South Africa · Stellenbosch

Kaapzicht Estate

A Bottelary Hills estate built on two of South Africa's oldest surviving vineyards: Chenin Blanc planted in 1947 and Pinotage from 1959, with two Decanter World Wine Awards to its name.

The producer

Kaapzicht Estate farms the Bottelary Hills ward of Stellenbosch across 160 hectares of more than 21 grape varieties, with a Pinotage vineyard planted in 1959 and a Chenin Blanc block from 1947 at the centre of what the estate is. The Steytler family has farmed here since Major David Steytler, a post-war veteran, traded his Karoo sheep farm for Rozendal in 1946 and renamed it Kaapzicht. Four generations later, Danie Steytler Jnr leads the cellar after studying viticulture at Stellenbosch University and completing harvests in France, New Zealand, and California.

The Steytler range earned back-to-back Decanter World Wine Awards for best red wine globally: the Cape Blend Steytler Vision won in 2003, the first wine of that category to do so, and the Steytler Pinotage followed in 2006. The 1947 Chenin Blanc is made from 1.1 hectares of vines that are the second-oldest surviving Chenin Blanc block in South Africa, whole-bunch pressed at 0.8 kPa, fermented with ambient yeast in barrel and ceramic amphora, and bottled unfiltered and unfined after ten months of mixed-vessel ageing.

Known for

Old-vine Pinotage and Chenin Blanc from Bottelary Hills, Stellenbosch

Notable facts

The story

The Number on the Label

The Chenin Blanc block was planted in 1947, one year after Major David Steytler arrived on the farm. It covered six hectares. Decades of vine attrition, disease pressure, and replanting decisions reduced that original block until only 1.1 hectares survived. When the estate decided to bottle the fruit as a single-vineyard wine, they named it after the planting year: The 1947. The year appears on every bottle, printed plainly, making the vineyard's age a declaration rather than a footnote. The wine is made without filtration or fining from grapes harvested off vines that were already in the ground before the cellar had its current form. That number is not a label device; it is the only accurate way to describe what the vineyard is.

From the atlas

Kaapzicht Estate

At A Glance

Location: Bottelary Hills ward, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa Grape signature: Pinotage, Chenin Blanc Range: Steytler, Rooiland, Terroir Winemaker: Danie Steytler Jnr, fourth generation, joined 2009 Scale: 160 hectares, 21-plus varieties Notable: Two Decanter World Wine Awards for best red wine globally, 2003 and 2006

The Producer

Kaapzicht Estate farms the Bottelary Hills ward of Stellenbosch with two plantings that define everything else about the estate: a Pinotage vineyard put in the ground in 1959 and a Chenin Blanc block planted twelve years earlier, in 1947. Most wineries that talk about heritage are pointing at an old cellar or a well-known family name. Kaapzicht points at vines.

The Steytler family name has been in the Cape since 1766, when a German ancestor first put roots down here. Major David Steytler, a post-war veteran, acquired Rozendal farm in Bottelary in 1946 and pivoted entirely: he traded a life as a Karoo sheep farmer for viticulture on a hill that would eventually carry two of South Africa's most significant old-vine plantings. The estate today spans 160 hectares across more than 21 grape varieties, with fourth-generation winemaker Danie Steytler Jnr leading the cellar since 2009 after studying viticulture at Stellenbosch University and working harvests in France, New Zealand, and California.

The Steytler range earned back-to-back Decanter World Wine Awards for best red wine globally, first for the Cape Blend Steytler Vision in 2003, then for the Steytler Pinotage in 2006. No other Cape Blend had taken that award before 2003.

Place

Bottelary Hills sits in the cooler, more windswept corner of Stellenbosch, where the Atlantic influence off False Bay moderates what would otherwise be a very warm growing season. The ward occupies elevated terrain away from the valley floor, with morning mist and afternoon winds that slow ripening and hold acidity in the fruit.

Bottelary Hills Pinotage grows denser and more concentrated than either of its parent varieties, Pinot Noir and Cinsault, while the cooler air keeps the red fruit character defined rather than cooked. The ward address on a Kaapzicht bottle signals a style: inky, dense, earthy rather than broad and sweet.

For Chenin Blanc on very old vines the place produces saline, textured whites with depth that younger vines at lower altitude rarely approach.

Soil And Site

The Bottelary Hills terrain delivers well-drained, clay-rich soils on elevated slopes. Old vines in this soil profile develop deep root systems that buffer the summer heat and produce fruit with concentrated flavour without sacrificing the acidity in Kaapzicht's whites and reds. The 1947 Chenin Blanc block, now 1.1 hectares from an original six, draws from this soil across eight decades of root development. Pinotage planted in 1959 sits in comparable conditions, with vine age contributing to the density and concentration the estate's top labels depend on.

Story

When Major David Steytler bought Rozendal in 1946, Pinotage had only been bred a decade earlier by Abraham Perold at Stellenbosch University. It was unknown commercially. Most Cape winemakers were not planting it. In 1959, Steytler put in the estate's first Pinotage vines: an early commitment to a variety that was still working out what it was. In 1947, a year after the farm was acquired, a Chenin Blanc vineyard was planted. Both decisions proved consequential.

Succession at Kaapzicht was handled without sentimentality. When George Steytler Snr needed a head winemaker, he refused to hand the role to his son Danie Snr by birthright. He required a formal application. That same standard carried forward: Danie Steytler Jnr, the current winemaker, earned his position after completing a viticulture degree at Stellenbosch University and three international harvests rather than inheriting it.

The Decanter wins in 2003 and 2006 placed Kaapzicht in an argument about what South African red wine could be at its best. The 2001 Steytler Vision, a Cape Blend built around Pinotage, was the first wine of that style to take the world's top red wine award. Three years later the Steytler Pinotage won the same prize. Both wins came from the same Bottelary Hills address, from a family that had been farming there for less than sixty years.

Vineyards And Cellar

The estate farms more than 21 grape varieties across 160 hectares, with Pinotage and Chenin Blanc carrying the most historical weight. Old-vine Pinotage from the 1959 planting produces fruit with the density and spice concentration that Bottelary Hills is capable of at its most serious.

The 1947 Chenin Blanc is made with a method that reflects how much confidence the cellar places in old-vine fruit. Grapes from the 1.1-hectare block are whole-bunch pressed at 0.8 kPa, a very gentle extraction that preserves aromatic delicacy. Fermentation is spontaneous, using native yeasts, in 500-litre barrels and ceramic amphorae over two to four weeks. The wine then matures for ten months across 28% new oak, 50% second-fill oak, and 22% ceramic amphorae before being bottled unfiltered and unfined. That combination of gentle press, ambient yeast, and mixed-vessel ageing produces a Chenin Blanc with textural complexity that cannot be manufactured from younger vines.

The Rooiland Pinotage blends 85% Pinotage with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, using the Cabernet to add backbone without overriding the dark fruit and coffee character the variety produces in Bottelary soils.

Wines

The Steytler range includes Steytler Pinotage, a single-variety red from old Bottelary Hills vines, cherry and red fruit on the nose with inky and vanilla undertones, a spiced and rich palate, and an earthy finish with good length. Technical data shows 14.72% alcohol, 5.8g per litre acidity, and a cellaring window of ten to fifteen years from vintage.

Steytler Vision is a Cape Blend built around Pinotage and was the first wine of that category to win Decanter's best red wine in the world award, for the 2001 vintage.

The 1947 Chenin Blanc is a single-vineyard white from vines planted in 1947, now numbering 1.1 hectares. Citrus peel, orange blossom, untoasted almond, and a flinty reduction character on the nose; the palate is saline and textured with both power and depth, and the finish turns savory despite dense, sweet upfront fruit. At 13.38% alcohol and 2.5g per litre residual sugar, it reads dry in the glass.

Rooiland Pinotage blends 85% Pinotage with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. It shows sleek dark plum, roasted coffee, and creamy oak spice, with robust but velvety tannins at 14.5% alcohol.

The Terroir range includes Skemerlig Cabernet Sauvignon, which opens on graphite, blackcurrant, and dusty herbs, with a dark fruit character across the palate.

In The Glass

Kaapzicht's Pinotage wines move from the red-fruit register of the Steytler toward the darker, coffee-edged character of the Rooiland. The Steytler Pinotage rises from cherry and inky red fruit with vanilla lift; the palate is spiced and generous, with enough earthy grip on the finish to carry through a decade of cellaring. The Rooiland shifts the frame: dark plum replaces cherry, roasted coffee and creamy oak spice take over from vanilla, and the Cabernet Sauvignon fraction adds tannin that is robust but settles into a velvety texture at drinking weight.

Steytler Vision, the Cape Blend, sits between the single-variety Pinotage and the blended style, anchored by Pinotage but shaped by other varieties that smooth the edges.

The 1947 Chenin Blanc is a different kind of wine entirely. It comes off the glass with citrus peel and orange blossom, then almond and a stony, flint-reduction note that signals the amphora and old vine character beneath. In the mouth it is saline and textured, with a mid-palate richness that reads as dense without weight. The finish turns away from the sweet upfront fruit and becomes savory, mineral, and long. The whole-bunch press, spontaneous fermentation, and mixed-vessel ageing are all audible in the wine's complexity without any single element dominating.

Skemerlig Cabernet Sauvignon shows graphite, blackcurrant, and a dusty herb character.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the 1947 Chenin Blanc. It is from 1.1 hectares of vines planted in 1947, the second-oldest surviving Chenin Blanc vineyard in South Africa. The wine uses whole-bunch pressing, ambient yeast fermentation in barrel and ceramic amphora, ten months of mixed-vessel ageing, and no filtration or fining. It opens with citrus peel and orange blossom and moves through almond and flinty reduction to a saline, textured palate with a long savory finish. It is dry in all the ways that matter: no sweetness lingers, no oak dominates, and the fruit's density translates into length rather than weight. The 1947 Chenin Blanc comes from Kaapzicht's second-oldest surviving Chenin Blanc block.

Anecdote

The Chenin Blanc block was planted in 1947, one year after Major David Steytler arrived on the farm. It covered six hectares. Decades of replanting decisions, disease pressure, and the natural attrition of very old vines reduced that original block until only 1.1 hectares survived. When the estate decided to bottle the fruit as a single-vineyard wine, they named it after the planting year: The 1947. The year appears on every bottle, printed plainly, making the vineyard's age explicit rather than a detail you look up later. The wine is made without filtration or fining from grapes harvested off vines that were already in the ground before the cellar had its current form. That number on the label is not marketing; it is the only accurate way to describe what the vineyard is.

Final Word

Kaapzicht is a Bottelary Hills estate built on decisions made before the South African wine industry had an international audience. Pinotage planted in 1959, Chenin Blanc from 1947, a merit-based succession model carried across four generations. The Decanter wins confirmed what the vineyards had been saying for decades. The 1947 Chenin Blanc and the Steytler Pinotage are the clearest bottles that legacy has produced.

Sources

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