in the vineyard : The core of our grape supply is found just to the north of Stellenbosch, bordered by the town of Wellington to the North-East, and the mountains of the Drakenstein and Franschhoek ranges to the South-East. To the South-West, the region stretches all the way down to the coastal winegrowing districts of Durbanville and Philadelphia, while the North-West borders the Swartland wine district. The area therefore has many different climatic zones, soils and aspects and thus succeeds with a wide range of styles and varieties.
In the New World almost everyone can theoretically claim superior terroir, since there is no regulation over such claims. We prefer to focus on the merits of what we call "regionality". For more than 6 decades we have been working in the Paarl region, time which has allowed our viticulturists to isolate 5 different climatic zones. We achieve product differentiation on the basis of the added complexity gained by masterful blending of wines from the different zones.
The Chenin Blanc vineyards include bush vines with no irrigation. We prefer to plant on red gravelly soils with good moisture retention capability, although we also find the decomposed granite characteristics of the Paardeberg mountain slopes deliver structural finesse and minerality. Other plantings that are spread over most of the Paarl region allow for further diversity. Flavour profiles vary between very pronounced guava, ripe apple and pear flavours. Production varies between vineyards, but on the average 6-9tons/ha are harvested.
The grapes were sourced from old bush vines in the Klein Drakenstein mountain foothills near Paarl.