In Afrikaans we'd probably say ‘ja-nee’ ... but for winemaker Bartho Eksteen of Hermanuspietersfontein, ‘yes’ is the only answer.

 "The Hermanuspietersfontein style of Sauvignon Blancs can be enjoyed a good few years later than the year on the label, because that's how we make them," is his response. Case in point and testimony to the fact is their 5 star-rated wood-matured Sauvignon Blanc Nr.5. The 500L French oak barrels and 15% Acacia not only adds an interesting dimension to an otherwise sensitive and challenging varietal, it also ensures the wine's ability to mature and improve with age, which is a typical cool climate Sauvignon Blanc attribute.  

 The production team at Hermanuspietersfontein are believers in the maturation potential of Sauvingon Blancs from cool climate areas like the vineyards on their BWI Champion farm in the Sondagskloof wine ward which enjoy maritime influences.

 When Nr.5 was first introduced on the South African market it made Eksteen the Winemaker of the Year. The same vintage was recognised by Platter's South African Wine Guide as a wine of 5 star quality.

  Rich and heavier foods work well with this equally weighted wooded wine. Enjoy with a creamy style cheddar, camembert or smoked salmon.

 "It's always a good idea to do a vertical tasting of a wine of this calibre to experience, and appreciate how it develops with age."

 The much-awaited Nr.5 2012 was released on the 5th of March and will be available at wine shops, restaurants, at the cellar as well as on the cellar's own online shop.

 Tasting notes: Click here

 For more information and packshots contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

‘n Wit wyn wat kan verouder?

 In Afrikaans sê ons mos altyd “ja-nee”. Maar vir wynmaker Bartho Eksteen van Hermanuspietersfontein is “ja” al antwoord.

 “Die Hermanuspietersfontein Sauvignon Blancstyle kan ‘n hele klompie jare ná die datum op die etiket geniet word, want dis hoe ons hulle maak,” antwoord hy. Bewys hiervan is die kelder se 5-ster houtverouderde Sauvignon Blanc Nr.5. Die 500L Franse eikehoutvate en die 15% Akasia voeg nie net ‘n interessante dimensie by ‘n sensitiewe en uitdagende druifsoort nie, maar dit verseker ook die wyn se vermoë om met tyd te verouder – ‘n tipiese koel klimaat Sauvignon Blanckenmerk.

 Die produksiespan by Hermanuspietersfontein is kampvegters vir die verouderingspotensiaal van Sauvignon Blanc van koelklimaat streke soos dié waarbinne hulle BWI Kampioenplaas in die Sondagskloof wynwyk hom bevind.

 Toe Nr.5 vir die eerste keer die Suid-Afrikaanse mark tref verower Eksteen die  Diners Club 2010 Wynmaker van die Jaar daarmee. Dieselfde oesjaar is ook in die Platter’s South African Wine Guide met ‘n 5-ster toekenning vereer.

 Ryk en swaarder kos werk goed met hierdie gehoute wyn. Geniet dit met ‘n romerige cheddar, camembert of gerookte salm.

 “Dit is ook altyd ‘n goeie idee om ‘n vertikale proe met ‘n wyn van hierdie kaliber te doen om te ondervind en te waardeer hoe dit met veroudering ontwikkel het.”

 Na groot afwagting is die Nr.5 2012 pas vrygestel en is nou in wynwinkels, restourante, by die kelder en op die kelder se aanlynwinkel beskikbaar.

 Proenotas: Klik hier

 Vir meer inligting en wynbottelfoto’s kontak This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

(Afrikaans hieronder)

They not only boast the longest Afrikaans wine name in the world, it appears there's no end to the Hermanuspietersfontein family's appetite for making new wines.

Well-known for their Sauvignon Blancs carrying numbers for names and a spate of Afrikaans names labelling their reds, the cellar's latest Rhône-style blend characterises yet another fiery lady! 

Skoonma 2011

"With only two prominent dames featuring in our family, Die Martha and Bloos, the arrival of Skoonma suggests it's time to ruffle a few feathers. Best of all - she's not visiting - she's here to stay," is the word from the cellar's tasting room.

 There is, however, nothing contentious about this wine. An elegant four-varietal Rhône-style made of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Viognier - her balanced fruit and oak aromas completes the cellar's line-up of premium red blends. She's a great companion to a hard cheddar, gouda or emmenthaler cheese.

Nr. 2 2012

Latest, or the last, in the line-up of the prime numbers makes its appearance in the form of Nr.2, a delicate interpretation of a Sauvignon Blanc Noble Late Harvest showing a typical botrytis character. Another excellent expression of the grapes grown in the cool climate Sondagskloof region, Platter's South African 2013 Wine Guide recognised it as a 4.5 Star wine in its maiden vintage, 2012.

With names like Die Arnoldus, Die Bartho, Die Martha, Swartskaap, Kleinboet, Posmeester, Bloos and now Skoonma, one wonders what this Addams Family will produce next?

Tasting Notes Skoonma:  http://www.hpf1855.co.za/wines/skoonma
Tasting Notes Nr.2:  http://www.hpf1855.co.za/wines/nr2

Contact Gerard Scholtz for more information and/or packshots: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Nuwe toevoeging tot die Addams-familie

Nie net het hulle die langste Afrikaanse naam in die wêreld nie, daar is by die Hermanuspietersfontein-familie ook geen einde aan die maak van nuwe wyne nie.

Hulle bekende Sauvignon Blancs het mos meestal nommername, terwyl hul rooiwyne trotse Afrikaanse familiename dra. Nóú is daar ‘n nuwe Rhônestyl rooiwyn wat na ‘n baie vurige dame vernoem is.

Skoonma 2011

“Met alreeds twee prominente dames in ons familie, nl. Die Martha en Bloos, is dit met die aankoms van Skoonma tyd om ‘n klip in die hoenderhok te gooi. En weet jy wat? Sy kom nie net kuier nie, sy’s hier om te bly.” Kom dit van die proelokaal.

Daar is niks omstrede omtrent hierdie wyn nie. Dis ‘n elegante vier-versnit met Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache en Viognier – met gebalanseerde vrug- en eikehoutgeure wat so kenmerkend is van hierdie kelder. Sy is goeie geselskap as daar verouderde cheddar, gouda of emmenthaler kase op die tafel is.

Nr. 2 2012

Die nuutste en die laaste toevoeging tot die kelder se priemgetalreeks is Nr. 2, ‘n delikate interpretasie van ‘n Sauvignon Blanc Edelvrot Laatoes met ‘n tipiese botrytiskarakter. Weer eens ‘n wyn wat die essensie van die druiwe wat in die Sondagkloof se koelklimaat groei, vasvang. Die 2013 Platter wyngids het aan hierdie nuwe wyn 4.5 sterre in haar nooiensoesjaar toegeken.

Met name soos Die Arnoldus, Die Bartho, Die Martha, Swartskaap, Kleinboet, Posmeester, Bloos en nou Skoonma, wonder ‘n mens wat die Addams-familie volgende gaan oplewer?

Proenotas Skoonma: http://www.hpf1855.co.za/wines/skoonma
Proenotas Nr.2: http://www.hpf1855.co.za/wines/nr2

Kontak Gerard Scholtz vir meer inligting en/of bottelfoto’s: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Wine and cheese are two of life’s great culinary pleasures and have gone hand in hand for centuries. Finding the perfect match can be a delicious endeavour.

Our experts at the cellar took on this task and did a very thorough pairing of cheeses with our wines after evaluating the four major components of wine: tannin, alcohol, acidity, and sugar. They have found a specific cheese for each wine that offers the best balance in taste, texture and intensity.

For the holiday season cheese platters will be available in our tasting room.

 Sauvignon Blanc Flight

Nr.7: Foxenburg/Alpine Organic

Nr.5:Hantam Bokkaas

Nr.3: Isinyani Bokkaas

Die Bartho: Boerenkaas De Pekelaar

Bordeaux flight

Swartskaap: Gorgonzola

Die Arnoldus: Witzenburger/Klein Rivier Gruyère

Kleinboet: Crumble

Rhône flight

Skoonma: Dalewood Brie

Die Martha: Huguenot fingers

Please phone Ilse-Marie for more information: 028 273 8539

Local in tongue, superb on palate

October 23 2012 at 03:30pm
By Nicola Jenvey

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Hermanuspietersfontein must rank among the world's longest brand names.

Durban - Hermanuspietersfontein must rank among the world’s longest brand names. There are others with similar lengths, but most are hyphenated, not single words.

It is also the only winery globally that puts Afrikaans exclusively on its labels and calls its wines by Afrikaans names. That is an element of which owner-winemaker Bartho Eksteen is particularly proud, because “this is my language”.

The flagship wines are Die Arnoldus, Die Martha and Die Bartho, while the classic and lifestyle ones are Swartskaap, Kleinboet, Bloos and Posmeester (in honour of the post master who insisted on changing the name Hermanuspietersfontein to Hermanus because he could not fit it on his stamp).

Eksteen found the greatest resistance among Afrikaans-speaking South Africans when he first went that route, on the grounds that “no one else speaks this language” and that there would be problems when exporting.

Eksteen counters that when you find English on a French or Italian bottle of wine, there is reason to distrust that product because it is “not the one that the locals would be drinking”. A fair point, given that the winery now exports to a host of destinations with little complaints. It is only the bottle information and names that are Afrikaans, with the balance of any marketing being written in English for a global market.

Eksteen was named Diners Club Winemaker of the Year in 2010 for his 2009 Sauvignon Blanc No 5 (note – that would be “nommer”, not “number”). The 2010 vintage of that wine received a five-star rating in the current Platter’s South African Wines guide, so it will come as little surprise that sauvignon blanc is Eksteen’s passion. He has been one of the variety’s most ardent supporters for years and proudly hosts the annual celebration of sauvignon, where he pits his own wines up against the world’s best examples of this grape – and regularly emerges a winner.

Apart from the No 5, there are sauvignons numbered three and seven, both of which boast four stars.

It was into this framework that Eksteen presented his wines recently and, as with everything in life, the proof came in tasting. These are wines well worthy of their cult status; worthy of standing up to the world and proclaiming that SA has the ability and depth to make sauvignon blancs that can cellar and be enjoyed five or six years after vintage.

We may not be in the league of decades, as happens with some French sauvignons, but with the likes of Eksteen in our camp, that time may yet be on the horizon. - The Mercury

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