They carry the spirit of the vintage; of good winter rains and long summer days. And they tell of the generations of cellar masters who have shaped these wines, a steady hand guiding the age-old process from vineyard to barrel to bottle.
For acclaimed Stellenbosch estate Neethlingshof those generations stretch back over two centuries, to 1788 when Charles Marais and his eighteen-year old wife Maria purchased the farm in what would become the modern-day Stellenboschkloof.
The couple immediately set about expanding the vineyards and constructing a wine cellar, and in 1814 the landmark manor house was finally completed. Sadly Charles had died the previous year, but the young widow continued to plough her efforts and fortunes into the estate. She later added more land and vines to the farm before selling the estate to her son-in-law, Johannes Henoch Neethling. And so, the name of Neethlingshof was born.
Today this rich heritage is reflected across the estate, from the whitewashed cellar overlooking the vineyards to the iconic avenue of stone pines that lead up towards the stately manor house. A proclaimed National Monument, it is today home to a charming bistro.
Tables here spill out onto the stone terrace; where on the decorative gable above attentive diners will notice six ornate flowers adorning the masonry. Maria added these in 1814: one for herself, and for each of her five daughters.
It’s a touch of history also reflected in the estate’s acclaimed wines.
“We’d always known the beautiful story of the six flowers on the gable of the manor house and then we realised that we had six white wine varietals on the farm,” explains De Wet Viljoen, cellar master of Neethlingshof. Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay form the backbone of The Six Flowers white blend, with splashes of Viognier, Gewürztraminer and Weisser Riesling adding rich aromatics. The Neethlingshof Six Flowers 2015 won Gold for wines deemed a “superior example and setting the standard” while the Neethlingshof Gewurtztraminer 2016 claimed Silver Outstanding for wine that is an “outstanding example of excellent quality” at the 2016 IWSC Awards.
This acclaimed blend forms part of the Short Story Collection, a portfolio of reserve wines that celebrate both the history and conservation successes of the estate.
“The Short Story Collection was born with The Owl Post Pinotage,” explains Viljoen, who worked harvests in the Cape and California before joining Neethlingshof in 2003. “We wanted to bring the biodiversity and history of the estate into the wines.”
The Owl Post is also a personal favourite for Viljoen, vice-chairman of the Pinotage Association. Fermented and matured in a blend of Hungarian and French oak barrels, it seduces with its well-integrated tannins, and ripe fruit and vanilla notes on the palate. Last year saw the Owl Post 2014 being awarded the coveted Abraham Perold Trophy for Pinotage 2016 at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) as well as a Gold Outstanding, which denotes a score of 93 and above what judges rate as “quality of the highest order”.
The owl posts, erected to attract these nocturnal predators into the vineyards, are just one example of Neethlinghof’s holistic and sustainable approach to viticulture.
Marginal vineyards on the estate have been uprooted and returned to natural vegetation, rather than being replanted, allowing for the creation of natural wilderness corridors across the farm. Of the estate’s 470 hectares just 185 hectares are under vineyard.
When Maria and Charles bought the land in 1788 the farm was then known as De Wolvendans (the Dance of the Wolves). While there’s little chance of sighting any mystical wolves here today, this eco-sensitive approach to viticulture has reaped huge rewards and owls are not the only predator that has returned to the farm. With tracts of endangered renosterveld plantations attracting plenty of indigenous birdlife, caracals have recently made their home here too.
This elusive cat is celebrated in The Caracal, an elegant Bordeaux-style red-blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot. A full-bodied and powerful wine, it boasts firm but supple tannins and notes of blackcurrant and cherry, oak and vanilla.
The last wine in the Short Story Collection honours the woman who started it all: Maria Magdalena Marais. The Maria is a Noble Late Harvest made from Weisser Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc, sourced from dry-land vineyards on the upper slopes of the farm where sea mists off False Bay create the perfect conditions for botrytis cinerea (noble rot) to flourish. With its appealing bouquet of dried apricots and honey, combined with a perfect balance between sweetness and acidity, it’s a fine tribute to the woman who first shaped the Neethlingshof estate.
While the Short Story Collection is redolent with history, the Premium Collection of red and white wines celebrates the more modern face of the farm with a range of accessible wines that consistently over-deliver on value.
In red wines Viljoen crafts Merlot, Shiraz, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon and a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend, along with a superb Malbec; one of the few local estates to offer a single-varietal bottling of this popular South American grape.
The selection of white wines is no less appealing, with an unwooded Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc pleasing both palate and pocket. The Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc is another standout offering a true taste of Neethlingshof terroir, while the acclaimed Gewürztraminer won its category at the Novare South African Terroir Wine Awards in 2015.
In the reserve and premium ranges, Viljoen’s aim is to express the unique terroir of the estate. Neethlingshof wines are made entirely from grapes grown on the farm, and that “sense of place” is essential to crafting great wine, says Viljoen:
“I firmly believe wines should have personality, and you can only have a personality if you have a sense of place. That comes from the terroir, and that’s the beauty of working on an estate. I’m a big believer in estate wines, as the fruit is expressive of what that piece of land has to offer.”
Working purely with what the estate delivers also allows for a truer expression of both terroir and vintage, says Viljoen: “You have to know your terroir and find the perfect balance between terroir and winemaking… it’s much harder to produce consistent wines from an estate, as you can only work with what the vineyards and the vintage give you.”
And yet consistency has never been in short supply in the Neethlingshof cellar. For over two hundred years this iconic estate in the Stellenboschkloof has turned out some of the finest wines in the district. The history of those long years are written in the vineyard rows and the gable above the manor house; in the cool of the cellar and in the long row of stately pines that lead visitors to the cellar door. Where, if you taste carefully and listen closely, every bottle has a tale of its own to tell.
Neethlingshof is part of Distell Luxury Wines, a collection of superlative quality, award-winning wines from several boutique estates situated in and around the Cape Winelands. For more information about Neethlingshof and its wines, visit www.neethlingshof.co.za, call +27.218838988 or make contact on www.facebook.com/neethlingshof (or via Twitter @NeethlingshofW).
The wines, available at retail outlets nationwide, are found on many restaurant wine lists and can also be delivered to your door when purchased online through the Vinotèque at this link: www.vinoteque.co.za/collections/neethlingshof.