Blending Masterclass & Dinner with Michel Rolland and Travis Braithwaite
For the final Lay & Wheeler Trading Estate Nights event of 2024, we really pushed the boat out for an unforgettable event. Hosted alongside Michel Rolland and Travis Braithwaite, our Pangaea Blending Masterclass and Dinner on Thursday 12th December was an extraordinary immersive learning experience and the perfect way to round off our events calendar for the year.
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Blending Masterclass
As we settled into Medlar’s private dining room and with our tables teeming with blending equipment, glasses and wine bottles, our Chief Commercial Officer, Jonathan Dart, was delighted to introduce Michel Rolland and Travis Braithwaite to our guests for our final Estate Nights event of 2024. After a welcome aperitif of the delicious Fontenil Blanc 2020 from Michel’s estate, Chateau Fontentil in Fronsac, Bordeaux, Travis regaled the history and vision behind Pangaea – an estate labelled as “one of the most audacious wine labels in recent memory”.
After a surprise tasting of the 100-point 2019 Pangaea to help give us direction and inspiration, the hands-on element of our evening began. The aim? To help create the 2023 blend of Pangaea! Travis explained to us the significance of each component; the Malbec from Argentina, the Cabernet Franc from South Africa, the Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, the Petit Verdot from Spain and the Merlot from Bordeaux’s Right Bank. As we were then ‘let loose’ with the wines to taste and experiment, unbeknownst to us all Michel was putting into practice his 50+ years of oenological experience and created two different blends for Pangaea 2023. Michel’s expert blend was then created for everyone to taste.
As Michel and Travis explained, the key to Pangaea is creating harmony among the different parts of the blend. Although there were some single varietal wines which were preferred on their own by our guests (and therefore added in greater percentages to their unique blends), Michel’s blend kept the structural backbone of Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller percentages of the other varieties in order to create a harmonious wine without one element standing out too much. It was a privilege to hear first-hand from Michel on how he creates his world famous blends and we cannot wait for the release of the 2023.
The session provided insights on the intricacies on blending a wine and the importance of balance, structure and finesse, giving us all a profound appreciation for the craft behind each bottle of Pangaea. (For a closer look at the blending session, check out our reel on Instagram).
A Curated Pairing Menu…
Following the masterclass, we tucked into a multi-course menu from Medlar’s award-winning kitchen. Starting with Crab Raviolo with samphire, brown shrimps, fondue of leeks, and bisque sauce, we enjoyed glasses of Grace 2016 – a delicious South African white blend created by Travis (60% Chenin Blanc, 30% Viognier, and 10% Chardonnay) from sites in Swartland and Franschhoek. The Chargrilled Cornish Monkfish with roast Delica pumpkin, squid, chili, lemon, and cavolo nero which followed was then paired with Chateau Fontenil 2009 – served from Magnum. For the main course of Rump of Belted Galloway with café de Paris snails, stuffed portobello, shallot purée, and béarnaise sauce, we jumped back to South Africa and enjoyed the Milestone 2015 – a Bordeaux blend inspired wine which has wonderful intensity and rich dark berries and mocha notes. The evening was rounded off with Pangaea 2017 alongside a beautiful, artisanal selection of cheeses and a choice of Crème brûlée or Vanilla and cinnamon ice cream with pinenut brittle and financiers. We were delighted to be able to showcase these wines to our guests and have them paired with this excellent menu by Medlar, offering a completely gastronomic experience.
The combination of Michel Rolland’s expertise and Travis Braithwaite’s mastery made this Estate Nights event a true highlight for wine lovers and collectors alike and celebrated both the artistry of blending and the delight in sharing exceptional wines with fine food. For anyone who was unable to attend (or those wishing to relive the moment!), Michel and Travis have made available to us a selection of the wines from the evening which we are excited to offer today.
What the critics say...
2019 Pangaea, Wine of the World
100 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent
“The 2019 Pangaea is a blend of 30% Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley), 30% Merlot (Right Bank Bordeaux), 21% Malbec (Valle de Uco, Argentina), 15% Cabernet Franc (Helderberg, South Africa), 4% Petit Verdot (Dehesa del Carrizal Vino de Pago, Spain). Deep purple-black in color, it opens with a first wave of baked plums, blackcurrant jelly, and blackberry preserves before continuing with…”
2019 Pangaea, Wine of the World
97 Points, Decanter
“A blend of 30% Cabernet Sauvignon (from Napa Valley), 30% Merlot (from Bordeaux), 21% Malbec (from Argentina), 15% Cabernet Franc (from South Africa), and 4% Petit Verdot (from Spain). The fifth vintage release of this ‘Wine of the World’ by master blender Michel Rolland. Near-opaque ruby colour. Quite a floral-driven expression of these global blends…”
2017 Pangaea, Wine of the World
96 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent
“The 2017 Pangaea is made up of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) , 29% Malbec (Valle de Uco, Argentina), 17% Merlot (Right Bank Bordeaux), 8% Cabernet Franc (Helderberg, South Africa), and 2% Petit Verdot (Dehesa del Carrizal Vino de Pago, Spain). Deep garnet-purple in color, it charges out with very youthful black fruit notes of juicy blackberries, fresh black plums, and boysenberries leading to hints of chocolate mint, tree bark…”
2017 Pangaea, Wine of the World
96 Points, Decanter
“The third release of this ‘Wine of the World’ by master blender Michel Rolland. A blend of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon (from Napa Valley), 29% Malbec (from Argentina), 17% Merlot (from Bordeaux), 8% Cabernet Franc (from South Africa), and 2% Petit Verdot (from Spain). Deep ruby core with a lucid rim. Charges out of the glass with hefty savoury notes of sweet pipe tobacco, white pepper, sagebrush and sandalwood…”
More on Pangaea
Since its inaugural release, Pangaea has captured significant attention worldwide. The collaborative creation between South African winemaker Travis Braithwaite and renowned blender Michel Rolland, Pangaea is an iron fist in the velvet glove. With extensive coverage in the media from The Financial Times to Forbes and with commendations from renowned wine critics including Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Pangaea is indeed a hot-ticket wine.
Made in tiny volumes of circa 2,500 bottles, this ‘Wine of the World’ has received a plethora of global admiration. With the 2019 vintage receiving a perfect 100 point score from Perrotti-Brown in addition to the 2016’s exceptional 96 points, the incredible buying opportunity of this one of a kind wine that “offers an adventurous journey that is as cerebral and intricate as any story told by a single vineyard wine” is beyond doubt. In 2023, Pangaea’s vinous precision featured in the Financial Times as an “extremely harmonious, beautifully composed” multi-blend, in addition to Forbes which named Pangaea as “one of the most audacious wine labels in recent memory”. Perrotti-Brown concurs these sentiments, aptly naming the power duo’s “brainchild” as “an adventure story”…