The grapes are picked early in the morning and whole-bunch pressed. The free run juice and press components are always kept separate. The juice is then settled and inoculated with yeast for fermentation. After fermentation, the wine is racked off the lees. The wine is then blended, and the second fermentation begins. Bottled wine is kept at 13C-15C for an even second fermentation. The wine is aged on its lees in the bottle for 2-3 years. We add dosage during the disgorging process, and the bottles are kept for about 3 months after disgorging before being released.

Higher rainfall helped the area recover from a difficult drought period. During the growing season, favourable climatic conditions result in early flowering and fruit set, resulting in an early harvest. The mild ripening conditions and healthy canopies produced superb fruit with excellent fruit flavours.

The grapes were picked early in the morning and wholebunch pressed. The free run and second press components were kept separately; the juice was then settled and inoculated allowing fermentation to commence. After fermentation, the wine was settled and racked of the lees. The base wine was  then filtered and the wine sweetened before bottling; preparing it for the second fermentation. During bottling, the yeast was added to the sweetened base wine and stirred. A long, slow secondary fermentation commenced and a further two years of bottle maturation allowed on the lees. During the disgorging process the dosage (a mixture of base wine and sugar) was added, and the wine was then matured for about 3 months before being released into the market.

The Pinot noir vineyards at Altima (Elandskloof) are the only Pinot noir vineyards in South Africa at a high altitude using the posted vine trellising (stok-bypaaltjie) method. The Pinot noir vineyards at L’Ormarins are situated on moderate to steep slopes with an altitude ranging between 178-188m above sea level. The soils are mainly decomposed granite with alluvial sandy soils. The Chardonnay vineyards at Rooderust consist of decomposed shale with a larger percentage of clay. This soil type belongs to the Oakleaf group of soils, and are calcareous with excellent draining and water-retention properties.

The grapes are picked early in the morning and whole-bunch pressed. The free run and second press components are kept separate; the juice is then settled and inoculated and fermentation commences. After fermentation, the wine is settled and racked of the lees. The base wine is filtered and the wine is sweetened before bottling; preparing it for the second fermentation. During bottling, the yeast is added to the sweetened base wine and stirred. A long, slow secondary fermentation commences with a further two- four years of bottle maturation on the lees. During the disgorging process we add dosage (a mixture of base wine and sugar), and after disgorgement, the wine is matured for about 3 months before being released into the market.

The Pinot noir vineyards at Altima (Elandskloof) are the only Pinot noir vineyards in South Africa at a very high altitude using the posted vine method (stok-by-paaltjie). The Pinot noir vineyards at L’Ormarins are situated on moderate to steep slopes with an altitude ranging between 178-188m above sea level. The soils are mainly decomposed granite with alluvial sandy soils. The Chardonnay vineyards at Rooderust consist of decomposed shale with a larger percentage of clay. This soil type belongs to the Oakleaf group of soils, and are calcareous with excellent draining and water-retention properties.

The Pinot Noir grapes are mainly from L’Ormarins (Franschhoek) and a smaller portion is sourced from Altima (Elandskloof), Darling and Robertson. The Chardonnay grapes are sourced mainly from our Rooderust farm (Darling area) and a smaller portion from L’Ormarins (Franschhoek) and Robertson.

The Pinot noir vineyards at Altima (Elandskloof) are the only Pinot noir vineyards in South Africa at a very high altitude using the posted vine method (stok-by-paaltjie). The Pinot noir vineyards at L’Ormarins are situated on moderate to steep slopes with an altitude ranging between 178-188m above sea level. The soils are mainly decomposed granite with alluvial sandy soils. The Chardonnay vineyards at Rooderust consist of decomposed shale with a larger percentage of clay in the composition. This soil type belongs to the Oakleaf group of soils, and are calcareous with excellent draining and water-retention properties.