced black olives
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017

Wine Concepts International Champagne and Sparkling Wine Affair

Join Wine Concepts in celebrating their sixteenth year of staging this prestigious event at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town, on 17th November from 18h00 to 21h00. Porsche has come on board as a sponsor this year and will be showcasing a couple of their luxury vehicles at the event. 
Numerous cuvées will be there for tasting from premium and boutique Champagne Houses of France, and, for the first time, we will also have a selection of sparkling wines from other international producers including Spain, Italy and the UK to tantalize your taste buds. You can expect names such as Taittinger, Billecart-Salmon, Drappier, Pol Roger, Jacquinot, Mumm, Bottega, San Leo, Freixenet, Valdo, Reguta, Acquesi, Bacio and many more. Promote the theme by dressing up to represent the country that makes your favourite bubbly, and in so doing stand a chance to win a wonderful prize for the Best Dressed Couple on the evening. Light snacks will be served throughout the evening accompanied by live music and entertainment! Fresh oysters and artisanal chocolates will be on sale for those who care to indulge

The Champagnes & Sparkling Wines tasted on the evening will be offered at a special discounted price and purchasers will be eligible to win a grand prize of a two night stay for two at Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Wellness Retreat. There will be additional prizes for lucky-draw ticket holders on the evening! The Vineyard Hotel is offering a special stay over package for this night only. Courtyard facing rooms are R2 075 for a single and R3 080 for a double includes a 2-course dinner in The Square Restaurant on 17th November as well as a Full English breakfast on 18th November. Tickets cost R500.00 and can be purchased from Wine Concepts stores, online on www.webtickets.co.za or at the door on the evening. Booking is advisable to avoid disappointment

Launch of the 2018 edition of Platter's South African Wine Guide at The Table Bay Hotel

It is that time of the year again, so eagerly awaited by most of the wine world, the launch of the New Platter 's Wine Guide 2018 This is its 38th year of publication. Publisher JP Rossouw told us the awards would have a different sequence this year, shortening the ceremony. First the four Highline awards: the Wines of the Year. It has been a year of great quality vintages, both 2015 and 2017 stand out. Do hold prices, stand firm with these wines of international quality. A five star winner means it scored 95 points or more. The wines nominated by the tasters for 5 star are tasted blind by a panel which also includes people from outside the team
Platter publisher J P Rossouw starts proceedings
Xolani Mhlaba, Finance Head: Diners Club South Africa reiterated Diners' commitment to supporting Platters Guide
There is always a huge audience of wine makers, wine trade and media. The Awards were held at the Table Bay Hotel in the Banqueting suites
And the first thing is to announce the new colour, always a huge secret until the last minute. This year, it is called Hot Habanero (looks like burgundy to us!)
Philip van Zyl is the hard working Editor, and this is his 20th edition. A mighty job which he does so well. It is Dave Swingler’s 21st year as a taster. He is about to announce the winners
First a new category The Fortified Dessert Wine of the Year and a huge surprise. Philip gave us lots of hints and no one guessed that the winner was Starboard from Beaumont Family wines (can't call this a port) . This blend of Tinta Barocca and Pinotage, and an assemblage of remainders of five vintages between 2005 to 2011 Cape Vintage is a whole new category at SAWIS. Rich and mature full of prunes, plums, leather and nuts with a brandy note and just lekker. Sebastian Beaumont was also awarded 5 stars for their Hope Marguerite
This year's Dessert Wine of the Year (unfortified) went to Klein Constantia for their 2013 Vin de Constance, made by talented young winemaker Matthew Day
Chris Williams collecting his award for the top White Wine of the Year, for The Foundry Grenache Blanc
Nederburg Cellarmaster Andrea Freeborough collected the Red Wine of the Year for the 2014 Two Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon.
Always lots of excitement when the Winery of the year is announced. Here JP Rossouw is about to let us into the secret
It went to Bruwer Raats and his team with 8 five star wines. Five of the seven Raats Family Wines are 5 star wines this year, with another on the highly recommended list. Two of the B Vintners wines he makes with cousin Gavin Bruwer Slabbert earned 5 stars and so did the Mvemve Raats MR de Compostella which he makes in partnership with Mzokhona Mvemve
Five star winners Neil Ellis, Nikki Ellis (Logistics Manager at Boekenhoutskloof), Warren Ellis, Kevin Arnold
Elgin and Stellenbosch with their awards: Stuart Downes, Johan Jordaan (Spier), James Downes
Stuart Downes and James Downes of Shannon Vineyards in Elgin with the two 5 star awards they received for Shannon Mount Bullet Merlot and The Shannon Semillon
 Winemaker Wynand Lategan and GM Barend Barnard of Lanzerac with their five star award for the 2015 Pionier Pinotage
Some canapés circulated. Arancini rice balls
Saté sticks
And then it was time to try to taste as many of the top and 5 star wines as you could manage. It is hard, but some of us have to try
Twilight at the waterfront as we left clutching our copy of this year's Platter. It is invaluable for what we do; we use it daily as a reference and would not know how to work without it. Congratulations to all the winners and high scorers

Lunch at Buitenverwachting with Lars Maack and the new vintage wines

We know that it is a great privilege indeed to be able to do what we do. This would not be possible without invitations from the industry in which we work and we do appreciate it. So it was great to have lunch this week in the newly refurbished restaurant on the farm with GM Lars Maack, Sandy Bailey who looks after PR for the farm, and one other member of the media, journalist Graham Howe
There was a huge early winter storm in the Cape while we were travelling in Europe in May and during that storm the roof of Buitenverwachting's restaurant blew off. (We were following it on the Net from our laptops as we travelled) This has been replaced and necessitated a refurbishment of the venue. And what an impressive job they have done, with such smart design. The windows look larger and wider, the restaurant is lighter and fresher, the wood that has been used everywhere is so natural and modern and green
At one end of the restaurant they have built a small Vinoteque where you can taste older vintages of their wines. The design is very clever, as the slope of the shelves keeps the wine in the correct position with their corks down, and those facia boards are actually drawers containing more wine. We began with a glass of Buitenverwachting MCC Brut
The Wine library list
The wine lounge is comfortable for a relaxed tasting, reminding Lynne of some London Wine Bars. A comfotable place to relax with friends
The floor to ceiling windows let in so much more light, and the beautiful view of the vineyards and the mountain
We sat at a corner table and tasted some of the library wines
We began with the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc. R100 from the farm. An elegant nose with all the expected flavours of Constantia Sauvignon Blanc, quince and elderflower and a little green pepper, it is crisp, long and delicious, a food and quaffing wine. Marketed as Bayten in the USA at $19 a bottle, this sells very well in the USA, where they cannot pronounce Buitenverwachting. We followed with the Hussey’s Vlei Sauvignon Blanc, bottled just two weeks ago. Still shy on the nose, with hints of Constantia Sauvignon Blanc, clean crisp with limes, figs and green peppers, and a touch of salt, this has always been one of our favourite wines from Constantia. R120 a bottle. They use a combination of different yeasts to ferment the sugar, not to add flavour, and no acid is added to the wines as the grapes have their own fresh acidity
There are three menus to choose from. This is the Rustic Affairs menu
The Indulge Menu
And the Fine Bites menu with the suggested wine pairings
We ordered and continued to taste the wines while we waited for the first course
Time to taste the Maximus 2014. First made in 2009, this Blanc FumĂ© Sauvignon is so classy. Dusty on the nose with a whiff of smoke, with melons and quinces on the palate, full and integrated with the wood, this is a good food wine with some essential maturity. Lars then told us that they have now planted 10 hectares of Chenin in what looks like a first for Constantia; we await the resulting wine with excitement, especially given the global warming we experiencing. We should mention that Buitenverwachting have 8 4½ star wines in this year’s Platter Guide

The red wine served was the Meifort 2016. This wine sells for R80 from the farm and the 2015 was awarded the Trophy for the best red wine at the 2017 Old Mutual Trophy competition 
Time for the first courses. This is Vegetable garden Amuse Bouche from the Fine Bites menu which the others were having
Sandy is a vegetarian, so this was her amuse Bouche of raw and pickled vegetables
 And her first course of a sweet corn inspired dish
We had just ordered two courses each from the other menus, as we did not want to eat so many courses. So then Edgar sent us a small amuse of belly of pork on rye bread with red cabbage and cumin and horseradish, a good dish and a good wine pairing dish
A mini variation of the Caesar Salad, the first course from the Fine Bites menu
The large Caesar Salad we ordered from the Indulge menu was light and superb The seared Norwegian salmon was crisp and golden on the outside but still pink, moist and flaky in the centre, the bacon very crisp, and the small quail’s eggs bursting with runny yolk, crisp croutons and a good anchovy sauce and quarters of Cos lettuce. Not sure why there was a dollop of whipped cream on the plate though? We had this paired with a six year old Hussey’s Vlei Sauvignon Blanc, which is still fresh and lively and elegant, with limes, green peppers and elderflower. Not showing its age at all, just its quality
Raw tartare, marinated and seared tuna, in a 'spring roll', guacamole, pan fried baby gem lettuce and citrus dressing
2nd course on the Fine Bites menu, Carpaccio of Thai marinated ostrich eye fillet, with yum salad, black garlic and sesame
An amuse of Shallot and Madumbe crema soup with a dusting of truffle. Madumbe is an indigenous starchy root vegetable, resembling potato
Third course on Fine Bites, Grilled Angel Fish topped with Seafood, with potatoes in caldeirade sauce, with chermoula
We all had the Lime Vodka and Chilli sorbet as a palate refresher
Lynne's main course of confit duck leg with a lovely tender still pink seared breast, on a base of red cabbage, so traditional and so right and a potato puff, an a l'orange sauce and gingered carrots croquette. We had the 2005 Meifort and the 2012 Christine with the Main course. The Meifort, last year's Top red wine in the Old Mutual Trophy, is elegant on the nose, with light wood notes, and completely cassis driven. The Christine has Incense wood, richness of cherries and cassis on the nose, this year is so special, with great elegance, silky soft on the palate with cherries and red berries, some nice chalky tannins and a little warmth on the end
 The main course on the Fine Bites menu of Pan Fried Springbok Cutlet with grilled loin, a Port wine sauce leek-pommes macaire, fresh broad beans and creamy Puy lentils with a grape & apple chutney.
Dessert for four of the party was the Chocolate Variation for the serious chocoholic. A small perfect chocolate fondant, caramel ice cream in a chocolate cone, a gianduja phyllo parcel, chocolate grand piano with crocante parfait, white chocolate mousse in baumkuchen and a orange parfait in milk chocolate ring. Oh and fresh strawberries and sauce. This was served with Buitenverwachting's Noble Late Harvest 1769, the Trophy winner in 2014. Rose, mango, lime and honey on the nose and palate, made from Muscat de Frontignan in a vineyard planted in 2007. Not oversweet, (R/s 135 g/l) with good acid balance and a nice dry end. Lynne was the only one to pass on dessert but we did follow this with very good coffees in the new Coffee bar which was the old tasting room. What a marvellous meal with really great wines. Book soon