The Alex & The Eleanor + 1

Mon Dec. 31 2007
New Years Eve
Portage/Picton to Blenheim
Windy, overcast to start.

After a quick load of laundry (backpackers are good for something – namely washing machines) and breakfast (I am starting to think this is not the land of sheep or wine or adventure but of hollandaise sauce – eggs benedict EVERYWHERE) we get back on the little shuttle boat. The overcast sky and anticipation of the rest of the trip mean its not so sad, but I could easily come back and spend a week just relaxing on the water and climbing about. We pick up our car, hoping desperately for an upgrade to a car that has more pick up then a lawn mower, and though we don’t get the upgrade, and we do get a Kia, it at least can pass a tractor. Alex drives the taxing 30 kms or so to Blenheim which we explore a bit since its too early to check in, we have a lightish lunch and stop at a tasting room, where we try 5 Sauvignon Blancs from 5 local vineyards  blind. It’s  really cool to see how different they are, and yet so similar. Although there was are lots of other wines to try, we decide to head to the Herzog Cottage which is to be our home to the next 2 nights. This a real treat, it’s the only accomadations at the one of the best vineyards in the region, and better yet, it means New Years dinner at the only Michelin starred restaurant in the country. Well, the restaurants not starred, but the chef did have a star in Austria I think. And its really quite as lovely as I was hoping, right in amongst the vines. In fact, its so beautiful, I might need to go for a run now. Runs are very good, they make room in well used stomachs for large fancy 5 course dinners. We nearly exhaust overselves with the 20 step walk from the cottage to the restaurant and begin the meal with a glass of the house bubbly (a rose) and enjoy a look around the wine making area, and the cellar where they store all the barrels. Its very cool,  and we chat a bit with a few locals who have made New Years Eve at Herzog a tradition. There are some passed nibbles, which are ok, but really just make me hungry. The bubble is not the best, overly sweet.

We are seated at 8, and Alex and I have the best seat in the house, looking over the back garden, perfectly aligned with a reflecting pool boardered with lavender and surrounded by olive trees. But sunny, very sunny. It’s a 5 course set menu with wine pairings, and the first course was salmon and halibut sashimi and tuna tartare with pea mash and lemon oil. The tartare was excellent, as was the fennel, the halibut was not so my style. We drank the Pinto Gris, which I really liked – it was almost pink in color and very slightly effervescent. . The next course was prawns with fennel, saffron risotto,  and crawfish foam. Very tasty, a real example of the parts creating something better the the parts, though the parts were pretty good on there own as well. With that we drunk Chardonnay, which was good, but a little oaky for me, not that it was really that oaky, but a little goes a long way for me. Next was poached beef with pumpkin mash and wine sauce. The beef was good, very very tender, and the sauce was very tasty. With that we drank Montepulciano, an Italian varietal that is grown a little in Malborough, at Herzog and one other place I think, it was quite good and matched the beef well. Next was a huge hunk of Brie with blacktruffle cream in the middle and white truffle oil. I thought the oil was too strong, and there wasn’t enough bread for the huge amount of cheese, but it was good. We drank Pinot Noir with that, and it was excellent, and a fabulous match. And to finish there was a raspberry soup with vanilla custard and lavender ice cream. The soup was wonderful and tart, and the custard was good, but the lavender ice cream was too lavendery, it overwhelmed everything else. With that we drank the Botrytris Pinot Gris, which was good.

What I have not mentioned is that the 5 courses took about 3 hours, which was nice, spreading them out so it wasn’t a long gap until midnight, but the service was not perfect. The wine would something come 20 min. before the food, and though the pours were not small, you certainly needed more with the food. It got better as the night went on though, more wine and bread. Alex and I were a little sneaky and went back to the cottage and got the bottle of bubbly from the fridge in the cottage to toast the New Year, although we didn’t love it I didn’t really need a $150 bottle of French champagne after all the other wine. We talked with the local, and some Australians for a while, actually until they kicked us out, but with our short walk home it wasn’t bad. A very nice was to see in the New Year, though I would not say the restaurant would do too well in New York, it was a little inconsistent and the service was just not there.