Thursday, October 25, 2018

Malanot wines with lunch at Table Seven, Salt River

Cape Wine Master Marius Malan makes his Malanot Wines on Summerhill estate in Stellenbosch from bought in grapes (he also makes their wine). We were given an opportunity to meet him and taste his wines this week at a very good venue in Salt River
Table Seven is not a conventional restaurant. They do event catering, a chef’s table, chef cooking demonstrations, consulting, wedding catering, and private chef work. From the impressive food we were served, we can recommend Chef Luke Wonnacott and his wife Kate. He is obviously classically trained and very experienced. This is the inside of the venue with a long table set for the event
Then it was time to get to know Marius Malan and Malanot wines. Here are the white wines on ice
We began with the Sauvignon Blanc, which has classic green pepper notes and is crisp with some tropical flavours on the palate
Chef plating up some canapés for the arriving media
Here preparing some perfect duck rillettes which came with contrasting pickles on a small toast
Could not get enough of these. Such a favourite with us and so rarely served in South Africa
The wine racks on the walls are innovative
The function was ably organised by Celia Galloway
We can supply her details should you need someone to organise an event for you, here or elsewhere
The second canapé was a fish paté topped with gherkins and thick mayonnaise
 Salmon on a crisp cracker, topped with shredded daikon radish and avocado
The last canapé was a perfect mini warm & crisp pastry tart tatin topped with pine nuts
Flavours of apple, caramel, pastry and savoury, all in one mouthful
The Malanot Chenin label is embossed on white paper, so it is difficult to photograph. This was the 2017 Asiel Chenin Blanc served with the starter. (Asiel means Created by God). Only 900 bottles are made, all numbered. Unusually it has about 5 or 10% of whole bunches (grapes, stalks, skins and pips) put into the barrel for fermentation and left while the wine ages, Marius says they are very difficult to remove afterwards, but they make a huge difference to the wine. The 2014 spent 14 months in barrel. It has a rich, complex nose, with ripe apricots and loquats. This follows through on the palate with the addition of cooked apple and some wood
The Menu
The table is one slice of a huge tree trunk from the Congo. The table setting was rather informal
In fact, we were not sure which glasses, cutlery or side plates were ours, but we sorted it out
Each guest was given a bottle of Asiel to take home
Marius Malan explained his wines and their making to the group
He says he makes "quality boutique wines, naturally crafted to perfection!"
The arm injury is due to a recent mountain bike accident; he is an aficionado, but pays for it
Marius graduated from Elsenberg and told us the wine name comes from Malan, his family name,
and Genot - meaning “pleasure” in Afrikaans
He says his winemaking philosophy is to apply minimal interference in the natural wine making process. He is an individualist. He likes to pick his soils, their aspects, varietals and clones. He uses healthy fruit that shows its terroir and uses healthy older barrels. His focus is on the fruit and he uses spontaneous fermentation; no bought yeast is used, and he uses stabilisation only in his white wines. He wants integrity in his wines
Time for the starter which was an olive oil poached salmon; tender, falling into perfect flakes with great flavour, this was served with orange and grapefruit segments which added a flash of good acidity, a mild horseradish cream and some crisp daikon and red radish slices, with fronds of dill. Delicious
A close up of the perfect starter
The next wine was the Malanot Chardonnay. The grapes come from Franschhoek and Elgin. He used 10% new oak for four months, then batonage so that the wine is not overly oaked. It has 5 stars in Platter and scored 93 points at the Prescient Chardonnay Report. It has a wax cap to the capsule. Gentle on the nose, a typical elegant Chardonnay with notes of citrus, grapefruit, minerality and light smoke. On the palate, it is smooth, crisp, then zingy with lots of lemon, grapefruit. minerality and long flavours. We like the way he thinks about wine, how he makes it and we do like the wines
The Chardonnay was served with the main course of perfectly cooked confit lamb shoulder topped with slices of pink lamb loin, a spring vegetable nage which consisted of artichoke, asparagus, courgette, new peas, broad beans and a saffron caramel jus. It was a joy to eat. The Chardonnay went perfectly with this great dish, blowing the myth that red meat needs red wine. And you don’t need a starch when the food is this satisfying
A close up!
Chef Luke slicing the dessert, which was a classic chocolate tart,
good dark ganache on crisp chocolate pastry, served with a not too sweet mascarpone ice cream
Slices awaiting the ice cream
The dessert was accompanied by the Malanot Triton Syrah
There are old world Syrahs and there are new world Syrahs. Marius tried to make one in the middle. Medium wood was used, no punch downs, Marius does not believe in them. It does go very well with rich chocolate. Spicy and peppery with rich cherry, plum and mulberry notes, it is perfumed on the palate, smooth and juicy with elegance and long life

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

On the MENU this week. Lemon Chicken in Paprika with Haricot beans


A simple and very aromatic supper dish for two

1 Tbsp vegetable oil - 1 large onion, finely chopped - 500g skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 5 cm pieces – 1 Tbsp seasoned flour - 6 baby carrots, roughly chopped – 1 diced celery stick - 2 courgettes, cubed - 1 good heaped teaspoon paprika, or more, to taste - 3 garlic cloves, minced - 8 baby tomatoes, halved - 2 cups chicken stock - 5 sprigs of thyme - 1 tspn fresh sage leaves - 2 bay leaves - Zest of one lemon - 1 tin haricot beans, drained - salt and freshly ground pepper
Fry the onion in the oil with a pinch of salt until it is just beginning to take on colour and is sweet. Dust the chicken with seasoned flour and fry gently, add a little more oil if necessary . Add the carrots, celery and courgette and let them sweat for a minute or two. Then add the paprika and stir it in to coat the chicken. Next add the garlic, tomatoes, chicken stock, thyme, sage and bay and the lemon zest. Bring to a boil and simmer gently till the chicken is tender. Add the tinned beans, warm through, adjust seasoning and serve. This would be good with crusty rolls or ciabatta bread to soak up the juices. And delicious served with a good Chenin Blanc. We enjoyed it with the Ormonde Chip off the Old Block Chenin from Darling

MENU's Wine of the Week. Thelema 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasted at the Cabernet Sauvignon Collective held at Lanzerac this week, we were so impressed with this wine. We were invited to a master class of some older wines paired with their current iterations. Put this wine into context: we tasted this with seven other wines, all of which were very noteworthy. The winemaker, Rudi Schultz, took us through the tasting and we were able to taste the 1995 Cabernet first. If you are into good Cabernets, you undoubtedly will know it as a classic but you might not be aware that there are now two separate vineyards of Cabernet Sauvignon at Thelema. Yes, they have kept the old vineyard block where they grow the famous Mint Cabernet. This is from the newer site, where the vines are 12 to 15 years old and they have planted 2 new clones. The vineyard is also higher up the mountain.
It has expensive incense wood on the not very forward nose; it shows elegance with cassis berries and leaves and some forest floor notes. On the palate, it is silky, with beautiful ripe berry fruit, so integrated and delicious, with some nice dry chalky tannins. This wine has it all to last for years and is drinking beautifully already. Scored 19 out of 20

Stellenbosch Cabernet - 2017 Vintage Preview at Lanzerac

An interesting invitation to this event; one we were keen to attend. The chance to taste and possibly future purchase En Primeur 2017 vintage Cabernet Sauvignons from 32 of the best producers in Stellenbosch. They group themselves under the title Stellenbosch Cabernet Collective. Wine Cellar was involved and you could place your orders with them. This is a varietal that Stellenbosch excels at and they produce wines that echo Bordeaux in style and weight.
First we were invited to attend a master class to taste two wines from each of four farms: an older vintage and a current vintage. This was held in one of the handsome conference halls. The building was badly damaged in the 2017 fire, but has been beautifully restored. We were told that they have since discovered that this was one of the original wine cellars, possibly from the 1800s
This beautiful chandelier graces the room
This was the tasting sheet
and the first of two flights was poured
Christo le Riche, convenor of the Master Class, introduced Johan Jordaan
who makes the red wines at Spier
Johan Jordaan presented the Spier Naledi Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 which has a beautiful nose of pure berry fruit, minerality and soft smoke. It was silky on the palate, full of rich berry fruit. A huge wine with lots of depth, dark toasted wood, minerality and still some chalky tannins on the end. As it aged in the glass more savoury marmite appeared. The vineyards are on the Helderberg, right next to Cordoba. Left on the skins for a longer time to get tannins. It’s in the French model, left in tight grained oak for a minimum of 2 years. Paired with this was the Spier 21 Gables 2015 Cabernet. Raspberry cordial and cherry pie on the nose, then some tomato leaf. Silky on the palate, then tight chalky tannins appear; dark toasted oak, with mulberries and cassis. Minerality and then dark chocolate on the end. Definite aging potential
Kanonkop Marketing Manager Diedre Taylor
Rudi Schultz of Thelema presented the next two wines. He joined Thelema in 2001, so was not responsible for the older wine. It is one of the famous 'Mint' cabernets from their block next to the entrance to the farm which has been influenced by the eucalyptus trees. Thelema Cabernet 1995, 13% alcohol and brick red. A very savoury nose, with olive tapenade, green peppers and tomato, lots of umami notes. Sweet fruit on the palate with a backbone of tomato mint and dark chocolate. lots of cassis, some chalky tannins do remain and salty liquorice on the end. We were surprised how well it has lasted, but if you have any drink soon. They still make the mint cabernet for its fans, but now have another vineyard high on the slopes of the mountain, which is unaffected by eucalyptus. The Thelema 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon. Expensive incense wood, elegant and not too forward, with cassis berries and leaves, and some forest floor on the nose. Silky on the palate with beautiful fruit, just so integrated and delicious, it has it all to last for years. Some good chalky tannins, good fruit acidity and excellent wooding. Lynne’s highest scoring wine
The next flight of four wines
Warren Ellis of Neil Ellis wines presented their two vintages. First the Neil Ellis 1997 Cabernet from the Jonkershoek Oude Nectar farm, now Starke Conde. Savoury tomato cocktail with wood supporting, but not overly appreciable on the nose. Soft sweet fruit, then tomato and balsamic flavours; a good alcohol kick even though it’s 12.5%, and long blackcurrant fruit gum flavours remain. Aging well. Warren told us that Stellenbosch has some of the oldest soils in the world, decomposed granite with deep clay banks that give the roots more space below. The soils higher up are a bit younger, with deep red soil and the clay base which produces more vigorous vines which give powerful structure to the wines. Then the Neil Ellis 2015 Cabernet from Klein Gustrow Grapes in the Jonkershoek valley. It is perfumed with musk and seaweed, shy cassis. Soft chalky tannins, puckering tannin, crisp cabernet fruit, lots of cassis, warmth from alcohol, green leaves follow with dark toasted oak; everything you need for aging Cabernet. He told us that they use 100% new oak; they do no sorting of the grapes, they get the vineyard right first. Timing of the harvest is important
Lanzerac winemaker Wynand Lategan, with the Lanzerac 1957 Cabernet, told us this that was the first Cabernet they made, the famous skittle bottles came later. What a treat and a privilege to be able to taste this wine. It was made in huge vats in those days, grapes from Lanzerac, but the wine was made at SFW. Dark burnt sienna in colour, with balsamic hints on the nose, cooked berry fruit in essence, with ginger pepper spice. Showing age, but this is 61 years old. Surprising soft sweet fruit, warm alcohol; amazing that so much fruit is still showing and so is the fruit acid which is still there. Dark toasted wood, then cassis and mulberry and still some chalky tannins. These old style wines were made to a recipe, when to pick, at what balling, how to vinify and they do last
The Lanzerac 2016 Cabernet came next. Sesame oil, some shy red fruit initially, then cooked cherries on the nose. Sweet fruit, crisp fruit acid on the palate; made to last and soften, cherry rather than cassis flavours predominate, chalky tannins, and it is quite grippy with complex molasses, wood on the end. Wynand says you have to have patience with wine
The original Lanzerac Cabernet Sauvignon 1957
The line up of the wines we tasted. It was extremely educational and a treat. Thank you
The old reception area of the hotel, completely restored after the fire
A bust of a gentleman. It was damaged in the fire but is still displayed
From the costume, possibly c.1800
We then proceeded to the Cellar Hall Venue to taste the 28 en Primeur Cabernet Sauvignons. Have a look at the website of the Stellenbosch Cabernet Collective. https://stellenboschcabernet.co.za/about-us/ to see the 32 current members. The wines, without exception, were showing well, some are excellent and quite eye opening. We expect wines this young, and many samples had been pulled from barrels that week, to be a bit harsh and difficult. Not at all, they showed their character well and you could see that they have the right components to be great wines one day. In amongst them are some rising stars and some exceptional Cabernets. We can make good Cabernet in our own style, because they echo our terroir and climate and our wine makers are becoming expert at making them. We don't have to copy France, or any other country; our Cabernets are beginning to come to the fore. If you are interested in buying any of these, do contact Roland Peens at the Wine Cellar, soon. www.winecellar.co.za
Some canapés were produced and we were very grateful for them. Salmon and avocado on a spoon
savoury crumbed deep fried balls of pulled lamb with mayonnaise and beetroot

The wines were on stands around the room with the winemaker or someone with knowledge from the farm if the winemaker could not be present. We tasted all 28 and Lynne was tempted by one and bought a case, to be delivered in 2021!
 Chef Christophe Dehosse of Glenelly and Murray Barlow, winemaker at Rustenburg
Murray is a Diners Club 2018 Winemaker of the Year finalist
 Lynne with the boys. Wim Braak, National Wine Sales Manager at Zevenwacht Wine Estate and Desmond Binneman, National Sales & Marketing Manager at Muratie
 Jordan winemaker Sjaak Nelson
 Tokara winemaker Stuart Botha with his wife Gemma