Celebrating in style

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

The festive season is a wonderful opportunity to drink as much bubbly as humanly possible!
Four in particular made a really good impression on me and a few friends. It’s also exciting to see just how rapidly the Methode Cap Classique sector is expanding – because of the four, two were from new producers.
The first of the four bubblies was Graham Beck Brut Rosé enjoyed with Belgian friends (and a wonderful meal!) at Cellars Hohenort. A fantastic aperitif and sundowner, we enjoyed it in the Martini bar before dinner. A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, it seduces with its gorgeous salmon pink colour alone.
Next up was one from Wellington – Klein Optenhorst’s pink fizz. Former SAA pilot Naas Ferreira and daughter Jane have happily abused family connections in the form of SA bubbly meister, Pieter Ferreira. The Graham Beck cellarmaster provided more than a bit of assistance with this pale pink sparkler made from the Ferreira’s Pinot Noir patch. Jane’s marketing savvy is evidenced in the label design, with a delicate Tiffany blue gracing the front of the clear bottle. Delicious delicate strawberry flavour in abundance.
Numbers three and four were enjoyed at successive sunset picnics on the rocks at Bakoven. Topiary Brut Blanc de Blanc is from a relatively new Franschhoek winery and first made a blip on the radar when it was awarded 4 Stars in WINE magazine’s annual Cap Classique challenge in 2010. It’s an incredibly lively limey and zesty tangy mouthful. The amazing thing is that this was a first attempt at making bubbly by winemaker Chris Albrecht! Hopefully there’s lots more in the pipeline…
The final one was such a hit that my upcountry cousins rushed out and bought a case to enjoy at New Year in Kenton: Steenberg 1682, also a 100% Chardonnay fizz. No surprise that this was a rich mouthful since it spent more than the prescribed minimum of 12 months on the lees and the smart Steenberg winemaking team of John Loubser and JD Pretorius added a touch of reserve from the 2008 vintage.
What a way to start the year…