Franschhoek has been wine producing since the 17th century, thanks to the French Huguenots who declared the valley suitable for viticulture, when they arrived with a vine tucked under one arm, and a bible under the other; or so the story goes. These days progressive producers are getting in touch with the terroir, creating three unofficial wards and actively identifying and planting the best suited cultivars to the region.

The Franschhoek valley boasts a climate all of its own. This unique valley is cupped in a bowl of mountains, surrounded by granite monoliths on three sides. The Wemmershoek Mountains hail to the north, separating it from the Breede River Valley. While the Groot Drakenstein and Franschhoek Mountains are to the south, offering some protection from storms and gales. Added to the sheltering aspects are moderating effects from the Berg River, originating in the Drakenstein Mountains, flowing through the centre of Franschhoek towards Paarl. 

“The mountains act as a catcher's mitt for the dominant rains coming from the northwest,” shares Andrea Mullineux, of Mullineux & Leeu. “The highest levels of rain for the Western Cape is reached at the end of the valley each year. This is why there is a beautifully high concentration of old vines, especially sémillon. The high winter rainfalls combined with the sandstone/alluvial soils lower down in the valley allow for deep root development and sustainable growth over decades without supplemental irrigation.”

Both Mullineux and Lukas van Loggerenberg (and others) have made use of this old vine wealth by bottling cinsault from dry farmed bushvines planted in 1932, South Africa’s second oldest registered red wine vineyard.

The mountains influence the terroir in other ways too. “The warmth of the sun in the north is tempered by the mountains on either side of the valley,” explains Mullineux. “While the mountains that separate the Franschhoek valley from the Overberg act as a block against the strongest southeaster winds, yet still allow a cooling breeze and gathering misty clouds to keep the temperatures down compared to areas northwest of the valley.”

“We have an amazing east-facing steep slope on Leeu Estate that receives gentle morning light, but is protected by the direct late afternoon sun. The gently breezy site is perfect for long slow ripening cabernet franc.”

The three unofficial wards of Franschhoek
Franschhoek Valley Floor, Bo Hoek & Franschhoek Pass

Another champion of cabernet franc in the region is Clayton Reabow (cellarmaster of Môreson). Reabow has made a great study of the three unofficial wards of Franschhoek and his research led him to developing his own-label brand, Lokaia – with wines based on these three divergent areas within the valley.

The project was a collaboration with Craig Mcnaught (Stony Brook) and the late Rob Armstrong (Haut Espoir) with the aim of establishing Franschhoek’s core cultivar competencies based on vineyard plantings, wines being produced and relative accolades each producer had received. 

“It became apparent that chardonnay, sémillon and cabernet franc were the common denominator in these categories, which led to the creation of Lokaia, a brand that embraced these cultivars while also sub-regionalising the origin of the grapes.”

Reabow says they identified that the best chardonnay comes from the ‘Franschhoek Valley Floor’; while sémillon claimed the ‘Bo Hoek’, and cabernet franc from ‘Franschhoek Pass’.

“We also wanted to push the idea of “ripeness” in wines with the current ideology for wines produced in South Africa that ripeness is always associated with higher alcohols.” He elaborates that depending on the vintage they are able to harvest at relatively low alcohols at full fruit ripeness (between 10.5 – 12%).

“We produced our cab franc in one vintage at 10.5%, with no evidence of green or underripe flavours.”

The influence of the mountains also dictates that the diurnal shifts can be extreme. Reabow notes that temperature fluctuations can be as much as 15-degrees between day and night.  He also shares that average rainfall is high in comparison to most regions, with an annual average of 700 – 1000mm per year. 

“The Bo Hoek has some of the highest rainfall in the country, which is what makes it so unique. I don’t understand the misconception that the drier a region, the better the wine. Water is a scarce resource, and having access to it is only beneficial to grape and wine production. This also provides us with good, moderate grape yields without having to burden water resources by intensively irrigating. We have good, high water tables in Franschhoek, which also allows us to start irrigation cycles later in season and for shorter periods.”

Speaking of the Bo Hoek, it is widely agreed upon that Franschhoek has South Africa’s most sought after sémillon. The contributing factors as to why Reabow surmises is: scarcity, vineyard age, clonal selection and pedigree. 

“Older vineyards were planted to a specific clone of GD 1, and I believe GD 121. We have a grape profile that doesn’t steer towards the herbaceous notes more commonly seen with coastal sémillon. Franschhoek sémillon also ripens at lower alcohol levels. Sémillon is a heritage cultivar that we need to preserve.”

When asked if there were any misconceptions about Franschhoek he would like to refute, Reabow is empathic about the soils: “Franschhoek terroir has been fraught with the idea that all the soil is predominantly sandstone. This holds true for the valley, for farms nearest to either the Berg River or the Franschhoek river, but it is very localised. The entire region actually boasts a variety of soils including granite, shale as well as the sandstone.”

What’s next for Franschhoek? “Although vineyard plantings are small, there is definitely a trend to plant more chardonnay, and I have seen a spattering of new cabernet franc vineyards, too. 

“There is certainly a focus by producers to produce more Wine of Origin Franschhoek wines and to embrace their region. Producers are also coming to terms with the fact that we cannot grow it all nor should we attempt to. Those in the know have a collective mindset towards this.”

Malu Lambert