Towards the end of the Stellenboschkloof road, immediately before the grand entrances to both DeMorgenzon and Jordan, lies the unassuming signage for Canettevallei. What lies beyond is a humble wine and lavender farm owned by the equally modest Daniël de Waal and his wife, Ingrid.
The de Waal family have made wine for nine generations – six of them in the kloof. It’s Daniël’s brother, Pieter, who now owns Uiterwyk, the De Waal property acquired in 1864. Canettevallei itself dates to 1682 and once formed part of the Ou Kaapse Hardepad which historically connected Cape Town to the hinterland. Today, it is the home to Pella and Mount Sutherland Wines which are founded on small-batch winemaking from specially selected single site vineyards around the Cape.
Daniël is also the sole winemaker vinifying grapes from the newly established Sutherland-Karoo region, which he pioneered by planting vines at the foot of the Sneeuberg in the Roggeveld Mountains, back in 2004. At an elevation of 1,500 metres and situated some 350kms from the Indian Ocean, this is the highest and coolest wine growing region on the African continent.
The soils here are deep, clay and scali (a local word for shale). In contrast, most of the Pella wines are sourced from Stellenbosch and which incorporates some of the de Waal family vineyards, including a parcel planted by Dannie and Koffie de Wet in 1950, believed to be the oldest Pinotage vineyard in the world.
Pella ‘Oukliprant’ Malbec 2014
12% abv
Layers of black cherry, pomegranate and plum, enhanced by a soft , velvety texture, with gamey and cocoa undertones.
Hand harvested, sorted and de-stemmed. Riddled with ancient stone artefacts, these vineyards flourish side by side with Acheulean tools, dating back over 40,000 years ago; That is were the name ‘Oukliprant’ is derived from, meaning ‘old stone ridge’.East-facing slope. Yielding 4 tons per hectare. Vineyard benefits from a cool microclimate, with deep, weathered granite soils. Harvested periodically to ensure fermentation occurs on skins with a ripe tannin structure. Cold soak for 8 days at 9°C and fermented at low temperatures . Manual punch downs are carried out on a daily basis until fermented dry. Manual Basket press is used. Aged for 15 months in predominately French oak barrels.
- Reference #:
- 10786
- Strength
- 12 ABV
- Bottles per Case
- 6 bottles
- Organic
- No
- Biodynamic
- No
- Vegan
- No
- Vegetarian
- No
- Sparkling
- No