Visiting Beyerskloof

To Stellenbosch and Beyerskloof for lunch at their Red Leaf Restaurant with dear friend Pierre Loubser, retired Chairman of the Pinotage Association.

The menu has had a few tweaks and Jo was delighted with her Bobotie filled Spring Rolls with a large Chef's Salad, but I'd travelled many thousands of miles to the Cape intending to have the famed Pinotage Burger again and Pierre is also a fan, and we were not to be deterred.

Burger with Pinotage onion reduction.

We started with a complimentary bread from their pizza oven, a very moreish disc of the lightest crispest pizza dough generously topped with garlic and herbs. Afterwards we enjoyed coffee as there was no room left for dessert.

What to drink? Because Beyerskloof's popular white Chenin/Pinotage had sold out they listed the excellent Simonsig Chenin from the neighbouring estate for those preferring a white wine.

But I plumped for the delicious top of the range Diesel Pinotage 2013 at the cellar price of R625. This is a work of a winemaker at his peak, and even though the combination of inflation and the drastic fall in the value of sterling meant is worked out almost twice as expensive as last year, it was savoured to the very last drop, which seems to come sooner with each bottle. Poured by the knowledgeable Reggie, it was gorgeous stuff (to use a technical term :).

View from Beyerskloof Restaurant

From the restaurant one looks out over the valley to a line of mountains on the horizon. There are such wonderful views all across the Cape, and even better with a Pinotage Burger and glass or two of Pinotage.

Beyers Truter in cellar

Owner Cellar Master Beyers Truter gave me a quick cellar tour. He's always bubbling over with ideas to promote his favourite cultivar: one is to do something very special by showing some non-South African Pinotages at this year's Pinotage Day, the other is to add a Pinotage Grappa to Beyerskloof's portfolio.

Tasting Room

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