Lapping up Luxury
Bobby Jordan stays at a Franschhoek Wine Estate
ON a recent weekend I came to be parking my Polo in the leaf-spattered driveway of The Owner’s Cottage inside Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate, Franschhoek, with a butler rushing out to meet me under a wide-brim umbrella.
The only other person to ever rush out and greet me under an umbrella was a traffic cop on the N2.
This meeting could hardly have been more different.
Within minutes we were out of the rain and in accommodation heaven. The Owner’s Cottage is roughly the size of my entire house back in Cape Town, and has a bath deep enough for the whole family — which was just as well because we were in there straight away, along with a pitcher of complementary sherry.
We floated along in a warm current of luxury for a full 24 hours, soothed by all manner of indulgences normally reserved for guests with disposable income.
But Grande Provence is much more than a five-star extravagance; there is a story here so old it still whispers in the walls.
As a wine farm, it dates back more than 300 years, to French Huguenot Pierre Joubert, who named the property after his beloved Provence back home. The harvests were bountiful; the estate grew in both size and prestige.
But a makeover began in 2004 when the farm was bought by entrepreneur Alex van Heeren, who saw in its setting the makings of hotelier wonderland.
He transformed the estate into a premier tourist destination that now includes a world-class restaurant, a winery, an art gallery, a boutique shop and conference facilities, all of it nestled among vineyards and mountains.
However, one suspects Van Heeren’s prime objective was to renovate one of the farm’s original buildings into an exceptional hide- away befitting a suit of three equally awe-inspiring venues around the world, collectively known as the Huka Retreats. The Owner’s Cottage is the most recent addition, and has four en-suite bedrooms, a deluxe suite, a conservatory, lounge, private swimming and spa pool area. There is a fully equipped kitchen with a personal chef and butler service available, cosy fire- places, tasteful décor redolent of imperial dream-time: richly textured, thatch roof, organic undertone. To plagiarise some of the estate’s PR blah: “The Owner’s Cottage fuses 17th century past with contemporary five-star luxury.” It’s true. And it works.
In fact, the venue has drawn accolades from a stellar cast, including author Bryce Courtenay, a friend of Van Heeren’s.
Courtenay had this to say about one of his stays: “The joy is that the original (Grande Provence) homestead and surroundings remain much as they have always been and its vineyards still produce awardwinning wines. This is a quiet but supremely elegant place that will take you back in time, the very essence of tranquility under a high blue African sky.”
For my part, I did my best to soak up the largesse, aided by a vicious winter storm that kept us in bed and allowed for a longer-than-usual breakfast. The rain abated long enough for us to wander over to an impressive sculpture garden, featuring a life-sized elephant and a horse made from rubber tyres. Next up was a wine-pairing at the adjoining tasting room, followed by another lunch in a style to which I am sadly not accustomed.
This is a venue that will appeal to almost anybody who can afford it. It has a spacious quality that has something to do with nearby mountains and distant memories; something to do with wood-smoke and wet vineyards.
Then, of course, there is the wine.
But let me not divulge all Grande Provence’s secrets in one review. In my professional opinion, I would need a full week to get a proper handle on the place.