The Ellerman

This style of wine goes perfect with any type of Mediterranean such as rich veggie and robust beef dishes, garlic, olive oil, and crusty breads.

The Paardeberg with its decomposed granitic soils produce wines of brutal freshness and purity with deep tannins, as well as distinctive spicy and herbal qualities. Firgrove again, ideal terroir for planting Cabernet Sauvignon and cool-climate Syrah. The close proximity to the cold Atlantic Ocean ensures slow ripening. Sustained winds control the vigour resulting in an overall terroir effect of small bunches, small berries with concentrated berry flavours and full structured but ripe tannins. The Agter Paarl is an ideal terroir for growing Cinsault. Cool sea breezes that flow in from both the Indian and Atlantic oceans act as an effective antidote to the scorching sun, to keep the ripening grapes at an optimal temperature required to produce truly great wines. Grown on Malmesbury shale and decomposed granite soils, these vineyards produce distinctive, concentrated and flavourful wines. Syrah from 17 and 9-year-old vineyards in Firgrove planted on decomposed granite soils. Bush vine Grenache Noir from Voor Paardeberg planted on granite soils. Cinsault from dryland farmed 22 -year-old bush vines in Agter-Paarl planted on Malmesbury shale and decomposed granite.

Matured in 1st - 4th fill 300 li and 500 li French oak barrels for 14 months. 15 % 1st fill barrel, 30% 2nd fill and 55 % 3rd – 4th fill barrel

Fermented in open-top barrels with 3 – 4 punch downs per day.

Growing up on my family’s sheep farm near Sutherland in the arid Karoo I spent hours exploring the veld with my canine companion. We enjoyed the simple pleasures of farm life and Nature has always been in my blood. With my passion for the outdoors combined with an affinity for Maths and Science I had my sights set on studying medicine and enrolled for a Bachelor of Science degree at Stellenbosch University. It was here that the wine bug bit. After graduating from Stellenbosch University with a BSc and BSc Honours in Wine Biotechnology in 1998 I was appointed as Assistant Winemaker at Kleine Zalze in Stellenbosch in 1999. Completing harvest tenures in Sancerre St Emilion and Beziers France I gained an appreciation for the balance and elegance of the wines of these regions. Following my time at Kleine Zalze I accepted a winemaker position at Graham Beck Wines in 2005. After a brief stint under the mentorship of Charles Hopkins then-Cellar Master at Franschhoek I found myself the sole winemaker in a world class cellar and living my dream. Drawing on my extensive training and rewarding career as a winemaker and marketer with invaluable experience locally and abroad I took a leap of faith and started my own label in 2016.