The producer
Jean-Claude Martin came from Switzerland and chose a ridgeline above Walker Bay that most South African producers had passed over. The Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge sits higher and cooler than the valley floor below it, catching ocean winds off Walker Bay that slow ripening and keep the growing season long and even. The flagship grapes are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, both shaped by the particular combination of altitude, maritime air and ancient clay-loam soils with quartz content that the ridge provides.
Creation's Pinot Noir has changed in a traceable direction over the estate's history. Early vintages leaned into a riper, more extracted profile with no whole-bunch component. Jean-Claude Martin introduced thirty percent whole-bunch fermentation, and the wine shifted toward the sleek, mineral register it carries now: finer tannin, spiced aromatics of mace and fresh raspberry, and a polished texture that the cool ridge climate reinforces rather than contradicts. The Reserve Chardonnay follows a different logic, resting ten months on lees in a mix of new and second-fill French oak with full malolactic fermentation, producing a wine with citrus and stone fruit at the front and a textured, acidity-framed mid-palate behind it.
Known for
Reserve Chardonnay and Reserve Pinot Noir from clay-loam and quartz soils on Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, Walker Bay.
Notable facts
- Founded by Jean-Claude and Carolyn Martin on Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge in Walker Bay, Western Cape.
- Named Africa's Best Vineyard for five consecutive years; placed third globally in the World's Best Vineyards ranking in 2024.
- Reserve Pinot Noir includes thirty percent whole-bunch fermentation, which shifted the wine from a riper, opulent style toward greater freshness and mineral definition.
- Reserve Chardonnay 2023 is fermented in thirty percent new French oak and seventy percent second-fill French oak, then rested on lees for ten months with full malolactic fermentation.
- Cool afternoon winds off Walker Bay slow heat accumulation on the ridge throughout the growing season, keeping acidity high and aromatics precise in both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
From the atlas
Creation Wines
At A Glance
| |
| Location | Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, Walker Bay, Western Cape |
| Grapes | Chardonnay, Pinot Noir |
| Style | Cool-maritime, whole-bunch Pinot Noir, lees-aged Chardonnay |
| Recognition | Africa's Best Vineyard five consecutive years; third globally, World's Best Vineyards 2024 |
| First Bottle | Reserve Chardonnay 2023 |
The Producer
Jean-Claude Martin came from Switzerland and chose a ridgeline above Walker Bay that most South African producers had passed over. The Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge sits higher and cooler than the valley floor below it, catching ocean winds off Walker Bay that slow ripening and compress the growing window into something closer to a northern European rhythm. Martin founded the estate with his partner Carolyn Martin, and the two flagship grapes have never changed: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, both shaped by the particular combination of altitude, maritime air and clay soils the ridge provides.
Creation is not a Burgundy imitation. The grape choices echo that region, but the winemaking decisions and the site are South African. The Pinot Noir style has shifted in a traceable direction over the estate's history, moving away from riper, more extracted early vintages toward the fresher, more mineral profile the wine carries now. That shift was made deliberately, through a change in cellar practice, and it is audible in the glass.
Place
Walker Bay is a coastal appellation in the Western Cape, roughly two hours east of Cape Town. The Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge is a sub-zone that rises above the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley floor and faces the cold South Atlantic. The cool afternoon winds are not incidental: they push daytime temperatures down at exactly the point when Pinot Noir and Chardonnay would otherwise accumulate sugar too fast. A long, even growing season keeps acidity high and allows aromatics to develop before the grapes are harvested.
This is not the warm, powerful South Africa of Stellenbosch or Paarl. Wines from the ridge tend toward lighter colour, tighter fruit and firmer acid than those from warmer inland zones. The label says Walker Bay, and the wine carries the maritime character of that address: cooler, leaner, more aromatic.
Soil And Site
The soils on the ridge are ancient clay-loam with quartz content, confirmed in the Chardonnay parcels as quartz-on-clay. Clay retains moisture through dry summer months and moderates vine stress; quartz in the topsoil reflects light and contributes to the mineral character that shows up in the Chardonnay palate. The clay-loam base drains enough to avoid waterlogging while holding sufficient water to see the vines through a compressed, wind-cooled growing season without irrigation pressure.
Story
The estate's Reserve Pinot Noir tells the clearest story of how Creation has changed as a producer. Early vintages were vinified with no whole-bunch component and leaned into a riper, more opulent profile: deeper colour, heavier fruit, more extraction. At some point, Jean-Claude Martin introduced whole-bunch fermentation at thirty percent of the Pinot Noir crop. The whole-bunch portion adds stems to the ferment, which slows extraction, raises tannin fineness and contributes a sappy, spiced quality to the aromatic profile.
The wine shifted. The current Reserve Pinot Noir has a sleek texture, with the whole-bunch component adding spiced complexity rather than weight. The direction the estate took was toward freshness and mineral definition, not away from ripeness as an end in itself. Creation was already working in a cool-climate zone; the cellar decision aligned the winemaking with what the site was already doing.
Vineyards And Cellar
Cool afternoon winds off Walker Bay reduce heat accumulation on the ridge throughout the growing season. This keeps the Pinot Noir canopy from overripening and allows the Chardonnay to develop citrus and stone fruit aromatics before harvest without crossing into tropical registers.
In the cellar, the Reserve Chardonnay 2023 was fermented in a mix of thirty percent new French oak barrels and seventy percent second-fill French oak barrels, then left on the lees for ten months while undergoing full malolactic fermentation. The new oak contributes a warm spice note; the lees time adds texture and rounds the natural acidity without erasing it. Malolactic conversion softens the sharpest edges of the acidity, producing a palate that feels rich but does not feel heavy.
The Reserve Pinot Noir includes thirty percent whole-bunch fermentation, which is added to the tank before primary fermentation begins. The stems hold carbon dioxide during ferment and slow alcohol extraction. The resulting wine is lighter in colour than a fully destemmed Pinot Noir from the same fruit, with a finer tannin grain and more emphasis on the floral and spice registers of the aromatic profile.
Wines
The two confirmed range positions are the Reserve Chardonnay and the Reserve Pinot Noir. Both are grown on clay-loam and quartz soils on Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge.
The Reserve Chardonnay 2023 is one hundred percent Chardonnay from quartz-on-clay parcels. Grapefruit, apple and a honey note sit at the aromatic centre, with a warm cinnamon spice from the oak regime underneath. The palate is shaped by lees richness working against the vineyard's natural acidity: the wine feels textured and full without losing the forward citrus that cool-climate Chardonnay produces. Ten months on the lees and full malolactic conversion give the mid-palate density; the oak contributes warmth rather than wood flavour.
The Reserve Pinot Noir sits in a garnet with cerise highlights. The aromatics run to Indonesian mace, fresh raspberry and black cherry: cooler, more floral than a warmer-climate Pinot Noir. The thirty percent whole-bunch element adds a sappy, slightly savoury quality to the top note. The palate is sleek with fine tannin and no heavy extraction.
In The Glass
The Reserve Chardonnay rises with grapefruit and apple, the cinnamon from oak sitting just behind the fruit. The palate is textured from the lees time: there is weight and richness across the mid-palate, but the bright natural acidity from the maritime growing season pulls through and keeps the finish from feeling soft. The malolactic fermentation smooths the acidity without flattening it. The wine finishes with a stone fruit note and a clean line of freshness.
The Reserve Pinot Noir opens with mace, raspberry and black cherry: the mace note is cool-climate and spice-driven rather than ripe or jammy. In the mouth the texture is polished and relatively light in body. Fine tannin from the whole-bunch fermentation adds a dry, savoury grip without roughness. The finish is clean and aromatic, with the maritime acidity keeping the fruit lifted rather than settled.
A Bottle To Understand It
Start with the Reserve Chardonnay 2023. It is one hundred percent Chardonnay from quartz-on-clay parcels on the ridge, fermented in thirty percent new and seventy percent second-fill French oak, then rested on lees for ten months with full malolactic fermentation. In the glass: grapefruit and apple at the front, warm cinnamon spice from the oak behind it, then a textured mid-palate from the lees, and a finish that stays fresh because the vineyard acidity was never fully suppressed. The oak is present but measured; the lees give body without weight; the acidity is the frame that holds it together. It is a fair account of what cool-maritime Chardonnay from this ridge can produce.
Anecdote
When Greg Sherwood MW sat down with the Creation Reserve Pinot Noir, he was tasting a wine that had already changed shape once. The early versions of the wine carried no whole-bunch component and leaned into the riper, more opulent register that was a common ambition in South African Pinot Noir at the time: deeper colour, heavier extraction, more weight in the glass. Jean-Claude Martin introduced whole-bunch fermentation, thirty percent of the crop going into tank with stems intact, and the wine moved. Sherwood described the texture as incredibly sleek and polished, with the whole-bunch addition bringing sappy spiced complexity rather than adding bulk. The aromatic register shifted toward mace and fresh raspberry. The cellar change did not fight the cool ridge climate; it followed it. A wine that had been trying to be larger became more precisely itself.
Final Word
Creation has been named Africa's Best Vineyard for five consecutive years and finished third globally in the World's Best Vineyards ranking in 2024. Both signals point in the same direction: a ridgeline site above Walker Bay that produces Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with a maritime clarity that places it outside the mainstream of South African wine. The estate earned that position through a winemaking decision, not only through geography.
Sources
- https://www.creationwines.com/
- https://www.the-buyer.net/opinion/greg-sherwood-mw-creation-wines-is-the-perfect-mix-of-old-and-new-worlds
- https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-11-05-creation-wines-shines-bright-as-africas-best-vineyard-third-in-global-rankings/
- https://www.creationwines.com/wines
- https://boundbywine.com/products/creation-estate-reserve-chardonnay