Visit to the Western Cape, South Africa
By Janette McLaughlin
Having sold wine from South Africa for over 30 years both in hospitality venues and as part of my role in the UK wine trade, I was excited when asked if I would like to visit some of our suppliers in the Western Cape.
Bergsig Estate
An overnight flight to Cape Town directly from Heathrow with only a one-hour difference makes it an easy long-haul destination. Our first stop was a visit to Bergsig Estate in the Breedekloof area, an hour and a half northwest of Cape Town. This area is known for its Chenin Blanc in particular, but it grows a range of cultivars.
We have been selling wines from the Bergsig Estate for around 10 years, and it is the source of our Afrikan Ridge wines. An old estate under the ownership of the Lategan family since 1843, we were welcomed by De Wet Lategan and shown around the winery and vineyards to get an understanding of the geography and different vineyard areas.
Bergsig translates to Mountain View, and the area is surrounded by magnificent mountains and the stunning Bainskloof pass. There are a variety of soil types from red clay to sand, and each variety is planted in the area that suits it best. This was very obvious to us as we used mountain bikes to navigate the area, a great way to travel.
The wines we tried from the cellar in both tank and barrel from the new vintage were of the great quality we have come to expect, and on the morning of our departure, it was great to see our next shipment of Sauvignon Blanc leaving the winery. It only takes 19 days by sea from Cape Town, so it should arrive with us in June and amazing to think that it was only harvested and made in March.
We also tasted a port-style wine that was made 30 years ago and is being aged in barrel in a tawny style. We are trying to persuade De Wet to bottle it for us so that we can add it to our dessert wine selection, it would be amazing with rich chocolate dishes! A great area and amazing hospitality from De Wet, Jan and their sons, who have both just started working in the family business.
Mount Vernon
We then moved on to Klapmuts near Stellenbosch to visit Mount Vernon and Gravel Junction wineries nestled at the foot of the Simonsberg Mountain. We were warmly welcomed by Dave and John Hooper, met their winemaker Philip and tasted some of the latest releases.
Our Unbelievable range comes from them, distinctive due to its lack of label and making it perfect as a modern-looking house wine or a great range to add your own brand to. We also tasted the sparkling wines from the range, and we liked them so much that we have decided to introduce them and a still rose to our next order to enhance our sparkling range from outside Europe.
The Mount Vernon wines are their premium range, offering a Chardonnay, Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet from the best quality plots on the estate. After climbing up Simonsberg and getting a birds-eye view of the area, we travelled to the Oude Molen distillery, near the Elgin region, which is also part of the same company.
They specialise in making South African brandy but using grapes from the region with far more flavour rather than the traditional brandy-making cultivars, and this gives the brandy great flavour and smoothness. The Muscat is very affordable with a delicate aroma.
We even managed to blag a visit to the very impressive Habibi Farm in Elgin through a contact of John’s after we enjoyed a bottle of their Moya Meaker Riesling in a great wine-focused restaurant in Stellenbosch. They also make a range called Damascene, a series of wines that tell the story, not of their owners or marketing trends, but of the very vineyards themselves.
We sampled a couple of their wines with David, the owner and tried their Damascene Franschhoek Semillon in a Cape Town restaurant too, which was a fantastic example of Semillon and a great match to some of the excellent Cape food that we sampled.
The wines are already sold in the UK, but it was great to see a modern and innovative winery who have invested heavily and are reaping the rewards.
Hamilton Russell
Our next visit was to Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, an hour and a half from Cape Town near the coast. We have sold the wines from Hamilton Russell Estate for many years, and they are viewed as one of the best wineries from the Western Cape.
Founded 50 years ago by Tim Hamilton Russell and now steered by his son, Anthony, who has visited our tasting rooms on several occasions over the years. In the early days of the Estate, they experimented with the land to see which varieties suited which plots best before deciding initially on just 2 wines, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with the Hamilton Russell Estate label.
Later followed a white blend of Sauvignon, Semillon and Chardonnay, and a Pinotage under the Ashbourne label, as well as the Southern Right’s Sauvignon Blanc and Pinotage, which has their distinctive whale on the label as a nod to the migrating whales who visit the coast at Hermanus close by each year.
Anyone can visit their tasting room to take in the magnificent surroundings and enjoy some of their wines, but we were treated to a private tasting and tour of the cellar with Talita, who has worked on the Estate for 34 years and is a fountain of knowledge and I think has wine running through her blood.
She also helps run the school which was set up on the Estate, a project run for the farm community in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and aims to provide top quality educational care for under privileged children, in such a way to maximise the chances of early success in their education and therefore the successful completion of their schooling.
A truly magical place, amazing wines and an experience I will remember forever!
Meerlust Estate
Our final visit was to the legendary Meerlust Estate just outside Stellenbosch. We first started selling their wines just at the end of apartheid, when the wines from South Africa were difficult to sell.
I remember when I was still working in hospitality for Reg Gifford at Michaels Nook in Grasmere, he bought some large format Meerlust Rubicon, their Bordeaux style icon wine, which was really well received by the guests there.
The Estate was founded by the Myburgh Family in 1756, but the first wine produced there with the Meerlust label was a Cabernet in 1975. Now run by 8th generation Hannes Myburgh, the Estate has long been recognised for producing world-class wines.
This was very clear to see in the range of their 6 wines that we were lucky enough to taste. Altus Treurnicht, the current winemaker, has a long history with the Estate, having originally been assistant winemaker. He clearly understands the complexities of the vineyard sites, and working with Izak the viticulturist, they have matched the grape varieties to the individual soil types to provide the best fruit possible for their range of wines.
There is only one white wine, made from Chardonnay, three single varietal reds in Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and then the Meerlust Red blend made from the younger vines that aren’t quite ready for the flagship Rubicon but offers amazing value for money.
We tasted the current Rubicon vintage being sold, which was 2022, and it was stunning and definitely worth getting a few bottles for your cellars.
Like many of the wine farms in the Western Cape, they have set up enterprises to support their workers and their families. Compagniesdrift is the trading name of what enterprising and dynamic young MD Ilse Ruthford reckons is one of the most successful Cape winelands black economic empowerment ventures to date.
It was initiated in 2009 by the Myburgh Family Trust as one of its Foundations’ ongoing projects to enable their farmworkers to become economically independent and ensure a viable, long-term future for themselves and their families.
Final Thoughts
My first visit to the Western Cape was an amazing experience and gave me a real insight into the world of wine there. The area is a rich tapestry of history, people, passion and wines at all levels.
Our Afrikan Ridge Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot are much-loved pouring wines with lots of our customers around the UK and offer amazing value for money, whilst the top quality that comes from Meerlust and Hamilton Russell showcases the amazing quality that the area can produce.
The South African growers’ report recently published says that 2025 has been an ‘exceptional’ quality harvest, which bodes very well for the industry, long may it continue.
