Exclusive wine for royalty

Hempies du Toit

Annandale Wines, one of the oldest wine estates in South Africa, supplied some of the wines for the Monaco royal wedding.

Owner and former Springbok Hempies du Toit says his Stellenbosch estate has won acclaim all over the world with numerous awards to its credit, including the Grand Prix d’Honneur award in 1993 at a wine expo in France.

Du Toit met Charlene Wittstock through mutual friends during her days as a competitive swimmer. But he was still surprised when her father approached him to bottle some wine for the wedding.

He decided that he had to “do justice to the occasion” and selected Annandale’s 2005 Merlot. The wine had not been bottled and had matured in vats of French oak for six years. Apart from having been an excellent vintage, he chose the 2005 wine because it was the year the couple met.

“Merlot is a very special wine to me, that’s why I allowed that particular vintage to mature for so long. It’s a soft, full-bodied wine with rich flavours. The lengthy maturing process helped to create a perfect harmony between the fruity and wooden notes.”

A total of 150 1.5 litre bottles of the merlot, officially named Charbert, labelled with Albert and Charlene’s initials, was served at the wedding reception. The merlot and another batch of wines from the Haskell vineyard were selected.

Annandale makes only red wines, with the bulk of its 72ha estate planted to cabernet sauvignon. The rest is cabernet Franc, merlot and shiraz.

Du Toit is a fifth-generation winemaker who was introduced to the industry by his father Piet du Toit at the Alto vineyard. After his father retired in 1983, the former Springbok took over the estate, famed for its cabernet sauvignon, and a red blend simply called Alto Rouge. Not content with running Alto, du Toit struck out on his own and in 1996 bought Annandale.

Annandale has never released a wine younger than six years.

“I’m not into mass production but try to cater for an exclusive client base. It’s all about longevity, a lesson passed down from my father. I still have bottles from 1965 that my father made.

“I think it’s a privilege to make wine. I create wine not just to sell but for the love and enjoyment of it. Just like my father passed that love down to me, I hope to pass that same love down to my sons.” - Cape Argus