Julien and Sophie Schaal live and work in the Alsace region of north east France. They produce Grands Crus Rieslings under the Julien Schaal label and Riesling, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir under the Sophie Schaal label (more on those later in the year).

We have been working with Julien’s South African wines since 2014 and have always been impressed with their balance and intensity. The Mountain Vineyards Chardonnay has been consistently one of the best value for money wines we’ve sold in those 9 years.

The have just released a new ORGANIC range, consisting of a Chenin Blanc and a Syrah, called BORN OF FIRE.

Named after the need for many native fynbos plants to be triggered by fire to reproduce, the Schaal’s inspiration to make this range was to further explore South African terroir, and to make organic wines.

Thus far all of the Schaal’s South African wines have come from the Cape South Coast region (mainly from the districts of Elgin and Walker Bay). That was where Julien first worked in South Africa in the 2000s and where he has concentrated his efforts thus far making graceful, cool-climate wines.

Almost 15 years on and they felt the time was right to stretch their wings and look at other regions and cultivars.

All the time spent in South Africa over the years has had a profound effect on Julien. He has gained huge respect for the Chenin Blanc produced here, and recently has been very impressed with many of the Syrahs.

It is these two varieties, which the Schaals view as being the best in South Africa, that they decided to concentrate on. Both of the wines are made from certified organic vineyards in Voor-Paardeberg – the WO on the label is Cape Coast.