Eight Polkadraai Hills names to know
ANGUS PAUL
Born in South Africa but brought up in Scotland (hence a slight accent), Angus Paul came to Stellenbosch to study. The youngest winemaker in the Polkadraai Hills, he released his first reds and whites as recently as 2021. Working out of the communal Karibib Wine Craft cellar, in his core range he makes five understated, low-intervention wines (as well as a secondary range called Mesas), including one – the intriguingly named On a Flight of Furious Fancies Chenin Blanc – produced with Jozua Joubert’s Karibib grapes from a block planted in the 1980s. anguspaulwines.com
CARINUS FAMILY VINEYARDS
The Carinus family arrived in South Africa from Germany in 1809. Today, cousins Hugo and Danie Carinus are top-quality grape growers with farms in Devon Valley and the Swartland, as well as the Polkadraai Hills. As well as selling to other small winemakers, they produce a range under their own label. Their superb Heuwels Chenin Blanc is made for them by Chris Alheit, arguably the best exponent of the variety in South Africa.
DE TOREN PRIVATE CELLAR
De Toren is among the Polkadraai Hills’ most prestigious names, thanks in particular to Fusion V, its five-way Bordeaux blend. Using grapes from 22ha of organically certified vineyards, it’s modelled along the lines of a very smart Bordeaux château, blending grapes from 15 soil types. Traditionally among the later pickers in the ward, with corresponding levels of ripeness, the winery has shifted towards a more refined style since 2019 under Martin Fourie and Charles Williams. de-toren.com
RAATS FAMILY WINES
The man who has done more than anyone to establish the Polkadraai Hills as a ward of Stellenbosch, Bruwer Raats has also been a key figure in the promotion of Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, as well as half of the team behind the icon red MR de Compostella. Alongside his own range (look out for the high-density planted Eden wines from his back garden), Raats makes three further Polkadraai Hills wines under the
B(ruwer) Vintners label with his cousin Gavin Bruwer Slabbert. raats.co.za
REYNEKE
Johan Reyneke grows some of the best grapes in South Africa, working alongside his beloved cows. He’s a self-styled ‘vine hugger’ who works with biodynamics on 70ha of Demeter-certified vineyards split across the 40ha family farm and adjacent 80ha Vinimark-owned estate, which is devoted entirely to growing grapes for the Reyneke brand (including animal pasture and biodiverse wilderness). Some of the vines date back to 1974. Ably assisted in the cellar by Barbara Melck and Rudiger Gretschel, Reyneke produces balanced, layered, intensely flavoured wines from Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Syrah, as well as a Bordeaux blend called Cornerstone. Everything in the winery’s range is first class. reynekewines.co.za
SAGA VINEYARDS
This newly launched umbrella brand currently includes the wines of Patatsfontein and Sons of Sugarland, and is a joint venture between winemaker Reenen Borman and two of his old college friends, Henk Kotze and Fritz Schoon. Borman also makes wine at Boschkloof, which is owned by his family and produces the Cape’s best Syrah from a vineyard just outside the Polkadraai Hills. Sons of Sugarland Syrah is wunderkind Reenen’s less expensive, unwooded expression from Jozua Joubert’s celebrated Karibib block (see p64). It makes a very interesting comparison with the other two wines from the same parcel, most notably his friend and former roommate Lukas Van Loggerenberg’s Graft. sagavineyards.co.za
SAXENBURG WINE ESTATE
One of the biggest vineyard owners in the Polkadraai Hills, with 60ha under vine, Saxenburg is one the oldest properties in Stellenbosch. Located in a cooler part of the ward (the winery also makes an Elgin-style Sauvignon Blanc), Saxenburg specialises in Cabernet Sauvignon and especially Syrah, of which it was a bold pioneer. Vastly improved of late under second-generation owner Fiona Bührer and winemaker Brendan Smith, its Syrah Select is one of the best in the region. saxenburg.co.za
VAN LOGGERENBERG WINES
Since his first vintage in 2016, Lukas van Loggerenberg has rapidly established himself as one of the most exciting Cape producers, making brilliant Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. Only one of his 10-product range comes from Polkadraai Hills, but what a wine it is – the Graft Syrah hails from the same Karabib parcel that produces Patatsfontein’s Sons of Sugarland Syrah and most of the Stellenbosch Syrah by Damascene. Graft is a stunning expression of the grape that has rightly drawn positive comparisons with the best of the Rhône valley. vanloggerenbergwines.co.za ▶