Carl celebrates his 20th Harvest at Hartenberg Estate

The monumental task of keeping anything, anything at all that happens at Hartenberg a secret from Carl fell on us when we decided to organise a surprise party for him to mark this feat shared by very few cellar masters. After many stealthy arrangements and bare-faced lies we successfully kept him in the dark and he was duly surprised to see friends, family and colleagues hiding in the underground cellar.

Carl on the last 20 years: 'It does feel as if the last 20 years at Hartenberg has flashed by. I was recently reading some winemaking notes I made back in 1995 and was quietly bemused to see how dramatically things have changed. Probably the single biggest change in emphasis is now looking for answers in the vineyards and not some special technique or practice in the cellar.

'Our most proud achievement was the re-discovery of the sublime quality produced by a small patch of old vineyards on seriously stony soil. Though the site existed since the 1970s, it did seem to have got lost along the way in blends, over time. The first single vineyard bottling of the site in 1995 revealed something magical. A very unique aroma and flavor profile developed over the past two decades, exhibiting a signature seen only on this site. The resultant wine, Gravel Hill Shiraz sold at the annual CWG Auction over a period of fourteen years and eventually re-packaged as the Estate's flagship wine, in 2007.

'Vintage 2013 has produced aromatic, flavourful white wines and dark-toned, bold, textured reds. Spring 2012 was warm and dry, allowing for good vine flowering and pollination. A dry summer followed, allowing for small, concentrated berries, which in the case of the red wines meant dark coloured, aromatic wines. The vintage itself was warm and Stellenbosch was spared the annual, early February heat waves. Initially ripening was slow and gradual, allowing for some great, early morning, white grape quality picking. The advent of a warmer period toward early March saw us taking in grapes with much haste though!' 

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Written by Hartenberg Wine Estate