Horse Mountain Wines embody a new spirit of adventure in winemaking in the Cape with a fresh, entrepreneurial approach, unfettered by conventional tradition but rooted in the tried and tested philosophy that fine wine is made in the vineyard.
These wines come from a former dairy farm on the slopes of the Paardeberg mountain between Paarl and Wellington. The 217ha property was acquired in 1997 after its potential as a suitable terroir for quality wine production had been identified.
Since then, energetic owner Craig Lardner, a former property developer with a new-found passion for winemaking, and innovative consultant viticulturist Paul Wallace, have systematically selected nearly 50ha of the 150ha of viticulturally viable ground for painstaking preparation and careful cultivation to five grape varieties.
The grapes grown include Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz that flourish on the high-lying, high-potential Vilefontes soils. While the Merlot and Pinotage have settled in the lower-lying, rich red Swartland/Glenrosa soils and Cabernet Franc does well in the similarly low-altitude Estcourt soils.
Such significant variations in soil comnbined with an exceptional climate compared with conditions in the surrounding Paarl wine growing district, earned this new viticultural pocket its own 'ward' status in 2003. Horse Mountain wines thus proudly bear the designation Wine of Origin Voor-Paardeberg on their labels.
The fruit came from single block of four-year-old vines planted in rich red, well-drained Vilefontes soil types on south east slopes of Far Horizons Wine Estate in Voor Paardeberg, Paarl about 50km north of Cape Town.
The 12 hectares are trellised on the progressive Australian VSP trellising system resulting in the intense fruit being grown on the vine. Made for Horse Mountain Wines by winemaker Charles Stassen, the wine underwent ageing in new French and American (20%) oak barrels for 9 months.
Full of fruit, this is a big styled shiraz reflecting the intense fruit from the Voor Paardeberg ward within Paarl. A deep, complex, intriguing wine already approachable but with French and 20% American oak ageing will also show wonderfully in years to come.
