Kangarilla Road is a McLaren Vale winery established in 1997. Located less than an hour out of Adelaide, in South Australia, their cellar door is easy to pop in to. They use biodynamic and organic winemaking styles, using grapes from their 30 acre property in the rolling hills of the McLaren Ranges. Having a Meditteranean climate they tend to make full flavoured red wines with a couple of whites and a rose too.
I was lucky enough to visit Kangarilla Road a couple of years ago and managed to try one or two (or three or four...) of their wines. I loved the Zinfandel and Sangiovese. If you ever happen to be in the area, they are definitely worth a visit.
The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon was a delight. Being quite a young wine, I expected it to be a bit rough around the edges and heavy with tannin, but it was exactly the opposite. It was very smooth with dark plum and berry flavours and a touch of vanilla from the French oak barrels. It also had quite an earthy taste to it, which perfectly matched the earthiness and sweetness of the beetroot. The crunchy, roasted macadamias had a great texture and also brought out the vanilla and spice. Matched with the roasted eye fillet as well as the salad, the wine was given much more depth of flavour.
While this wine was perfect with the steak and salad, it would also have been wonderful to drink on it's own or with a cheese platter with some dried fruit and nuts. Maybe next time we'll just have a bottle on a Sunday afternoon with some nibbles!
Beetroot And Vincotto Salad
2 large beetroots, stalks trimmed
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, halved
A large handful of rocket leaves, chopped into large pieces
80g Danish feta, cut into small pieces
1 Tbs vincotto
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Peel beetroots and cut into large pieces.
Place on a baking tray, spray with oil spray and toss to coat.
Roast for approx 30 mins or until cooked. This time will depend on how big your pieces are.
Remove the beetroot from the oven and cool to room temperature.
While the beetroots are roasting, place macadamias on a small baking tray and roast for about 5 minutes or until starting to brown. Keep an eye on them as they burn very quickly.
Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
When ready to serve, toss beetroot, rocket, nuts and feta with combined extra virgin olive oil and vincotto. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Roasted Eye Fillet
500g eye fillet, all in one piece
Salt and pepper to season
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Trim any sinew from the beef so that you have a nice even cut of meat.
Season all over with salt and pepper.
Heat a good drizzle of oil in a frying pan on high heat.
Sear the beef on all side for a minute or so, until browned evenly.
Transfer the beef to a baking tray and roast for 15 mins, or until cooked to your liking. 15 mins will give you medium rare, which is how we like it.
Allow the meat to rest in a warm place, covered with foil, for 10 minutes before you carve it, otherwise you'll loose all the wonderful juices.
Carve meat into two large pieces and serve with the salad and mustard or chutney of your choice.
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