South Africa · Stellenbosch

Neethlingshof Estate

A Stellenbosch estate between the Bottelary Hills and Papegaaiberg Mountain, with False Bay winds helping white grapes retain acidity. Its defining documented wine is The Six Flowers, a six-grape blend named for the flowers on the 1814 manor-house gable.

The producer

Neethlingshof Estate covers 278 hectares in Stellenbosch, with about 100 hectares of vines spread across eight growing areas from 65 to 282 metres above sea level. Afternoon winds from False Bay temper heat, so grapes can ripen while holding freshness. Cover crops, canopy management, drip irrigation and recycled cellar water support site-matched planting; the estate’s vegan-certified wines are made on the property.

The Six Flowers is the reserve-level white in the Short Story Collection. The 2014 combines Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay for body and yellow-fruit weight, Sauvignon Blanc for acidity, and Viognier, Gewürztraminer and Riesling for floral lift and spice. Expect ripe apple, apricot and lightly smoky fruit over a dense texture, with balanced acidity and a dry finish.

Known for

The Six Flowers: a six-grape Stellenbosch white shaped by maritime cooling and named for six flowers on the estate’s manor house.

Notable facts

The story

Six flowers on the gable

In 1814, the widowed Maria Marais personally supervised the completion of the manor house at Neethlingshof. She added the date to the building herself and placed six flower images on its gable with her own hand. The estate later used those flowers as the visual source for The Six Flowers, a white blend of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Gewürztraminer and Riesling. The house still carries the floral images above its façade, while the wine carries the six varieties in the bottle. Maria and her husband Charles had bought the farm, then called De Wolwedans, in 1788; their family completed a wine cellar in 1802.

From the atlas

Neethlingshof Estate

At A Glance

Neethlingshof is a Stellenbosch estate in South Africa’s Western Cape, set between the Bottelary Hills and Papegaaiberg Mountain with False Bay in view. Its 278 hectares include about 100 hectares of vines, divided across eight growing areas from 65 to 282 metres above sea level. That spread of elevation, slope and aspect lets the estate place different grapes where they ripen at different speeds.

The bottle to know is The Six Flowers, a six-grape white from the reserve-level Short Story Collection. Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay provide its body, Sauvignon Blanc brings acidity, and Viognier, Gewürztraminer and Riesling add floral and spice notes.

The Producer

The farm began in 1692 as De Wolwedans, established by German settler Willem Barend Lubbe on land granted by Simon van der Stel. It later became Neethling’s Hof when Johannes Henoch Neethling took sole ownership. Today, Neethlingshof remains an estate producer: its vegan-certified wines are made on the property, so vineyard decisions and cellar work stay closely connected.

Iwayini, the South African subsidiary of Grands Chais de France, bought Neethlingshof in 2022. Mika Engelbrecht became head winemaker in 2023 after studying under De Wet Viljoen, joining an estate whose white wines draw on both maritime cooling and a wide choice of vineyard sites.

Place

Stellenbosch sits in the Coastal Region, where sea air can reach inland vineyards. At Neethlingshof, afternoon winds from False Bay moderate daytime heat, slowing ripening in the grapes. The result is useful for white varieties: fruit can build flavour while retaining the acidity that keeps a broad blend such as The Six Flowers dry and lively rather than heavy.

The estate’s position between the Bottelary Hills and Papegaaiberg Mountain also makes its setting more varied than a single flat vineyard block. Bottles can therefore be built from grapes selected for particular corners of the farm instead of forcing every variety into the same conditions.

Soil And Site

Neethlingshof works with eight documented terroirs, spread from 65 to 282 metres above sea level and shaped by differing slopes and aspects. The estate matches cultivars to those sites, using the warmer or cooler conditions available across the property to guide ripeness. In a multi-variety white, that matters because Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and aromatic grapes do not all reach their best flavour at the same pace.

Afternoon winds are part of the practical vineyard equation. By easing heat late in the day, they help grapes hold acidity, which supports the citrus edge and long finish described in The Six Flowers.

Story

Charles and Maria Magdalena Marais bought De Wolwedans in 1788. They expanded the vineyards, built cellars and planted tobacco; in 1802, the family completed a wine cellar and began wine production. Those investments turned the property from a farm with vines into an estate able to make and mature its own wine.

The present range still carries that estate logic. The Estate range, Short Story Collection and 1802 Collection give Neethlingshof several levels of wine, while The Six Flowers joins historical material from the manor house to a blended white made from six separate varieties.

Vineyards And Cellar

Cover crops and canopy management are used in the vineyards to reduce chemical inputs, while drip irrigation directs water to the vines. The estate also recycles cellar water for vineyard irrigation and holds WWF Conservation Champion status. These choices keep soil cover and water management part of the growing season rather than separate from it.

For the documented 2016 Six Flowers, each component wine aged separately for eight months in new 300-litre French oak barrels before blending. Separate ageing allowed the cellar to keep the grapes distinct until assembly: Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay could retain their weight, while Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Viognier and Gewürztraminer could contribute fruit, floral notes and spice before the final blend was set.

Wines

Neethlingshof’s range is organised as the Estate range, the Short Story Collection and the 1802 Collection. The Short Story wines connect estate history and conservation themes, and The Six Flowers sits at its reserve level. This is not a single-grape statement: it is a layered white blend designed from six varieties with different roles.

In the documented 2014 release, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay each made up 31% of the blend, followed by 22% Sauvignon Blanc, 5.5% Viognier, 5.5% Gewürztraminer and 5% Riesling. The large Chenin and Chardonnay share gives the wine body and ripe yellow-fruit weight; the smaller aromatic components bring floral perfume, citrus and spice. The 2016 release shows the same six-variety approach, with oak-aged components adding a fuller texture and spice.

In The Glass

The 2014 Six Flowers has been described with lightly smoky fruit, yellow fruit, ripe apple and apricot. Its palate is dense rather than thin, but balanced acidity keeps the fruit moving across the mouth. Integrated oak adds a gentle smoky note and texture instead of a separate woody layer, leaving a dry finish with fruit still present.

The 2016 bottling was described with citrus and violet aromas, followed by aniseed and clove on a youthful, full-flavoured palate. Those notes fit the blend’s construction: Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling support citrus, while Viognier and Gewürztraminer bring floral and spice character. The long aftertaste comes with weight and complexity rather than sweetness.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Neethlingshof The Six Flowers 2014, a 13.5% Stellenbosch white listed in Sweden and made from 31% Chenin Blanc, 31% Chardonnay, 22% Sauvignon Blanc, 5.5% Viognier, 5.5% Gewürztraminer and 5% Riesling. It puts the estate’s site selection, sea-cooled ripening and history-linked label into one glass. Expect ripe apple, apricot and yellow fruit, a lightly smoky oak note, dense texture, balanced acidity and a dry finish.

Anecdote

In 1814, the widowed Maria Marais personally supervised completion of the manor house at Neethlingshof. She added the date herself and placed six flower images on its gable with her own hand. More than two centuries later, those flowers supplied the name for The Six Flowers, the estate’s white blend of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Gewürztraminer and Riesling. The building still carries the six floral images; the bottle carries six grape varieties.

Final Word

Neethlingshof is most compelling when approached through its six-grape white: a Stellenbosch blend with yellow fruit, citrus, floral spice, oak-shaped texture and acidity preserved by a wind-influenced site. The wine carries a real estate detail on its label, but its character begins in eight distinct vineyard areas above False Bay.

Sources

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