Celebrate Shiraz with Landskroon Paul de Villiers Shiraz 2021

This August, celebrate Shiraz with Landskroon Paul de Villiers Shiraz 2021, paired with NOMU’s beef fillet with chocolate chili sauce.

Spring has sprung on the Landskroon Wine Estate on the southwestern facing slope of the magnificent Paarl Mountain, with the three very impressive granite boulders gracing the top.

The Estate has been owned and managed by the De Villiers Family for over 5 generations. The senior member in each generation was named Paul, and the current Cellarmaster Paul V and his team have nurtured this wine to the bottle. And a real smasher it is, as they say in Australia. A well-known winemaker once said to me that he had the best hope for Shiraz in South Africa.

The grapes for the Landskroon Paul de Villiers Shiraz 2021 were harvested from different vineyard blocks on the estate. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in open fermentation tanks. The wine was matured in 80% French and 20% American Oak, 60% of which were new oak barrels. The balance of the barrels were 2nd fill. The wine was then prepared for bottling.

Pour

From a Burgundy shaped bottle closed with natural cork. The label is simple and elegant and unique to the Paul de Villiers range of wines. In the glass, the wine is opaque, and a deep red, black berry in colour at the heart which pales out to a gem bright crimson at the rim. The aromas are of berries and plums and a grind of pepper. The oak is there with its concomitant spices and vanilla. A truly impressive glass, eminently drinkable now and has all the components to age well when cool cellared.

Pair: Beef fillet with chocolate chili sauce

The Landskroon Paul de Villiers Shiraz 2021 is fine wine which is a perfect partner. NOMU has a delicious dish of beef fillet with chocolate chili sauce. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg Beef fillet, trimmed and tied
  • 3 tbsp NOMU Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 tbsp NOMU Coffee Rub

For the chocolate-chili sauce:

  • 500ml prepared NOMU beef stock
  • 250ml red wine
  • ½ tsp NOMU Spicy Chilli Grinder
  • 100g NOMU Decadent Hot Chocolate
  • 80ml cream (optional)
  • 1 tbsp thyme or rosemary, finely chopped
  • NOMU Sea Salt and
  • NOMU Black Pepper, for seasoning

Directions

  1. Place the beef stock, red wine and NOMU Spicy Chili in a saucepan and allow to simmer until reduced by half.
  2. Whisk in the chocolate and continue stirring until the chocolate has melted and the sauce is thickened and glossy.
  3. Add the cream and the rosemary and season to taste.
  4. Pre-heat your oven to 200°C.
  5. Cut the fillet into 6 neat medallions.
  6. Combine the olive oil and NOMU Coffee Rub and rub into the medallions.
  7. Pan-fry the fillet in an oven-proof pan over medium heat on all sides until nicely browned and caramelized all over.
  8. Place the pan in the pre-heated oven for 5 -10 minutes or until cooked to your preference (5 minutes for medium-rare).
  9. Serve on heated plates, drizzled with chili chocolate sauce and garnished with fresh thyme and a pinch of Maldon salt.