Matjieskuil Farm has a long history spanning over 300 years, with vines and viticulture a constant theme. The current owners purchased in 2004 and have meticulously restored, under the guidance of “Heritage Western Cape” most of the farm’s historic buildings, including the main Cape Dutch house.
The land was deeded in 1692 by Simon van der Stel, one of the first governors at the Cape, calling it Stellenbosch after himself. The name Matjeskuil first appeared in 1826 and the present owners, named the farm Hawksmoor House on Matjieskuil Farm.
The name Hawksmoor was adopted by the current owners who take particular interest in the architectural work of Sir Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736), a British Architect who designed many famous London landmarks. Hawksmoor was part of Sir Christopher Wren’s team when designing London’s distinctive Saint Paul’s Cathedral.
Matjieskuil is a full working farm, not only producing grapes for sale and production of wine, but also grows oatshay to sell as cattle and horse feed and has c 60 head of beef cattle. The farm is some 220 hectares in total, c 23,5 hectares being under vine.
In the wine industry it is normal for Estates to buy in grapes from other farms to assist with our wine range. Although we do not make the wine ourselves on site, we have access to the skills of excellent wine makers and generally only use our own grapes.
Despite being located in the “postal” locality of Stellenbosch, we fall into the wine region of “Paarl” because our climate is nearer that of Paarl and our grapes tend more to be Rhone varieties, as opposed to Bordeaux. The one exception is our Cabernet Sauvignon, where we sourced grapes from a neighbour, since we do not have this variety and it is also very popular, along with our main reds mainly Shiraz, Pinotage and Cabernet Franc.
At Hawksmoor we are firm believers that the “best wine” is the wine you like!
CHENIN BLANC
Our Chenin Blanc made from 100% chenin grapes. There are two blocks of chenin on the farm, both almost 40 years old. These, therefore, are particularly mature vines and are in high demand because of their richness of flavour, albeit the age of the vines means that we yield a lower-than-average ton per hectare. One block is “trellis” style, the second block comprises “bush vines” – giving a particularly low yield, but conversely a high intensity of flavour. For our “Serliana” Chenin we generally make a half/half blend of the trellis and bush vines.
Our light and easy drinking un-oaked Serliana Chenin Blanc also has a wooded and more complex cousin, a Chenin Blanc wooded in French Oak for 19 months. The Lightly Oaked version again, blended a “half/half” combination of both the bush and trellis vines.
CABERNET FRANC
Our “Magdelene” Rosé is made from 100% Cabernet Franc grapes.
We have two blocks of Cabernet Franc, both are near the entrance of the farm, one of 5 ha, the traditional “jacquez” (also known as Spanish Black) variety and the second c 3 ha of Rootstock 99, younger vines, albeit now 25 years old, they are bush vines, on gravelly ground, with a gentle slope for good drainage, and cooler soil. These particular vines are particularly beneficial for the style of Rosé we strive to achieve.
The salmon pink colour of the Rosé was achieved by leaving the skin of this red grape for two hours during the initial crushing and standing process. This is a rare opportunity to find rose made from this classic Bordeaux variety. The wine achieves a richer and creamier complexity once it has had the chance to open up in the glass.
We also offer a Cabernet Franc Red Wine option made from 100% Cabernet Franc grapes. Our Cabernet Franc Red is a hidden gem in our portfolio, highly rated, popular and usually sold out quickly.
Cabernet Franc is one of the major red grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style. In France if vinified as a single variety, i.e. the wine known as “Chinon”. It is rare in South Africa to find it as a single variety, but we believe it is much under rated. Although our “Paarl” region lends itself more to the Rhone varieties, favouring the warmer climate than that found in Bordeaux, our 3-hectare block does offer a terroir more akin to Bordeaux.
SHIRAZ
The star of our show – our Shiraz is gently oaked in French oak barrels for about 27 months.
We make a single variety wine from each of our red grape cultivars and choose a “classic” to be named simply by its grape, under the Hawksmoor label. Our Shiraz vines are now 24 years old. We have some 5,85 hectares and use this variety both as a single cultivar wine and as a blending wine. Generally, with oaking.
MOURVEDRE
Mourvèdre is the French name for this varietal, and it is normally used as a blending wine in a typical Rhone blend. We love it on its own too! In South Africa it is often referred to by its Spanish name, i.e. Mataro.
We have a red option made from 100% Mourvèdre grapes. We make it as a single varietal, and also use it in our two signature “Rhone” style blends.
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Our Cabernet Sauvignon wines are made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. We aptly named our Cabernet Sauvignon “Buurman” (Afrikaans for neighbour) as it is from a good neighbour that we sourced the grapes.
PINOTAGE
Our Pinotage wine is made from 100% Pinotage grapes. Our “terroir” suits this variety well. Known around the world as the archetypal South African varietal, and therefore particularly popular with overseas visitors. Oaked or unoaked, the wine is well rounded and smooth with a full fruity flavour.
HAWKSMOOR BLENDS
The Hawksmoor Wines label also offers a few blended wine options: Shiraz 50% / Mourvèdre for a lighter red wine option or a 50% or Shiraz 70% / Mourvèdre 30% for a more robust red wine.