La Vierge is the first South African winery to appear in our range in over a decade. A real gem, quirky and with bags of character we found the wines as irresistible as the winery itself: a chic little building whose terraced restaurant overlooks the the lush and verdant Hemel-en-Aarde valley below.
The winery was established in the early 2000’s with the purchase of the evocatively named Babylon Farm on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. This is on the Walker Bay near the beautiful seaside town of Hermanus, one of the best places in the world to spot the massive Southern Right whales.
The Walker Bay is around 100 miles south east of Cape Town on the Western Cape. A relatively cool climate region, it shows great promise for Pinot Noir and is arguably already producing the best Pinot Noir in South Africa. This is the varietal that La Vierge consider their flagship in the form of La Vierge Noir. However, a number of other varietals also do very well in this region, combining vibrant acidity with perfect ripeness. The climate is maritime; parallel mountain ranges channel southerly sea breezes through the region in the summer. The winds also bring regular sea mists and overcast conditions to the valley and with it even temperatures, averaging 19°c annually with 750mm of rain. Most of the rain falls in winter, loading up the argillaceous shale soils (of the Bokkefeld series) with enough water to allow dry farming throughout the year, as is practised at La Vierge.The vineyards are still very much in their infancy, mostly around five years old with vines planted close together at a density of 5,400 vines per hectare, yields ranging from 16-30 hl/ha. Winemaker Marc van Helderen has made a great start here and it is clear that as the vines age, the wines are only going to get better.The winery’s branding adds a little spice and humour to an already interesting mix with designs based on sketches and drawings by the Seychelles-based British artist Michael Adams MBE. These reflect the rich symbolism of the Hemel-en-Aarde area, the breathtakingly beautiful valley whose name does not mean Heaven on Earth for nothing.