Grootbos pleases the palates at Taj Cape Town

Taj Cape Town hosted its sixth Expressions of … series last Thursday evening and Duane Lewis, chef at Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, pulled out all the stops to impress the palates of those how attended the dinner.

This month’s Expressions series focus on the wines from the Walker Bay, Overberg, Elim and Bot River wine wards. Some of the wines that ticked our fancy during the pre-dinner tasting include the following:

Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Pinot Noir 2010 – Priced at R240 a bottle – Walker Bay Region

newton johnson Grootbos pleases the palates at Taj Cape Town

GOOD stuff!!!

Clean and fresh with a touch of spice and some underlying truffle aromas on the nose. After tasting this wine there’s no doubt in my mind that the Newton Johnson clan is fast becoming one of our countries top producers of pinot noir, if not the best.

Strandveld Anders Sparrman Pinot Noir 2009 – priced at R320 - Elim region

Pricey but undoubtedly a superb investment. Immense pleasure to the palate! The wine offers great fruit purity, fresh acidity and fine tannins. Elegance and delight in a bottle.

stranveld wines Grootbos pleases the palates at Taj Cape Town

Some of the other wines from the Strandveld range

Sumaridge Maritimus 2009 – priced at R150 – Walker Bay region

This white blend, made from Chardonnay, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes, is so refreshing and full of character, it will be a sin if you spit this wine out. We also enjoyed the 2008 Sumaridge Pinot Noir a lot, which is priced at R195 a bottle. We’ve been to the tasting room a couple of times and every experience was as pleasant as their wines.

After tasting most of the wines from the various producers we settled in for dinner, which was as mentioned before, pretty phenomenal. The four course menu offered linefish tartar with grilled foccacia and coliander aioli; Panchetta wrapped quail served with vanilla mash and Bourbon flambéed banana veloute; Sous vide of lamb rack with smoked oven dried tomato, duck biltong and sweet garlic jus; and bitter chocolate tart with grapefruit zest marmalade and Gorgonzola.

grootbos starter Grootbos pleases the palates at Taj Cape Town

The linefish tartar with grilled foccacia and coliander aioli

My favourite wine pairing of the evening was the Lamb rack served with the 2007 Luddite Shiraz, produced by Niels Verburg, who’s farm is situated in the Botrivier region.

If you are keen to taste some of the wines from this month’s participating regions then pop around to the Earth Fair Market, which takes place every Thursday in St.George’s Mall between 12h00 and 15h00.

Next month the Taj Expression Series will take you on a journey through Franscchoek. Those keen to attend the launch dinner on 30 August are advise to book in advance, as the guest chef will be Chris Erasmus of Pierneef a la Motte Restaurant. The 4 course dinner paired with wines are priced at R350 per person.

To secure your seat for the next Taj Expression Series email restaurants.capetown@tajhotels.com