South Africa ( Bottelary Road, Stellenbosch, 7600 )
Mooiplaas Wine Estate and Private Nature Reserve boast a pristine natural beauty. Mooiplaas means ‘beautiful farm’ and is located on the northern slopes ancient mineral rich soils in the Bottelary Hills of Stellenbosch, overlooking Cape Town. The nature reserve is situated in the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom, recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and the smallest yet richest plant kingdom in the world. The Cape has only 5% of the landmass of Africa but over 20% of Africas floral varieties. This makes it very special. In the 90s the expanding wine industry recognised this and many vineyards dedicate land to maintain the numbers of plants and animals in the area as there is no human activity on these dedicated lands. In the case of Mooiplaas 70 ha are dedicated to the nature reserve.
The history of the farm dates back to 1806, with the manor house on the estate – a national monument – an impressive example of Cape Dutch architecture.The court’s messenger, Christoffel HaazeWinkel purchased the Hazendal farm which Mooiplaas was originally part of. As a stand-alone farm, Mooiplaas was owned by Jan Christoffel Bosman and in 1963 Nicolaas Roos took over. He was joined by his two sons at a later stage, Tielman viticulturist (1980) and Louis winemaker (1983). The first wine bottled under the Mooiplaas label was the Cabernet Sauvignon 1995. They celebrated 50 years on the farm in 2013. Tielman and Louis produce a range of environmentally friendly wines rooted in tradition and artisan techniques to reflect the unique terroir. Mooiplaas covers an area of 243 hectares, of which approximately 100 hectares are planted with vineyards and 70 hectares are dedicated to the Mooiplaas Private Nature Reserve.
When it comes to winemaking, cellar master, Louis Roos uses a range of classic and traditional winemaking processes to produce wines, such as wild yeast, natural fermentation, light filtration and maturation in small oak barrels. He loves ‘classic’ approach using the best grapes from the best vineyards with minimal interference during the winemaking process. The viticulturist, Tielman Roos, knows every intimate detail of the estate and the terroir.One of the most striking features of Mooiplaas is the uneven terrain, from the meadows on the valley floor to the watershed on top of the hills. These topographical contrasts result in interesting differences in the microclimate. They believe that wine should be authentic, elegant, well balanced and structured while showing its vibrance and fullness of flavour. Wine must add joy to life!
