Tangent: Idiom: A sudden digression or change of course in a momentary direction which does not follow the general course. This expression alludes to the geometric tangent: a line or curve that touches but does not intersect with another line or curve.
An elusive thread runs through my tastings out in the winelands this year. I seem to have digressed away from the main street of wineland routes onto the road less travelled.
The tone was set on a drive out to GlenWood Vineyards with owner Alastair Wood to celebrate the twenty-fifth vintage of this family-owned wine farm set in the pristine foothills of the Robertsvlei Valley. I had not visited the only winery on this spur of the Franschhoek Wine Route since the launch with much fanfare in the early 2000s – and I’m delighted to report that little has changed.
Many of the same faces, the same owners, the same viticulturist, DP Burger, who has spent 34 years here, cultivating virgin soil to vine since joining the team in 1991. Even a few surviving wine journalists from the launch around the long tasting table twenty-five years later. The same sense of untouched nature, from the forest, fynbos and proteas to tasting on a cliff overlooking the cellar, restaurant and farmhouse. Signage in the vineyards celebrates the survival of baboons, caracal and leopard on the 56 ha farm which has won WWF Champion Conservation Champion status.
The journey to these off-the-beaten track cellars puts some distance between the hustle and bustle of main street and the destination. Since acquiring GlenWood back in 1984, the owners have grown a reputation as a specialist producer of Chardonnay and Shiraz. A wonderful tasting of GlenWood Vigneron’s Selection and Grand Duc (named after the giant eagle owl) Chardonnay and Shiraz from 2011 to 2023 demonstrated the evolution of a house-style and consumer preferences from the old-school full-oaked, new-barrel to an elegant, more subtle style.
“We envisaged Franschhoek as Chardonnay country in the early 1990s. Chardonnay is a very forgiving grape. The original recipe for making Chardonnay was simple – twelve months in new oak. The new mantra is more fruit, less oak, less ripe, more austere,” says DP Burger who has got to know every inch of these virgin soils over the last three decades. “I’m very traditional. I believe in natural winemaking, in letting the fruit speak. Slow ripening and constant temperatures lead to phenolic ripeness and the perfect pH”. Today, GlenWood exports 60% of its wine – and 60% of its 20 ha of vine is planted to Chardonnay, 20% to Sauvignon. A small farm with a big name.
I was off at a tangent on the next wine farm on my digressions in the winelands this year. Driving along a lonely spur of the Durbanville Wine Valley en route to Klipheuwel brought me to Groot Phesantekraal, another cellar far from the madding crowd. Heading off at a tangent, I took the long aloe-lined farm road in full winter flower through the fields of this working grain, cattle, game and wine farm founded in 1698. Coming across the cellar, tasting room and heritage restaurant at the end of the old yellow brick road yields a fabulous sense of discovery for the first-time visitor. The Brink family, sixth generation farmers, are hands-on down to the viticulture.
Talented young winemaker Richard Schroeder has handled five vintages at Groot Phesantekraal, taking over from veteran Durbanville winemaker Etienne Louw. Winemaking goes back a long way on this massive grain farm and supply station to the early fleets. By the 1750s, 40 000 vines were planted on this farm. Since releasing its first vintage under the Groot Phesantekraal label in the modern period in 2005, the farm has earned a national reputation for its five-star, multi-gonged Chenin Blanc and Syrah (2023 winning a gold medal on the 2025 Trophy Wine Show).
Leaving the views of the Cape buffalo camp behind, on a barrel, amphora and cement egg tasting, Richard demonstrated how he likes to build complexity with components from different fermentation vessels – especially in the flagship Anna de Koning Chenin Blanc. Around half of the new 400 000 bottle cellar is devoted to own-label wines and offers winemaking services to other boutique Durbanville wine labels. The wine tasting showed the evolution of Chenin Blanc away from new oak to the purity of fruit, scintillating acidity and quince character of the new style. You can taste the cool climate delicacy of the terroir off at a tangent from the mainstream.
The authentic focus of the menu lives up to the atmosphere of the old mule stable with its exposed original walls, tiles and tasting venue in the old chicken roost. Well worth the detour, the culinary fare is inspired by homegrown beef, venison, pork and lamb – as well as farm breads, butter, eggs, grains, mushrooms, own olives, preserves – and even bokkoms from the West Coast. Groot Phesantekraal is a real hidden gem, unspoiled in the heart of the countryside.
While in the Durbanville Valley, drop by De Grendel, Diemersdal, and Meerendal, three of the heritage 1700 farms off at a tangent with unique terroir, micro-climate and signature varieties.
If you’re planning your own tangential wine tour, a few other stand-alone destinations off the beaten track come to mind. I always find myself off at a tangent when visiting Groote Post Vineyards on a country spur off Darling Hills Road – another historic outlying supply station for the Dutch fleet in centuries gone by. Chatting at the Investec Trophy Wine Show 2025 to Lukas Wentzel, winemaker at Groote Post since 2000, I recalled wonderful visits to the Pentz family dairy, game and wine farm. It is home of the award-winning Seasalter, Kapokberg and Old Man’s wine labels – best enjoyed on the estate, overlooking the farmlands views.
Don’t miss Groote Post Merlot 2022, winner of the Investec 2025 Wine Trophy for Best Merlot – and Seasalter Sauvignon Blanc 2024, winner of a gold medal on the 2025 Wine Trophy Show.
Next up on my geometric learning curve was Allesverloren Wine Estate, another stand-alone destination on the slopes of the Kasteelberg near Riebeek Kasteel in the Swartland. Yet another heritage Cape farm established in 1704, the iconic home of the Malan family for six generations, meaning “All is Lost”, Allesverloren has grown grapes for many decades – but only launched its own wine label in 1972. Acquired 150 years ago by the Malan family, 2025 is a milestone for the family – one marked sadly by the passing of patriarch Danie Malan last year. The family in the form of the next generation Fanie Malan (viticulture) and Danielle (marketing) is still very much at the helm.
At a recent lunch to launch the new contemporary Swartland label, the family showed new vintages of its renowned Shiraz, Tinta Barocca (40 ha of dryland vines) and Fine Old Vintage, the biggest volume wines made the traditional way in open kuipe fermenters in the old stone cellar. Allesverloren was the first cellar in the Cape to plant Tinta Barocca (and Touriga Nacional) in the early 1900s by the great grandfather, portmaker for KWV. Today the farm is renowned for its estate and fortified wines made from Tinta, Touriga and Souzao – as well as Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Fanie declares, “Tinta Barocca is not a niche variety for Swarland producers!”
Allesverloren, like so may other Cape wineries, has moved away from the heavily oaked wines of the 1970s towards fruit-driven terroir wines. The new label declares proudly, "100% Swartland vines". Fanie Malan believes that Chenin Blanc is the biggest opportunity for Allesverloren to make its mark in the white wine category – joining its best-selling Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz exported to the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, and Norway.
Allesverloren, GlenWood, Groot Phesantekraal, and Groote Post – four old family farms out on a limb, same as it ever was.
Sitting on a hill overlooking the Riebeek Valley, I wondered where the tangent would take me next on my own vinous curve.
Not for sale to persons under the age of 18. Enjoy Responsibly.