Background

The 300 year old farm Bloemendal, surrounded by the Tygerberg hills, was acquired in the late 19th century by the great-grandfather of Jackie Coetzee, present owner and vintner. This prime land, set in the heart of the fertile Durbanville region, originally supplied fresh produce to the Dutch East India Company ships on their way to the Spice Islands. In more recent times the area has become renowned for its grapes of exceptional quality and concentration. Bloemendals first cellar was completed in 1920 by Jackies grandfather. His father continued the Estates concentration on winemaking by the planting of significant amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz in the early 1960s. Jackie continued the familys winemaking tradition by registering Bloemendal as an Estate in 1987. Concentrating on the noble cultivars, he sacrificed quantity in favour of quality, soon gaining a reputation locally and internationally for his award-winning, boutique style wines, widely known as the waterlily label.

A Cool Climate

Although blessed with an abundance of sunshine in summer, Durbanville remains one of the coolest wine-growing regions in South Africa, with a micro-climate ideally suited to the noble cultivars. The cooling effect of the surrounding hills, combined with coastal mists and heavy localised dews result in grapes with fine individual characteristics and great concentration. By contrast, chilly winters, lashed by rains chilled by the South Easter, provide deep rest for the vines in preparation for the following season.

Matching Cultivar to Terroir

Being part of Die Kloof, Bloemendal boasts a diverse range of vineyards, each with its own soil and slope aspects. These range from the south facing slopes of the Kanonkop to the north facing Tygerberg hills. This allows for optimum matching of cultivars to terrior, a very important advantage to an Estate with only 150 hectares out of a total 239 under the vine. Most of the deep red soil on Bloemendal are heavy Hutton-type clay with the rest being made up of Tukulu, Oakleaf and Westleigh. They are deep, cool and well-drained, but with good water retention, which allows the vineyards to be cultivated with minimal irrigation and interference, allowing nature to take its course. This in turn reflects the terroir in the grapes, carrying through to the cellar.

Grown, Made & Bottled on the Estate

All Bloemendal wines are grown, made and bottled on the Estate by Jackie Coetzee. This allows for little outside intervention, which has led to their reputation as wines of distinctive individuality. Their wines are the result of a combination of modern cellar technology, atmospheric controlled barrel maturation cellars, limited quantity-high quality grapes and of course, the personal touch. Through controlled crop yield and vine growth to maturation that balances fruit and wood, Jackie has created a limited range of wines that have won both national and international recognition. Bloemendals range consists of a selection of noble white and red cultivars, as well as Bloemendal Brut, a traditional, handmade Sparkling Wine. These wines all reflect Jackies words, quoted by John Platter.

"Do it because you enjoy it! Do your best, but never be satisfied."

Through controlled crop yield & vine growth to maturation that balances fruit and wood, Jackie has created a limited range of wines that have won both national & international recogniton.

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