Charles Fox – Elgin, South Africa

Originally a fruit farm planted with apples, pears and plums, Furneaux farm was purchased by Charles and Zelda Fox in 2005 after an inter-regional search for Cap Classique-specific terroir. The cellar was built in 2010 with an underground storage capacity of 200,000 bottles. In concordance with advice on clone and site selection from viticulturist Paul Wallace, 6.3ha of land was planted to 10 blocks of vines. These face north-east and south on an elevation between 230m and 300m above sea level. Perold-trellised rows were planted in a north-west to south-east direction primarily to minimise wind damage. The vineyards at Furneaux farm have been planted with the three traditional Champagne varieties Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. The wines are blended by Nicolas Follet, a Reims-based Champagne producer.