As Franschhoek was the historical home of the French Huguenots (and thus named the ‘French Corner’) and is the current home to our winery, our French Grandmother is a true family matriarch among her Old Road Wine Co. family.
As the matriarch, this bottling deserves respect, especially considering the fact that the fruit used in making this wine is harvested from vines first planted in 1937, making our Grand-Mère the ripe old age of 84! Indeed, it is thanks to organizations such as the Old Vine Project that heritage vines such as our Sémillon vineyard are finally being appreciated, offering wine lovers incredible concentration of fruit.
The grapes were all selected from one exceptional vineyard, making this Sémillon a Single Vineyard Wine. Single Vineyard' is a term used in the wine industry referencing that the wine in the bottle comes from a single vineyard site. Which means this particular vineyard, and the grapes grown there, have been isolated from all other vineyards due to its superiority. The Single Vineyard for our Grand-Mère is a high-density planting of around 7000 vines per hectare - more than double the number of vines per hectare compared to the average vineyard in South Africa. It is also a south-east facing vineyard, unirrigated and located at an altitude of 350m above sea level. The result is that the old vines have been able to find a perfect balance between growth and yields over the decades.
The resulting wine shows the grace and tenacity exemplified by a beloved grandmother. In addition, due to the age of the vines, the yields per vine are very low, making for an excellent concentration of fruit. This is one very special wine that makes for a beautiful gift or is ideal for cellaring.
If you’re eager to try our Grand-Mère sooner rather than later, we recommend enjoying a wine and food pairing at our Fat Man Restaurant. Located at our Old Road Wine Co. Tasting Room in Franschhoek, our restaurant is open for dinner between 18h00 - 21h00 Tuesday - Sunday and offers all Old Road Wine Co. wines by the glass.
If you enjoy duck, we recommend trying our Fennel Infused Duck - made with roasted stone fruit, quail egg, camembert blue and stone fruit vinaigrette, it is a dreamboat alongside our Single Vineyard Grand-Mère. Our Sémillon is elegant and refined, with aromas that ideally complement the perfumed flavours of our duck, including notes of pear, kumquat, citrus peel and sweet exotic spice followed by a textured mouthfeel.
There’s no denying it: our Grand-Mère is a wine for the ages!
