Summary
Boekenhoutskloof is one of the best-known and most respected wineries in South Africa. Set in the furthest corner of the Franschhoek Valley, the historic farm from 1776 was relaunched as a wine estate in 1993 by Marc Kent and his partners. Since then, Boekenhoutskloof has worked its way to the top of the country with dense, spicy Syrah, a long-lived Cabernet Sauvignon and an exceptional old-vine Semillon. At the same time, the same team is behind hit brands such as The Chocolate Block, Porcupine Ridge and The Wolftrap – and behind the Swartland estate Porseleinberg.
History
The Boekenhoutskloof farm was granted as early as 1776, making it one of the oldest properties in the Franschhoek Valley, which was settled by French Huguenots at the end of the 17th century. Its name roughly means "ravine of the Boekenhout" – after the indigenous Cape beech, whose wood was once coveted for furniture making. The stylised chairs on the labels are a reminder of this history.
As a winery in today's sense, Boekenhoutskloof only began in 1993: the young winemaker Marc Kent, trained at Elsenburg Agricultural College, took over the property together with several partners and replanted the vineyards. Another long-standing key figure was Tim Rands, with whom Kent restructured the ownership in the mid-2000s. The estate quickly made a name for itself with its Syrah of the late 1990s, and the brands The Chocolate Block, Porcupine Ridge and The Wolftrap followed later. Since 2015, Gottfried Mocke has been in charge of the cellar as chief winemaker, while Marc Kent continues to set the direction as Cellar Master and Managing Partner.
Location & Terroir
Franschhoek is a valley enclosed by high mountains east of Cape Town, shaped by a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and wet winters. Boekenhoutskloof lies at the most remote and comparatively cool end of the valley, where the mountain slopes cast shade already in the afternoon. Red varieties dominate the home farm of around 20 hectares; the soils range from alluvial deposits and granite to Table Mountain sandstone.
For its Syrah, the team looked beyond Franschhoek early on. With the acquisition of Porseleinberg in the Swartland – whose first vintage was released in 2010 – Boekenhoutskloof secured its own vineyards on meagre schist soils. There, winemaker Callie Louw farms the vines organically; a large share of the Syrah grapes for the Boekenhoutskloof Syrah now comes from there. The Semillon, on the other hand, comes from old Franschhoek plantings, some of which are more than a hundred years old.
Style & Philosophy
Boekenhoutskloof combines power with freshness and structure. The Syrah shows dark fruit, pepper and fine herbal spice, yet remains taut and balanced – a style closer to the northern Rhône than to lush New World Syrahs. The Cabernet Sauvignon from Franschhoek is tannic, precise and built for long ageing.
The Semillon is something special: the variety was once widespread at the Cape but has become rare today. Boekenhoutskloof keeps this tradition alive with a complex, wood-aged old-vine white that gains depth with age. Semillon is also the basis of the sweet Noble Late Harvest. What all the wines share is a search for origin rather than fashion – from the vineyard to restrained cellar work.
Notable Sites & Wines
The portfolio ranges from cult wines to accessible everyday brands:
- Boekenhoutskloof Syrah – the flagship, now largely made with grapes from the Swartland
- Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon – a long-lived red from Franschhoek
- Boekenhoutskloof Semillon – an old-vine white, one of the best Semillons in the country
- The Journeyman – a blend based on Cabernet Franc
- Noble Late Harvest – sweet Semillon
- Porseleinberg Syrah – an independent Swartland estate with its own profile
- The Chocolate Block – a red blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon and Viognier
- Porcupine Ridge and The Wolftrap – affordable, widely available brands
Awards
For years, Boekenhoutskloof has been a fixture on Tim Atkin's Five Star producer list in his annual South Africa Special Report. The 2020 Semillon was named White Wine of the Year there, and the Noble Late Harvest has been named Sweet Wine of the Year more than once. Atkin named chief winemaker Gottfried Mocke Winemaker of the Year in 2020. The estate also received the Editor's Award as Winery of the Year in the renowned Platter's South African Wine Guide – making it undisputedly one of the leading addresses in South African winemaking.
