De Grendel Wines

Cape Town · South Africa

On the slopes of the Tygerberg, facing Table Mountain, De Grendel is one of the oldest farms in the Cape. Four generations of the Graaff family have watched over it, and vines have been grown here since 2000.

Certifications

De Grendel Wines, Le Cap · Afrique du Sud

1720 Grant of the farm, one of the oldest in the Cape
80 ha Of vineyards on the estate
7 km Distance between the Tygerberg vineyards and the Atlantic
960 m Altitude of the Op Die Berg vineyard, in Ceres

I · The story

Four generations of Graaffs

Granted in 1720 to the Danish settler Claas Mayboom by Governor van der Stel, De Grendel, Dutch for “latch”, is one of the oldest farms in the Cape. At the end of the 19th century, Sir David Pieter de Villiers Graaff, future mayor of Cape Town and minister in the first government of the Union of South Africa, acquired it to house his purebred Arabian horses.

The farm then turned to dairy farming: in 1912, Sir David founded there the oldest registered Holstein herd in South Africa. His son, Sir De Villiers Graaff, who led the parliamentary opposition for twenty-one years, remained above all a farmer, loyal to agricultural shows and to his herd.

Vines arrived with the third generation. Having studied at the University of Grenoble, where his taste for wine was born, Sir David Graaff withdrew from politics after the 1999 elections and in 2000 planted the estate's first vines: ten hectares of Cabernet and Merlot. Since 2011, his son De Villiers, the fourth baronet, has run the wine business with his wife Gaedry.

“Geomancy invites us to build in perfect harmony with the elements. Feng shui has been practised for thousands of years and is largely a matter of common sense, both in design and in placement.”

Sir David Graaff, 3rd Baronet

II · The terroirs

Two vineyards, two climates

The main vineyard stretches across the west-facing slopes of the Tygerberg, seven kilometres from the Atlantic. Cool breezes from the Benguela Current temper the summer heat and extend the ripening of the grapes. The blue shale, Glen Rosa and Oak Leaf soils are particularly well suited to Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot.

Further north, on the Witzenberg range in Ceres, the Op Die Berg vineyard rises to 960 metres. The house sees it as the only truly continental climate in South Africa: snow often covers the vines in winter, and warm days followed by cool nights slow ripening. De Grendel produces a Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir and a Syrah there.

WO Coastal Region
WO Ceres Plateau

Vue aérienne du domaine De Grendel et de ses vignes sur le Tygerberg

Flagship estates

I
De Grendel Estate
Tygerberg, Cape Town
II
Op Die Berg
Witzenberg range, Ceres, 960 m

Les bâtiments de De Grendel au pied de la colline du Tygerberg

Vignes en hiver au pied des montagnes de Ceres

L'équipe de vinification de De Grendel au chai, entre cuves inox et barriques

III · The craft

Between science and art

Charles Hopkins has led the cellar since 2005, the year of the first vinifications on the estate, when Sir David Graaff entrusted him with the design and construction of the winery. With thirty years in the trade, he earned his first five-star rating in Platter's guide in 2019, for De Grendel's Elim Shiraz 2017.

Alongside him, Morgan Steyn, who graduated in viticulture and oenology from Stellenbosch University in 2016, gained experience notably at Groot Constantia and at Domaine Lejeune, in Burgundy. The house describes its winemaking as a balance between science and art: careful harvesting, gentle handling and a resolutely modern cellar.