At the time when the two De Waal brothers, Danie and Koffie ("Coffee") planted the Top of the Hill vineyard in 1950, Pinotage was still a brand new variety. CT de Waal, their cousin, made the first Pinotage wine only 9 years earlier.

 

Being such a new variety then, the two De Waal brothers were hesitant to replace their prized Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz vines with Pinotage. Therefore, they decided to plant only one hectare on an open piece of land, on top of a small hill next to a wild fig tree. The fig tree was planted by Danie de Waal as protection for vineyard workers against rain in winter. What they didn't know, was that their choice of location was exactly what Pinotage needs to make great wines: medium to poor soil, quite sandy and fairly deep with a clay layer at the bottom.

This old Top of the Hill vineyard is producing less and less grapes as it becomes older. Fortunately, the wine made from these grapes are more complex and of higher quality than from younger vineyards. This vineyard has produced some fantastic wines - Top of the Hill Pinotage has been a Top 10 Pinotage Award winner 6 times!

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Top of the Hill Pinotage: made from the oldest existing Pinotage vineyard in the world. Limited production of fewer than 3000 bottles annually. One of a “1001 Wines to Enjoy once in a Lifetime”, (European Gourmet journalist, Francesca Negri, Italy, 2016).