There is no doubt that Luke Dale-Roberts is the primus inter pares when it comes to SA chefs. Quail eggs poached in miso and half-rested springbok are just two of the serendipitous culinary creations that trip off his toque. Here he is (below) in an unguarded moment, coming to terms with the new KWV Mentors range this lunchtime at his Test Kitchen laboratory in the Old Biscuit Mill, Woodstock.

For these are above all, serious wines. The lack of a tug driver at OR Tambo to push back our BA plane this morning meant I missed the whites. Buy the pilot sounding just like Dave Hughes took my mind off the delay. Missing the whites was rectified over lunch with an explosive Chenin which was topped, if that is possible, by a Verdelho which is Chenin on Steroids. This is a wine to play big in Luanda as it is Ronaldo in a Riedel. A good example of a wine vibrating with Swartland freshness, as one deluded wine poseur was heard to remark.

It was a great match with the quail’s egg (above), especially the fresh bits. In the red department, the Mentors Orchestra 2012 Bordeaux blend was my pick, confirming that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The hole too, in some cases.

The Mentors Petit Verdot 2012 is surely destined for show glory and the Mentors Pinotage 2012 is all but sold out. Let’s hope some bottles make it to next month’s ABSA Top Ten tasting as this wine takes the Big P to the next level. But the KWV kerels are sure mastering Cabernet. Soon KWV may stand for Kabernet Wynmakers Vereeniging.

Until that happy day its hats off to KWV for realizing that showcase wines deserve showcase cuisine. What a combination: LDR and KWV. After Woodstock, the next stop should be the waterfront in Luanda. The combination should have the biggest success in Angola since Cuito Cuanavale.