{"id":37992,"date":"2012-11-21T13:53:24","date_gmt":"2012-11-21T11:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=37992"},"modified":"2012-11-21T15:52:07","modified_gmt":"2012-11-21T13:52:07","slug":"doolhof-launches-theseus-to-celebrate-its-300th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/wine-news\/doolhof-launches-theseus-to-celebrate-its-300th-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Doolhof launches Theseus to celebrate its 300th anniversary!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Doolhof wine estate celebrated its 300th anniversary with the launch of its Theseus 2009 wine at a wine tasting and lunch at Signal restaurant at the Cape Grace hotel yesterday. \u00a0Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, a traveller in search of adventure.<\/p>\n

Owner Dennis Kerrison is a charming British gentleman, and explained why he had bought a farm in Wellington, and such a large one, having only wanted a 5 ha piece of land to be a garagiste! \u00a0He had regularly travelled to South Africa, and found the soils of Wellington to be very good, and the land reasonably priced, in contrast to Franschhoek! \u00a0He bought the 398 ha Doolhof, ‘with lots of fynbos and rock’,<\/em> in 2003, loving the valley. \u00a0Doolhof means labyrinth in Afrikaans, and describes its mysterious, alluring, and hidden treasures, even having once been home to witches, according to legend. \u00a0Jacques Potier of the Dutch East India Company was allocated the land in 1712, and over the years the property has had Thomas Bain, builder of Bain’s Kloof Pass in Wellington, live on the farm, as did Lady Anne Barnard, who loved its 44 orange trees, she wrote. \u00a0The Grand D\u00e9dale Country House<\/span><\/strong> <\/a>is one of my favourites, and the decor for it has been very tastefully done by his wife Dorothy.<\/p>\n

Mr Kerrison stated that they are committed to Biodiversity (100 hectares have been identified for clearing of alien plant invasion, and are commited to preserve the fynbos on the farm), Fairtrade, \"\"<\/a>and other ethical wine farming methods and policies. \u00a0He and his staff are committed to producing wines of excellence.<\/p>\n

Winemaker Friedrich K\u00fchne is of German descent, the German names proudly having been carried over in the family over the generations since a forebear moved to South Africa, he said. \u00a0He has been at Doolhof for the past four years, and took the wine writers and bloggers through a tasting of the Doolhof Legends of the Labyrinth range:<\/p>\n

* \u00a0Lady in White 2010 is a blend of 59% Chenin Blanc, 27% Semillon, 24% Sauvignon Blanc, of which 28% is wooded. \u00a0The Chenin Blanc comes form 35 year old bush vine. It has lemongrass, citrus, floral, and wood on the nose, and 12% alcohol. \u00a0It pairs well with seafood and sushi, and costs R80 at the cellardoor.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Lady in Red 2008 is a Bordeaux blend of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Merlot, with cedarwood, oak, plum, black fruit, and cinnamon notes, ideally suited to drinking with pasta and pizza, and red meats. Each wine was matured separately in French oak for 14 months. It costs R80.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 The Minotaur 2008 is the top of the range Cape blend made from handpicked grapes form the estate’s premier vineyards, only the best barrels selected, with 5000 – 7000 bottles produced every year, with 21% Pinotage, 21% Malbec, 21% Shiraz, 17% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 9% Petit Verdot. \u00a0Best drunk with red meat, rich sauces, and game. It costs R150.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Dark Lady Pinotage 2011 has strong coffee mocha notes, with dark fruit, black berry, and cherry, ideal to be drunk with coffee, Christmas pudding, ostrich, duck, curry, and chocolate mousse. \u00a0It costs R70.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0The new Theseus 2009 is a Bordeaux blend of 33% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 17% Malbec, and 5% Petit Verdot, with 80% \u00a0matured in new wood. It will only be made in the years in which the grapes are good enough. \u00a0It has red fruit, cassis, and plums on the nose. Matured for 24 months in French oak barrels. Best served with steak and lamb. \u00a0It costs R230.<\/p>\n

After the \"\"<\/a>tasting we moved through to the Signal restaurant, and had a fun table, entertained by Fiona McDonald and Greg Landman. \u00a0The first starter was a pan fried scallop, charred sweet corn, cauliflower pure\u00e9, black forest ham velout\u00e9, topped with pea shoots, which was paired with Lady in White. \u00a0\"\"<\/a>The second starter was beautifully plated, being Springbok carpaccio, with a smoked capsicum salsa, with balsamic and olive oil drizzled rocket, and herb dusted croutons, which was paired with the Minotaur and Lady in Red.<\/p>\n

A palate cleanser was an interesting mix of cucumber, mint and lime sorbet, and summer\"\"<\/a> melon salad. \u00a0The main course was an outstanding tender grilled Chalmar beef fillet with roasted garlic mash, saut\u00e9ed baby spinach and a delicious mushroom and truffle sauce, paired with the new Theseus. \u00a0The dessert was a pretty looking dark chocolate tart, praline ice cream, and cherries, paired with the\"\"<\/a> Dark Lady, and accompanied by a cappuccino.<\/p>\n

Doolhof is a lovely wine estate at the end of the Bovlei Road, an oasis to escape to from a busy schedule in staying over, or to taste the strong and bold Doolhof wines, which also offers a Cape Range and Signature Range.<\/p>\n

Disclosure<\/strong>: We received a bottle of The Minotaur and Theseus with our media pack.<\/p>\n

Doolhof wine estate<\/strong>, Bovlei Road, Wellington. \u00a0Tel (021) 873-6911 www.doolhof.com<\/a> Twitter: @DoolhofWines Tasting Room open daily, 10h00 – 17h00 (closes at 16h00 on Sundays).<\/p>\n

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

Doolhof wine estate celebrated its 300th anniversary with the launch of its Theseus 2009 wine at a wine tasting and lunch at Signal restaurant at the Cape Grace hotel yesterday. \u00a0Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, a traveller in search of adventure. Owner Dennis Kerrison is a charming British gentleman, and explained why he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[124,20,363,21,19],"tags":[17650,373,110,32378,9675,17645,16935,9668,7208,3242,13970,17646,1007,16893,8789,17648,4888,9676,17652,17651,15580,9674,17647,17649,32385,32373],"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