Keermont Fleurfontein 2014
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2017-
Robert
Parker
A tight unit of nine people run Keermont Vineyards. All work, from tending the vines to packaging the bottles for final release, is carried out by this small team to ensure that the same attention to detail is followed throughout the wines' production.
Mark Wraith lives on the farm with his wife, Monica and their four children. Mark plays an active role on the farm ranging from strategic long-term planning, right down to tending to the vines.
Alex Starey is in charge of the vineyards and of making the estate's wines. Employed at the start of the redevelopment of the farm in 2005, he enjoys the responsibility of making sure that the vineyards deliver the highest-quality fruit to create the best possible wines. Alex studied Viticulture and Oenology at Stellenbosch University and graduated in 2002. He has travelled and worked in wine regions including Maipo Valley, Chile; Penedes and Priorat, Spain; St-Emillion and Cote Rotie, France.
Linda Hartley is relatively new to the farm, her main area of expertise is bookkeeping and administration; but she has quickly become involved in the marketing and sales functions as well.
Juanita Schultz has joined us as Sales Administrator and is in charge of all our local and international sales and logistics.
Dominic Jonsson does a bit of everything from strategic planning and staff management right through to routine maintenance. He knows the farm better than anyone having moved to the farm when the Wraiths bought in 2003.
Over the past couple of years Mark, Alex, and Dom have devoted a great deal of time, not only to the development of the new vineyards, but also designing the labels and packaging of the Keermont Brand, designing and constructing the winery, and developing the individual wines.
Keermont has a small, but dedicated, team of staff members: Shane de Vries is in charge of most of the hands-on work in the winery from crushing of grapes right through to final quality control of packaged wine. William Charles is the main tractor driver, but also takes charge of other important projects. Willem Hendricks is in charge of the vineyard team. Willem and Julia Mondoyi takes care of the hands-on viticulture. Ernest Talapile keeps the winery and its surrounds spick and span. When push comes to shove, we all club in to get the big jobs done.
There are hundreds of white grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.