South Africa · Stellenbosch

Lokaia

Franschhoek project pairing Semillon, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc with early picking, skin contact and terracotta amphorae.

The producer

Clayton Reabow and Craig McNaught make Lokaia as a joint Franschhoek project built around Semillon from Bo-Hoek, Chardonnay from the valley floor and Cabernet Franc from Du Toitskop Peak. Reabow's research into Franschhoek's contrasting areas led to the label, with Craig McNaught and the late Rob Armstrong involved in the research. The wines use early picking, skin contact and terracotta amphorae, allowing them to evolve without oak influence.

Known for

Franschhoek amphora and skin contact wines

Notable facts

The story

The First Vintage

In 2020, Clayton Reabow and Craig McNaught released Lokaia's first vintage as a project to keep Franschhoek fruit within the valley. They placed Chardonnay, Semillon and Cabernet Franc under the new label, using varieties selected through Reabow's study of Franschhoek's contrasting areas. The first release gave the project its first bottles while keeping the fruit tied to the valley. Lokaia began with the 2020 vintage.

From the atlas

Lokaia

Franschhoek project of Clayton Reabow and Craig McNaught, linking Chardonnay, Semillon and Cabernet Franc to contrasting valley sources through amphora and skin contact.

At A Glance

FieldDetail
PlaceFranschhoek, South Africa
WinemakersClayton Reabow and Craig McNaught
Main grapesSemillon, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc
BottlesPound of Flesh, The Sandman and Call of the Void
Defining featureEarly picked fruit, skin contact and terracotta amphorae

The Producer

Clayton Reabow and Craig McNaught made Lokaia as a joint Franschhoek project, with Semillon tied to Bo-Hoek, Chardonnay to the valley floor and Cabernet Franc to Du Toitskop Peak. The range is built around grape and place pairings.

Reabow had led Môreson for fourteen years by 2021 and had won both the Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year and Winemaker of the Year awards. McNaught is a second generation winemaker and co owner of Stony Brook Vineyards in Franschhoek's Bo-Hoek. Lokaia brings their work together under one label, with each bottle linked to a different part of the valley.

Place

Franschhoek's proposed subregions divide the valley into contrasting areas with different vineyard origins. Lokaia follows those distinctions through Bo-Hoek, the valley floor and Du Toitskop Peak, keeping the grape variety attached to its source.

Bo-Hoek is associated with Semillon, the valley floor with Chardonnay, and the mountain vineyard at Du Toitskop Peak with Cabernet Franc. The place names are part of the range, alongside the grape names.

Soil And Site

Du Toitskop Peak is planted on sandstone and clay soils. Sandstone generally drains more freely, while clay holds more water, so the two materials can alter vine water supply and the pace of ripening.

The Bo-Hoek Semillon used for Pound of Flesh 2020 came from a dry farmed vineyard planted in the mid 1990s. Dry farming means the vines grow without regular irrigation, leaving rainfall as the main water source during the season.

Story

Clayton Reabow studied Franschhoek's three unofficial wards and developed his own label around the differences between them. Craig McNaught and the late Rob Armstrong joined the research project. The group selected Chardonnay, Semillon and Cabernet Franc as the varieties that recurred across the areas.

Lokaia then assigned each variety to a source: Semillon to Bo-Hoek, Chardonnay to the valley floor and Cabernet Franc to Du Toitskop Peak. The research became a set of wines with separate grape and place pairings, rather than a single Franschhoek bottling built around one variety.

Vineyards And Cellar

Early picking is part of Lokaia's method. Depending on the vintage, the wines can reach full fruit ripeness at potential alcohol levels between 10.5% and 12%. Skin contact takes place during and after fermentation, with differing durations across the range.

Two wines were fermented and aged in amphora. Terracotta amphorae are clay vessels that permit slow oxygen exchange, allowing wine to evolve without oak influence. Skin contact keeps the fermenting wine with the grape skins, which can add colour, texture and phenolic grip.

Wines

The 2022 range contains two white wines and one red. Pound of Flesh is Semillon from Stony Brook vineyards in Franschhoek's Bo-Hoek. The Sandman is Chardonnay from a Môreson vineyard on the Franschhoek valley floor. Call of the Void is Cabernet Franc from a Franschhoek Pass mountain vineyard identified as Du Toitskop Peak.

The bottles share early picking, skin contact and amphora fermentation, while the grape and source change from one wine to the next. Pound of Flesh and The Sandman give the range its white wine breadth; Call of the Void brings the mountain Cabernet Franc bottling.

In The Glass

Pound of Flesh opens with white peach, lime peel, lemongrass and green apple, followed by white blossom, dried herbs, wet hay, lanolin and crushed gravel. The palate combines concentrated fruit with piercing, glassy acidity in a taut, tight and linear form. A slight phenolic grip gives the finish shape, while the wine remains pure and delicate.

The Sandman brings nutty white citrus, dried herbs, wet chalk, waxy lemon peel, salted pistachio, honey, oyster shell, mineral spice and savoury lees notes. At 12.5% alcohol, it still carries dense fruit and pronounced acidity, with a pithy texture.

Call of the Void has rose perfume, cranberry, black cherry and crushed herbs. It is light, pure and focused, with vivid acidity and very fine tannins. The palate also carries smoky cranberry and red cherry, with breadth and depth inside its taut profile.

A Bottle To Understand It

Open Pound of Flesh first. It is the Semillon from Stony Brook's Bo-Hoek vineyards, placing one grape beside one Franschhoek source. The other named wines shift to valley floor Chardonnay and mountain Cabernet Franc, while Pound of Flesh keeps the bottle's range role narrow and clear. Its early picking, skin contact and amphora method place the central Lokaia choices inside a single white wine.

Anecdote

In 2020, Clayton Reabow and Craig McNaught released Lokaia's first vintage as a project to keep Franschhoek fruit within the valley. They placed Chardonnay, Semillon and Cabernet Franc under the new label, using varieties selected through Reabow's study of Franschhoek's contrasting areas. The first release gave the project its first bottles while keeping the fruit tied to the valley. Lokaia began with the 2020 vintage.

Final Word

Lokaia keeps the grape names and Franschhoek origins together: Semillon from Bo-Hoek, Chardonnay from the valley floor and Cabernet Franc from Du Toitskop Peak. Terracotta amphorae and skin contact complete the range's cellar method.

Sources

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