Bartho Eksteen Wine Estate

Bartho Eksteen's roots in Cape wine run deeper than most. His ancestor Heinrich Oostwald Eckstein settled in the Cape in 1702, and winemaking has been in the family blood ever since. Bartho himself emerged as one of the Cape's most celebrated winemakers when, as a young man in Bot River, he won the General Smuts Trophy for South African Champion Young Wine in 1996. From there he became a key figure in the rise of Wildekrans Wine Estate, served as consultant winemaker for Sumaridge and Raka, and was the initiator, winemaker and director of Hermanuspietersfontein Wingerde (HPF) -- one of the Hemel-en-Aarde's most talked-about producers.

In 2008, Bartho launched his own label, initially making wine from bought-in fruit while searching for the right property. Then in 2015, he and his wife Sune purchased their own farm in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley near Hermanus, where Bartho planted his vineyards and finally had full control from soil to bottle. The property sits at the junction of the Walker Bay wine ward and the Houw Hoek area, benefiting from cool maritime breezes off the Atlantic and the valley's distinctive clay and shale soils. The views stretch across vineyards to mountains on one side and the ocean on the other -- a setting that captures everything that makes the Hemel-en-Aarde one of South Africa's most prized wine addresses.

Tim Atkin MW has recognised Bartho as one of the world's best Sauvignon Blanc winemakers, and the estate's Vloekskoot Sauvignon Blanc -- a wooded, extremely limited bottling -- has twice been named South Africa's Best Sauvignon Blanc by Platter's Wine Guide. Beyond Sauvignon Blanc, the range includes the Meester Rhone-style red blend, the Fluister Pinot Noir from Hemel-en-Aarde fruit, Chardonnay, Rose, and an MCC that is unique in the region for being made from all three classic Champagne varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. The estate also embraces natural winemaking principles, with cool-climate fruit and minimal intervention producing wines of remarkable purity.

The estate operates as a true family business. Son Pieter-Willem Eksteen joined full-time in 2022 after gaining experience elsewhere, working alongside his parents on the farm. The Wijnskool (wine school) tasting venue and bistro offer guided tastings, cellar tours, platters, picnics and a farm deli, all set against those vineyard, mountain and ocean views. Walking trails, cycling paths and mountain biking routes extend across the property. Bartho Eksteen is a member of the prestigious Cape Winemakers Guild and holds both BWI and IPW sustainability accreditations -- a winemaker whose pedigree stretches from 1702 to the cutting edge of contemporary Cape wine.