Hazendal is proud to launch the Artist Series Limited Edition label. Under the curatorial vision of Khanyisile Mbongwa, the estate commissioned renowned South African artist Athi-Patra Ruga to create the original artwork for the label of the Hazendal Prestige Brut Cap Classique 2017.
Athi-Patra Ruga describes the label: "Resting within the wine’s label, the coil of the embryonic human embodies the threshold one crosses as they unfurl this vintage Cap Classique. In a bubbly barrel, the avatar awaits the opulent emancipation of a champagne flute – the fur tassels moving in an anticipatory traditional Zulu and Nguni dance that lends its name to this work – Indlamu."
"I am fascinated by how Ruga uses myth-making as a modern archaeological tool to examine the repetition of historical violence while crafting narratives of possibility," comments curator Khanyisile Mbongwa. "Indlamu emerges like a mythical creature, its body serving as a vessel of cross-generational wisdom, which we witness unfurling through gestures, provocations, and invitations."
Ruga is a leading South African artist whose work explores myth-making as a response to the post-Apartheid era. Through alternative identities and utopian narratives, he critiques political and social systems, offering a lens to examine colonial trauma from a detached perspective. His mythical metaverse fosters self-reflection, challenging historical and contemporary power structures while envisioning a humanist future.
Ruga’s work is held in major international collections, including the Zeitz MOCAA, Smithsonian Museum of African Art, and Foundation Louis Vuitton.
In a limited edition of only 1 500 bottles worldwide, the label was created for the Prestige Brut Cap Classique of the 2017 harvest. The wine is an elegant blend of 62% Chardonnay and 38% Pinot Noir made from the estate’s grapes, held for seven years on the lees and degorged with zero dosage in 2024.
Set within a hand-crafted African pine chest and accompanied by a curatorial booklet, the collectible wine is now available for orders.
The Artist Series Limited Edition bottle is a nuanced harmonisation between important art and exceptional wine. A leading voice in South African wine writing, Malu Lambert, notes that "the vibrant packaging hints to the bottle’s energetic contents" and gave the Cap Classique a splendid 94/100 score, with international critics echoing the review.
For enquiries in South Africa, please contact Prosper Gundura at prosper.gundura@hazendal.co.za or phone 021 903 5034.
Hazendal Festival
With a commitment to engage and form part of contemporary Africa’s unique and complex multi-cultural context, in 2024, the Estate founded the annual Hazendal Festival. Guided by the vision and provocation of an invited curator, the festival brings together artists, scientists and cultural practitioners to think and create alongside each other.
The Artist Series Limited Edition label emerges from the intellectual, artistic, and spiritual dynamics of the festival with the curator commissioning a highly relevant artist to reflect on the creative harvest of the given year’s festival through a single work of art.
The inaugural edition was dedicated to the incredible life-fostering qualities of soil. With the hope to grow a meaningful tradition of an annual festival, the Estate sought to attend to the cross-cultural meanings of the land on which it operates.
The profits from the Artist Series Limited Edition will be in their entirety dedicated to supporting the arts, culture, and science industries of South Africa. The Estate is donating 5 percent of all sales to the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, and the remaining profits are committed to the organisation of the next edition of the Hazendal Festival, which will take place in early December 2025.