Gabriëlskloof is a beautiful wine estate located near Bot River in the Overberg region east of Cape Town. It was purchased in 2001 by Bernhard Heyns, who had been on the lookout for the ideal place to plant vines. We felt compelled to add Gabriëlskloof to our list when the talented Peter-Allan Finlayson of Crystallum, Bernhard’s son in law, took over as winemaker from the 2015 vintage. Peter-Allan is now Cellar Master and oversees general management of the property, while the young and no less talented Nina Muller was promoted to winemaker. The farm has 178 hectares, with 68 hectares planted with vines. The climate is cool with maritime influences coming from Walker Bay. The vineyards are farmed sustainably with the support of fulltime vineyard consultant Rosa Kruger. Their aim is to move to organic farming in the future.
“The Whole Bunch Syrah forms part of our Projects Range. These are wines we can get geeky about – interesting, small runs, slightly quirky.”