Winery reaches new milestone
NEW VINO GLORIOUSLY LUSH WITH GRAPES FROM SPAIN
THE name Nederburg has become synonymous with innovative winemaking that has been the root of its long run of success – all capped by a string of awards over past the years.
Among the Cape estate ’ s milestones are its appointment as the supplier of wines to the Fifa World Cup in 2010 and the naming of its Romanian-born cellar master, Razvan Macici, as the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year in 2012.
This is in addition to the estate being named Winery of the Year by Platter ’ s South African Wine Guide in 2011, for scooping five-star ratings for its five wines.
Topping this accolade was the winery ’ s international recognition by the International Wine & Spirits Competition in London as the South African Producer of the Year in 2012.
Thanks to the passion and patience consistently shown by Macici and his team, the winery is renowned for producing classically crafted wine laced with vibrant fruit and finesse. His team consists of viticulturist Unathi Mantshongo, white-wine crafter Natasha Williams and red-wine maker Samuel Viljoen – all young and talented.
Another milestone for the winery was its recent launch of a new wine from its flagship Ingenuity collection – the 2012 Ingenuity Spanish blend (R280), a wine which is gloriously lush with fruit and made from grapes that originate from Spain.
The grapes are Tempranillo and Gracian, that have adapted very well to Cape conditions.
Released at the same launch, held at Cape Town ’ s Pot Luck Club owned by British-born chef Luke Dale-Roberts, was Nederburg ’ s 2012 Ingenuity Italian Blend (red) and 2013 Ingenuity White – all testimony to Macici ’ s hand in crafting wines with lavish fruit with a complex palate, and with an unexpected twist.
The Italian blend is created from grapes originating from the same country but since transplanted in South Africa.
On the other hand, Ingenuity White Blend is a blend of a whopping eight grapes with sauvignon blanc forming its backbone, and with a peculiar multi-layered palate.
For the three wines, chef Dale-Roberts had to create multi-faceted dishes in the mould of canapés served in their usual small dollops.
For the white wine, the chef whipped up a potpourri of dishes headlined by lightly smoked trout, tuna and springbok carpaccio.
He chose the Asianstyled beef tartare and spicy lamb for the Italian nectar, and smoked pork belly and smoked fillet to pair with the Spanish offering.
For lovers of fruitier wines, the Spanish blend is most likely to be their instant preference.
They might find the Italian edition a bit more muscular and a tad drier than the two wines and therefore might appeal to tipplers with a liking for similar styles.
Drawing from the winemaking notes of Macici and his team, it is noteworthy that their recommendations for food pairings and descriptions of the wines were more illuminating, though not too far from Dale-Roberts ’ s culinary pairings.
The food suggestions the wines can be enjoyed with include robust, mildly spicy dishes such as paella, game, fish, grilled venison beef or pork and smoked meats.
Similarly, Williams ’ s choice of dishes for the white blend was influenced by the wine ’ s general palate.
She says the wine should ideally be served with quail, duck, guinea fowl, rabbit, lamb and free-range chicken.
For the Italian blend, Viljoen recommended saucy dishes made from a reduction of fresh tomatoes, served with rare beef or Italian cured meats.