Hartenberg

This weeks blog post is more about the wine than history as this wine estate deserves as much space as possible given their award winning wines. But...lets briefly mention the farms history as it does date back to 1692.

The farm was first inhabited by two friends Cunraad Boin and Christoffel Esterhuizen in 1692, at this stage the farm had only 20 hectares. They immediately realised the potential of the farm and planted 2000 vineyards. In 1704, Esterhuizen was officially granted the deed of "Het Hartenberg" by the governor of the Cape at the time, Willem van der Stel and he expanded the farm to 10 000 vineyards.

The year 1721 started a long line of new owners on the farm, starting with Paulus Keyser (an elephant hunter int hose days) and ending with the Mackenzie family in 1987. In between, the Hampf family expanded the land and planted the magnificent oak trees on the farm followed by the Finalyson family who realised Hartenberg wines true potential.

The farm produces 7 single-vineyard white wines and 8 red wines. Hartenberg specialises in Riesling, Chardonnay and Shiraz; the latter winning numerous awards. The Chardonnay (2009 if you can get it otherwise even the 2015 is fantastic) with subtle butterscotch aromas as well as lime and the scent of vanilla, is best served at room temperature in order to maximise these flavours. The same can be said for the Eleanor Chardonnay, this wine (2015) has similar aromas to that of the standard Chardonnay but as it is only made from the very best grapes and aged in more first fill than second fill french oak barrels, the aromas are slightly more intense with the butterscotch flavour highly pronounced. This wine is definitely one of my favourites from the Stellenbosch area. It is worth mentioning that their Riesling is well-suited to a sunny (like the one on which we visited Hartenberg) and is lighter and fruiter than the Chardonnay varieties mentioned above. 

Although Hartenberg dabbles in other red varieties (Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon), their Shiraz is by far the most popular. There are 4 different Shiraz's, The Doorkeeper (easy-drinking wine, slightly acidic for my liking), the standard Shiraz (2014, the tannins are just right on this wine but still not full-bodied enough for me), the Stork (2013, full-bodied, rich and delicious) and the Gravel Hill (2012, this is definitely their flagship wine and rightly so!).

A visit to the Stellenbosch Wine Route is not complete without a visit to Hartenberg. Stop by, do a wine tasting, have a picnic under the trees and enjoy the sunlight and fabulous wine!