{"id":23561,"date":"2011-08-10T11:10:33","date_gmt":"2011-08-10T09:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=23561"},"modified":"2011-08-12T12:34:19","modified_gmt":"2011-08-12T10:34:19","slug":"restaurant-review-cuvee-is-a-sparkling-mix-of-modern-and-cape-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/wine-news\/restaurant-review-cuvee-is-a-sparkling-mix-of-modern-and-cape-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review: Cuv\u00e9e is a sparkling mix of modern and Cape classics!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Cuv\u00e9e Restaurant opened\u00a0on Simonsig wine estate nearly three years ago, and its interior curation by Neil Stemmet<\/strong> <\/a>put him on the map, with its unusual marriage of old and new.\u00a0 Cuv\u00e9e Restaurant is a sparkling complement and compliment to the Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.<\/p>\n

Simonsig is on the Kromme Rhee Road, one I had never previously driven, connecting the two roads to Stellenbosch via Klapmuts and Joostenberg.\u00a0\u00a0 There is ample parking, and one sees the modern oddly shaped posters within red frames outside the tasting room and restaurant entrance.\u00a0 Dirk the waiter told me that Strijdom van der Merwe, co-owner of Casparus<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0restaurant and nature artist, had prepared the curved large metal posters on the lawns outside to commemorate the\u00a0350th anniversary of winemaking in South Africa for Simonsig last year, a very modern\u00a0statement for a long established wine estate owned by the Malan family.\u00a0\"\"<\/a>The late Frans Malan, with Spatz Sperling of Delheim and the late Neil Joubert of\u00a0Spier, was one of the trio establishing the Stellenbosch\u00a0Wine Route<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, which itself celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.\u00a0 The Simonsig 210 hectare farm\u00a0has been farmed by the Malan family for ten generations, and the late Frans Malan was\u00a0a pioneer in creating the first M\u00e9thode Cap Classique, being their Kaapse Vonkel.\u00a0 The Malan brothers Pieter (Marketing), Francois (CEO and Viticulturist), and Johan (Winemaker) run the farm.\u00a0 \u00a0In addition to the Kaapse Vonkel, there is a Kaapse Vonkel Brut Ros\u00e9, Cuv\u00e9e Royale, and Encore Vin Sec. Other wines in the Simonsig range include Vin de Liza noble late harvest, Chenin avec Ch\u00e9ne, Chardonnay, Sunbird Sauvignon Blanc, Gew\u00fcrztraminer, Chenin Blanc, Tiara Bordeaux blend, Frans Malan Cape blend, Redhill Pinotage, Merindol Syrah, Labyrinth Cabernet Sauvignon, Mr Borio’s Shiraz, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz, Shiraz Mouv\u00e8dre Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, and Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The tasting room and restaurant are design extremes, the tasting room being part of the historic building, with traditional sash windows,\u00a0yet it has a modern crockery and sparkling wine glass chandelier made by Jacques Erasmus of Hemelhuijs<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, and Tord Boordje\u00a0paper curtains, one of only three establishments to have these designer curtains in Stellenbosch!\u00a0\u00a0The restaurant appears to be a building addition, with more modern architecture but with classic interior touches added by Stemmet.\u00a0 The room is on two levels, the lower one having a very dominant thick black and white striped wallpaper, with black, brown and white striped curtains, modern crystal chandeliers, a riempiesbank hanging from the ceiling,\u00a0a red painted wall, and glass doors facing the vineyard.\u00a0 A massive fireplace ‘divides’ the room into two. \u00a0The higher level appears more modern, with a raw\u00a0concrete ceiling, one wall painted in a deep grey, and another left in rough brick.\u00a0 At the back end, or entrance to the restaurant, is a modern black bar counter, behind which the wines are stored across the length of a wall.\u00a0 Above the bar counter are large ‘Fifties style black and silver round lights.\u00a0 One wall has seating as benches against the wall, and there is a small lounge area. The tables are black stained wood with glass tops.\u00a0 There is a large Persian carpet in each of the sections, adding a homely touch.\u00a0 Contrasting the more modern furniture is the traditional yellowood and stinkwood heritage furniture, such as a bakkis, and an amoire.\u00a0 Modern perspex lamps and shades are spread around the restaurant, and there are bold white leather pouffes near the fireplace. \u00a0An interesting Ikebana tree, with coloured silk wrapped around it, is\u00a0a ‘small wishing tree’, Dirk explained.\u00a0Classical music chosen by Stemmet rounded off the quality impression.\u00a0I would have loved to walk through the restaurant with Stemmet, to hear\u00a0the ‘story’ about\u00a0his curation.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Each table has a ceramic vase with a red protea, with cutlery by Arthur Krupp, and a most impressive serviette which has a crown logo and 1971 date embroidered on it,\u00a0to attract attention to the October 40th anniversary celebrations of the Cap Classique at Simonsig.\u00a0 The bread knife is by WMF.\u00a0 Three types of bread, beautifully folded into a serviette,\u00a0were brought to the table.\u00a0 Coarse salt and pepper were brought in small bowls, with a spoon.\u00a0 Stemmet dictated the crockery and cutlery, and it reflects class.\u00a0 Staff wear black T-shirts and trousers, with a black apron.\u00a0 Dirk showed me the Van Niekerk Room upstairs, a special events function room for about 20 guests, which also has strong elements of black and white stripes, with red leather chairs around a large table.\u00a0 Mr van Niekerk was the father-in-law of the late Frans Malan, whose family is now at the nearby Knorhoek, on which wine estate Stemmet did the interior curation for their Towerbosch restaurant<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I met the new chef Lucas Carstens, who had moved across from Reuben’s at the One&Only Cape Town at the begining\u00a0 of the month.\u00a0 He has introduced some of his own dishes on the new menu, and kept other favourites.\u00a0 He previously worked at Terroir restaurant and at the Kleine Zalze Lodge.\u00a0 Dirk Smit, ex-Tuscany Beach, is the new Restaurant Manager, but was not on duty on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The menu is A3 size on white board\u00a0and well-presented, each item having a Simonsig wine suggestion. The Black pepper-seared tuna (R85\/R140), with a Kaapse Vonkel pairing recommendation, is printed in gold, with the logo for the 40th Cap Classique celebration on it in gold too.\u00a0 Starters and mains are not separated on the menu, as most dishes can be ordered as a starter\u00a0or a main portion.\u00a0Not listed on the menu, but offered was fresh oysters at R12,50 each.\u00a0\u00a0I chose a starter portion of pan-fried kingklip, \"\"<\/a>a smallish but very juicy thick piece of fish, served with asparagus (not specified on the menu and offered as a replacement for artichoke, but was served with artichoke too), braised fennel, slices of naartjie, and a most unusual citrus butter sauce.\u00a0\u00a0With this was served an apple salad with a good dressing, not mentioned on the menu, making the R70 (R130 for full portion)\u00a0charge good value.\u00a0 Other interesting starter\/main course options\u00a0are Wild mushroom soup (45), Warm green bean and tomato salad\u00a0(R50\/R90), Tomato tartlet (R50\/R90), Kleinrivier Gruy\u00e8re souffl\u00e9 (R85), Cape Malay butter chicken with Basmati\u00a0rice (the restaurant smelt of this lovely curry when I arrived, and will be my first choice for my next visit, at R100), Grilled Mocambique prawns (R70\/R140), Bobotie (R90), Joostenberg pork neck (R60\/R110), Lamb shank (R140), Venison and wild mushrooms\u00a0(R80\/R150), and Flame-grilled beef fillet with Caf\u00e9 de Paris sauce (R85\/R160).\u00a0\"\"<\/a>I had the Valrhona\u00a0 66% chocolate fondant with\u00a0vanilla ice cream (substituted for a red wine and cherry ripple ice cream), baked in a white dish, and thick and creamy inside (R60).\u00a0\u00a0 Cr\u00e8me Brul\u00e9e, pecan nut tart, malva pudding served with Amarula and rooibos ice cream, and White chocolate panna cotta cost between R45 – R55.\u00a0 A South African cheeseboard with preserves sounded expensive at R150, but I did not see it to judge the price.<\/p>\n

The winelist is a folded A3 board, listing only Simonsig wines.\u00a0 Kaapse Vonkel, the Brut Ros\u00e9, and Encore Vin Sec\u00a0cost R27\/R135, a R45 surcharge on the bottle price in the Tasting Room.\u00a0 I had a glass of the Brut Ros\u00e9, and it was a good match to the kingklip. Cuv\u00e9e Royale costs R54\/R270.\u00a0 The Mr Borio Shiraz costs R18\/R90, and the Merindol Syrah R66\/R330.\u00a0 No vintages are listed for the wines, but the Platter star rating and awards won are denoted.<\/p>\n

I almost felt sorry for Cuv\u00e9e that such an excellent restaurant is so hidden away in the Winelands.\u00a0 It has a dramatic ‘Cape Dutch modernism’ interior, excellent food, and stands for quality in everything that\u00a0it does, much like its excellent sparkling wines.\u00a0 I will go back, now that I know where it is.<\/p>\n

Cuv\u00e9e Restaurant<\/strong>, Simonsig, Kromme Rhee Rhee Road, between R44 and R304, Stellenbosch.\u00a0 Tel (021) 888-4900.\u00a0 www.simonsig.co.za<\/a>\u00a0 (The website contains the menu and winelist, but still has details of the previous chef. \u00a0Few of the many photographs in the Image Gallery are of the food).\u00a0 Tuesday – Sunday lunch, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday dinner.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a>\u00a0 Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cuv\u00e9e Restaurant opened\u00a0on Simonsig wine estate nearly three years ago, and its interior curation by Neil Stemmet put him on the map, with its unusual marriage of old and new.\u00a0 Cuv\u00e9e Restaurant is a sparkling complement and compliment to the Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Simonsig is on the Kromme Rhee […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[124,20,31,21,19,293],"tags":[12706,218,12711,10735,32378,1514,12697,2489,12710,12698,12693,11513,8369,12705,12695,8349,12691,12478,12694,12709,12696,12708,12704,1066,12701,4001,7421,1094,12692,12703,252,3625,41,230,11504,52,32376,3966,10736,12700,447,12702,12712,11286,1157,10269,12707,12699,32373,32382,6405,9199],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t