Top Franschhoek wines |

Franschhoek’s Top 10 wine producers include homes to lovely bubblies – but that’s only half the story in this special valley

02/2015 Mike Froud Leave a comment

Chamonix, Gottfried Mocke in cellar - WM 03 (cropped)

Top cellarmaster Gottfried Mocke of Chris Hellinger’s farm Chamonix

MANY IN FRANSCHHOEK pride themselves on the town’s reputation as a leading sparkling wine producer and the annual Cap Classique & Champagne festival is a marvellous affair. One out of every three cellars in the district produces bubbly, the vignerons promote their Cap Classique route and some of the wineries are specialists who make little or nothing else. And yet…

These days the top wine producers in the valley are red and white wine specialists. Although a couple of the Franschhoek vintners are among the most successful sparkling wine producers in the country, there’s a case to be made for the greatest wine ambassadors being Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cab, i.e. without the fizz.

Another curious development in recent years has been the expansion of the Franschhoek valley/wine route to include much of the Klapmuts Road in the foothills of the mountains known as Simonsberg-Paarl. It’s one thing to get your head around Plaisir de Merle, Vrede en Lust and Rupert & Rothschild being ‘rezoned’ from Simondium and Paarl to Franschhoek, but Backsberg and Babylonstoren?!

The leading producers in Franschhoek, the top performers among those with good reviews for numerous vintages over the past 10 years, are as follows – on the basis of the 2015 SA Wine & Cellar Classifications, given in alphabetical order. And a number of these good cellars also serve good food, with La Motte’s Pierneef and Môreson’s Bread & Wine restaurants being up there with the best of their genre.

FRANSCHHOEK’S TOP 10

Allée Bleue Estate… Good all-rounder, good reputation for Pinotage and red blends

Bellingham… Large basket of goodies including a top Chenin Blanc

Boekenhoutskloof… Especially strong on Shiraz, Cabernet and dessert wine

Boschendal… Particularly good Shiraz and Cap Classique sparkling wine

Chamonix… Reputation built on Chardonnay… and Pinot Noir

Dieu Donné Vineyards… One of the country’s few consistently reliable Merlots

GlenWood… Chardonnay specialist determined to succeed with Shiraz too

La Motte… Portfolio including good Shiraz and blended reds

Môreson… Pinotage and Chardonnay among the various delights

Rickety Bridge… Cabernet Sauvignon the strong suit in a range of varieties

And knocking at the door?

Colmant Cap Classique & Champagne… Specialists delivering on their promise
Franschhoek Cellar… Good value Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, in particular
Grande Provence… Good Cabernet and Cab blend in the portfolio
La Bri… On the up in several categories
La Petite Ferme… Another of the few consistently good Merlots
Solms-Delta… Good white blend in a somewhat quirky range

The Top 10 Franschhoek cellars’ most successful wines in various categories in terms of the 2015 SA Wine Classification are given below, in alphabetical order:

Allée Bleue Estate

WHITE WINE
Chenin Blanc
Isabeau (Blend)
RED WINE
Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
L’Amour Toujours (Blend)
Pinotage

Bellingham

WHITE WINE
The Bernard Series Hand-Picked Viognier
The Bernard Series Old Vine Chenin Blanc
RED WINE
The Bernard Series Basket Press Syrah
The Bernard Series Bush Vine Pinotage
The Bernard Series Small Barrel SMV (Blend)

Boekenhoutskloof

RED WINE
Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon
Boekenhoutskloof Syrah
Porcupine Ridge Syrah
The Chocolate Block (Blend)
DESSERT WINE
Boekenhoutskloof Noble Late Harvest

Boschendal

WHITE WINE
1685 Chardonnay
1685 Sauvignon Blanc Grande Cuvée
Cecil John Reserve Sauvignon Blanc
Chenin Blanc
Reserve Collection Sauvignon Blanc
SPARKLING WINE
Grande Cuvée Brut (MCC)
RED WINE
1685 Shiraz
Cecil John Reserve Shiraz
Grande Reserve (Blend)
Reserve Collection Shiraz