There’s a certain kind of quiet on the Bottelary Hills in early morning. The mist clings low over the rows, and the first light catches the dew on the vines. Between the trellises, cover crops push through in a patchwork of green, a few cattle graze lazily between the vines, part of the rhythm of the farm as much as the turning seasons. From a distance, the land looks timeless, as if nothing much has changed here in a hundred years. But look closer, and you’ll see a story unfolding in the soil.
For Hartenberg, that story is written in Shiraz.
Shiraz is not just a wine we produce, it is our fingerprint, our signature, the variety that has shaped who we are as farmers, winemakers, and custodians of this land. Every vine writes a chapter. Every barrel holds a piece of history. And every glass you raise is connected to a decision, a season, and a story worth telling.
Where it began – Eleanor’s vision
It started with a woman and a gamble. In 1964, then-owner Eleanor Finlayson returned from the Rhône Valley with an idea few in South Africa would have dared. She had tasted Shiraz in its homeland - peppery, powerful, structured – and she believed the Bottelary slopes could match it.
At the time, Shiraz was almost unheard of here. Only one other planting had been recorded in the country. But Eleanor planted it anyway. Four years later, our first Estate Shiraz was bottled. It’s been bottled every year since, making it the country’s longest continuously bottled Shiraz.
Today, its character comes from diversity: some vineyard blocks giving violet perfume, others lending a sinewy grip, still others contributing dark fruit and brooding depth. Every bunch is picked by hand, inspected in the vineyard, and again in the cellar, ensuring every cluster is worthy of the name.
It is a wine that has watched decades pass, yet each vintage still feels like the first conversation you have with an old friend.
Gravel Hill – The stones that shape a wine
Further down our slopes, there’s a small, unassuming vineyard that has quietly changed the course of South African wine. At first glance, it looks almost inhospitable - just a thin skin of rust-coloured koffie-klip over deep, fine clay. But this unlikely pairing is the secret.
In summer, the clay beneath cracks, forming a network of tiny reservoirs that hold water; in winter, it swells, naturally pruning the roots and reducing vigour. The vines respond with small, intense berries, dense with flavour and framed by fine, stone-derived tannins.
Gravel Hill Syrah was South Africa’s first single-vineyard wine. For ten vintages, it sold exclusively through the Cape Winemakers Guild, its reputation growing in whispers among those lucky enough to taste it.
When it returned home in 2005, it became our flagship, the purest statement of what Syrah can be in Stellenbosch. On the nose, violets and white pepper; on the palate, precision and length; in the cellar, a wine that refuses to be hurried, evolving gracefully and assuredly.
This year marks its 20th anniversary under the Hartenberg label - twenty years of setting the benchmark.
The stork’s flight
Cross the stream from Gravel Hill and the landscape changes. The stones disappear, replaced by a sweep of deep, red clay soil. The vines here ripen almost a month later than their neighbours – patient, powerful, and full of promise.
At first, few believed Shiraz would flourish on this site. Deep and fertile, the soils were considered too vigorous for a variety known to prefer leaner ground. Yet careful vineyard work – planting deep-rooted cover crops, green harvesting, and encouraging balance – revealed a Shiraz of striking concentration, plush black fruit, and commanding depth.
The wine was first bottled in 2003 and named The Stork in honour of Ken Mackenzie – wartime Spitfire pilot, benefactor, and owner of Hartenberg – whose call sign in the air was “Stork.” Tall and indomitable, Ken had bought the farm for one reason: he believed Hartenberg made the best Shiraz in the country.
Since then, The Stork has become one of South Africa’s most celebrated Shiraz wines. In 2008, it was awarded Global First Place at Syrah du Monde, and across the years has collected five Gold medals at this prestigious competition. Accolades aside, the wine has secured its place as a bold counterpoint to our Gravel Hill Syrah – showing the range of expression Shiraz can achieve on the same estate, just a few hundred metres apart.
Step inside the Shiraz Vault
From Eleanor’s pioneering vines to the elegance of Gravel Hill, and the power of The Stork, every Hartenberg Shiraz has a story. Now, you can explore these stories – and taste them – through our Shiraz Vault.
The Vault is a dedicated online space where you can:
- Shop select older vintages and magnums, some rarely available outside our Underground Cellar.
- Request special-release bottles that have been maturing quietly in our cellar for years.
- Learn the history and terroir behind each wine, giving context to every bottle.
This Shiraz Day, the Shiraz Vault is your opportunity to access Hartenberg’s most celebrated Shiraz wines, directly from the estate.
For the full experience, we also welcome you to visit in person – walk the vineyards, explore the cellar, and taste the wines where they were made.