New releases - A Wholebunch Magnum & Elodie
Two new things! One - a new release - is experimental (and very, very limited!). The other is Elodie 2025, our old vine Chenin Blanc from four Swartland heritage sites, now in its tenth vintage.
Wholebunch Syrah Grenache Magnum
Three hundred bottles. That’s all there is.
We’ve been working on something a little different - a 1.5L magnum of our Wholebunch Syrah, made from 60% Grenache from the Waterleliefonteint vineyard in Bot River, and 40% Syrah from the Polkadraai vineyard on Danie Carinus’s farm just outside Stellenbosch. Peter-Allan has long wanted to work with Polkadraai Syrah for the aromatics and elegance it brings, and this vintage it blended beautifully with the Bot River Grenache. Same wholebunch philosophy as our existing Wholebunch Syrah, but the result is something distinct.
Elegant and perfumed on the nose - white pepper, cherry and blackcurrant - with a fresh, supple palate showing sweet spices and cranberry before a focused finish. The larger magnum format means slower oxidation and more graceful development over time. A wine that opens slowly and rewards patience. Drinking window: 5 to 8 years.
At R755 per bottle, this one is not available in our online shop - quantities are too limited. To order, you can send us an email!
Elodie 2025 Chenin Blanc
Elodie is our old vine Chenin Blanc made with fruit from the Swartland. The 2025 vintage draws from four heritage bushvine sites: Rooidraai (planted 1981), Nuweland (planted 1981), Jakkalsfontein (planted 1986) and Serdyn (planted 1989). These dryland bushvines planted on diverse soils are among the oldest Chenin Blanc plantings in the Swartland.
The 2025 growing season was cooler than 2024. Above-average winter rainfall gave way to a near-five-month dry spell from September, with consistently low night temperatures keeping ripening slow and even. The result is a fresher, more floral expression than 2024, with a mineral tension that the previous vintage didn’t quite have, while retaining the concentration and complexity that define Elodie. All fruit was whole bunch pressed and 100% wild fermented, then matured in older 400L and 500L barrels with around 10% new oak. Nine months on the lees before blending and bottling.
A taut and focused vintage showing aromas of white peach, litchi, white flowers and meringue. The palate is complex and coiled, with pineapple and honeycomb against a background of wet stone, tart sorrel and verbena. A crunchy and mineral spine is supported by a comforting, weighty mid-palate combining clay and honeycomb before a salty finish. Pure and linear. Will age beyond 2035.