De Toren Private Cellar
is located on the Polkadraai Hills south of Stellenbosch. The elevated vineyards offer sweeping views over the Helderberg and False Bay to Table Mountain. Cooling air currents from the Atlantic and old granite soils provide excellent conditions for expressive, long-lived red wines.
The winery was founded in the early 1990s and focused from the outset on the classic red grape varieties of Bordeaux. These include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Together with specialists from Stellenbosch University, the estate's soils were studied extensively. Fifteen different soil types were identified across around 25 hectares, and grape varieties, clones and rootstocks were matched specifically to the respective parcels.
De Toren built South Africa's first winery in which grapes and wine are moved largely by gravity. This makes it possible to avoid heavy pumping and to handle the fruit particularly gently. The winery also places great emphasis on precise procedures and minimal intervention in the vineyard and during ageing. The estate's grapes come from organically certified cultivation.
At the heart of the portfolio are two Bordeaux blends with different orientations. De Toren Fusion V is led predominantly by Cabernet Sauvignon and is stylistically inspired by the powerful wines of Bordeaux's Left Bank. De Toren Z, by contrast, places Merlot at the centre, making the wine generally softer, rounder and earlier-drinking.
The range is complemented by the lighter Délicate and strictly limited flagship wines such as Book XVII, The Black Lion and Patronus. Common to the wines is a combination of ripe dark fruit, fine spice, well-integrated oak and pronounced tannin structure. Many have good development potential and are suitable both as sophisticated food companions and for extended cellaring.
Discover selected wines from De Toren at Vin Africa and experience an individual South African interpretation of classic Bordeaux blends.