Thursday, November 23, 2017

Tasting Distell’s Platter Five Star brandies

What a great invitation and they promised that a special canapĂ© menu had been created to pair with the four award winning potstill brandies, while Van Ryn’s Master Distiller, Marlene Bester, would be on hand to guide us through the tasting
The tasting was held at The Bar Keeper Liquor Store at the top of Strand Street, so of course we took the bus, no driving after sampling five brandies. This was always a liquor store and has been recently refurbished when The Bar Keeper took over the premises. In fact, it was originally the place where Johan Van Ryn sold his brandy in the 19th Century, so the wheel has turned full circle. His name is still above the door.
These are the four potstill brandies we were there to taste. Van Ryn's, 12, 15 and 20 year old and the Oude Meester Souverein 18 year. All won 5 stars in this year’s John Platter Guide
The table laid out with the four tasting glasses with the canapés in the centre which would be paired with the brandy
We began with something our parents used to drink in the 1950s, Brandy and Ginger Ale. Rather too sweet for us, it was enjoyed by others
Brandy Ambassador and Account Director at Corporate Image, Dayne Stern got us started on the tasting
Then it was the turn of Marlene Bester, Master Distiller at Van Ryn. She told us that the first brandy produced in South Africa was made from local grapes in 1672, but on a ship in the harbour. Van Ryn’s distillery was built in Stellenbosch in 1905. They win many international awards each year, but they do not compete in these competitions with Cognac. South African brandy is different from French, as we have the sun and good weather. They also do not concentrate on wood maturation. The brandy must speak from the glass. There are strict regulations for making brandy. Brandy must be made from grapes in South Africa, in other parts of the world it is made with other things like fruit, maize and corn, even potatoes! All our brandies are matured for a minimum of three years in oak barrels. Good brandy needs a long time to mature well
Some beef rolls
We began with the Van Ryn 12 year old, retailing at R699 to R800. Coffee, cocoa and herbs on the nose, with some apricots and vanilla on the palate, and a coffee toffee aftertaste. World’s Best Brandy in the IOC and IWC competitions. This was paired with onion and cheese tarts, where the onion overwhelmed, and tarts with mushrooms and rocket, which we found added a musty taste to the brandy. On the right hand side are some beetroot rostis. We find that tasting food with brandy is a very subjective thing

Some spicy chicken topped with Salsa was paired with the Van Ryn 20 year old, which has vanilla, floral notes, Christmas fruit and prunes. Soft as silk on the palate, with some spice, R1500 to R1800
Then to taste the Van Ryn 15 year old, R1100. It has the best nose, full of chocolate, toffee, nuts apricots and ripe peaches. Lovely spicy flavours, warmth too, caramel and nuts. This was paired with sushi, a nori wrapped tuna maki and this glass of seared tuna in a 5 spice soy
Then with this selection of dessert items it was time to taste the Oude Meester 18 year Old. R1300 to R1500. It has a nose of Vanilla ice cream with toffee, how pretty. Hot on the palate, herbal buchu and walnuts, and not as smooth and forthcoming as the Van Ryn’s. The pairing of the Almond butter slice was inspired, the macaron went well
The Richelieu 10 year old was used in the brandy and ginger ale at the start of the tasting. The sticky chocolate cake topped with pomegranate rather overwhelmed some guests
Lots of tweets, Facebook entries and photos from the attending bloggers. Winnie Bowman and Mel Minnaar enjoying the brandy, as did we, very much

Winemag's White Blends Report at Fairview

Cape White Blends Report
This is the second time WineMag.co.za has held this competition. Wines entered need to contain some Chenin Blanc (more than 15% and less than 85%). Why do they insist on a Chenin Blanc blend? The panel of judges feel that "If we were to make Chenin Blanc non-compulsory, then producers forfeit a significant point of difference relative to wines from elsewhere in the world. With approximately 18 000ha of Chenin in the ground, it's our most planted variety and we should find ways to celebrate it". Chenin is what we do best, it is a wine with a unique character, identifiable but also able to appear in many different guises and it always adds something unique. Still there is no sponsor for this very important wine blend; it really does showcase the very best of what South Africa can make in the white wine field. South Africans need to be encouraged to drink these delicious blends too, they don't know what they are missing
The Awards were held at Fairview in their Master Tasting facility
It has a good terrace where we all gathered
Andre Morgenthal, who is involved with the Old Vines project, was being abstemious
Fairview welcomed us with their Brut MCC, itself an unusual blend of 50% Viognier with Grenache Noir and Blanc. The early harvested viognier is elegant rather than rambunctious and shows as dusty white peaches with some warm croissant notes on the nose, the long crisp palate has more white peach nectarine and citrus
Time for Jacqueline Lahoud of WineMag.co.za to begin the awards ceremony
There were 38 wines in the line-up, which are all judged blind, no labels shown. 22 wines were rated 90 or higher on the 100-point quality 95, which is a very high average, an indication of where these white blends are going. Many farms have added Rhone and southern Mediterranean grapes to their vineyards, which are now producing superbly as they can cope with dry land conditions
Editor & Creative Director Christian Eedes announced the wine placings, the wines which scored over 90 points.. Certificates would be given to the 9 wines scoring over 92 points. He said the panel agreed the wines are outstanding. "There is a potential for greatness here, the category is small but will grow, it was the highest coring white wine category this year. It shows adventurous winemaking with some challenges. There are degrees of oxidation and flavours which the average wine drinker won't get, it is demanding and rewarding. If you have oxidation, don't lose the fruit and rely on it too much. Some of the wines have volatile acidity making this too much like sherry, too dark, keep the fruit safe and do persist with these blends as the quality is fantastic, may be difficult even though marketing."
94    Keermont Terrasse 2015 Price: R160
        Lammershoek Terravinum Reserve White 2016 Price: R185
        Solms Delta Amalie 2015 Price: R180
93    Cavalli Cremello 2015 Price: R135
        Lammershoek The Innocent White Blend 2015 Price: R88
        Olifantsberg Blanc 2016 Price: R165
        Painted Wolf Peloton Blanc 2016 Price: R100
92    Fairview Nurok 2016 Price: R170
        Muratie Laurens Campher 2016 Price: R135
91    Bergsig Icarus 2016 Price: R180
        Blake Family Wines Tourmaline 2016 Price: R120
        Darling Cellars Lime Kilns 2016 Price: R100
        Eerste Hoop Lodewijk X 2017 Price: R240
        Miles Mossop Saskia 2014 Price: R257
        Sijnn White 2016 Price: R180
90    Bosman Family Vineyards Adama 2016 Price: R150
        B Vintners Haarlem to Hope 2016 Price: R185
        Leipzig White Leipzig 2017 Price: R110
        Marvelous Yellow 2015 Price: R90
        Rascallion Vinyl Collection 33 1/3 RPM 2017 Price: R118
        Vrede en Lust Artisan Range Chenin Blanc Semillon 2016 Price: R129
        Zevenwacht The Tin Mine White 2016 Price: R79
Then it was time to taste the top 9 wines
 Fairview Nurok 2016 Price: R170 92 points A blend of Chenin, Vigoner, Roussan & Genache Blanc. Some light oxidation, warm fruit, pineapple and figs, very Mediterranean in character on the nose, crisp and full fruit on the palate with nice glycerol, oxidised apple, straw and Bing cherries, a lovely wine
Muratie Laurens Campher 2016 Price: R135 92 points We drink this a lot so nice to see it doing well.. A 47% Chenin led four way blend with 27% Verdelho, 20% Sauvignon Blanc and 6% Viognier. Full on nose with Chenin dominating, lots of fruit on the rounded nose and palate, the other grapes just add that something else. A good quaffing and food wine.
 
Cavalli Cremello 2015 Price: R135. 93 points A lightly oaked blend of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Verdelho, whiffs of smoke, crisp with lots of limes, lemons and marmalade on the end with some mouth drying tannins, showing age potential
Lammershoek The Innocent White Blend 2015 Price: R88 93 points A blend of Swartland Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Harslevelu, Chardonnay and Viognier.. An interesting integrated nose, some fennel, pine, pears and quince giving it an old fashioned penny sweets nose. Lovely round mouth feel, with warmth and some wood, sweet chenin and melon, with glycerols and more sweetness left on the palate.
Olifantsberg Blanc 2016 Price: R165 93 points A blend of Chenin, Chardonnay, Roussane, Grenache Blanc. This is an appealing dusty grassy warm land wine, A lovely rich and full blend of golden fruit, apples, gooseberries, ripe cling peaches and more, on the nose and palate. Showing so well with more of everything than most of the other wines, it went very well with food too.. It is our wine of the week.
Painted Wolf Peloton Blanc 2016 Price: R100 93 points A blend of Chenin, Viognier, Roussane, Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche,. it is full of richness and fruit on the nose. On the palate a rounded mouthfeel but the wine is lighter than the nose indicates. Flavours of the Chenin and the Roussanne, and there are hints of red plums
Lammershoek Terravinum Reserve White 2016 Price: R185 94 points A blend of Chenin Vigonier and Chardonnay. Aromatic on the nose with herbs, buchu and fennel, a lovely palate of delicious fruit salad, apricots, peaches, melon, white cherries. A summer wine for terrace drinking with Mediterranean food
Solms Delta Amalie 2015 Price: R180 94 points A blend ofChenin, Grenache, Roussane, Verdelho. Shy on the nose initially, on the palate Chenin and Verdelho show most, with some salty cherries and warmth.
Keermont Terrasse 2015 Price: R160 94 points A blend of is elegant on the nose with some perfume of fennel and violets, Typical Chenin grapes, with some peach, apricot and white Bing cherry. It keeps evolving in the glass. A blend of Chenin, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc & Chardonnay
Receiving their certificate are Fairview winemakers Stephanie Wiid, Annette van Zyl and Anthony de Jager
Time for some food and Fairview did produce a very good spread. which we drank with the winning wines. Salmon paté on cream cheese with lemon
Seared sesame tuna dressed with Ponzu
A very good cheese selection with good bread - Fairview could do no less
Some of the excellent breads, available from tasting room deli with the cheeses
Tiny quiches in filo pastry
Biltong and droëwors
A significant number of the wines was made by women
Maggie Venter of Darling Cellars, Elizma Visser of Olifantsberg, Stephanie Wiid of Fairview, Corlea Fourie of Bosman, Annette Human of Cavalli, Danielle Jacobs of Eerste Hoop and Annette van Zyl of Fairview with Jacqueline Lahoud of WineMag

Thursday, November 16, 2017

This Week’s MENU. Bellevue 1953 & restaurant, Ocean Basket Summer celebration, Diners Club Wine Maker of the Year, Pollo Orvietana, Groote Post SeaSalter

Beach huts, Muizenberg
In the 1970s, a system of wine bottle neck “bus tickets” was introduced by the Wine and Spirit Board. On these tickets, up to three coloured stripes designated origin, vintage and cultivar. The flaw in the system was that the public assumed that the more stripes there were, the better the wine. As the third stripe denoted “cultivar” it was translated as meaning that a single cultivar wine was better than a blend. It has taken many years to recover from this flaw and, while red blends have become respectable, only recently have white blends achieved serious recognition. This week, our Wine of the Week is a white blend and we’ll tell you next week about the great wines we tasted at a white blends awards ceremony. Please click on these links to see this week’s stories:
We visited Bellevue Wine Estate in Bottelary recently to taste their wines and they told us that their new restaurant and wine tasting venue would be opening soon and that we would be invited. This launch took place last week and it was also their opportunity to launch an iconic new wine, 1953 Pinotage, made from the vineyards planted on Bellevue 64 years ago. Pinotage vines (a cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault -aka Hermitage- propagated by Professor Abraham Perold in 1925) were planted on Bellevue in 1953 by PK Morkel. The grapes for the first commercially produced Pinotage were harvested from these vines and made into this original South African wine which sold under the Lanzerac label, owned at the time by Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery. Bellevue is an historic wine estate (established in 1701) with its original Cape Dutch homestead built in 1803. The modern new facilities complement the original farm buildings


Over the last year, we have been asked by Ocean Basket management to sample new ideas in their menus and give suggestions. Last week, we were invited to Canal Walk Ocean Basket with several other members of the media to hear about and taste what they are currently launching. This was their Summer Celebration, where we could taste some of the new ideas they have for food in the restaurants. They have been moving to a more Mediterranean style and doing their best to work around the diminishing supply of sustainable fish. And we were told to come hungry. And this after the lunch at Bellevue!


Minerality in wine is 'a good thing'; it adds to the complexity. Sometimes, a little salt is found in wine. It is not a negative flavour and adds some nice savouriness, it helps to highlight other flavours and aromas in the wine, as it does in food and it often comes from the same areas. We look for it in wines from Darling, Durbanville and other West Coast areas. Groote Post has some in this new Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend just released by the Pentz family of Groote Post and it is an impressive wine. We were invited to taste it and six of their other wines this week at the Cape Grace
These awards will be presented on Saturday 25th November in Franschhoek. We have been invited and hope to be there if we get accommodation. It is a long way to drive home after midnight.
Winemaker of the Year Finalists: Category - Pinotage
·         AndrĂ© Scriven - Rooiberg Pinotage Reserve 2016 (Robertson)
·         Christiaan Groenewald - New Cape Wines - Arendskloof Pinotage 2015 and Eagles Cliff Pinotage 2017 (Worcester)
·         Clayton Reabow - MĂ´reson Widowmaker Pinotage 2015 (Franschhoek)
·         De Wet Viljoen - Neethlingshof Pinotage 2016 (Stellenbosch)
·         NiĂ«l Groenewald - Bellingham Homestead Pinotage 2016 (Franschhoek)
Young Winemaker of the Year Finalists: Category - White Wines
·         Charl Schoeman - Simonsig Roussanne 2016 and Roussanne Marsanne 2016 (Stellenbosch)
·         Murray Barlow - Rustenberg Stellenbosch Chardonnay 2016 (Stellenbosch)
·         Philip Viljoen - Bon Courage Chardonnay Unwooded 2017 and Noble Late Harvest 2016 (Weisser Riesling/GewĂĽrztraminer) (Robertson)
·         Wade Roger-Lund - Jordan Blanc de Blancs MĂ©thode Cap Classique 2015 (Stellenbosch)

What is on the Menu this week? Pollo Orvietana - Chicken with Kalamata olives and Balsamic vinegar
We first had this lovely summery dish at Morgenster when, several years ago, we were invited to lunch with owner Giulio Bertrand and it was prepared by his chef. If you can get hold of the Morgenster Balsamic and their Olive Oil it will be superb. Lynne cooked it for friends this weekend as a simple supper and it was delicious, so we thought it might be time to reprise this recipe.
8 jointed chicken pieces – seasoned flour - Extra Virgin olive oil - fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary and oregano) - 2 bay leaves - 500ml chicken or vegetable stock
16 kalamata olives - 3 or 4 large peeled potatoes, cut in quarters or eighths - Balsamic vinegar di Modena
Dust the chicken joints with flour, braise with herbs until golden in olive oil. Add olives and stock, and par-cook chicken for about 15 minutes. Add potatoes for the last 15-20 minutes, so that they will be cooked at the end, but firm. When all is tender, ensure that the stock/juices are reduced until consistency is slightly syrupy. You might want to pour this off into another pot, as you don’t want your chicken/potatoes overcooking to pulp. Add generous dollops of vinegar five minutes before serving and swirl all the syrupy gorgeousness to coat every morsel. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with last minute drizzles of extra virgin olive oil and chopped parsley. (By courtesy of Christiaan van Graan-de Groen – former chef/butler to Mr Giulio Bertrand, Morgenster Estate)
Menu's Wine of the Week. SeaSalter from Groote Post in the Darling area
is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The Semillon and Sauvignon components were made separately and then blended. 40% of the wine is wooded for 4 months in French oak barrels, the rest is made in tank. We were so impressed with this wine. R250 a bottle on the farm. It does indeed smell of sea mist with some kelp and herbs and minerality too. It sparkles on the palate with lovely fruit acids, a tingle on the front of the tongue, rounding on the end from the Semillon. Refreshing, It has had wood and lees contact and the salt stays on the palate at the end. And it is a food wine. Quite French in style, we suspect that it is headed for some awards in future


In next week’s MENU: White blends, Distell 5 Star brandies Wine Concepts Champagne Fest
16th November 2017


© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
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Short list of candidates for the Diners Club Wine Maker of the Year and Young Wine Maker of the year

These awards will be presented on Saturday 25th November in Franschhoek. We have been invited and hope to be there if we get accommodation. It is a long way to drive home after midnight
Winemaker of the Year Finalists: Category - Pinotage
  • AndrĂ© Scriven - Rooiberg Pinotage Reserve 2016 (Robertson)
  • Christiaan Groenewald - New Cape Wines - Arendskloof Pinotage 2015 and Eagles Cliff Pinotage 2017 (Worcester)
  • Clayton Reabow - MĂ´reson Widowmaker Pinotage 2015 (Franschhoek)
  • De Wet Viljoen - Neethlingshof Pinotage 2016 (Stellenbosch)
  • NiĂ«l Groenewald - Bellingham Homestead Pinotage 2016 (Franschhoek)

Young Winemaker of the Year Finalists: Category - White Wines
  • Charl Schoeman - Simonsig Roussanne 2016 and Roussanne Marsanne 2016 (Stellenbosch)
  • Murray Barlow - Rustenberg Stellenbosch Chardonnay 2016 (Stellenbosch)
  • Philip Viljoen - Bon Courage Chardonnay Unwooded 2017 and Noble Late Harvest 2016 (Weisser Riesling/GewĂĽrztraminer) (Robertson)
  • Wade Roger-Lund - Jordan Blanc de Blancs MĂ©thode Cap Classique 2015 (Stellenbosch)


What is on the Menu this week? Pollo Orvietana - Chicken with Kalamata olives and Balsamic vinegar

We first had this lovely summery dish at Morgenster when, several years ago, we were invited to lunch with owner Giulio Bertrand and it was prepared by his chef. If you can get hold of the Morgenster Balsamic and their Olive Oil it will be superb. Lynne cooked it for friends this weekend as a simple supper and it was delicious, so we thought it might be time to reprise this recipe.
8 jointed chicken pieces – seasoned flour - Extra Virgin olive oil - fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary and oregano) - 2 bay leaves - 500ml chicken or vegetable stock
16 kalamata olives - 3 or 4 large peeled potatoes, cut in quarters or eighths - Balsamic vinegar di Modena

Dust the chicken joints with flour, braise with herbs until golden in olive oil. Add olives and stock, and par-cook chicken for about 15 minutes. Add potatoes for the last 15-20 minutes, so that they will be cooked at the end, but firm (not cooked to a mash). When all is tender, ensure that the stock/juices are reduced until consistency is slightly syrupy. You might want to pour this off into another pot, as you don’t want your chicken/potatoes overcooking to pulp. Add generous dollops of vinegar five minutes before serving and swirl all the syrupy gorgeousness to coat every morsel. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with last minute drizzles of extra virgin olive oil and chopped parsley. (By courtesy of Christiaan van Graan-de Groen – former chef/butler to Mr Giulio Bertrand, Morgenster Estate)

MENU’s Wine of the Week. Groote Post SeaSalter

SeaSalter from Groote Post in the Darling area is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The Semillon and Sauvignon components were made separately and then blended. 40% of the wine is wooded for 4 months in French oak barrels, the rest is made in tank
We were so impressed with this wine. It sells for R250 a bottle on the farm and you may find it in some of the better wine merchants such as Wine Concepts, Caroline's or Sunset Beach. Only 2000 bottles were made. It does indeed smell of sea mist with some kelp and herbs and minerality too. It sparkles on the palate with lovely fruit acids, a tingle on the front of the tongue, rounding on the end from the Semillon. Refreshing, It has had wood and lees contact and the salt stays on the palate at the end. And it is a food wine. Quite French in style, we suspect that it is headed for some awards in future