From the atlas
Bon Courage Estate
Robertson Valley estate where André Bruwer's three consecutive national winemaker titles in the 1980s put this inland South African valley on the wine map, and where his son Jacques now makes Cap Classique aged for up to five years on lees.
At A Glance
| |
| Region | Robertson Valley, Western Cape |
| Appellation | Robertson |
| Main grapes | Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, Pinotage |
| Signature wine | Jacques Bruère Cap Classique |
| Defining feature | Extended lees ageing of 48 to 60 months for vintage sparkling wines |
The Producer
Bon Courage Estate sits in the Robertson Valley, an inland stretch of the Western Cape where the Breede River moderates summer heat and limestone-rich soils push vines toward aromatic whites and structured reds. André Bruwer formalized the estate in 1983, and his son Jacques Bruwer now leads winemaking alongside Philip Viljoen. The Cape Dutch homestead at the centre of the property dates to 1818.
The range divides into four tiers: Like Father Like Son for early-drinking wines, the core Bon Courage estate line, the vintage Cap Classique under the Jacques Bruère label, and Inkára, a hand-selected premium series whose name joins the first two letters of Jacques's three children (Inge, Karli and André).
Place
Robertson sits east of the Breede River Valley, further inland than most of South Africa's well-known wine areas. The valley runs roughly east to west, and its soils carry a high lime content that keeps acidity in check without stripping fruit from the grapes. Heat is the defining pressure here, and the wines are shaped partly by how the estate manages it: picking windows, vine management, and the decision to invest in Cap Classique rather than only still reds and whites.
When André Bruwer took the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year award in 1990, he became the first winemaker east of the Breede River Valley to win it. The prize was a signal that Robertson could stand alongside the Cape's better-known growing areas.
Story
André Bruwer graduated from Elsenburg Agricultural College as dux student in 1962. Two decades later, in 1983, he formalized Bon Courage as a wine estate, beginning to market a small selection of wines under its own label. Recognition came quickly. Between 1984 and 1986 he won South African Champion Estate Winemaker of the Year in three consecutive years, a run that attracted attention to Robertson at a time when the valley's potential was still being tested.
The Diners Club Winemaker of the Year award in 1990 confirmed what the domestic championship had suggested: a winemaker working east of the Breede River could compete with the most established names in the Cape. The estate's reputation was built by André; the current generation, with Jacques at the cellar, has extended it into sparkling wine and the premium Inkára series.
Vineyards And Cellar
The estate grows Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and Pinotage across diverse soils in the Robertson Valley. The most technically demanding production at Bon Courage is the Jacques Bruère Cap Classique range, which uses the traditional method: secondary fermentation in bottle, extended lees contact, and disgorgement before release. The wines spend a minimum of 48 to 60 months on lees before disgorgement. Lees ageing at that length builds autolytic character, the toasty, biscuity, creamy notes that come from contact with spent yeast cells, alongside whatever fruit the base wine carried into the process.
The Inkára wines are hand-selected, with the Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Merlot all positioned for ageing.
Wines
The Like Father Like Son tier covers approachable varietal wines for early drinking. The Bon Courage estate range includes Gooseberry Bush Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay Prestige Cuvée, Pepper Tree Shiraz, Pinotage and Mulberry Bush Merlot, names drawn from the estate's landscape.
Jacques Bruère Cap Classique comes in three expressions. The Brut Reserve brings citrus aromas with creamy flavours and a lively mousse. The Blanc de Blancs shows a yeasty nose and faint lemon alongside crisp acidity and a creamy mid-palate. The Cuvée Rosé Brut adds raspberry to the lemon and yeast on the nose, with red berry fruit and a mineral thread on the palate. All three spend the same 48 to 60 months on lees before release.
Inkára sits at the top of the range: the Cabernet Sauvignon is rich and spicy with mint, soft round tannins and ripe black fruit; the Merlot gives plum and dark berry aromas with a full, silky mouth-feel.
In The Glass
The Cap Classique range shows what extended lees ageing does to a Robertson base wine. Forty-eight to 60 months in contact with yeast sediment develops the creamy, biscuity texture that runs through the Brut Reserve, the Blanc de Blancs and the Cuvée Rosé. The Blanc de Blancs is the most austere of the three: a strong yeasty nose, faint lemon, crisp acidity and a creamy complexity on the palate without the red fruit that marks the Rosé. The Rosé adds raspberry to the lemon and yeast, with a silky palate and a mineral thread underneath the berry weight.
In the red Inkára wines, the Cabernet Sauvignon is rich and smoky with mint alongside the spice, kept in check by soft, round tannins and ripe black fruit rather than angular grip. The Merlot works through plum and dark berry fruit with a full, silky texture and sweet berry weight on the finish.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose the Jacques Bruère Blanc de Blancs. It is the Cap Classique expression that most clearly shows what five years on lees achieves in a Robertson sparkling wine: a strong yeasty, toasty character on the nose, a faint lemon thread, and a palate that balances crisp acidity against creamy complexity. The wine earns its character from time in bottle, not from dosage or added richness, and it gives the clearest picture of why the Jacques Bruère line is the estate's most demanding and most distinctive work.
Anecdote
Between 1984 and 1986, André Bruwer won South African Champion Estate Winemaker of the Year three times in a row. No single year would have placed Robertson on anyone's map of serious South African wine. Three consecutive years made the point impossible to ignore. The valley was then still associated in many minds with bulk production and cooperative output rather than estate winemaking. Bruwer's run changed the conversation, and when he took the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year in 1990, becoming the first winemaker east of the Breede River Valley to win it, the case had been made not just for one producer but for a region that had previously been easy to overlook.
Final Word
Bon Courage Estate built its name through André Bruwer's consecutive national titles in the mid-1980s and extended it through Jacques's Cap Classique range, where 48 to 60 months on lees gives Robertson sparkling wine a character shaped by time rather than by geography alone.
Sources
- https://www.boncourage.co.za/
- https://winelandsexplore.com/wine-farms/bon-courage-wine-estate/
- https://wine.co.za/page/page.aspx?PAGEID=1361
- https://www.boncourage.co.za/bon-courage/
- https://www.boncourage.co.za/jacque-bruere/
- https://www.boncourage.co.za/inkara