12 Wines of Christmas | Mixed Case

Nestled within the high-altitude Agterwitzenberg Valley, renowned for its apple and pear orchards, these vineyards boast a unique history. Original plantings were made back in the early 80s from illegal vine material smuggled into the country. Previous buyers of the fruit have been David Finlayson (then of Glen Carlou), Kevin Grant (Ataraxia), Johan Kruger (Sterhuis), Clive Torr, and Carl van der Merwe (De Morgenson).

There has been continual improvements and alterations to the vineyards over the years, and some rows are still planted on their own rootstock, a hugely rare occurrence in South Africa. Current winemaker, Donovan Rall maintains that "This is some of the best fruit I have worked with in South Africa“.

Limited production of only 1200 bottles.

The wine is made by Lukas van Loggerenberg, and we are thrilled with what he has done. The 2022 was picked on March 19th. Lukas fermented with approximately 20% stems and maceration lasted three weeks. Elevage was in used 300L French oak barrels, and the wine was bottled in December 2022. Only 1700 bottles were produced.

For the label, we took inspiration from the meaning of Ex Animo: from the heart. The label is based on an artwork called 'new wine' by Lenka Kuhn that we had commissioned in 2018. It is a line drawing depicting an anatomical human heart using elements of vines.

To reflect that the vineyard is young and maturing, we have planned an evolution of the label for the first five vintages. We will add small components of the label every year culminating in the final version from the 2026 vintage onwards.

As you can imagine, being a Genevieve MCC, this is a delicious example of Rosé bubbles. Wine of Origin Bot River, it is super perfumed with fruit, spice and florals. While it is labeled as "Brut", there is just a touch of subtle sweetness on the palate. This allows the wine to be the most generous of Melissa's wines on the palate. It is extremely more-ish, so one glass may not be enough :)

100% Carignan

The Carignan was picked on 14 February from the same 19-year-old, unirrigated bush vine vineyard used for the Divergent blend. It is on an oakleaf/tukulu soil and is south-west facing. The vineyard is mulched to prevent moisture loss and to suppress weed growth. No herbicides are used, only manual weed removal. Cover crops are planted between rows to improve soil health, suppress weeds, increase biodiversity and for water retention. The climate in this area is warm and asperous and hence all the carefully implemented sustainable agricultural practices.

The grapes were crushed, destemmed and fermented in an open top fermenter. They were very gently handled – only two punch downs per day. After pressing the wine went to 225l older French oak barrels and spent a total of 9 months in barrel

Christian Eedes, Winemag:
“Red and black cherry, fynbos and spice on the nose. The palate is medium bodied with snappy acidity and a dry finish. Vital and appealing. 92/100.”

From clay soils in Riebeek - whole-bunch for 2 weeks. Exotic fruits and spices, with dried wild herbs - opens up in the glass, truly unique.
Christian Eedes: "Peach, apricot, orange, honeysuckle, fynbos and a faint petrol-like note. The palate shows dense fruit, tart acidity and a grippy, bone-dry finish. Highly unconventional but impossible to ignore… 91/100."

An Old Vine Chenin from a single, dry-farmed vineyard planted in 1982. A soil rich in clay and relatively shallow resulting in smaller more abundant vines. In order to get the best expression of the terroir, the estate practices organic farming.

The grapes are whole-bunch pressed and undergo spontaneous fermentation and then 62% is matured in seasoned barrels and 38% in concrete eggs. 100% malolactic fementation and 10 months on the lees.

Julien and Sophie Schaal, a talented French couple, bring their expertise to this Pinot Noir. Hand-harvested and matured in older oak barrels, it reveals a harmonious balance of fruit, structure, and acidity. Expect flavors of cherry, raspberry, and subtle spice leading to a long, lingering finish.

Single Vineyard Certified (100% Grenache blanc)
W.O. Klein Karoo
Welgevonden (Middelplaas/De Rust) - JD Grinister (Farmer) Planted: 2009
Decomposed Schist and Shale clay loams. Red brown and hard when dry. Close to the nearby mountain rock pools, which supplies water when needed in tough dry spells.

Christian Eedes, Winemag
“Grapes from a Klein Karoo vineyard 345km east of Stellenbosch on schist and shale soils. Matured for nine months in older 228- and 400-litre barrels. Floral perfume, peach, sweet citrus and a hint of ginger. The palate is light yet intensely flavourful, zesty acidity playing off against pithy texture. Super-elegant. 93/100.”

The Foundry Roussanne 2021 shows vivid fruit concentration and intensity from this cooler vintage. The wine shows intense white pear, floral and lifted mineral and savoury aromas. The palate displays bright, fresh acidity on entry, followed by white peach, lemon curd and bread dough and a very fine crystalline minerality and rounded fleshiness.

Thorne & Daughters' cornerstone wine is everything you want to see in a Western Cape white blend: grace and finesse, acidity and balance. John uses simple winemaking techniques, letting the fruit express itself in each vintage.

Christian Eedes, Winemag:
"30% Roussanne, 28% Chenin Blanc, 20% Chardonnay, 15% Semillon and 7% Clairette Blanc sourced from across the Western Cape. A triumph being both multifaceted but also completely coherent. Flowers, pear, peach, citrus, apple, earth, spice and a hint of leesy complexity on the nose while the palate has it all: depth of fruit, texture, a lovely line of acidity and long, savoury finish. A wine of pin-point accuracy. 98/100"

100% Cinsaut
W.O Western Cape
Soil: Decomposed granite, clay-rich granite
Alcohol Vol: 12.5%
pH: 3.39
Total acidity: 5.3g/l

In the vineyards
The wine is made from 2 parcels, 87% of the grapes from a vineyard situated on the Rustenhof farm in the Firgrove area which was planted in 1978 and the remaining 13% from the second oldest vineyard in South Africa, planted in 1932 in Franschhoek. Both vineyards are made up of bush vines and are dryland farmed. Decomposed granite soils with under laying sandstone give this wine its elegance and finesse.

In the cellar
The grapes from the Rustenhof farm were 40% whole bunch fermented. The grapes from the Franschhoek parcel were destemmed. All grapes were left to ferment naturally with one punch down performed daily. The wines underwent malolactic fermentation in barrel. The barrels were blended after 9 months in old French oak barrels and bottled right after. The cinsaut is bottled earlier than our other red wines to maintain the crunchy fruit vibrancy unique to cinsaut. No enzymes or commercial yeast was used in making the wines.

Christian Eedes: Top notes of potpourri, rose and fresh herbs on the nose before red currant, wild strawberry and spice. The palate is well delineated with pure fruit, vibrant acidity and fine tannins, the finish super-dry. Combines delicacy and energy to good effect. 94/100.

This wine is lovingly dedicated to Franco Lourens' father, who, we are delighted to say, is alive and well and fully expects to enjoy a case of this wine whenever the mood strikes him. We can all aspire to have such a son.

"44% Grenache, 28% Cinsault and 28% Syrah, all sourced from the Swartland, some 40% fermented with stems, before maturation lasting 10 months in old 300- and 500-litre barrels. Expressive aromatics of red and black berries, orange, olive, lavender and herbs while the palate has good fruit concentration, snappy acidity and crunchy tannins. Juicy on entry but ends savoury, the different components combining to good effect.
94/100."
- Christian Eedes, Winemag