When Wine and Food Collaborate
A passion for the pleasures of great wine, and a desire to add to those pleasures, brought on the collaboration between 2 South African Celebrity Chefs and a renowned winemaker.
In 2010 Louis Nel made 600 bottles of Chenin Blanc with Bertus Basson from Overture Restaurant and Craig Cormack from Sofia’s restaurant in Somerset West. In 2011 they added a Cincaut to the range, which is appropriately named Collaboration.
I had the pleasure to enjoy both these wines over a mind-blowing lunch at Overture. Warning! Those with keen taste buds should rather not view the picture gallery below.
Chilled Edwern-heim asparagus veloutè, asparagus, croutons, garlic & thyme ice
And for that chef Bertus Basson from Overture Restaurant deserves a HIGH 5!!!
This was not the first time Bertus spoiled me with his talents. Take my advise, if you haven’t been to Overture yet, then you better get out there and experience one of the best meals of your life.
According to Louis, wine should be an extension of the table, not the main reason to be at the table. Their aim was to create food-friendly wines that will not mask or overwhelm the food. Something that will bring back elegance and sophistication to the dinner table.
The 2011 Collaboration Chenin Blanc and Cinsaut both echo their food philosophy, and act to support and complement food.
The Chenin Blanc worked extremely well with the asparagus, rabbit and calamari dishes at Overture. The palate is fruity with a long finish. Flavours of citrus fruit, nuts and honey spring to mind. This is by no means a boring wine. It develops beautifully in the glass and every sip offers a new experience.
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Cinsaut might have the reputation of the “poor man’s grape” but trust me when I say this, the Collaboration Cinsaut is nothing like Tassies. With this wine Louis wanted to break away from the ordinary and proof that you can make a sublime wine from this common grape varietal. The wine has a beautiful pale ruby colour. It’s soft and silky in the mouth with a really long finish. On the nose there’s a subtle hint of vanilla oak but, the predominant aromas were black fruit along with some spice. If you are looking for red to enjoy this summer then this is it! It’s also one of my favourite wines of 2011.
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Both wines from the Collaboration range retails at R95 a bottle. Only 2700 bottles of each cultivar were produced which make these wines extremely exclusive. You can pick up a bottle (I recommend you take a case) at Wine Concepts, Overture Restaurant, Sofia’s at Morgenster or email louis@louiswines.com to place your order.
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