South Africa · Stellenbosch

Muratie

A Knorhoek Valley estate north of Stellenbosch, Muratie turns its history into named bottles, from the Cabernet-led Ansela van de Caab to George Paul Canitz Pinot Noir.

The producer

Muratie was granted to German soldier Laurens Campher in 1685 and is now stewarded by the Melck family. In the Knorhoek Valley north of Stellenbosch, its labels carry the names of people from the farm’s past: Ansela van de Caab, Laurens Campher and George Paul Canitz. The result is a range built around distinct grapes and bottles rather than one uniform red-wine style.

Ansela van de Caab 2021 is the central red: 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, matured for 16 months in French oak, half new. It brings dark fruit, spice, full body, firm tannin and a dry finish. Laurens Campher now leans strongly toward Chenin Blanc, while George Paul Canitz Pinot Noir offers a lighter-bodied route through the estate.

Known for

Historically named Stellenbosch wines, led by a Cabernet-based Bordeaux-style blend, alongside Chenin-led and Pinot Noir bottles.

Notable facts

The story

The walk to Muratie

Laurens Campher walked 64 kilometres to visit Ansela van de Caab, repeating the journey for 14 years. Campher had received Muratie in 1685, but Ansela could not join him there until she was emancipated. After she was freed, she returned to Muratie as his wife. The pair planted an oak beside the building that is now Muratie’s Tasting Room Cellar. When Laurens died, he left the estate to Ansela, and she preserved it. Her name now appears on Muratie’s Cabernet Sauvignon-led Bordeaux-style blend, Ansela van de Caab.

From the atlas

Muratie

At A Glance

Muratie sits in the Knorhoek Valley, north of Stellenbosch, and has been associated with wine-farm history since Governor Simon van der Stel granted it to German soldier Laurens Campher in 1685. The Melck family now stewards the estate. Its named wines connect Bordeaux varieties, Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc to people who shaped the farm’s past.

The Producer

Muratie’s most useful clue is on the label. Ansela van de Caab, Laurens Campher and George Paul Canitz are not invented cuvée names: each refers to a figure from the estate’s history. That turns the range into more than a sequence of grapes. Ansela van de Caab is the Bordeaux-style red blend, Laurens Campher has become strongly Chenin-led, and George Paul Canitz is Pinot Noir.

The estate remains under Melck-family stewardship, with Rijk Melck and his family identified in a 2021 account. The present range therefore carries old names into bottles with distinct grape and cellar roles, rather than presenting one house style across every wine.

Place

Muratie is in the Knorhoek Valley north of Stellenbosch, within the Western Cape. Stellenbosch is the geographic frame for its red-wine range: Ansela van de Caab uses Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, while George Paul Canitz takes Pinot Noir in another direction. The location joins those different bottles to one estate without flattening their grape character.

Soil And Site

The kept material does not establish a soil type, elevation or a reliable vineyard-area figure, so Muratie is best understood through its working ground rather than a numerical estate claim. Vines are hand-harvested, and the estate’s published farming information includes no herbicide use, pest-control measures and sustainability membership. Hand-picked fruit gives the cellar individual lots to handle with care, which matters most when a wine such as Ansela is assembled from four red varieties.

Story

The estate’s history begins with Laurens Campher’s 1685 grant, but its wine story extends through the people whose names remain on the labels. Ansela van de Caab preserved Muratie after Laurens’s death; her name now appears on the estate’s signature Bordeaux-style blend. George Paul Canitz and Abraham Izak Perold also belong to Muratie’s early Pinot Noir history, while Alberta Annemarie Canitz managed the farm after George Paul’s death before entrusting it to Ronnie Melck.

These names set useful expectations in the glass. Ansela is built around Cabernet Sauvignon and a firm red-wine frame; George Paul Canitz Pinot Noir is a separate, grape-led expression; Laurens Campher shows how a named wine can alter materially from one vintage to another. Its 2014 release was 46% Chenin Blanc, while the current documented composition is 85% Chenin Blanc.

Vineyards And Cellar

Muratie’s vineyard work is documented as hand harvesting, no herbicide use and active pest control, but there is no verified estate-wide cellar formula to apply to every bottle. The clearer view is bottle by bottle. Ansela van de Caab 2021 spent 16 months in French oak, half of it new, before blending and further maturation; oak therefore sits alongside Cabernet-based fruit and tannin rather than replacing them.

Laurens Campher’s changing Chenin proportion is another reminder that the blend is vintage-sensitive. George Paul Canitz Pinot Noir has its own vineyard, vinification and élevage details, so its perfume, body and texture should not be read through the oak-and-Cabernet structure of Ansela.

Wines

The range is organised by people and grapes. Ansela van de Caab 2021 is the Bordeaux-style red: 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. Cabernet Sauvignon supplies the largest share of fruit and tannin, while the three supporting grapes make the blend broader in shape; 16 months in French oak adds spice and a dry structural frame.

Laurens Campher is another blended wine, but its modern 85% Chenin Blanc composition puts white-fruit freshness, acidity and texture at the centre of the bottle rather than red-wine grip. Its earlier 2014 blend, led by 46% Chenin Blanc, shows why vintage details matter here. George Paul Canitz Pinot Noir provides the range’s Pinot expression, with a lighter grape framework than the Bordeaux blend and its own cellar treatment.

In The Glass

Ansela van de Caab moves from dark fruit and spice into a full-bodied palate shaped by Cabernet Sauvignon tannin and French oak. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot widen the fruit profile, while the finish carries the wine’s dry, structured feel. This is a red for food as much as for contemplation: the body and grip ask for roasted meat or a substantial mushroom dish.

Laurens Campher changes the register. With Chenin Blanc forming 85% of the documented current blend, acidity and fruit sit ahead of tannin, and the wine’s texture comes from its blend and oak treatment rather than Cabernet weight. George Paul Canitz Pinot Noir belongs in a third lane: Pinot Noir’s lighter body separates it from both the Cabernet-led red and the Chenin-led blend.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Ansela van de Caab 2021. It is Muratie’s Bordeaux-style red blend and carries the estate’s most direct connection between bottle and history: Ansela’s name, four classic red varieties and a documented 16 months in French oak, half new. Expect dark fruit, spice, firm tannin, full body and a dry finish. The blend explains Muratie’s red-wine direction without requiring a comparison between vintages, while the label introduces the person at the centre of the estate’s best-known story.

Anecdote

Laurens Campher walked 64 kilometres to visit Ansela van de Caab, and he did so for 14 years. Campher had received Muratie in 1685, while Ansela’s path to the farm depended on her emancipation. After she was freed, she returned to Muratie as Campher’s wife. The two planted an oak beside the building now used as Muratie’s Tasting Room Cellar. When Laurens died, he left Muratie to Ansela. She kept the estate, and centuries later her name was placed on Muratie’s Cabernet Sauvignon-led Bordeaux-style blend: Ansela van de Caab.

Final Word

Muratie is most rewarding when its labels are read as specific bottles rather than historical decoration. Pour Ansela for Cabernet-based body, dark fruit, oak spice and tannin; move to Laurens Campher for the Chenin-led side of the range; keep George Paul Canitz for a Pinot Noir shaped by a different grape and cellar path.

Sources

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