Boschendal

The history of Boschendal

Records regarding Boschendal begin in 1685, the date listed on the farm's deed. The farm's first owner, Jean le Long, was one of a group of 200 French Huguenots who fled religious persecution in Europe and arrived in the Cape. He was granted the land by the Dutch East India Company in 1688, but the deed of ownership in his name was not drawn up until 1713.

In 1715, another Huguenot, Abraham de Villiers, took over the farm and sold it to his brother, Jacques, two years later. The descendants of De Villiers farmed the land at Boschendal until 1879, meaning that one family held onto this land for about a century and a half.

In 1812, Paul de Villiers and his wife, Anna Susanna Louw, completed a new house on the site of Paul de Villiers's father's home. That building is the main house that visitors can see today in its restored form. Sir George Grey, the British Governor at the Cape, made it a habit to stay at Boschendal whenever he passed through the area in the later years of the De Villiers era.

Much later, the property came into the possession of Anglo American Farms, who put it up for sale in September 2001. Boschendal was sold in December 2003 for 323 million rand (approximately 50 million U.S. dollars at the time). Citation Holdings SA, an investor group led by Zimbabwe-born Clive Venning, acquired a 70% stake, while Kovacs Investments, a Black economic empowerment investment group, acquired the remaining 30%.

Continuity was a key factor in this transaction. Winemaker J.C. Bekker and chief viticulturist Spekkies van Breda both retained their positions, while the new owners decided to add luxury residences, a retirement community, and a boutique hotel on the property. At the time, Boschendal was producing approximately 250,000 cases of red, white, and sparkling wine annually.

A farm, not just a vineyard

The key thing to understand about Boschendal is its size. When the property was sold in 2003, the transaction included approximately 915 hectares of land in the Franschhoek Valley area, along with a winery, a restaurant, a historic mansion, and other buildings on the property. In a second phase, over the following years, there is an intention to by an additional 1,325 hectares of adjacent land.

This is farmland in the broadest sense; it is not entirely composed of vineyards. The farm-to-table aspect of the business, that is, the produce, kitchen, and market, blends very naturally with the wine cellars. Three of this winery's wines are named after Elgin, a separate cool-climate district within the Western Cape, and are bottled under that appellation rather than the original valley located between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch.

The grapes

The grapes cultivated are:

• Chardonnay
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Sémillon
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Merlot
• Syrah (ook uitgebracht onder het Shiraz-label)
• Pinot Noir (geproduceerd in Elgin)

Winemaking

Many wineries have the same winemaker oversee both red and white wines. In contrast, Boschendal keeps red and white wines separate, assigning dedicated winemakers to work in separate cellars, a decision based on the logic that concentrating expertise in this way is better than having a single person handle everything.

Boschendal cites the intensity of flavor and the texture perceived on the palate as key elements, explaining that it places particular emphasis on Chardonnay and Shiraz compared to other varieties in its product line. Sparkling wines are also produced alongside standard red and white wines.

The bottles worth knowing

The Boschendal product line offers a wide range of wines, from everyday farm-direct wines to sparkling wines and single-varietal wines. 

The appellation Series: their premium single-site range, from vineyards in Stellenbosch and Elgin. Four wines: Elgin Sauvignon Blanc, Elgin Chardonnay, Elgin Pinot Noir and Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon. An Elgin Merlot has also appeared in this series.

The high end, flagship wines and special bottlings: Grande Syrah, Black Angus (Shiraz-based), Nicolas, Suzanne (a Bordeaux-style white blend), and a Playpen Cabernet Franc.

The 1685 Collection: the everyday range, named for the estate's founding year. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Shiraz and Pinotage.

The méthode Cap Classique: South Africa's traditional-method sparkling. Brut NV, Brut Rosé NV, Demi Sec, Grande Cuvée Brut, and at the top the Jean Le Long Prestige Cuvée.

Boschendal also produces a Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend, which is one of the estate's long-running and best-known labels in South Africa.