Oldenburg Vineyards

Located in the Banghoek Valley 8km from Stellenbosch, Oldenburg Winery in its current format was established in 2003 by Adrian Vanderspuy, who grew up in the Cape but who had spent most of his life abroad, building a career in financial services. Wine had been produced here before, but of modest quality and all had been sold to local co-operatives. Adrian set out to make premium wines, capitalising on the favourable location of the vines, which, at 300-450 metres above sea-level, benefit from a cooler climate than vineyards lower down, and yet are sufficiently high to benefit from more sunlight than those which lie in the shadow of the mountains.

After totally replanting the vineyard, Adrian’s maiden vintage was 2007. The aim here is to make high-quality, limited production wines from French varietals, primarily Cabernet and Syrah, but with a clutch of others, too, including whites.

Under the control of viticulturalist Simon Thompson yields are kept extremely low to maximise concentration of fruit. Crop-thinning takes place to further ensure that only perfect grapes make it to the winery. Once there, they are hand-sorted, cooled and then crushed. After fermentation the wines are aged in French barriques prior to bottling.