Private Cellar Chenin Blanc

Shellfish, Spicy food, Lean fish, Mild and soft cheese

Grapes were night harvested and picked by hand to retain flavours.

The wine was then aged for 11 months, blended and then bottled

Grapes were gently crushed and pressed. A small portion of the wine was cold fermented in tank to retain freshness and fruit. The rest was fermented in French 300 liter barrels, clay Amphora and Concrete eggs. 40% was fermented with natural yeast.

Rijk’s is situated 120km North-East of Cape Town and 80km East of the Atlantic ocean in a Mediterranean climate. Our valley is surrounded by the Obiqua, Winterhoek, and Witzenberg mountains which reach heights of up to 1 995m. Lover of good food and collector of good wines, Neville Dorrington had been working in Cape Town for more than 20 years. In 1996 Neville and his family decided to move to the countryside and grow and produce their own wine. We fell in love with the Tulbagh valley and came across 137 hectares of virgin soils that were never cultivated. The slopes faced north, south, east, and west and the analysis of the vertical shale soils revealed the potential for low-yielding, high-quality grapes. Today Rijk’s only focuses on producing Chenin Blanc and Pinotage. Rijk’s has been named in honour of the governor Rijk Tulbagh who governed the Cape from 1751-1771.