An Evening of Firsts: The Pretoria Wine Lover’s Club samples Lemberg Wines at De Kloof

My quest for adventure may be getting a little out of hand, I mused, as I navigated towards De Kloof restaurant (getting lost twice on the way), where I had a Lemberg wine tasting event with the Pretoria Wine Lover’s Club. I’ve been to wine tastings before, of course, mostly as part of my job as a wine writer for theVine, and I am growing accustomed to meeting winemakers and tasting new wines.

Smoked mackerel pate

What made this event unique, however, was the fact that I would be sharing it with a group of people I had never met before. I stumbled upon the Meetup.com page for the Pretoria Wine Lover’s Club while searching for additions to theVine’s event calendar at work. Always keen to try something new, I signed up and gave my RSVP for this event.

I was also interested in the venue, since I’d never even heard of De Kloof restaurant before. Located at the Waterkloof Golf Estate (which I misunderstood as the Pretoria Country Club, and that is why I got so lost), it hasn’t yet had its first birthday, which explains why I didn’t yet know of it. The restaurant was already bustling when I finally arrived.

A whole table had been booked for our group, with the rest of the room filled with tables for other guests. Someone was already seated at the Pretoria Wine Lover’s Club’s table. Her name was Desire, and this was not only her first event attended on Meetup.com, but her first wine tasting as well! She was pretty excited to be seated next to someone who could help her practice the correct tasting technique, and we hit it off immediately.

Springbok shank and garlic mash

Other ladies arrived, joining our table, including our hostess Lizé and her father René, who has a business interest in the De Krans winery in Calitzdorp. They graciously welcomed us to their club. Although I had never met any of the ladies before, it didn’t take long for us to start jabbering away, and the Owner and General Manager, Charl Whitlock, had to silence us in order for the event to begin. He introduced David Sadie, the talented winemaker of Lemberg to us, who would be presenting is wines that evening.

David is a tall, well-spoken man, who had no trouble engaging his audience, even when discussing the history of the wines. Lemberg is a small farm in Tulbagh that focuses on red wines. In the 80s and 90s, the farm was known best for its Hárslevelű, an old Hungarian cultivar that is being replanted there now. “Only one other farm in South Africa is producing it,” David told us, “and many people who remember the Old Style have been requesting it from us.”

Lamb skilpaaitjies

In general, Lemberg’s production is fairly small, and David describes his winemaking as “intimate.” He reveals that he avoids too much sulphur and commercial yeast in his wines because he prefers “a more natural and pure way of winemaking.” To demonstrate this, David offered several wines for tasting, each carefully paired with a delightful delicacy specially prepared by De Kloof’s Executive Chef, Leanne Roberts.

The Vionier 2001, which was presented with a delicious smoked mackerel paté, is the first Lemberg Viognier to be made with David’s natural approach. It boasts no acidification, no enzymes, 50% natural fermentation, and the use of older 500 litre barrels to enhance the natural beauty of Viognier. It is fresh and easy-drinking, with an underlying minerality. Production was quite small, at only 1200 bottles in total.

This was followed by the Pinot Noir 2011, which is a cultivar that only Lemberg is producing in Tulbagh. David revealed that Pinot Noir “doesn’t normally do well in warmer climates,” but he promises that, despite the small production, “in the future, we will do much more Pinot Noir because the proof is in the pudding.”

Goat's cheese mousse topped with caramelised red onion

The grapes were harvested earlier to “capture what is so beautiful about the wine – its feminine character.” Paired with De Kloof’s version of sweet bread (which is actually meaty and not a kind of bread at all), the wine took on a spicy, smoky character.

The Pinotage 2010 had a much larger production, and David admits that “it is the most influential grape on our farm. We are establishing ourselves as premium Pinotage producers in South Africa.” Served with Springbok shank and garlic mash, the wine was surprisingly smooth for a Pinotage and had a nice spiciness to it. I would describe it as premium indeed.

Next was Lemberg’s Flagship Spencer Pinotage 2010, which was spicier and stronger, served with lamb skilpaaitjies. The difference between the two Pinotages is purely barrel selection, David explained. “It’s the same wine, but after 12 months, the Spencer is placed in newer barrels. It remains unfiltered, as a way of preserving the character of the wine.” I loved it so much that I took a whole case home. Definitely my favourite of the evening!

How pretty is this appetizer? I will be coming here for dinner!

Lastly, we enjoyed the Surin 2011, which was paired with goat’s cheese mousse topped with caramelised red onion. This is a nice dessert wine, with a fruity apricot character, which is not too sweet. David explained that Surin is another name for Sauvignon Blanc, and the wine is made “on the desiccated method of dehydrating the grapes on the vine until they become like raisins.

Afterwards, us ladies ended up chatting to the event’s hosts and getting to know each other late into the evening, as we enjoyed some fantastic desserts that we ordered off the menu. It was hard to choose because there is nothing on that menu that I don’t want to try. I’m just going to have to go back, I realised, hopefully soon, for another fantastic event with Lizé and her Wine Lover’s Club!