


A celebration of all
things classic
Rupert and Rothschild Classique 2018
It is impossible not to reiterate where everything started and why a wine like the Rupert and Rothschild Classique has become a household name, especially when one refers to the fathers of the brand and the power of intention. It essentially stems from a classic approach to winemaking while keeping their finger on the pulse of a worldwide movement where consumers want to buy the best they can afford. The late Dr Rupert established a global business empire that is still referred to for its basic principles of class, ethics, and sustainability.
Those of you who love the Bordeaux landscape and the wine it’s been producing for centuries will know that the Rothschild’s family’s wine legacy started in 1868 when James de Rothschild purchased the famous Chateau Lafite. Baron Edmund was his great-grandson who continued his vision by acquiring two estates in the Listrac and Moulis-en-Medoc in 1973. Edmund de Rothschild legacy now includes vineyards in France, Spain, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa, of which some can be tasted at Rupert and Rothschilds Vignerons in Franschhoek.
The Simplicity of Three
From the start of 1997, this brand was built on just three wines. Regardless of trends, they have persevered with this trio, taking pride in their focus, dedication and commitment to making them exceptional.
A Prestigious Partnership
A joint venture between the Rupert family in South Africa and the Rothschild family in France.
Passion for our craft
They draw inspiration for the brand from the French winemaking ways and are red wine specialists with a core focus on Bordeaux varietals. The trio in the range includes a single varietal Chardonnay, a classic varietal to mirror their brand image.
“In less, there is more. More layers. More complexity, More time, and attention, and care. More clarity. More consistency. More quality.” – Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons
The Recipe
Potato gnocchi, fricassee of mushrooms, crème fraiche and a nasturtium pesto.
Feeds 2-4 people
Ingredients for the gnocchi
- 4 Large potatoes
- 2 Eggs
- 2 cups of strong white bread flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients for the mushroom fricassee and puree
- 250g button mushrooms
- 100g shitake mushrooms
- 100g king oyster mushrooms
- 100g Portabellini mushrooms
- 250ml fresh cream
- 1 brown onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 250ml quality vegetable stock
- 250g butter
Ingredients for the nasturtium pesto
- 100g fresh nasturtium (you can use basil if you cannot find nasturtium)
- juice of 2 lemons
- 3 tablespoons quality oil (like avocado or grapeseed)
- 50g toasted almonds
- 50g grated Parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the crème fraiche
- 100g crème fraiche
- The zest of 1 lemon
Preheat oven to 190 °C. Bake your potatoes for 1-2 hours or until you can cut them through with a knife without resistance. Cut warm potatoes in half, scoop out the flesh, and push through a sieve to get a smooth mashed potato. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a separate bowl, crack your eggs, beat lightly together. Add your egg mixture and mix until combined. Slowly start adding your flour until a smooth thick dough forms. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Roll out your dough into cylindrical shapes and cut into 3cm lengths. Add your cut dough to the boiling water. When cooked, it floats to the top. Place cooked Gnocchi into ice water and set aside.
For the mushroom puree
Finely chop your onion and cook in a pan on medium to low heat with 200g of your butter. Once cooked, add the finely chopped garlic. Add finely sliced button mushrooms. Add stock and 200ml of the cream. When the mushrooms are cooked and reduced by half, you can place the mixture into a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.
For the mushroom fricassee
Slice the remainder of your mushrooms and fry in a pan with leftover butter until golden brown. Remove the mushrooms from the pan but keep the pan warm for the Gnocchi.
For the Nasturtium Pesto and crème fraiche
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend at a high speed until a smooth pesto has formed. Mix your crème fraiche with the lemon zest and set aside, ready for assembly.
Final Step
In a hot pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Add cooked gnocchi and fry until golden brown. Add cooked mushrooms, 2 tablespoons of mushroom puree and 50ml of leftover cream season with salt, pepper, and fresh lemon to taste. Lightly mix until well combined. Place on a plate and finish of with crème fraiche and your pesto.

MATCHMAKING POTATO GNOCCHI, FRICASSE OF MUSHROOMS, CRÈME FRAICHE AND NASTURTIUM (OR BASIL) PESTO
- Here is a pairing that takes the classic components of food and wine pairing into consideration: texture, fat, acidity, salt and sweetness. Fricasse refers to stewed pieces of meat, in this case, mushrooms. While button mushrooms might not stand up to a red wine like the Classique, the meaty, sinewy, and velvety texture of oyster and shitake can rightfully replace a piece of meat, if not offer extra flavour.
- The gnocchi act like a sponge soaking up the flavour of the mushrooms, but the carbohydrates can also stimulate a sweeter taste sensation. In turn, the sweetness will highlight the acidity, adding a fresh twist for summer!
- Crème Fraiche stands in as a fatty component in the absence of fatty meat – a foiling for young tannin in red wine. We already know the freshness is there to cut through the richness, so one can so thus far have a balanced experience.
- As far as salt goes, everyone has their own threshold and remember that the Parmesan will also do its magic in this department, enhancing the fruit in the wine. So don’t oversalt your food as this can also add a trace of bitterness to the tannin.
- The pesto will do many wonderful things to the wine, so much so that it will be hard to serve up a favourite red without the coolness a pesto brings. The nuts adding texture and the lemon making the dark fruit appear even plusher, does wonders.
Our Experience
Following the Baroness Nadine Chardonnay that we featured in October, we move on to one of their most popular wines, not in the range per se, but worldwide. The Rupert and Rothschild Classique have become an institution globally, and while being always mindful of quality, it has served a loyal clientele since its inception.
With a young and dynamic team steering the ship, both winemakers, André Roux and Kayla Oertle-Morse will happily testify that it is thanks to consistency and precision and not following trends that made consumers stay loyal to this brand. While both winemakers treasure quality time with family, their love for nature and the creative freedom they are given, makes them look forward to a busy and exciting 2022 harvest.
The Classique tends to be very earthy and dusty at first – like a mysterious hooded horseman riding through a cedar forest. The wine evokes that same kind of mystery in a classic fairy tale, the horseman’s cloak engulfing an elegant figure as the horse’s hooves barely seem to touch the ground, but when it does, its weight agitates the smell of freshly tilled earth. And just as the moonlight betrays the horse’s burgundy main, they gallop off into the darkness.
Drinking wine should always evoke the power of imagination, elevating every wine experience, regardless of how simplistic it is.
The 2018 harvest was marked by a lower than usual rainfall, followed by a notably cooler ripening period that led to smaller, concentrated berries. In the cellar, attention was given to a soft and delicate extraction of colour and tannins to make this Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon led blend a celebration of red plum and dark cherries. Both Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot plays a smaller yet vital role in the colour and depth of the wine. The wine is vibrant with elegant, ripe tannin adding shape and the time spent in barrel adds hints of chocolate, toasted caramel, and walnut aromas. We added radish to our dish for extra crunch and was pleased to see how it lifted the perfume of English leather and lavender.

See it for yourself
To have your wine featured and reviewed, please contact us.
info@marriedtwowine.com
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Samarie +27 82 072 5451
Georgio +27 83 326 3016
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