Tag Archives: Pol Roger

Tracy van Maaren Wines presents its portfolio of fine boutique wines!

April 10, 2014

Last night I attended the first Tracy van Maaren Wines Trade Tasting, representing a handful of select fine boutique wine estates, held at Auslese. Each of the wine estate’s wines offered for tasting was personally paired with a canapé designed by Chef Harald Bresselschmidt of Aubergine.

Tracy started her wine career by working as PA to Dana Buys at Vrede en Lust. She then moved into the clothing industry, but regretted this move. She returned to the wine industry, working at Jordan. Almost nine years ago she started her company, her first wine clients being Vriesenhof, Raats, and Catherine Marshall. She represents her clients’ wines in the ‘mid to top restaurants’ and independent retailers (e.g. Caroline’s, Wine Concepts, and Vino Pronto) in Cape Town and Stellenbosch, with Paarl and Franschhoek.

Auslese is a renovated house, available to rent for functions, about two blocks from Aubergine. It has a smallish kitchen, and the space was cleverly used to set up tasting tables for nine brands, with Pol Roger (Churchill’s favourite champagne) represented in the entrance hall by Great Domaines’ Derek Kilpin and their brand new French import Morgan Delacloche.

Arriving at about 18h30, there was no crush, and one could get to easily taste the wines and food pairings, chat to the wine representatives, and to the invited guests, which included John Maytham of Cape Talk, Mark Bland of Expresso, Mandi Jarman of Aquila, Chef Vanessa Marx and her colleague Rumby of Dear Me, Catharina’s Manager Ronel Smidt, sommelier and consultant Jörg Pfützner, John and Lynne Ford, and Mike Duggan of Wine Concepts. Continue reading →

Sparkling lunch at Burrata to launch latest Pol Roger vintages!

May 9, 2013

I was first introduced to Pol Roger champagnes at Rust en Vrede a number of years ago, poured by then sommelier Neil Grant, at the insistence of a guest house friend who had invited us to dinner. Yesterday I was lucky enough to be part of a small group of twelve (mainly wine) writers to celebrate the launch of the latest Pol Roger vintages at Burrata, of which Neil is now the co-owner. As Burrata is one of my (few) special restaurants, and the champagne brand impressed me then, I needed no encouragement to accept the invitation!

I had met the charming Johannesburg-based Derek Kilpin (right), General Manager and co-owner of Great Domaines, the importers of mainly French wines, at a French-themed evening last year at Wild Peacock in Stellenbosch, and was lucky enough to sit next to him then. He introduced each of the five Pol Roger champagnes which we tasted, but encouraged everyone to relax and to enjoy the champagnes and lunch, superbly prepared by Chef Annemarie Steenkamp and her team. A surprise was meeting Barry Engelbrecht (left), a very reclusive Burrata co-owner and pizza master chef, who was at the pizza oven. I am unable to resist the prosciutto and fig pizza at Burrata.

We received a glass of Pol Roger Non Vintage Brut on arrival, Derek introducing the Pol Roger range to us, and sharing that Great Domaines has been distributing the brand for the past six years. He praised Neil for his knowledge of and loyalty to Pol Roger, a brand which was first launched in 1849, and of which 1,5 million bottles are produced annually (compared to 35 million bottles of Möet et Chandon, for example). A Non Vintage champagne is hardest to make, he explained, in that it has to be consistent with that of previous years, given that three different grape varieties (equal portions of Pinot Noir for structure, Pinot Meunier for the fruit taste, and Chardonnay for the elegance) from 140 different vineyards are used to make this champagne, which costs around R550. The vintage champagnes cost about R750. Derek shared that even year vintages since 2000 have been particularly excellent. The champagne house only makes vintage champagnes if the grape quality is good enough, and therefore has skipped all the uneven years in the past twelve years. Derek shared that Pol Roger employs four of only ten certified riddlers left in Champagne, who turn about 60000 bottles per day in the 7km of caves below the winery.

I enjoyed speaking to Tracy van Maaren, an independent distributor in the Cape, also representing the Great Domaines brands, and she told me that she focuses on small specialist retailers such as Caroline’s and Vaughn Johnson, and that Pol Roger is served in restaurants such as Burrata, Rust en Vrede (serving it by the glass too), Terroir, Tokara, The Test Kitchen, and Aubergine. An increasing number of champagne brands are being made available in our country, she said, making it a very competitive market.

The Pol Roger Brut 2002 is made from 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, and was on the lees for nine years (the minimum requirement in Champagne is three years), fermentation having taken place in stainless steel tanks, giving it a clean and precise character, and was described as ‘spectacular’ by Derek. It was paired with a starter with a name that was mouthwatering in itself, being a rich and creamy Tokai Forest porcini mushroom risotto. The mushrooms were foraged for Chef Annemarie by Ross. This was followed by a perfectly pan-seared kingklip, which was served with saffron potatoes, fennel, capers, and sultanas, and was paired with the Pol Roger Blanc de Blanc 2002, made from 100% Chardonnay, one of the more popular champagnes, in part due to 2002 being such a good year.

The third course of a delicate duck breast, with toasted almonds, cavatelli (a non-egg pasta made from semolina, Chef Annemarie explained), chestnut crema, maize, and roast Jerusalem artichokes, was paired with Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2000. It spent eleven years on the lees and is predominantly made from Pinot Noir. It was released (initially in magnum size) in 1975 in honour of the British Prime Minister, seventeen years after his death. Sir Winston became a close friend of Odette Pol-Roger and was a passionate drinker of a bottle of Pol Roger a day, loving the tipple so much that he named one of his racehorses after the brand! The friendship was so close that all Pol Roger labels had a black border around them when the statesman passed away. The dessert was a colourful sour cherry spuma, served with poached rhubarb, pomegranate, marshmallow, and vanilla ice cream, which was paired with the Pol Roger Rosé 2004, made from 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay, to which still wine was added to give it colour, Derek explained.

The superb lunch paired with the superb Pol Roger champagnes proved how effectively each course of a meal can be paired with champagnes.

Disclosure: We received a gift pack of two champagne glasses and a 375ml bottle of Pol Roger Réserve Brut.

Burrata, The Old Biscuit Mill, 373 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town. Tel (021) 447-6505. www.burrata.co.za Twitter: @BurrataSA Monday – Saturday, Lunch and Dinner.

Great Domaines, Tel (011) 778-9355. www.greatdomaines.co.za Twitter: @GreatDomaines @Pol_Roger

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Restaurant Review: Burrata is unique, not Italian, nor a pizzeria!

March 14, 2012

The opening of Burrata at the Old Biscuit Mill (in the previous B-Lounge) at the beginning of the month had been eagerly awaited, with its owner Neil Grant coming from 2011 Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant Rust en Vrede (he was the sommelier when he ran the restaurant with chef David Higgs). Burrata is not a pizzeria, and it’s not an Italian restaurant, and not all its dishes contain Burrata mozzarella! It is a unique, friendly, and welcoming restaurant, which with its neighbours The Pot Luck Club and The Test Kitchen make the Old Biscuit Mill and Woodstock an increasingly exciting restaurant destination.

At night, most of the restaurant is not brightly lit, and therefore the red pizza oven imported from Naples catches one’s eye immediately. It is unlike any pizza oven seen locally, with a more modern design, weighing 2,6 tons, and having necessitated the widening of the doors to get it inside the restaurant. It is lower in size, concentrating and therefore intensifying the heat inside the oven, at about 460°C. Logs are stored inside the black-tiled pizza oven stand, as well as against a window in another section of the restaurant, creating an interesting circular design effect, letting in light from outside, but giving diners inside some privacy. The pizzaiolo, one of the new names I learnt, being the male pizza makers, use peels imported from Italy: the loading peel is used to stretch the pizza, to create the correct shape and to place it in the oven; the turning peel turns the pizza around once it is in the oven, to ensure that the pizza is equally cooked, explained Cameron. Burrata backer Barry Engelbrecht is a pizza aficionado, and has attended pizza-making courses around the world, and he trained the staff in pizza-making, none of them having come from a pizza restaurant. Interesting were the wine bottle lights, with LED lighting inside, which Neil had made from a design he had seen overseas.

Mozzarella, and the Burrata (a mozzarella which is shaped into a pouch filled with left-over bits of mozzarella and cream), are sourced from local Italian-owned Puglia Cheese, the cuputo pizza flour and tinned tomatoes are imported from Italy, the prosciutto comes from a Johannesburg supplier and Neil Jewell in Franschhoek, and other ingredients are sourced from the Wild Peacock Food Emporium in Stellenbosch. The pork belly came from Sachs butchery.

The red pizza oven creates the decor colour foundation, and the use of red and black extends into the staff uniforms, Maxwell Williams salt and pepper grinders, material serviettes into which the Forum cutlery is rolled, the sugar bowls, and on the menu and winelist covers. Beautiful Italian Luigi Bormioli glasses made in Parma enhance the special wines served. A red meat slicer has a place of honour inside the restaurant. The kitchen is open plan, behind glass, and visible to diners. There seemed to be a large staff complement, almost as many staff as diners. A charming front-of-house hostess is Swiss national Isabella Immenkamp, who was a sommelier at the Grande Roche previously (her partner Joakim Hansi Blackadder recently won the Bollinger Sommelier competition, and has taken Neil’s job at Rust en Vrede). She was very attentive, and European in her service delivery. Neil came to the table regularly, almost timed to coincide with a next question I had! Chef Annemarie Steenkamp comes from Le Quartier Français, where she spent five years.

The menu and winelist are each bound in fine Burrata branded black leather, printed on quality paper, with the striking red Burrata branding. Starters start at R28 for olives marinated with oregano, garlic and chilli, peaking at R125 for a shared antipasti platter served with pizza bread. My son ordered bruschetta with prosciutto, rocket and grated walnut (R58), and the two slices were generously covered with the ham. Puglia burrata is served with olive oil, oryx desert salt with crostini (R55). The four pasta options are unusual, and range in cost from R78 (fried auricchio gnocchi with peas, fine beans, green olives and baby spinach) – R98 (pappardelle slow cooked short rib, roasted red pepper and crispy onion). Five main courses include risotto with caramelised onions, bone marrow, and lemon (R68), pan seared line fish (R125), roasted rib eye (R135), chicken polpette (R84), and the most tender Tuscan-spiced braised pork belly with butter roasted cauliflower and glazed brussel sprouts (R115), but which did not overwhelm me, from its lack of colour and taste.

Pizzas make up almost half the menu. They are introduced as follows: ‘at Burrata, we strive to create the best possible neapolitan style pizza. this style of pizza has a puffy, flame blackened crust with a light crispness. we use only the the very best quality ingredients including flour and tomatoes exclusively imported from Italy. our italian oven cooks our pizzas at 480°C in less than 90 seconds. The menu explains that to maintain quality standards, ingredients cannot be changed nor ordered ‘half-and-half’. The ingredients are interesting. Tomato-base pizzas start at R52 (Marinara, with garlic, oregano and olive oil), and the Di mare pizza costs R109, with prawns, squid, garlic with coriander and chilli aioli. The prosciutto e arugula pizza sounds good too, with fresh mozzarella, parmagiano reggiano, prosciutto and rocket. Pizza bianca (i.e.without tomato sauce base) include Ficci (mozzarella, gorgonzola, fresh figs and prosciutto), Delre (with a truffle spread, mozzarella, mushroom, and prosciutto), at R98. My son’s Delre pizza base was burnt, and Isabella immediately offered to redo it. It was much better the second time around. Four dessert options are peach and amaretto tart (R42); Lime Zabaglione with fresh strawberries and blueberries was served with Madeira cake which jarred in its dryness (R44) and a most attractively designed Forum spoon; sweet honey pizza with ricotta, caramelised apple, honey and roasted almonds sounds delicious and costs R58; while cioccolato pizza comes with a homemade chocolate and hazelnut spread, banana and treacle sugar (R64). Coffee is by Origin. Burrata’s lunch menu is slightly reduced relative to the dinner menu, with one item removed per section. No pasta dishes are available over lunch.

Tap water is served in a wine bottle, a clever touch. The winelist is extensive, and lists very neatly the region, country, and vintage of each of the roughly 100 wines served by the bottle, with an additional 14 wines by the glass. Grant writes in his introduction to the winelist: “welcome to burrata, where we pay mutual respect to food and wine. you will notice that our wine list does not contain any descriptive notes. one of our sommeliers will gladly assist you throughout your experience with us. i hope you will take pleasure in browsing through the list and please feel free to ask any questions you may have”. Champagne brands Pol Roger, Philipponat, Salon, Torresella, Billecart Salmon, and Jean Veselle range in price from R195 – R3500. Only two local MCC’s are served: Silverthorn (R60/280) and Colmant (R230). White wines by the glass cost R30 – R45, and red wines R33 – R68. About ten wines per variety are offered. Shiraz prices range from R195 (2008 Tamboerskloof) to R950 (2008 De Trafford). The winelist cautions that wines and vintages ‘are subject to availability‘.

Burrata is friendly, welcoming, with reasonable prices, and a most impressive winelist. After eight days since opening, things ran smoothly, with the exception of the pizza. The service and personal attention is exceptional, the best we have experienced in a very long time. There were speakers on the wall, but no music, which would have been a good finishing touch. The very new team, who have never worked together before, will gel over time, and the menu will evolve. The dissonance between menu and wine list will probably be reduced over time, the exceptional and extensive wine selection dominating the relatively more ordinary menu.

POSTSCRIPT 7/4: Enjoyed the mozzarella, fig and prosciutto pizza at Burrata on a rainy pizza-eating Easter weekend Saturday, the best pizza I have ever eaten! The pizza base is good enough to eat without the topping. Exciting news is that a 3-course food and wine pairing menu will be launched in the next two weeks.

POSTSCRIPT 14/4: Back at Burrata, and tried the Delre pizza, with prosciutto, mushrooms, and mozzarella. It became a three hour lunch, in the (unplanned) company of Ursula and Davide Ostuni of Puglia Cheese. They supply Burrata with mozzarella cheeses, and were most complimentary about the pizzas at Burrata.

POSTSCRIPT 21/6: Lovely evening at Burrata, with guest house colleagues Rainer and Greg. The charcuterie and cheese platter was a good match with the pizzas. Delicious chocolate mousse, vanilla panna cotta and lime.

POSTSCRIPT 9/7: What amazing news: after only having been open for 4 months, Burrata has been named the Middle East/Africa winner of the Birra Moretti Best Emerging Italian Restaurant Award, ahead of Ristorante Armani in Dubai and Carne, also in Cape Town! What makes the Award even more prestigious is that it is affiliated to the World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards.

Burrata, Old Biscuit Mill, Albert Road, Woodstock. Tel (021) 447-6505. www.burrata.co.za Twitter: @BurrataSA Tuesday – Saturday, Lunch and Dinner.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage

Restaurant Review: More than potluck at Chef Luke Dale-Roberts’ The Pot Luck Club

January 7, 2012

Top Eat Out Chef Luke Dale-Roberts, owner of the second ranked Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant The Test Kitchen, has opened The Pot Luck Club, another winning restaurant next door to his existing restaurant. One need not worry that Chef Luke will only be seen at The Test Kitchen, where he has always been very hands-on, or that one has to bring one’s own ingredients to cook one’s meal, or has to share one’s fabulous food if one does not want to!

The word ‘potluck’ is almost 500 years old, and refers to providing food for an unexpected guest, offering him or her the ‘luck of the pot’, states Wikipedia. Over time the term evolved to become a gathering of persons, each bringing a dish, to be shared and eaten communally by the group. In Ireland the potluck practice was for women to share the ingredients they had available, and cook them together in one pot. At The Pot Luck Club one is encouraged to order different dishes, and to share them with others at the table. At the restaurant the term has a creative interpretation, in that four The Pot Luck Club chefs have a dish each included in the menu, while the rest of the dishes probably have been a team effort devised with Chef Luke.

The Pot Luck Club venue is almost equal in size to The Test Kitchen, but the space is better utilised in that less space is used for the food preparation, being set against the back wall, dedicated to this restaurant only. Running into the food preparation area is the bar, which serves both restaurants, and this is only noticeable as The Test Kitchen staff, with different uniforms, are visible in The Pot Luck Club when they collect drinks. A part of the space has been cordoned off by means of a hanging Peter Eastman resin artwork ‘screen’, and two tables can cater for a larger group booking for The Test Kitchen. The artwork is for sale, but no prices are indicated, and the staff do not know them, one being connected with the artist if one wants to purchase something. The ‘private’ section has colourful lampshades, which shine through the screen cut-outs, and add character to The Pot Luck Club. It is hot in the restaurant, with no airconditioning, even if the door is open. Downlighters are well placed on metal beams high above, lighting up the black artwork, not all visible against the black and plum walls, and focusing on the tables. Tables have milled steel tops, as they do at The Test Kitchen, with light wood chairs, and counters running against the left wall and alongside the bar. The tables are laid with ceramic plates, in grey and in a light brown, the latter looking as if it is a piece of wood, and the ceramic water mugs have a similar look, and have probably been made by Imizo, which made The Test Kitchen tableware too. The cutlery is comfortable to hold and unusual in its design, imported from Europe Chef Luke said, but the brand name is not visible in the logo on the cutlery. Chopsticks are also on the table. Two tiny glass containers contain coarse salt and ground peppercorns. Felt-covered glass bowls hold a tealight candle. The music was odd, an eclectic mix of unidentifiable bands and some South American music, with no Asian music at all. I loved the long rectangular serviettes, long enough to cover one’s lap properly, probably the work of Chef Luke’s fashion designer wife Sandalene, who also designed the staff uniforms, floral for The Test Kitchen, and grey tops with a plum pocket for the male waiters, and dresses for the lady waiters at The Pot Luck Club. The restaurant can seat about 45 guests. A new door links the two restaurants, and Chef Luke was visible, regularly overseeing the food preparation at The Pot Luck Club.

The menu and winelist are printed on a cream board, with The Pot Luck Club name and wild boar logo. Chef Luke could not explain exactly how he and Sandalene had got to the logo, but it had evolved from a discussion of where they wanted to take the restaurant, and to give it a visual identity. All dishes are served on square wooden boards or on the ceramic plates in the same cream and plum colours. There are no headings or sections on the menu, but small space differences allow one to identify ‘snacks’ to order whilst waiting for drinks (such as crispy curried celery leaves, steamed Edamame beans with miso and toasted garlic salt, shaved parsnips with Madagascan black pepper salt, and Chrisna olives, a whole garlic, with red pepper pesto and artisan bread, which we selected, disappointingly boring, yet the smoked olives had an exceptional taste. All of these cost between R20 – R30). A salad section includes Claus’ Coconut Calamari Salad (the coconut taste was not evident, and it was served with lime, coriander, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, green beans and daikon), Ash’s Tuna Tartare, and Pot Luck Club Tartare, served in both Asian and classic style, each costing R60, as well as a mixed green and tomato salad at R25. A third section did not appear to have anything in common, being mushrooms on toast (R55), blue cheese mousse with an apple and parsley salad and walnuts (R50), and an excellent rich and creamy foie gras ‘au torchon’ (prepared in a cloth bag in the traditional poached method, we were told), with brioche, sprinkled with grated walnuts and truffle, and served with a most delicious nectarine, grape and champagne chutney, at R120, the most expensive dish on the menu.

The fourth section contained the largest number of dishes, and could be seen to be the main courses, even though the prices were reasonable in ranging between R30 – R80. My son had Ivor’s crispy duck spring roll, served with daikon and a hoisin dressing, unfortunately with a bone inside. The best dish we tried was the smoked Chalmar beef fillet which was served with a heavenly black pepper and truffle café au lait sauce (with port, brandy and cream). Other options are steamed queen scallops, crispy pork belly with Luke’s XO dressing, fried prawns, Chinese style pork rib, and smoked and fried quail, served as per the menu description with no extras. Baby potato wedges with smoked paprika salt can be ordered, for R25. A choice of two desserts is available: Wesley’s Tapioca served with passion fruit sorbet and toasted coconut (R45), and fresh summer berries served with fig leaf ice cream (R50), which we declined.

From the cocktail list we were invited to choose a complimentary drink in honour of my son’s birthday, and we both chose the Summer Berry Kir, with blackberries, raspberries and elderflower, to which Sauvignon Blanc had been added. The bar list has a wide range of liqueurs, beers (including four from &Union), and a good selection of reasonably priced wines, about five per variety. Commendable is that about 25 wines are offered by the glass, out of a total of about 80 wines, a good selection at very reasonable prices. Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV costs R950, while local MCC’s range from R40/R195 for Pongracz, to R450 for Pongracz Desiderius 2001. Shiraz starts at R50/R230 for Kleinood Tamboerskloof 2007, with Luddite being the most expensive at R480. Adam Mason’s Kaboom! already was not available, but his Shazam! was offered as an alternative, a Shiraz Pinotage blend.

The website invites one to pop in at The Pot Luck Club after work for an early bite or a late dinner. We booked yesterday morning, and while the restaurant was fully booked, Jeanine made a plan for us, showing that booking is advisable. Eating at The Pot Luck Club is quicker (the dishes arrived rapidly), and far less expensive than at The Test Kitchen, meaning that one can have an affordable taste of Chef Luke’s craft. On the website he motivates why he created a new restaurant, and did not just expand The Test Kitchen: “…I’m a chef and I like to cook and develop recipes and make new discoveries and The Pot Luck Club will offer both myself and the chefs working here exactly those opportunities”. The open plan nature of The Pot Luck Club places a huge responsibility on all the staff on show behind the counters, and one of the bar chaps eating crisps out of a packet while on service probably wasn’t appropriate. The service from Manager Simon and Deputy Manager Marcus was attentive and friendly, and Chef Luke coming to chat at our table despite his restaurants being full and busy was a treat. The Pot Luck Club menu will evolve, with new dishes already having been added in the past two weeks. Whilst based on the principle of serving small dishes, The Pot Luck Club is far beyond a tapas restaurant.