Achim always has such a respectful attitude to wine that he has passed down the family line to his son, Takuan, now the Cellarmaster at Haute Cabrière in beautiful Franschhoek. The swashbuckling sabrage with which Achim and indeed his mother, The Baroness Theodora von Arnim, opened bottles of Pierre Jourdan Brut after the legendary Saturday morning cellar tour, illustrates that there is a serious element of fun with this wine. While this is regarded as a wine to be kept for celebration, it really is a wine for everyman for everyday. You don’t need a special occasion, a special meal, to enjoy the Pierre Jourdan MCC Wines.The style of the Pierre Jourdan’s is determined by their outstanding quality grapes. Soil, Sun, Vine and Man is the Estate’s mantra. The Pierre Jourdan Brut is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, the two classic grapes of Champagne. The Chardonnay gives its citrusy elegance and structure to the wine while the Pinot Noir offers intensity and of richness of flavour.The Pierre Jourdan Belle Rose [I still hear Achim saying Rose not Rosé] gets its name from the French for beautiful rose and is an all Pinot Noir MCC. The wonderful blush comes from the Pinot Noir grape skins during an early part of fermentation called carbonic maceration - where fermentation takes place inside the grape and extracts colour and not the tannins. Once the base wine is made, the wine is bottles for the second fermentation that adds the romantic sparkle to the wine.Food choices are wider than most think. These wines have great full flavours and can cope with any course in the meal as long as it is the same ‘weight’ as the wine.Read complete article online...