Ormonde wines from Darling are being showcased at The
Taj hotel in Cape Town for the month of September. This is a taste teaser for
the chef’s pairing dinners with the wine estate’s wines throughout the month. They
were presenting their Barrel selection range. Ormonde and The Taj hosted an
early evening launch last Thursday evening in the foyer of the hotel and we
were invited. The present owner of Ormonde is Theo Basson. The farm is
large, 3500 hectares with 380 planted with grapes. They also produce the
Alexanderfontein wines. They say "the Darling hills are on contours of an
ancient granite intrusion. These molten rocks, forced from the earth to 300m
above sea level, guard the Atlantic Ocean while banks of fog roll to the foot
of the hills, blessing the vineyard with coolness and moisture". And they
produce grapes of such quality that there are many wine farms in other areas
that buy these superb grapes for their wines
Adre Rheeder, COO of Ormonde was there to meet and
greet the guests
One of two white wines on offer, the 2016 Sauvignon
Blanc; typical Darling grapes, tropical guava and hay, a good mouth feel with
crisp and dry gooseberries, figs and limes and some soft tannins
The wines were served by one of the Taj staff members
to hotel and invited guests
Adre and Samantha Koegelenberg who is responsible for
Ormonde's sales and marketing
Canapés were served. This is a version of Caprese
salad; pesto tomato and mozzarella on bread
Mini cheese croquettes
The 2014 wooded Chardonnay with whiffs of smoke,
golden apricots and hay. An intriguing nose. A good tingle of fruit acid, rich
fruit, cooked apples and marmalade, nicely blended with the wood. A food wine
of good character. Very quaffable too!
Two premium wines from their collection in a showcase,
named after the two grandfathers of the Basson family who own Ormonde. The
Ormonde Vernon Basson a Bordeaux style red. Vernon Basson was present owner
Theo Basson's grandfather and The Vernon Basson wine is dedicated to their
founding principal and grandfather who lived by the creed, "Mediocrity is
never an option". The Theodore Eksteen, a blend of Shiraz and Grenache is
named for the grandfather and patriarch to his descendants who
own Ormonde
There were three good red wines for tasting
Some sauced beef mini sosaties
The Ormonde 2015 Pinot Noir is aromatic and perfumed
with cherries and fynbos herbs. The sweet cherry fruit carries over to the
palate with the addition of salt and licorice, most enjoyable
The 2014 Ormonde Shiraz has incense wood and spice
with raspberries and red fruit on the nose. Dark mulberry fruit, some warmth
and more of that salty licorice on the palate. Some grippy tannins which soften
to dark caramel toffee wood on the end. Another food wine
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is a classic with cassis
and violets on the nose and palate, with some dark malt and black cherries. The
wood supports in the background
Some beef rolls with carrot and rocket went well with
the red wines
and were also good with the Sauvignon
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
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