Although viticulture in the Western Cape is relatively young, the geology is quite old. Our vines are planted on the most ancient viticultural soils on earth, and we need to go back half a billion years to see how the landscape evolved.
Through tectonic collisions and of the continents some millions of years ago, the shale based soils found in the Malmesbury area were infused by Magma, from deep within the earth. It rose along the continental fault line into the thick shale deposit, and slowly cooled and crystalised into the granite rocks and hills we see exposed today.
Later, because of the continents separating, it caused the surface to subside and become covered from the north by very deep deposits of Sandstone, called the Cape Supergroup.
What is left today are sandstone remnants like Kasteelberg and Piketberg (1000-1300 m altitude), resting on granitic and shale foothills and associated with exposed graniteoutcrops such as the Paardeberg (500-700 m altitude) and ranges of shale based hills like Porseleinberg and the Malmesbury hills (200-400 m altitude), surrounded by undulating Malmesbury shale landscapes.
As human beings, we are given such a short time on this planet to work with the land. It is humbling and exciting to keep this ancient history in mind, and as our vineyards grow in soils derived from all this tectonic activity, it is fascinating to think of the links between how the earth evolved and how wines grown in different sites taste.
These humbling thoughts are the fundamental reason for our natural winegrowing and winemaking approach as we strive to bottle wines that reflect the Swartland.