Sometimes it takes an interloper to spot the true potential of a place. In this story, it was a businessman from Jo’burg named Tim Hamilton Russell. Back in 1975, Tim originally wanted to purchase historic Muratie in Stellenbosch, but his wine mentor, Desiderius Pongrácz (of popular MCC fame), convinced him otherwise. Pongrácz was obsessed with finding new viticultural sites, despite the strict quota laws imposed by the KWV that prohibited wine expansion into new areas. Tim bought Hamilton Russell Vineyards in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and persuaded winemaker Peter Finlayson to leave tried-and-tested Franschhoek for Hermanus (it took much convincing). After experimenting with a variety of cultivars, Pinot Noir was the only one to express something new and exciting. Eventually, a small amount of “creatively sourced” Chardonnay (read “smuggled”) made it to the farm as well. Hamilton Russell Vineyards managed to bypass the pesky quota laws by never registering their wines for vintage or grape variety, simply labelling their first 1981 vintage as “P1”. In 2004, however, Walker Bay was officially recognised as a wine district with the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley gaining ward status in 2006.
Of the three Hemel-en-Aarde wards, the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley is the first to ripen and the closest to the Atlantic Ocean, with the nearest vineyards only 1.5km away from the cold Benguela current’s Antarctic influence. Combined with gusting summer winds, it’s considered one of the coolest wine regions in South Africa. “This plays a significant role in flavour development and natural organic acid retention,” says Chris Albrecht of Bouchard Finlayson.
Today, the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley is known for its cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as the cold winters and resulting vine dormancy allow for even ripening in these otherwise temperamental cultivars. Wines from the valley exhibit a muscular structure, with iron and clay-rich soils giving a refreshing saline element, without being racy or sharp. “Whether we like it or not, we are regularly told by highly experienced palates that our wines bear an uncanny resemblance to fine Burgundy,” says Anthony Hamilton Russell.
Join us as we turn into the R320 from Hermanus to explore the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, named by a visiting Moravian missionary as a place with hills so high that they seem to touch the sky, leaving only heaven and earth visible. Or, as Anthony Hamilton Russell puts it: “Hemel-en-Aarde is a place to come to. Not a place to leave.”
