Franschhoek in high summer can be a warm place to grow Sauvignon Blanc, but up on the mountain above Franschhoek it feels different. And this where this wine starts. The Chamonix vineyards sit around 450 metres up, on slopes that look south to south-east, away from the late morning heat. Soils here cry ancient mountain earth, weathered granite and shattered shale, with patches of stony ground and clay that hold water well after dry weeks. Roots go deep, and ripening slows down allowing fruit to keep its nerve.
The 2026 vintage on Chamonix was early by ten days or more. “Spring and summer ran hot and dry, which pushed budding and ripening forward – as was the case in most of the Cape wine regions,” says Chamonix winemaker Neil Bruwer. “What made the season such a good one for our wine, happened months before spring and summer. Winter was properly cold, cold enough to send the vines into full dormancy. This allowed the vines to shut down completely, then waking up evenly in spring with real vigour.”
Sauvignon Blanc grapes from the Chamonix vines came off on 26 January. Yields sat around nine to eleven tons per hectare, and the bunches arrived in fine shape. Sugars were comfortably past 22 degrees Balling. Acid held firm, pH stayed low. “Our young Sauvignon Blanc blocks – four years old – bore fruit showing bright natural acid. There was none of that sudden fall-over in freshness that hot years can bring.”
Picking was by hand, judged on taste rather than analysis alone. After sorting the fruit was pressed as whole bunches to ensure optimal purity, then fermented in stainless steel. The young wine rested on lees for four months. “Just enough to round the edges and give the palate some grip, while leaving the varietal character clear and unfettered,” says Bruwer. “And we are releasing our Sauvignon Blanc just in time for summer, where it will find its place in a market in which this variety wine remains the most popular among consumers.”
South Africa produces an array of Sauvignon Blanc styles, from bracing pyrazine-driven wines from cool climates, to the tropical delights from warmer regions.
“Franschhoek and Chamonix sit somewhere between,” says Bruwer. “The elevation of over 400m allows iridescent sunlight-radiation the grapes need to ripen, but allows for enough freshness in the air and cool spells to avoid a cloying, overripe character. We find fruit in the wines: melon, grenadilla and gooseberry, but this tasty melange is complemented by a maritime and mineral core, allowing fresh presence on the palate with an alluring finish. And this season brings all this Chamonix typicity to the fore in an accurate expression of place and site.”