The Rudd family, owners of Brookdale saw opportunity and potential in what was, at the time, an overgrown and under-used area of land in the Paarl Winelands. Tim Rudd acquired the property with a clear vision in mind to create a world-class country estate that encourages the freedom to be curious, to try new things, to test the limits and to pioneer new paths.

Winemaker Kiara Scott along with wine rock stars Duncan Savage and Jaco Engelbrecht set out to create a true field blend. Sixteen white varietals were planted as bush vines on decomposed shale and granite, harvested with many different pickings during harvest. The grapes were picked on ‘gut feel’ due to the variability of the grapes. The fruit was pre-cooled and whole-bunch pressed before spontaneous fermentation and partial malolactic fermentation. The wine was barrel-fermented, aged in old 500L French oak barrels for 1 year prior to bottling and spent 4 months in bottle before release.Just amazing!!

The magnificent wine farm, Mont Rochelle Mountain Vineyards, is located on the slopes of the beautiful Franschhoek Mountains, close to the centre of Franschhoek. The estate was part of a farm first owned by Jacques de Villiers, one of the original Huguenots that came to the valley in 1688 after fleeing religious persecution from France! In 2014 Sir Richard Branson of The Virgin Group purchased the estate and it continues to run as a successful wine farm along with a luxurious 5 star hotel.

They produce a range of 8 wines which include the flagship Miko, the Mont Rochelle Estate range and their highly popular “lifestyle” range named Little Rock (a white and a red).

We have found these wines to be extremely popular in our store so we are proud to offer them in this edition of Wine Gems.