IDENTITY AND PHILOSOPHY:
We often forget that wine is merely a product of agriculture. A uniquely appreciated produce that uplifts the human spirit. Still it is a natural produce made from grapes grown in a certain soil and environment that we can’t take for granted. Surely it holds subjective individuality by means of a specific vineyard’s variables, but in essence you’ll only get a decent wine out if your soils and your vines are in check with what you’d hope to produce from it. In the cellar I do not add anything nor take anything away to alter the grapes’ natural constituents, therefore it is inevitable to take skilful and sensitive agricultural care in the vines and soils. With the hope to capture this vintage, vineyard and soil type variants finally into the bottle.
“We do not inherit land from our ancestors; we borrow It from our children.”
A phrase coined by poet Saint-Exupery
Stumbled upon many years ago, I value this phrase in my approaches with each of these vineyards. Respecting what you borrow to return it one day in a better state than received. Realising that what ever we do should respect the next generation who would also aspire to lead a life of fulfilment. Through this it generates a sense of purpose that is real, honest, sustainable and bigger than ourselves. Giving back to your roots to take care of the future.”
Here in the Lower Helderberg I work with 5 single vineyard sites which I do not own, but portioned off sections for me to work with on a relationship base with the farm owners. Granted to apply my own sets of viticultural approaches, as long as I pay and supply any extra work nescasary. I believe in the merits of organic viticulture, but sometimes even this approach has started to develop too many variants to completely coin its value stereotypically. I try to merely refer to it as mindful farming methods for what works on my vineyards in an organic and sustainable fashion with respect to the soil’s natural processes as well as the vines’. Most of these vineyards has been minimalistically farmed already as well as dryfarmed for years before, but since 2016 further efforts have been put to work year by year.
Majority of these vineyards are older than 35 years. The region of Sinai Hill is located between 3 to 5 km from the South Atlantic Ocean (False Bay) in the farthest reach to the South East of Stellenbosch. Making them the closest vineyards towards the cooling effects of the Ocean.
Nomadis hails from a 1975 planted bushvine Cinsaut vineyard, situated on the sandiest portion of the area. Féniks Pinotage is a 1975 planted single vineyard, the closest Pinotage bushvines to the ocean in SA and on more extreme sandy soils than many known Pinotage vineyards. Granietsteen Chenin blanc planted in 1978 in contours on the South Eastern slope of Sinai Hill, overlooking False Bay (where you can easily spot the white breaking froth of the waves from). One other Cinsaut Vineyard lies next to it and was planted in 1988, with a slightly higher clay fraction than the other Cinsaut portion. Swanesang Syrah vineyard lies on sandy/loam soils flat in the middel of the Lower Helderberg region, tucked away as the last remaining Syrah bushvines in the Helderberg and younger planted, in 1996, but delivers top quality already.
The soils here are mainly formed of very old decomposed granite and withered down silica quarts aka sandy soils. Some portions contain slightly more clay percentages, but mostly they are absent of the usual duplex clay subsoil which mainland Stellenbosch is more famous for. Making these vineyards express a totally different example of Stellenbosch grapes’ abilities.
All of the vineyards are situated on the South East face of the hill towards the Helderberg valley, ensuring a cooler makro climate ontop of its close Oceanic proximity. Making these vines the coolest spot in Stellenbosch by almost a 6 degree Celcius difference on average.
The only vineyard outside of the Lower Helderberg, is the Grenache Blanc. Where there are merely a few vineyards scattered scarcely throughout the Cape. First using a lovely vineyard from the Voor Paardeberg region. Future might see an expression from this variety from another region close to my roots….the Klein Karoo.