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The truth is in the vine. The guiding philosophy that elevated this boutique estate into one of South Africa’s most respected premium wine producers. De Toren began with a view. Enchanted by the estate’s panoramic vistas stretching from the Helderberg, over False Bay and across to Table Mountain and recognising the untapped potential of this unique site, the foundation for De Toren’s innovative approach to crafting world-class Bordeaux-style wines, was laid. Working closely with academics from the Stellenbosch University, an extensive soil analysis of the property embarked. A dozen sampling holes were dug on each hectare of the farm, treble the wine industry’s standard practice. Across the estate’s 25 hectares, 15 separate soil types were identified and ultimately 25 clones across the five classic Bordeaux varieties were planted. Here this philosophy of craftsmanship and exceptional care was born and was applied to everything we have done ever since.
The truth is in the vine. The guiding philosophy that elevated this boutique estate into one of South Africa’s most respected premium wine producers. De Toren began with a view. Enchanted by the estate’s panoramic vistas stretching from the Helderberg, over False Bay and across to Table Mountain and recognising the untapped potential of this unique site, the foundation for De Toren’s innovative approach to crafting world-class Bordeaux-style wines, was laid. Working closely with academics Stellenbosch University academics, an extensive soil analysis of the property embarked. A dozen sampling holes were dug on each hectare of the farm, treble the wine industry’s standard practice. Across the estate’s 25 hectares, 15 separate soil types were identified and ultimately 25 clones across the five classic Bordeaux varieties were planted. Here this philosophy of craftsmanship and exceptional care was born and was applied to everything we have done ever since.
IN PURSUIT OF THE EXCEPTIONAL
De Toren believes that complexity can be found through design. The estate’s vineyards were designed from the ground up to produce world-class wines and enormous attention was given to where and how each vineyard was planted. The design of our iconic Left- and Right-Bordeaux styled blends were planned and decided upon after which the vines were planted to match the make-up of these wines. Crafting a blended wine is like painting, with each texture, aroma and flavour being a different colour. The De Toren palette is made up of a selection of soils, rootstocks, vines, cultivars and barrels. We utilised 25 different clones across the five noble Bordeaux varieties which includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot which were matched to 10 different rootstocks, before being planted across fifteen different soil types. Each variety, clone and rootstock were matched to the optimal soil type to gain as much complexity from the vineyard as possible.
The quest for fruit of perfection is a daily journey here at De Toren. With an eye on sustainability, the viticultural team embraced organic winegrowing practices, creating an environment where the vines produce flawless fruit which then guards the grapes as they are gently steered from vineyard to cellar, to bottle. Carefully controlled drip irrigation ensures that each vine is kept in that precarious state of struggle, allowing for small, concentrated and full flavoured berries to grow. The yields are small due to the meticulous quality checks and specific nurturing methods of the vines – a De Toren vine produces just over one kilogram of grapes. Before harvest even begins up to 40% of the bunches are removed to ensure all the vine’s energy goes into producing small and highly concentrated berries. Using a combination of aerial imaging, detailed analysis and taste tests, the vineyard is harvested bit by bit, making sure grapes are picked only at optimal ripeness for the greatest complexity.
De Toren believes that complexity can be found through design. The estate’s vineyards were designed from the ground up to produce world-class wines and enormous attention was given to where and how each vineyard was planted. The design of our iconic Left- and Right-Bordeaux styled blends were planned and decided upon after which the vines were planted to match the make-up of these wines. Crafting a blended wine is like painting, with each texture, aroma and flavour being a different colour. The De Toren palette is made up of a selection of soils, rootstocks, vines, cultivars and barrels. We utilised 25 different clones across the five noble Bordeaux varieties which includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot which were matched to 10 different rootstocks, before being planted across fifteen different soil types. Each variety, clone and rootstock were matched to the optimal soil type to gain as much complexity from the vineyard as possible.
The quest for fruit of perfection is a daily journey here at De Toren. With an eye on sustainability, the viticultural team embraced organic winegrowing practices, creating an environment where the vines produce flawless fruit which then guards the grapes as they are gently steered from vineyard to cellar, to bottle. Carefully controlled drip irrigation ensures that each vine is kept in that precarious state of struggle, allowing for small, concentrated and full flavoured berries to grow. The yields are small due to the meticulous quality checks and specific nurturing methods of the vines – a De Toren vine produces just over one kilogram of grapes. Before harvest even begins up to 40% of the bunches are removed to ensure all the vine’s energy goes into producing small and highly concentrated berries. Using a combination of aerial imaging, detailed analysis and taste tests, the vineyard is harvested bit by bit, making sure grapes are picked only at optimal ripeness for the greatest complexity.
Our vineyards and winemaking methods are designed to ensure excellence. Every sip of De Toren wine is, and should always be, a memory of the fruit’s perfection. Therefore enormous attention is given to not only where, but also how each vineyard was planted. Imported coated wire trellising was used to minimise damage from the buffeting of summer winds, while the judicious use of drip irrigation is dictated by cutting-edge leaf-pressure testing to ensure each vine is given the optimal, but a limited amount, of water to flourish. Aerial near-infra-red photography is used to map the vineyards; ensuring individual rows are grown, harvested and vinified to the height of their potential. Grapes are hand-harvested exclusively by a team of women in the cool of the early morning, for a mere 2 – 3 hours maximum every day before successive rounds of hand-sorting ensures only the finest unblemished berries make it into the cellar and ultimately into the bottle.
Our vineyards and winemaking methods are designed to ensure excellence. Every sip of De Toren wine is, and should always be, a memory of the fruit’s perfection. Therefore enormous attention is given to not only where, but also how each vineyard was planted. Imported coated wire trellising was used to minimise damage from the buffeting of summer winds, while the judicious use of drip irrigation is dictated by cutting-edge leaf-pressure testing to ensure each vine is given the optimal, but a limited amount, of water to flourish. Aerial near-infra-red photography is used to map the vineyards; ensuring individual rows are grown, harvested and vinified to the height of their potential. Grapes are hand-harvested exclusively by a team of women in the cool of the early morning, for a mere 2 – 3 hours maximum every day before successive rounds of hand-sorting ensures only the finest unblemished berries make it into the cellar and ultimately into the bottle.
In the vineyard, the planting density is deliberately varied within the blocks to ensure optimal stress for each vine, while conventional farming wisdom surrounding row direction was also turned on its head. Traditionally, vineyards in this region are planted facing north-south or east-west. At De Toren, we planted our vineyards facing south into the prevailing summer wind off False Bay, which lowers the temperature, giving our fruit a longer ripening period and greater depth whilst keeping our vines disease-free.
These vineyards are also exclusively nurtured and harvested by a specially select team of women and harvest only takes place in the cool, early hours of the morning for a maximum of 2 – 3 hours.
Another first is our fermentation tanks. In the cellar, the juice is vinified in smaller, wider tanks, specially custom designed for De Toren, to allow for a greater ratio of skin contact and limiting the number of manual punch downs. This optimal skin contact brings out and enhances phenols, flavours and colour in the wine. De Toren is a befitting name, given that we were the first 100% gravity-fed cellar in South Africa, designed around our philosophy of exceptional care.
De Toren refers to the majestic tower reaching skywards from our cellar roof, home to the gravity-operated hoist that facilitates the gentlest movement of our wines.
In the vineyard, the planting density is deliberately varied within the blocks to ensure optimal stress for each vine, while conventional farming wisdom surrounding row direction was also turned on its head. Traditionally, vineyards in this region are planted facing north-south or east-west. At De Toren, we planted our vineyards facing south into the prevailing summer wind off False Bay, which lowers the temperature, giving our fruit a longer ripening period and greater depth whilst keeping our vines disease-free.
These vineyards are also exclusively nurtured and harvested by a specially select team of women and harvest only takes place in the cool, early hours of the morning for a maximum of 2 – 3 hours.
Another first is our fermentation tanks. In the cellar, the juice is vinified in smaller, wider tanks, specially custom designed for De Toren, to allow for a greater ratio of skin contact and limiting the number of manual punch downs. This optimal skin contact brings out and enhances phenols, flavours and colour in the wine. De Toren is a befitting name, given that we were the first 100% gravity-fed cellar in South Africa, designed around our philosophy of exceptional care.
De Toren refers to the majestic tower reaching skywards from our cellar roof, home to the gravity-operated hoist that facilitates the gentlest movement of our wines.
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ALBIE KOCH
COO | MANAGING PARTNER
Stellenbosch native Albie Koch joined the De Toren team in his early twenties and built a global reputation by creating the now legendary award-winning De Toren Fusion V. More than two decades later Albie remains committed to managing the team to create wines that are a true expression of the ancient and unique terroir at De Toren. Continually pushing to redefine what the Bordeaux concept can be by combining the best of the old world methods and the best of the new cutting edge technologies, to create wines of unique expression, exceptional complexity and rare quality.
Our approach to winemaking is like no other. The boutique size of the estate at only 25 hectares allows us to provide greater hands-on care, through every single step of the viticulture and viniculture process, than probably any estate in the world. The result of this is wines of exceptional quality that are a true expression of this unique location where nature has conspired to bring together ancient terroir, cool coastal winds, and a magnificent hilltop location, perfectly suited to creating world-class Bordeaux styled wines.”
CHARLES WILLIAMS
CELLAR MASTER
Charles joined the De Toren team back in 2008 after completing a BSc Agri degree in Viticulture and Oenology at the University of Stellenbosch, followed by postgraduate studies in Viticulture. After spending more than a decade as Winemaker at De Toren under the mentorship of Albie Koch and a string of award-winning international accolades, Charles progressed to the role of Cellar Master in 2019. He believes that by studying nature acutely and providing each individual vine with extreme care that this approach yields the most perfect, complex berries. His love of nature has been instrumental in driving the estate towards sustainable practices and full organic certification at every level.
Winemaking is a natural process so I don’t believe that one should overpower the identity of a wine with winemaking techniques. The wines should reflect the organically diverse terroir and the extreme care we put into the soil, vines, and winemaking process to create wines of unique expression, complexity, balance and exceptional quality.”
MARTIN FOURIE
WINEMAKER
After completing his studies at Elsenburg Agricultural College in Stellenbosch, Martin worked on harvests internationally and locally before joining the De Toren team in 2016 as Assistant Winemaker, before taking up the position of De Toren Winemaker in 2019. He oversees the meticulous vinification process at De Toren where grape selection alone goes through 23 checks to select the finest grapes at the outset of the extreme handcrafted winemaking journey that the estate is so renowned for. Highlights include using past experiences and learnings on vintages to see how seasonal differences can best be best expressed in the wine in the quest to produce the most distinctive Bordeaux-style wines possible.
After a few harvests both abroad and locally, Martin joined the De Toren team in 2016 as Assistant Winemaker and soon hereafter was offered the position of De Toren Winemaker in 2019. He is absolutely passionate about winemaking and he believes in crafting Bordeaux styled blends that are vibrant and expressive.”
