From the atlas
Simonsig Estate
At A Glance
Simonsig Estate is a Malan family farm in northern Stellenbosch, Western Cape, with 210 hectares spread between 50 and 280 metres above sea level. Atlantic influence, sandstone, granite and shale give the estate several growing conditions rather than one uniform vineyard setting, which helps explain a range running from bottle-fermented sparkling wine to Chenin Blanc, Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Kaapse Vonkel is the bottle at the centre of Simonsig’s story. Released in 1971, it was South Africa’s first traditional-method sparkling wine made by bottle fermentation: the second fermentation happens in the bottle, creating mousse and bringing lees into the wine’s texture.
The Producer
Simonsig is an independent, family-owned Stellenbosch farm closely associated with the Malan family. Its 210 hectares support more than one wine style, so the estate is best understood through named bottles rather than a single house flavour: Kaapse Vonkel for sparkling wine, Langbult Steen for single-vineyard Chenin Blanc, then Redhill Pinotage and Labyrinth Cabernet Sauvignon for reds.
The Malan connection reaches back to Jacques Malan, a Huguenot who arrived in the Cape in 1688; his descendants still run Simonsig. That continuity sits beside a practical wine decision made much later: the 1971 release of Kaapse Vonkel put bottle-fermented sparkling wine alongside the estate’s still-wine work.
Place
Simonsig lies in the northern part of Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape. The vineyards experience a maritime climate strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, so ripening occurs within a coastal pattern rather than in heat alone; that matters when reading acidity, fruit weight and harvest timing across wines as different as sparkling Chenin-based styles and structured reds.
The estate’s altitude range, from 50 to 280 metres, adds another variable. Higher and lower blocks do not ripen on the same timetable, allowing vineyard decisions to respond to parcel conditions before fruit reaches the bottle.
Soil And Site
Sandstone, granite and shale are the principal soils named across Simonsig’s vineyards. On a 210-hectare estate, those materials and the change in altitude create distinct root zones and water conditions, so a single-vineyard wine such as Langbult Steen can carry a more specific site name than a broad regional blend.
Langbult Steen is Chenin Blanc from one vineyard, not a generic varietal label. Its official old-vine status from the 2022 vintage turned the vineyard’s age into information carried directly on the bottle, replacing the earlier name Chenin avec Chêne.
Story
Simonsig’s range contains both a historical first and later, more site-focused labels. Kaapse Vonkel arrived in 1971 as the country’s first traditional-method, bottle-fermented sparkling wine; Langbult Steen later moved from an oak-led French name to the name of its own old-vineyard site. The two wines show different decisions: one put a cellar method at the fore, while the other put a Chenin Blanc vineyard on the label.
That breadth is grounded in a family farm rather than a collection of separately branded projects. Northern Stellenbosch, Atlantic influence and varied ground supply the fruit context; the range then separates sparkling mousse, Chenin texture and red-wine tannin into distinct bottle roles.
Vineyards And Cellar
All estate-grown grapes are harvested by hand. On vineyards spread from 50 to 280 metres, manual picking allows separate blocks to be brought in when they are ready, rather than treating the whole farm as one harvest. The same hands-on approach applies to pruning, which follows the Simonit & Sirch method.
Danna de Jongh has overseen Simonsig’s white and sparkling wines since 2022, placing wines such as Kaapse Vonkel and Langbult Steen under a defined part of the cellar team’s work. Since 2019, solar panels have supplied approximately 30% of the estate’s electricity needs; the change belongs to the farm’s daily operation rather than a separate wine line.
Wines
Kaapse Vonkel is the historical sparkling anchor. Traditional-method bottle fermentation sets it apart from wines simply charged with carbon dioxide: the wine develops its mousse in bottle, and lees contact becomes part of how its palate is read.
Langbult Steen is the range’s site-specific Chenin Blanc. Its old-vine designation from 2022 and its single-vineyard name direct attention to one parcel, while Chenin’s natural acidity and ability to carry both fruit and body make it a different proposition from the sparkling wine.
For reds, Redhill Pinotage 2019 carries external recognition after being selected for Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Wines of 2023 following blind tasting. Labyrinth Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 is a separate, vintage-specific Cabernet reference with published detail on acidity, tannin and flavour. Together, the reds call for attention to grip, weight and finish rather than the mousse of Kaapse Vonkel or the acidity-led frame of Chenin.
In The Glass
Taste Simonsig by moving from method to grape to red-wine structure. In Kaapse Vonkel, begin with mousse, then look for how acidity carries the palate and how lees shape texture after bottle fermentation. The useful question is not whether sparkling wine tastes like a still white, but how the bubbles and bottle ageing change its weight and finish.
With Langbult Steen, the focus shifts to Chenin Blanc: fruit, citrus-toned acidity, body and the way a single-vineyard bottle holds those elements together. Redhill Pinotage and Labyrinth Cabernet Sauvignon then move the tasting toward red fruit, savoury notes, tannin and fuller body. For the 2016 Labyrinth, acidity and tannin are documented parts of the wine’s structure, so the finish matters as much as the first aroma.
A Bottle To Understand It
Start with Kaapse Vonkel. It is Simonsig’s traditional-method sparkling wine, first released in 1971, and its bottle fermentation puts mousse, acidity and lees texture at the centre of the experience. It comes first because one bottle joins the estate’s Stellenbosch setting, its cellar method and a concrete South African wine milestone without asking the drinker to navigate the whole range at once.
Anecdote
In 1971, Frans Malan became a founding member of South Africa’s first Wine Route. In that same year, Simonsig released Kaapse Vonkel, described by the estate as South Africa’s first traditional-method bottle-fermented sparkling wine. The two acts happened on the same Stellenbosch family farm: one helped create a route linking wine estates, while the other put a new kind of South African sparkling wine into a bottle. Kaapse Vonkel was made by the traditional method, with its second fermentation taking place in the bottle rather than through simple carbonation.
Final Word
Simonsig is worth approaching bottle by bottle. Kaapse Vonkel explains the estate’s sparkling history and method; Langbult Steen brings a named old Chenin vineyard into view; Redhill Pinotage and Labyrinth Cabernet Sauvignon take the range into tannin, body and longer red-wine finishes.
Sources
- https://www.simonsig.co.za/
- https://www.simonsig.co.za/terroir/
- https://www.simonsig.co.za/sustainability/
- https://capreo.com/en/wine-estates/simonsig/
- https://www.simonsig.co.za/simonsigs-redhill-pinotage-named-among-wine-enthusiasts-top-100-wines-of-2023/
- https://www.simonsig.co.za/the-langbult-steen/
- https://www.kenswineguide.com/wine_review/Simonsig-2016-Labyrinth-Cabernet-Sauvignon