Keermont Vineyards

High in the upper Blaauwklippen Valley, where the road narrows and the fynbos thickens between the Stellenbosch and Helderberg mountain ranges, Keermont Vineyards occupies a natural amphitheatre that feels a world apart from the tourist bustle below. This is wine country at its most elemental — vineyards climbing from 250 to 400 metres above sea level on deep red clay soils derived from sandstone and granite, separated by corridors of indigenous fynbos and renosterveld, with the Blaauwklippen River running through the heart of the property.

Mark and Monica Wraith purchased two adjacent farms in this valley in 2003, arriving from Gauteng with a vision that was ambitious but patient. The land had been fallow for years. In 2005, the Wraiths began a significant replanting programme and hired Alex Starey, a young Stellenbosch University graduate who had honed his craft across four continents — working harvests in Chile's Maipo Valley, Spain's Priorat and Penedes regions, and France's Saint-Emilion and Cote Rotie. Starey would become the singular voice of Keermont's wines.

The maiden vintage arrived in 2007. From the start, Keermont's philosophy was uncompromising: every grape comes from the estate's own mountain vineyards. Starey ferments with indigenous yeasts, makes no adjustments to acid or alcohol, matures in seasoned French oak, and bottles by hand without filtration. The approach is natural and traditional in the truest sense — not as a marketing position, but as a reflection of the terroir itself. The cooling winds from the Atlantic Ocean and False Bay moderate the mountain heat, while the varied soil pockets along the river create distinct micro-terroirs that Starey maps with obsessive detail.

The wine range is deliberately compact. The Keermont Terrasse, a complex white blend of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Viognier, has become one of the Cape's most celebrated field blends. The Keermont Syrah, blended with Mourvedre, expresses the estate's mountain character with a savoury intensity that reflects altitude and ancient soils. Single-vineyard bottlings — Riverside Chenin Blanc, Steepside Syrah, Topside Syrah, and Pondokrug Cabernet Franc — reveal the individuality of specific parcels. The Fleurfontein, a late-harvest white from vine-dried Sauvignon Blanc and Roussanne, offers something entirely unique. And the flagship Amphitheatre, a red blend named for the valley's natural formation, represents the finest expression of the property in each vintage.

Keermont operates with a team of just fifteen people. Mark Wraith remains hands-on — from long-term planning to tending vines and welcoming guests personally in the tasting room. The cellar is open Fridays and Saturdays, with appointments available midweek. There is no restaurant, no resort infrastructure, no distraction from the wine. Keermont is a place for those who want to understand what a mountain vineyard can achieve when guided by patience, conviction, and a winemaker of rare talent.