As the sun sets to the west of Stellenbosch, the soft beams hit the mountain running south, lighting the granite rock faces to an iridescent luminosity. The early Dutch colonists saw this, and subsequently named it the Helder (bright) Berg (mountain). Today the mountain remains true and bright, a major natural landmark and home to one of South Africa’s most distinctive regions where truly great wines are made,
The Helderberg is, however, not a recognised official ward. For there are squabbles among its wine people as to where the appellation’s boundaries should be, debates and squabbles among folk whose availability to time for embarking on pettiness exceeds their commitment to wine and vines.
There are many great wineries on the Helderberg. I have a particular fondness for Uva Mira, Taaibosch, Ernie Els, Rust en Vrede and Alto, and used to like Waterford Estate as well, until learning that farm is more about ego than about wine. A winery that always gives good view on the Helderberg is Avontuur, which was owned by a race-horse breeder whose steeds still wonder the farm’s verdant slopes. I like looking at horses, their necks sloping towards the thick green grass, and the Helderberg Mountains rising behind them.

Avontuur is now seeing true wine activity, this elevated from the low-key vinous offering that formerly trotted meekly behind the horses. The Estate has been revived wine-wise thanks to a partnership between the Taberer family of Avontuur and local drinks corporate DGB, a large and diverse liquor company whose commitment to wine stands firm and true. And is growing.
Although wine has been made on this Helderberg farm for nearly two centuries, the first bottled Avontuur wines were introduced in 1989 by businessman and aforementioned racehorse dynamo Tony Taberer, who acquired the property in 1984. Today, Tony’s sons Philip and Michael are running the show, and it is under these young men’s auspices that the Avontuur wines are being made in tandem with the expert involvement of DGB.
Like all operations on the Helderberg, the distinction of Avontuur’s wines lie in the geography. The vines are set in ancient soils of decomposed granite and sandstone on north-west facing slopes some 25km from the cool maritime air drifting in from the Atlantic Ocean at False Bay, the plants exposed to the glowing warmth of the afternoon sun as it makes its way to set out west. I recently partook of the new-generation wines in the Avontuur Collection wine range, one segment of the estate’s extensive offering. In this range I was presented with three grape cultivars for which Stellenbosch’s Helderberg region is especially famous, namely Chardonnay – the prince of white wine grapes – as well as the red varieties Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, cultivars for which this appellation has garnered world-wide acclaim over the past four decades. Think Rust en Vrede, Alto Estate, Ernie Els and Uva Mira.

The Disa Gorge Chardonnay 2024, found in The Avontuur Collection, underscores my belief that Helderberg Chardonnay is one of the great wine categories found in the Cape. The wine exudes the alluring combination of bright minerality and commanding, assured presence on the palate, whilst at the same time offering vast levels of deliciousness. Lemon meringue, sun-baked hay, lime-zest and grilled nuts abound, flavours shimmering in a cool fresh mist of salinity.
To make this wine, grapes are whole-bunch pressed and fermented in French oak barrels, whereafter the wine ages for another 11 months in barrel – 40% new and the balance 2nd and 3rd fill.
Classic red grape varieties established the Helderberg’s reputation as a renowned wine region in the 1920s, with Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon being the area’s best-known red cultivars.
In its Stone Field Syrah 2023, Avontuur showcases the wonderous merits of cool-climate Syrah with a perfumed, elegant red wine that is set to become a leading example of Stellenbosch’s wine offering from this grape variety. During the fermentation regime, the grapes and juice are pumped-over every eight hours to allow the juice to draw colour, tannins and flavour from the ink-black skins.
To maintain maximum fruit-purity and linearity in structure, the fermented wine is placed in large 5000l foudré vessels for 14 months, with the lees being regularly stirred to impart body and added flavour. It all leads to the Avontuur Stone Field Syrah 2023, a wine vividly displaying a range of delectable red wine flavours including that of dark berries, plums and olive, with that umami-savouriness on the finish.
Stellenbosch is known as South Africa’s kingdom of Cabernet Sauvignon, arguably the world’s most renowned red grape variety, with the Helderberg being especially famous for the noble features found in its wines made from this cultivar.

In Avontuur’s The West Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, one of the ward’s finest Cabernet Sauvignon renditions is found, a wine of both commanding power and multi-layered refinement.
After fermentation, this Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in French oak barrels for between 16 to 18 months before the components were blended for the making of the final wine.
The result is a majestic Cabernet Sauvignon harnessing dark-fruit and fynbos flavours with a sleek, muscular structure. Notes of prune, graphite and pine-needle are cloaked in a veil of elegance, the greatness of The West Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 amplified by the fact that this year saw one of the best red wine vintages in recent memory – making the drinking of this wine not only an experience, but a true adventure that does justice to its place of origin. Which is, clearly, a special one.
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